How Important Is Nutrition To Exercise And Your Health

I have been working as a fitness trainer for twenty years. I must admit I have come to look at my job position as less of a trainer, and more of a health practitioner. I realize now more than ever the importance of nutrition – and the consequences of the lack thereof. When I look at blood work that contains general wellness panels, the truth is always in the dietary practice. It’s been said before, but seeing is believing – you cannot out-train a poor diet. So how important is nutrition when it comes to exercise and your health? Here’s my experience.

I have had clients who have trained for two half hour sessions per week and clients who have trained for five one-hour sessions per week. Two particular instances stand out – a client logging the two thirty-minute per week workouts also embraced healthy eating and macronutrient logging, and one doing the five one-hour sessions, who did not make any dietary changes and continued eating out with decadence and maintaining no knowledge of daily and weekly caloric intake. How do you suppose their success played out?

My two-session- a-week client enjoyed the achievement of a cholesterol total that dropped below 200 – a lowered LDL profile with an improved HDL profile. No need to go on medication for cholesterol, and the feeling of empowerment and success.

The five-one-hour-session per week client continued with wine, rich “healthy foods” and stayed the same, with a small weight gain. I must tell you that this client worked MUCH harder during workouts, as I made the mistake of trying to work the weight off.

Let me be clear – this is how important nutrition is when applied to weight loss and blood profiles.

Newer beliefs now state how our musculature and connective tissue improve in quality with proper nutrition and hydration. There are many routes to take when making changes to your nutrition for success with both exercise and your overall health. Stay tuned as we will be going over some of these options in posts to come.