Even though it's been a couple of weekends since Dr. Susan Kleiner came and gave a day of private nutritional lectures for the clients of Okanagan Peak Performance Inc her words are still popping up in discussion around the gym. And now that everyone has a copy of the videos of these presentations I don't anticipate this ending anytime soon.

But rather than focus on all the things Dr. Kleiner did say during her presentations I wanted to look at all the things she didn't say. Often times I think we have pre-conceived notions about what a nutritionist will say. Some people will think that they've seen a different nutritionist before and therefore wouldn't benefit from hearing this expert speak.

So from all the knowledge we all have collectively regarding nutrition it was interesting to sit through an entire day and not hear certain topics brought up. And this was coming from someone who works with the 'best of the best' in terms of figure athletes, bodybuilders and sports teams.

Below are three topics that were not part of the nutritional prescription to living lean and healthy lives.

1. We need to cleanse
Every time I hear someone tell they have started a cleanse I feel sad. Sad because they have been duped and misled. They have been sold a product which includes eliminating processed foods and refined sugar. It bans trans fats and fried foods. They are told to stop drinking and smoking. Proteins are to come from a variety of lean sources and veggies of all types are to be consumed. Lastly, the product would not be complete without a supplement to drink daily including ground up horn, well from a unicorn, organic lemons and cayenne pepper.

After eliminating all the garbage from ones lifestyle moods improve, weight comes off and your numbers come in for the super 7 lotto. Failure to do all of the steps, to exercise daily and most importantly to drink the secret potion, releases the creators of these products from any and all responsibility related to failure.

2. We need to eliminate carbohydrates
Somewhere along the line carbs became synonymous with added sugar. And if we ate a baked potato this was no different than chugging back a big gulp. And so we've seen knee jerk reactions to eliminating sugar, and therefore carbs, from the diet. People pass on the bread, eat crust-less pizza, forgo pasta and would never consider eating oatmeal for breakfast.

Now to be fair we are not talking about diseased or severely obese individuals. And we are talking about people who make regular intense exercise a daily part of their routine. For those who are ill, carrying a substantial amount of extra weight or who aren't active, there is less necessity to consume ample carbohydrate. For the rest of us, we need to be eating carbs.

3. There are no cheat meals
One of the people in attendance asked Dr. Kleiner her take on cheat meals. Her response was that there is no such thing. You simply eat food. Sometimes you indulge a little bit but it shouldn't be associated with a negative emotion like cheating.

Instead we should live our normal lives and enjoy what it includes. If this means cake for a birthday at work then enjoy some if you like. But don't stress about it and don't change the rest of your plan afterwards. For example, it's not uncommon for some people to eat cake at work in this situation then skip lunch feeling as though they have already consumed all their calories for the day. This may then lead to a resulting sugar crash and sluggishness making it hard to train later.

When you did indulge, whether planned or not, the plan is to keeping moving forward. Success is always in the future. Don't hit the rewind button to relive the 'negative' choice such as a cheat meal in your mind and stress about it. Instead enjoy the moment and move on. Don't worry about what you can't eat but instead focus on what you should eat next.

If you find these tips useful and would like to see all the videos make sure to connect with an Okanagan Peak Performance Inc coach. We set up all clients with access and may have a signed copy of Dr. Kleiner's book for you as well.

Chris [fb-like]