Sandra Koulourides had me at her book's title: Fuel + Fitness: The Total Package.
I preach this mantra of "fueling your body for fitness" often to students and clients, as well as on this blog, because it is the most consistent truth in health and physical performance. Group fitness trends will come and go, new "super-vitamins" might emerge and fade, but one fact never changes: Garbage in, garbage out.
We are what we eat. We perform only as strong as the fuel we take in. Our bodies are like cars and machines - fuel them with the wrong thing, and they will sputter and drag. Power them up with optimum, high-grade fuel and they'll run fast and smooth like a new Porche.
Fuel + Fitness is a handy, practical guide to finding that balance between what we eat and the results we see - at the gym, on the scale, and in our overall energy levels. This is a must for your Badass Bookshelf.
In about 150 pages, she includes everything from a "Nutrition 101" guide and dining-out tips to recipes, snack ideas, shopping lists, and sections on the exercise-metabolism connection. She covers how to eat to lose weight, how to eat to gain muscle, and pointers for staying on track with any eating plan.
Sandra, a fellow fitness instructor I first met at a fitness conference, is a registered dietitian whose Horizontal Conditioning class completely whipped my Badass - in a "that was awesome" kinda way. She knows what works, and not just because she studied it while becoming a registered dietitian. She lives the "fueling for fitness" balance every day.
She is a married, working mom. She has places to be, errands to run. So she writes her book from a practical perspective - giving readers fast, easy ways to maintain a healthy fuel and fitness balance based on her own experiences and successes. While she writes the book from a largely female perspective, the book is gender-neutral in its usefulness.
She writes: "Fuel + Fitness is not a diet. It's a lifestyle. It's about balancing food, fitness and life. It's about freedom and choices, not restrictions and deprivation."
Amen and amen. These are the messages I work every day to convey on this blog and to students and clients.
I love her blend of practicality and "no-excuses" approach to eating and exercising, as outlined in her 12 basic guidelines to eating well for fitness. A few of my faves:
- Avoid your trigger foods: Moderation is key, so if a bag of chips will send you into "eat it all mode," don't get anywhere near it.
- Eat every 3-4 hours: Keeps the blood sugar stable, keeps the metabolism humming.
- Drink lots of water: Dehydration can easily be confused with hunger. Drink water all day.
- Be prepared: Make your lunch, have healthy snacks around always. Planning prevents eating disasters and stumbles.
- Limit alcohol and don't eat late: A few cocktails makes the 2 a.m. Whataburger stop seem totally OK. It's not.
- Don't weigh yourself daily: Weight fluctuates, so don't obsess over the scale. It's how your clothes fit that really tells you where you are.
- You always have choices: Choices mean you are in control. Make the right ones and you'll see results. Period.
If you buy only one book this year as part of your Badass Journey, I recommend it be Fuel + Fitness. The information isn't all earth-shattering or new, but sometimes we have to be reminded of what we instinctively know to be true. Fuel + Fitness puts it all together in a neat, readable package that can help you every single day. Happy Reading!
Coming up: Three core exercises you might not be doing, but should. And "The People's TRX workout"...
