Last weekend we held an end-of-season bike ride followed by a BBQ at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. At the BBQ there were burgers, ice cream and beer. This is typically the kinds of foods that fitness coaches tell their clients to avoid eating. And yet there we were serving it up to our clients. Was this some kind of trick? Do we not care about our clients results? Do we not believe these to be unhealthy foods? Why would we do such a thing? [caption id="attachment_5291" align="aligncenter" width="300"] When you're offered beer or ice cream in a gym. Well for a number of reasons. And the first being is that these are foods and drinks associated with fun times. And we want our clients to be able to relax and have some fun from time to time. The goal is never to go cold turkey with any of the indulgences we may enjoy. If someone loves chocolate we would never say 'you can't eat chocolate again' or worse 'you're a bad person if you do eat chocolate'. Instead the message should be to recognize where does chocolate fit into a healthy living plan? Maybe I won't eat it daily but instead will look to reduce my consumption and set it aside for special times. For example, maybe I'll watch a fun show on the weekend and have some chocolate while I do. We need to find the time and place for burgers, beers and ice cream. The other thing to remember is that these are low nutrition foods. It never ceases to amaze me to look at any 'health or whole foods' store flyer. You will always be to find offerings such as tofu burgers, soy ice cream and vegan cookies. Adding a trendy nutritional label doesn't make these higher in nutritional value....
