Diet

It has been a long while since I first thought I should write about this.  Diet is as important to a martial artist as doing pushups and sits ups and I would think it is at the top of the heap.  Without a good quality diet, we are robbing our bodies and minds of the nutrients quality energy it needs to perform at its peak every day.

I have been guilty as to not keep a quality diet and the older I get the more impact it has on me, negatively.  I have never been one to eat breakfast throughout the week other than a coffee and perhaps a high fat, high sodium breakfast sandwich from McDonalds.  Like most people, I lead a very busy work life and they seem to build these fast food restaurants all along my routes throughout the day.  They also make it extremely easy (drive through) and extremely cheap to eat this way.  There is much more effort required (and money) to eat a healthy life style filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.  With my past two weeks in the US where fast food is even cheaper, it doesn’t surprise me anymore why there is an obesity problem.  Also the amount of low income families total the entire population of Canada, it is easier to understand why fast food is being consumed in such high quantities.  For me, it comes down to commitment to wanting to improve one’s diet.  I struggle with the planning that it takes to consistently do this every day, plan and prepare healthy meals.  However I see the negative impact that a poor diet at times has had on my body and I want to change that.

April is the month that the I Ho Chuan team has designated to be the diet tracking month.  I am looking forward to it with a bit of trepidation as it will be very clear how well or how badly I am eating.  I am also committing to be 100% accurate and truthful with this process as if I am not then I am defeating the purpose of this exercise.  I have found a really great app for my Iphone called “myfitnesspal”.  This app has a HUGE database of different foods and serving sizes.  It also has a UPC scanner that has found everything and anything with a UPC!  I would strongly recommend that you check this out and one of the best parts of this is that it is FREE!

I am going to use this tool with a renewed commitment to my diet and I want to use this time to put into place some good habits.

Mr. Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu.

Stony Plain, Alberta