You’ve heard:
You are what you eat.
Food is Fuel.
Carbs are bad.
Fat is bad.
Sugar is bad.
Everything in moderation.
The truth:
You literally are what you eat.
Food is Information.
Carbs are information.
Fat is information.
Sugar is information.
Eat everything and eat it all in moderation.
Our bodies can’t function without fuel, sure. But our body isn’t simply an engine, it’s the entire vehicle. And it has to rebuild itself around the clock…
Say you’re in a car and the manufacturer didn’t feel like spending the extra time to fortify the steel frame, install all of the windows or even slap on a coat of paint. How far do you think that car will take you? Would you feel safe? Would you want to live with that car? Probably not.
The fact is, you wouldn’t buy that car.
You’d want a car that suits your lifestyle, personality, finances. You want to know if it’s safe, runs well, gets good mileage etc. A lot goes into choosing a vehicle: what model fits you and your loved ones, what manufacturer makes the vehicle that’s perfect for your life… We don’t think about our bodies as our transportation, but we wouldn’t get anywhere without them. And what they’re made of is completely up to us.
We are the manufacturers of our vehicles.
So if you’re building your vehicle, what kind of materials would you want it made out of? All materials are NOT equal. Think the guy up there eating the donut is gonna be stoked with the tire he’s creating? Will the ladies and gentlemen eating the colorful salads be showing off their chassis?
Each bit of nutrition that you consume is sending directions and supplying materials to your workers. Take in some orange food and you’re sending beta-carotenoids to your workers that create Vitamin A = healthy vision and neurological function. Windows, check. Distributer cap, check.
Consume some complete protein and you’re giving your workers all the amino acids they need to build effective gears, wires and hinges. Mobilization, check. Doors, check.
A calorie is not a calorie. A calorie is a set of instructions, and building materials.
One hundred calories of chocolate is going to send a completely different set of instructions and materials to your body than one hundred calories of broccoli. (Man, that’s a lot of broccoli.) Don’t worry, you can still turn your SAAB into a Camaro.
Instead of counting your calories, count your colors. Our bodies need a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and proteins in order to function at top speeds, provide safe travel or even efficiently pump fluids.
To increase your miles per gallon, or ehm calorie, make it a point to eat every color of the rainbow throughout the week. It’s tough to get them all in during one 24 shift, so spread out the inventory over a few days.
Be sure to not overload one group of workers with the same materials over and over. They can only do so much in a specific amount of time and the excess material will end up in storage. That means carbs, fat and protein. Too much of anything ends up in storage… unless you really want to make a stretch Hummer with extra extra doors and tires. (Parking may not be fun though.) Speak with a Registered Dietician to find out how much of each macronutrient is best for your body.
And don’t forget water! Water is the messenger for all of the instructions. If there’s not a messenger, the workers have to stop production to go ask for the materials. Sure, they’ll get the message, but it slows down production.
Try these simple focus techniques and you’ll be super-charged in no time.
Consider balanced nutrition your lifetime warranty.
Author: Dana Andrews CPT, PN1