maybe been posted before...but who cares its a good read:
Lesson #8: Have 10% Foods
It's unfortunate that most trainees expect perfection from themselves. Perhaps it's because in athletics we're told stories of certain individuals giving 110%. As the great coach John Wooden says, "You can only give what you have and you only have 100%. No one is an overachiever. We're all underachievers to a different extent. I prefer to judge individuals on how close they come to 100%, knowing that no one can ever achieve perfection... "
If some trainees miss a single meal or eat one food not on their plan (regardless of the circumstances surrounding these less-than-perfect decisions), their failure to achieve that impossible 110% effort sets in motion a psychological chain of events that leads to frustration and the inability to get right back on the plan. It's as if once a single sub-optimal decision is made, the all-or-nothing mentality sets in and BAM, they're back to nothing.
But here's the rub. It doesn't have to be this way. In my 14 years as an athlete, weightlifter and coach, I've come to realize that 100% nutritional discipline is never required for optimal progress. The difference, in results, between 90% adherence to your nutrition program and 100% adherence is negligible.
So allow yourself the extra 10% wiggle room. Do you like frappuccinos at Starbucks? If so, have some during your 10% allotment. (Also, if you're a man and admit to liking frappuccinos, either get off the Clomid or take some TRIBEX immediately!) My favorite 10% food is pizza. Once or twice a week I allow myself to have some.
This 10% wiggle room will allow you the freedom to eat a few extra things not on your menu without the guilt and subsequent psychological crash that usually accompanies such perceived transgressions.
Lesson #8: Have 10% Foods
It's unfortunate that most trainees expect perfection from themselves. Perhaps it's because in athletics we're told stories of certain individuals giving 110%. As the great coach John Wooden says, "You can only give what you have and you only have 100%. No one is an overachiever. We're all underachievers to a different extent. I prefer to judge individuals on how close they come to 100%, knowing that no one can ever achieve perfection... "
If some trainees miss a single meal or eat one food not on their plan (regardless of the circumstances surrounding these less-than-perfect decisions), their failure to achieve that impossible 110% effort sets in motion a psychological chain of events that leads to frustration and the inability to get right back on the plan. It's as if once a single sub-optimal decision is made, the all-or-nothing mentality sets in and BAM, they're back to nothing.
But here's the rub. It doesn't have to be this way. In my 14 years as an athlete, weightlifter and coach, I've come to realize that 100% nutritional discipline is never required for optimal progress. The difference, in results, between 90% adherence to your nutrition program and 100% adherence is negligible.
So allow yourself the extra 10% wiggle room. Do you like frappuccinos at Starbucks? If so, have some during your 10% allotment. (Also, if you're a man and admit to liking frappuccinos, either get off the Clomid or take some TRIBEX immediately!) My favorite 10% food is pizza. Once or twice a week I allow myself to have some.
This 10% wiggle room will allow you the freedom to eat a few extra things not on your menu without the guilt and subsequent psychological crash that usually accompanies such perceived transgressions.