#3 Eat like a champion

Let’s ask ourselves one simple question – “Why do we eat?”. The answer will be defined by the relationship we have with food.

Due to overproduction, waste and overconsumption, nowadays food is consumed to help us create emotional comfort when we feel stressed, anxious or depressed. We eat too much because what we are really hungry for, is not available to us. Making conscious food choices forces us to see the true nature of what’s deeper inside us like the powerful habits that control us entirely.

There is evidence suggesting a clear link between what we eat and our mental health, the impact that food has on our body, gut, brain and our overall health.

In 2017 my goal was to do sports every day. With such a challenge, nutrition is important. I keep improving and changing my diet and one of the biggest decisions I’ve made in 2017 was to not eat any food that doesn’t play any nutritional role, I try to stay sugar free as much as possible, most of my meals are meat free and I consume very little carbohydrates.

Here are some of the learnings I want to share with you:

In spite of being the most promoted source of protein, meat is not the most efficient source of protein. There is a long list of nuts, grains and veggies that you should look into.

It’s not about the quantity but rather the quality of the products; this makes the real difference. Studies show that fasting and reducing the food intake (not starvation) will positively impact our health and even the sport performance.

Education is king and discipline is key. Build awareness about the long term effects which food has over the body and health.

Stop feeding the bad eating habits you have and develop awareness over your addictions. Become aware about what you eat, when and why.

Buy real food – organic, fresh and natural products. Grow the food by your own if possible.

Organize your kitchen. Check all the products you have and replace them with better alternatives. Consume whole grains, wholemeal bread, whole pasta, whole rice, honey or other natural sweeteners instead of sugar, replace the processed food with real food.

When your weight goes up, the physical size and function of the brain goes down. Doctors Daniel Amen and Sandrine Thuret explains how using brain imaging, sports and eating healthy food improves our lives and help adult brains create new nerve cells in the hippocampus.

I believe in the power of high quality food. I’ve tested it on my skin and I believe it’s possible to do sports and endurance with proper training and a meat free diet or low on carbohydrates. Taking into account that I don’t consume supplements or energy bars of any kind and that’s a sort of a rule that I have.

Habits are influenced by your lifestyle and eating makes no exception. Chaos or keeping too busy to take care of your body and health is the everyday choice you make. Use behavioral architecture to organize yourself towards healthiest behaviors.