Nutrition is a constant battle with anyone who is either beginning to lose weight, or someone who has been on a regiment for years. It is a lifestyle, not a habit or trend. When it comes to sports and racing, quality nutrition is a tougher concept to comprehend than most may think. This is why the importance of discipline and consistency is critical to seeing amazing results and feeling even better internally over a long period of race time.

The Processed Food Debate

With so many different types of programs all promoting the easy solution, or the quick fix, it is easy for people to get lost in the mess of trash out there. Not to mention the amount of sugar controlling a vast majority of the food processing, making it almost impossible to get real, clean food. A simple process to follow is if it doesn’t grow on a tree, the ground, or is raised chemical free (animals included) then don’t touch it. In other words, stay away from processed foods. Anything that needs to be made by adding ingredients to create it.

The Nutrition Method

Staying in tune with what’s organic and what isn’t is the first step to recreating your body and its fat burning engine, your metabolism. The second big step to creating a healthy difference in your body is giving it a “shock” to the system. Eating at specified times, portion control, eating fresh foods, taking out things that are commonly eaten to not eating them at all. These methods will put your body in a spiral, which is needed to create a significant change in body composition. This could be drinking water, not soda. Taking out sugar completely from what your intaking. Consuming less or more foods dependent on the nutritional value associated with them. Getting enough sleep. And lastly, consistently being active in physical exercise. This will make the difference with how you perform especially under high tension, long duration periods for professional racers. In tough tracks, or endurance racing, its imperative to have a conditioned nutritional program to back up your race training. Dehydration and malnutrition will destroy the body and create fatigue or even cause dizziness while performing on the track. Hydration and nutrition with a methodical approach will pay dividends over the course of time and amplify your driving performance.

Know Your Body

This debate will always be something people will agree to disagree on, but its what works for you, your body, and your training. You may react differently to a different stimulus that your body will need. By creating a dramatic change in your normal, everyday life it will create a chain reaction that must be met with physical exercise and hydration for optimal results. There are hundreds of methods that can be found, but its up to you to stick to a plan and implement good practices to create the best results for your body. I trained diligently for triathlons and I know this to be true to the utmost. Moving easier, functioning efficiently, and feeling overall better will be what makes you the happiest and perform the best.

Nutrition is important even for professional race car drivers. Check out this video and article to see how race car drivers balance their own nutrition and hydration to stay alert on the track.