So, what’s been happening this week? Raining that’s what!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Winter has finally come and I now remember better than ever why I moved to warm countries to play rugby. But complaining gets you nowhere, so this week I decided to mix things up and talk about nutrition. My gran (the smart old duck she is) always said to me “everything in moderation is good for you”. Only in the past few years I have noticed how true this and I am only now applying this into my dieting.

What I want to cover in this blog is what your average Joe’s athlete should be eating. Not someone trying to lose weight for their perfect summer beach body and not someone trying to pile on the pounds to look like a gorilla. This is going to be plain and simple and hopefully make you have a little think about what you are putting in your body.

So, if I asked you “why do we eat?”, the answer is not because it tastes good and it’s not because your mother tells you to! The only answer is to give are bodies the fuel they need! This is crucial, once you see food as fuel, and once you understand different types of foods are different types of fuel then we can understand what we should be eating and when. An analogy I like to use is your body is like a car, and the different types of fuel might be petrol, oil, coolant and window cleaner. If you use the wrong type at the wrong time, something is going to go wrong.

We can break our food down into these categories Protein, carbohydrates and fats. TASK, find five examples of each of these food types………
Once you have finished the task you should have a better idea of where we can find each of our food types. Now here comes the complicated part, if we look at what an average Joe should be eating, their daily intake of food should be split up into 30-50% carbohydrates, 25-35% proteins and 25-35% fats!

Now before you jump the gun, we are strictly talking about “GOOD FATS” these are sourced from things like meat, nuts and dairy! Not from sweets, crisps or chocolate! Got it?

Don’t panic, I see no need to get the food scales or calculators out and measure absolutely everything. This is a rule of thumb and everyone is different, what you need to be looking for is when you plate up your meals, whether you can break things up into these categories.

Quick tips,
• Plan your meals ahead, when you make meals at the last minute it’s hard to keep them healthy
• Eat your five fruit and veg a day! Challenge yourself to eat different veg as often as possible
• Drink more water!!! People eat when they are thirsty, try a glass of water before and after each meal.
• Keep the snacking smart, fruit, nuts and maybe a treat once a week
• And last tip, keep it fun! People automatically make eating healthy boring. Look for new recipes, cook with other people or as a family and challenge your culinary skillset.

Stay tuned to this blog to learn more about health and nutrition, if you have any question please post them on the Ross-Sutherland Facebook page.
Over and out

John Mann, Community & Rugby Development Officer