Energy bars/gels

Energy bars and gels are nutrition supplements. They give you a boost of energy, of course, and provide you a quick, reliable, sometimes delicious way to fortify the body with the right nutrients.

Most bars have 200 to 300 calories. Gels have 75 to 100 calories but usually have a greater percentage of carbs.

Tastes like horse food but will make you run like a thoroughbred

Energy bars and gels are better than candy bars and eating nothing at all, but not better than natural foods like fruits, fig cookies, etc. In my opinion, they are convenient and nutritional, but not a good substitute for proper nutrition. BUT, without a proper diet, you may miss out on fibers and nutrients in veggies and fruits. Energy bars should complement a balanced diet, not substitute it.

CARBS

Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. If food is fuel, carbs are the octane.

Despite the carbs’ bad reputation and society’s faddish tendencies toward protein-only diets, this will be the most important component to your diet. In fact, I believe carbs has gotten a bad rap. While it is indisputable that a high-carbohydrate diet leads to obesity, such a notion assumes (1) a sedentary lifestyle, and (2) an over-indulgence of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are consumed expressly to be burned. Burning calories and intense exercise requires greater levels of energy. Greater levels of energy require greater consumption of carbohydrates.

If the couch is your high-endurance treadmill, then a diet with fewer carbs is entirely appropriate. Unless the carbs are burned, the body, efficient as it is, will store them (You didn’t know that being a fat ass was a sign of efficiency, did you?)

There are two kinds of carbohydrates:

Simple Carbohydrates are digested quickly and supply the body a quick energy rush. Simple Carbohydrates should NOT be your source of energy. They are good for a cocker spaniel explosion of energy, but these carbs will not sustain you. They are not forbidden to eat, but your foundation of energy should be complex carbohydrates. Examples of simple carbs include honey, white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, fruit juices, milk and yogurt.

Complex Carbohydrates digest slower and release energy over a longer period of time. They also contain nutrients and some fiber. Complex carbohydrates should represent most of your carb consumption. Examples of complex carbs include grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables, beans, breads, brown rice, and potatoes.

When consumed, carbohydrates are converted into blood sugar – or glucose –which is stored as glycogen in the muscles. This is the main source of energy for exercising muscles. It is the energy that is depleted first (followed by fats). After 20 minutes of exercise, the body burns a combination of carbs and fat. Most people don’t exercise long enough to burn significant amounts of fat in a single workout.

Food is fuel

If you learn anything from this series of posts– Indeed, if you learn anything from this blog – one of the most important concepts to remember is this: Food is Fuel.

If you think of food as a mere energy source, and not as recreation, therapy, and a distraction from boredom, you might just change your life.

Think about how you eat, when you eat and what you eat. Do you eat mammoth portions at each sitting? I know I do. Lord help me, but I do. Do you eat lunch and dinner automatically at an appointed time or when you’re hungry? Do you frequent restaurants and take out joints? Do you stuff your face because you’re sad, lonely, or otherwise grumpy? Do you eat because you have nothing else to do? Do you stand in front of the fridge or in the pantry waiting to be served? Are you reading this right now with a napkin tied around your neck and a fork and knife in your fists?

Not to be confused with "food gives you gas"

What if you thought of food strictly as fuel, and as the energy needed to fire the engine and put your body in motion? Think about how that would change your attitude and vision of eating.

If food meant more to you as calories and good health than it did flavor and frequency, chances are you would be quite fit, trim, and in those jeans you saw in the store display, because food would be more or less a mere energy source, not recreation.

Again with the car metaphor: sure you may enjoy driving your car, going on long drives, driving fast… but you don’t get very excited about putting gas in it even though it is the necessary fuel to make the car fun and functional.

You can and will enjoy all the mystical things your body can do when it is fueled up. Just think of eating as stopping for gas.

Commitment



Sexy Beast

What is success? I believe success is maintaining faithfulness to the process, or in a word, commitment. We must celebrate the little successes along the way. Instead of cursing your surroundings, celebrate your faithfulness in spite of them. The problem with cursing your surroundings is that it becomes your focus and undermines your commitment. This diminishes your ability to concentrate on what’s before you.

The goal is on the horizon and the strategy is your path. Motivation, energy and self-discipline keep you on the path. Questions get you back on track or steer you to a better track. These concepts effectively serve as your blinders to get you focused.



Energy

Energy is the fuel that powers you toward success. Energy can be mental and physical. Mental energy, as described below, is called motivation. Physical energy comes from real fuel: food. To remain energized, it is important to eat responsibly and exercise regularly. This is described in greater detail on the “Nutrition” page.

Eating responsibly means understanding what your body needs to be strong. To succeed, surround yourself with the right foods and establish an eating pattern that addresses your body’s needs and what satisfies you. The more you know about your body’s requirements, the better equipped you are to remain strong. Plus, if you take the time to understand what your body needs, you may make it possible to enjoy the things you want.

Responsible nutrition doesn’t mean eating only tofu and bean sprouts; it means a balance of a variety of food sources – including fats – to remain healthy. Again, surround yourself in an environment of nutrition and a pattern of responsible eating. This will give you the physical energy that is compatible with – no, critical to – mental energy.

Read the “Nutrition” page (when I load it), and then make a shopping list of all the healthy foods you need to eat each week to stay physically energized – which of course will help with your mental energy as well.

Playing the Odds

Successful gamblers, athletes, and even politicians – to randomly name a few – achieve their success by learning everything they can about the variables that influence their ability to triumph. There are obstacles that work against the competitor and those that help. Those who strive to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative – to coin a phrase – will “play the odds” to their favor.
A gambler will avoid the long odds of an older horse that wins fewer races and performs poorly at certain tracks, while favoring the young, healthy horse that excels in any condition. [I’m not a gambler, so I hope this metaphor worked for you.]

I don't know art, but I know what I like

Sad, but true: politicians know that certain demographic slices of humanity regularly vote. Candidates know where these voters live, generally how they vote, and their likelihood of voting. Campaigns are expensive, so office seekers target specific voters and lean on them like their lives depend on it. In other words, politicians improve their lot by mobilizing the bloc of voters that will elect them and to hell with the rest. They are “playing the odds.”

A basketball player will most likely take chances on shooting many high-probability shots closer to the basket than the high-risk shots outside the perimeter. Or a football team will watch films of their opponents. The more they know about the environment and obstacles that will influence their success, the better their chances of exploiting those influences and making success their own.


This is not to suggest that high risk will not lead to high reward, but the chances of failure are greater when one opts for the long shot. In fact, there is a reason it is called a “long shot.” For the goal seeker and marathon runner, the chances of success are imminently greater when they identify the most powerful influences in their lives and nearer to the positive ones and cut loose the negative ones.

I call all of this “playing the odds to your favor.” By exposing yourself to the positive and motivational, and by removing the negative and stressful, you will your environment by controlling the influences that direct your life. You’ll be inspired with power and energy and confidence to accomplish anything.With confidence and hope, there is nothing you can’t do.

Playing the odds in your favor is, in my opinion, a critical component to training for and finishing the marathon; to achieving all your life’s goals; and to being happy and fulfilled in life.

What are some of the influences you must manage to help you play the odds? Motivation, energy, self-discipline. The negative forces of these influences, among many other challenges, can conspire to defeat your attempts to reach your goal. Without motivation, where’s the passion and desire for success? Without energy, where is the fuel that propels you toward the finish line? Without self-discipline, how will you commit to the hard work that’s required to reach any of life’s goals? These, in a manner of speaking, are the odds. You can “play the odds to your favor” or ignore them as they array themselves against you.