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You Can't Unlearn a Skill

In the seminars I do I always point out that you cannot unlearn a skill. You might decide not to use it, but once you’ve mastered a skill you cannot undo the lessons learnt, you cannot roll back the learning curve.

Let me use a couple of personal experiences to illustrate the point.

Im not much of a candy person but I have since being a kid, loved any sort of chewy mint. I think that all started when, as a family we’d go on vacation and my Mum would always give me and my brother a chewy mint as the plane took off. It stopped our ears popping and (my Mum hoped) would stop me from screaming at the top of my lungs.

Anyway the “learnt” behavior of me and my chewy mints became pretty ingrained in my psyche and when I came to America I discovered ‘Skittles’ (surprise, I found them first in an airport).

Many years later a new boyfriend saw my favorite chewy mints were sold in packs of 5 and he thought he’d be cute and buy me a 5 pack.

My smile soon faded when I saw the 5 pack because I knew it was all over .. when it comes to nutrition I know my game and I also know the games I play with myself!

One of the reasons I loved Skittles was because they came in a small packet (the one with the flip top) and because the package was so small it wasn’t (back then) required to have a nutritional label that would have shown me the calories, sugar etc.

Now I have a 5 pack in my hands and the label is screaming up at me.

Feeling defeated I read the label .. 38 grms of sugar – nice!

So now the game was over. Now I knew how much sugar was in my favorite mints and how many calories. They were the last Skittles I ever ate. You see, once I had that information I couldn’t just forget I knew it. It became a choice. I could still eat them from time to time if I choose to, but now my choice would have to be based on the information I now had.

For me that meant .. No more Skittles, it took all the fun out of it for me, the game was over.

The second example I want to share with you happened just this week.

Ive been in America 15 years now and 15 years in a row I have forgotten Mothers Day. Never forgotten Fathers Day, only Mothers Day. Why? Because in England Mothers day is on a different day, Mothers day is weeks before Mothers day in the States. Every time I see the Mothers Day cards in the grocery store I realize that ‘yet again’ I’ve missed the big day back home.

This year was no exception, so I did what I usually do, I buy a card and write the same excuse year after year. This year, I buy the card and then I lose it. Back to the store I buy another card, get home and yet again its not there, I must have left it in the store.

Now Im going to be late even for America's Mother's Day!

I think about going and getting a third card but then it dawns on me what my mother would like more than anything... a letter!

A hand written letter from her daughter. Not an email or a text but an actual letter.

I put pen to paper and I write to my Mum, about 4 pages in all and I start to get this throbbing pain in my middle finger. That old familiar pain I used to get when I was at school from writing so much. I used to get this funky bump on my right middle finger from the way I held the pen. I look down and have to smile as my finger looks a little red. I cannot remember the last time I wrote a letter ! I’ve sent cards and notes, but a letter, it must be 10 years!

My smile fades into a frown as I look at my handwriting. My handwriting looks more like hieroglyphics, it was a tell tale sign that I hadn’t written anything for length by hand for a long long time.

I continue with the letter and now I focus a little more on my writing, by the end of the letter it looks half decent by my middle finger does hurt.

Writing, a skill I take for granted, but in truth, I haven’t used for quite some time and yet the skill was still there, a little rusty but with a little thought the pathways from my brain to my hand shook off the cobwebs and ran almost as smoothly as ever.

When it comes to our Health we have numerous ways to give away our control. We can take a pill, follow a diet, get a trainer, or print off a workout or two.

We can always give away “Control” but we can never give away our “Responsibility” and there are no lessons learnt, no skills taught when we don’t take responsibility.

The surest way to succeed with your fitness goals is to educate yourself. If you take the time to understand how your body works, how Nutrition affects everything from your energy to your behavior, then you will have a skill that will last you a lifetime.

As with my handwriting, you may choose not to use your skill and yet you can never be without it. Once you educate yourself on Nutrition you might choose to take another path but at least the choice you make will be based on the knowledge you now have.

Most people never gain such an education and their choices are founded on nothing. Like building in sand, their decisions have no foundation. They know no better and their progress will always be hindered because of this.

With Venice Nutrition we offer a Certification Course. The course itself is the most comprehensive on the market and for Health Professionals it is an amazing tool they can use to coach their clients and expand their business. The Certification is however open to anyone, for those who want to educate themselves and so accelerate their progress then we invite you to learn more about the Certification Process.

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If you talk to any successful athlete you will find they have studied their game. Indeed they will have coaches and trainers, they will also have taken the time to listen, to learn, to study and to experience. Their skills are more than the physical attributes they have fine tuned. It’s the reason some of the best athletes and sportsmen become coaches themselves.

“You can always give away Control but you can never give away Responsibility...“ - Brian Tracey

Better Body, Better Life...

- Joanne (Skittle Free)

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Culinary Corner

by head chef Valerie Cogswell

Mexican Chicken Tenders with Vegetables

For all of you that love finding fast ways to dress up chicken, this recipe is for you! The base of this dish includes lean chicken tenders, crisp and colorful bell peppers, sliced red onion and ripe tomatoes. Then the chicken and vegetables are tossed and baked with a healthy and zesty dressing of olive oil, lemon, jalapeno pepper, and spices. You can enjoy this recipe served in a whole grain wrap or on top of brown rice for a nice change of pace. Spicy Mexican Chicken Tenders are a delicious, versatile and fun way to dress up your next meal. Enjoy!

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Old School High Intensity Cardio Myths meet Current Science Based High Intensity Cardio Truths written by Mark Macdonald, Creator and CEO of Venice Nutrition

I played on my first club soccer team at the age of 9; I can remember my coach talking to us about Carbohydrate Loading. He shared how we should eat a big pizza Friday night to prepare for the game Saturday morning. Then during the game we should all continue the carbohydrate intake by drinking Gatorade, juice and eating orange slices at halftime. This philosophy was a reoccurring theme in all my sports: cross country, tennis, cycling, swimming, basketball and soccer. It was also supported during my collegiate soccer years by my coaches and professors.

The theory behind carbohydrate loading is that by taking in a high dosage of carbohydrates (sugar) the day before your sporting event you'll provide your muscle with a long lasting supply of Glucose (sugar) which will maximize energy. This philosophy also reinforces taking liquid Glucose supplements (goo) and/or high sugar electrolyte recovery drinks (Gatorade) during a sporting event.

After college my focus shifted from sports to bodybuilding. I quickly realized that the Carbohydrate Loading philosophies I'd learned were just philosophies …. As I dug deeper into how the body actually can create and burn energy it became evident that Carbohydrate Loading for High Intensity Cardio was a myth and in truth actually hinders performance.

The Purpose of this Article is to Shed Light on the 5 most well known High Intensity Cardio Myths and then present the Current Science/Physiology and Actual Truths of maximizing performance and recovery during High Intensity Cardio Events. The Information in this article is also reinforced by 1000’s of testimonials of high performance athletes that our nutrition centers have worked with through the years, a few being:

• The American Stroke Association – Marathon Club
• Professional, Collegiate & High School Athletes from all sports: Football, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Track, Lacrose, Boxing, Wresting, Volleyball , etc.
• 1000’s of Regional Triathlete, Cycling, Swimming & Running Clubs

The 5 Myths Are:

Myth 1: You can eat as many carbohydrates as you like since you exercise and train so hard.

• Truth: There is a great saying “No work out can out work a bad diet”. The reality is that too much of anything will yield negative results. ALL Carbohydrates are broken down to sugar and too much carbohydrate intake (even healthy ones) will spike your blood sugar levels, cause an over release of Insulin and cause you body to store fat. Take a look around you and watch the people you know who overeat carbohydrates and exercise a lot, most of the time they have higher body fat levels and lack muscle tone. This is due to the overconsumption of carbohydrates and working at too high of a heart rate for too long of a time.
• Everything needs to stay in balance. Your body is a feed as it goes machine. The best way to look at this is by taking a baby's feeding routines into account. A baby will feed every 3 to 4 hours, eating balanced meals of all three nutrients - Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates, stop when satisfied and begin eating again when it is hungry. Our Nervous System uses Glucose (sugar) to create energy, so it relies on a steady balanced supply. When a baby grows (or you workout more one day than your other days), the body will need more fuel. It won't only need carbohydrates… it requires more balanced meals. The combination of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates within each meal creates a hormonal balance of your blood sugar levels which will maximize your results.

Myth 2: During high intensity cardiovascular exercise (Heart Rate above 160 BPM) of extended duration (60 minutes and above) you should eat many more carbohydrates before, during and after exercise to ensure you have enough energy to maximize performance. (I will do my best to keep this answer as non scientific as possible)

• Truth: Your body does require more overall Calories (carbohydrates, protein and fat) during high intensity exercise due to the fact that you are mostly burning glucose during the activity. The old philosophy is that loading up on Carbohydrates before an event would maximize your glucose (sugar) reserves for the activity. Unfortunately that is not the case. When too many carbohydrates are consumed your body will store fat and some of the glucose will also be stored to be utilized for energy. The challenge with this is that the stored glucose (sugar) in muscle tissue lacks something called a Glucose 6 Phosphate, all this means is that the sugar in each particular  muscle can only be used for that muscle and cannot be accessed for blood sugar. So any extra glucose your body requires will be taken from the amino acids (protein) in your muscle mass. In essence, your body begins to cannibalize itself. For these reasons, carbohydrate loading before, during or after an event will completely work against you.
• Of course, you definitely need to feed yourself before, during and after the training. The key is to feed yourself a balanced meal of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates - preferably low glycemic ones - and high quality food before and after training. During High Intensity Cardio of extended duration training (marathon, triathlon, extended high intensity cardio, etc...) you are best to either eat a piece of a protein bar or a have a portion of a protein shake every 15 minutes. Make sure the protein bar and protein shake match your balanced nutrient ratios.
• This type of consistent feeding will provide your body with a steady supply of Glucose. It will also keep your liver Glucose stores full. Keeping these stores full is critical because the Glucose found in the liver is the only stored Glucose that can be converted into blood sugar. Now, the liver can only hold approximately 400 grams of glucose at any given time... This is why Carbohydrate Loading will not work.

Myth 3: To maximize performance you must eat a lot of Heavy Carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, etc) the night before an event.

• Truth: The same information from Myth 2 applies to Myth 3. The overall philosophy of carbohydrate loading was to provide the body with a high amount of stored glucose (sugar) so it could utilize these stores during an event. As we discussed above, it is physiologically impossible. This means that all carbohydrate loading will do is store more fat and end up keeping the body's blood sugar levels unstable. You can see this by reviewing the High Blood Sugar Chart provided here.
• The answer is to consistently feed your body high quality balanced meals before, during and after the event. This will maximize your performance.

Myth 4: During the event you should be consistently taking in glucose (sugar) supplements to keep your energy consistent.

• Truth: I think you are now seeing the theme... all your meals should be balanced and you should feed your body as you go, meaning as you output energy, make sure you are consistently replacing that energy.
• All pure sugar replacements do is quickly go through your digestive system and spike your blood sugar levels. Physics says that what goes up, must come down... The same thing applies to your blood sugar levels, and that kind of reaction will drastically affect your performance. When using glucose supplements you will eventually have an energy crash. They will also cause irregularities in your blood sugar and affect recovery time.
• The solution is to consistently feed on a protein bar or protein shake as explained in myth 2.
• Of course, there will be times where you will “Hit the Wall” meaning your body seemed to burn more fuel than you expected and you experience low blood sugar. If this happens, taking a glucose supplement is recommended (always have one available for these types of emergencies) and then evaluate what happened so you can create a solution to prevent it from occurring again.

Myth 5: After the Event you should eat many carbohydrates so you can refuel your body's low glucose (sugar) supply.

• Truth: There is an Old Philosophy about the “Window of Opportunity”, meaning after an event your body is in such a deficit it needs to take in a large amount of food, especially carbohydrates, to recover and maximize performance. Once again this will only lead to spiking your blood sugar and storing fat.
• Imagine if there is not a deficit, what if you fed your body correctly and balanced through the event and never hit a blood sugar low?
• If you never hit a blood sugar low there is never a need to over consume carbohydrates. The reality is this: if you can prevent the Ups and Downs of your blood sugar and keep you body in a constant state of homeostasis (internal balance) you will train, perform and recover much more efficiently and effectively.

This brings me to a great success story of a Professional Tennis Player I worked with. Brendan Zackey came to me wanting to improve his endurance and overall speed and recovery on the court. He was fit and trained about 4-5 hours a day… and his nutrition was all mostly carbohydrates. His body fat was too high and it affected his ability to out perform players who had a higher tennis skill set. After three months of implementing the Venice Nutrition System and taking on these High Intensity Cardio Recommendations I've explained, his body composition greatly improved and he quickly became a higher ranked tennis player. His mental focus, endurance, strength and recovery all went from a 5 out of 10 to an 9 out of 10 (10 being the best). Brendan can now out perform his competition because he understands how his body utilizes fuel and he then implements that knowledge to maximize his performance.

As this article shows, there's misinformation everywhere …. I too bought into it at one time, that was of course until I could see the holes and inconsistency in the information I was working from. Myths like these are easy to spot if you choose to become educated on how your body works. Once you make that choice and let go of what you think or what others say works and actually start spending time understanding the body, you will then have the tools to achieve all of your Health Goals and Maximize Performance.

We are finally in a place where all the information is now available and that is a great place to be, because your success is now up to you…. I invite you to remember these 5 Truths, lets go of the 5 myths, and begin implementing some of these suggestions. Do that, and you will take your sports performance to the next level!

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You Asked | We Answered

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Q:What are some easy ways to keep my digestive system on track?

A:You can create a healthy digestive track and stay “regular” by making small steps to improve your sleep, nutrition and exercise, supplementation, water intake and stress levels. Getting restful and consistent sleep, along with utilizing relaxation techniques to manage your stress levels and relax bowel muscles can help to improve your digestion. Aim for approximately 25-30 grams of fiber per day by including high fiber foods as your carbohydrate choices into your diet such as whole grains (like brown rice and whole wheat bread), fruits and vegetables. Regular exercise will also help to keep your digestive track moving. Drink a minimum of 8 to 10 glasses of water per day and even more when hot or exercising. And lastly talk to your Nutrition Coach about which supplements, such as probiotics and digestive enzymes, may help to ease your symptoms and restore balance.

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