Nutrition & Athletic Performance - A week with Kit Dale
Before the start of Miss Organic and brief school teaching days, I worked in Rugby League and Netball. I have always been interested in how athletes fuel their bodies for enhanced performance in their chosen sport. I’ve seen professional rugby league players wolfing down post-match meals at the golden arches, one of my fave AFL players getting stuck into more powders and supplements than real foods and many sportspeople sucking down 'energy' drinks and salt tablets. When the majority of athletes stop training and competing, they lose their shape and health rapidly. A lot of players are also competing with and developing frequent injuries. I believe that the quality of nutrition plays a huge part in their success or demise, (this is the fuel we use to live and thrive each day) and am devoted to contributing to a positive change in strength, performance and general wellbeing in this area. I have noticed first hand how a change in diet and lifestyle has not only helped me lose body fat (from 80kg to around 55kg), but increased my level of wellbeing, my immune system is strong and I have not been sick in 5 years, (from taking antibiotics at least every two months). I could hardly run around the block and now enjoy medium distance running, can hop on my bike all morning and enjoy being active in general because I have the energy for it. I have also witnessed as well as researched great results from eating and living in harmony with nature’s design.
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Over the past few weeks, the Miss Organic home delivery and wellness inspiration service has been making an impact in athletic circles, particularly in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. I had the opportunity to deliver food and discuss nutrition and lifestyle with professional MMA star Jesse Taylor during his recent trip to Australia which helped him thrive, particularly increasing his energy levels, strength and recovery. As a result, I have been meeting other athletes keen to get the edge in their performance and general wellbeing through energy providing, organic raw food and lifestyle programs.
Jesse is hard in training back at home (USA) and will be fuelled by Miss Organic’s fresh organic produce on his return to Melbourne in the lead up to one of the biggest fights of his career against Hector Lombard on 3rd September.
( Jesse Taylor above with Team Quest Head Coach and Manager Heath Sims enjoying Green Smoothies).
Last Friday on visiting an MMA gym, I met Kit Dale, a talented young athlete in Jiu-Jitsu. I had heard about his achievements and was interested to know how he fuels his body for training and competition. After some discussions about nutrition, lifestyle and peak performance, Kit agreed to be mentored through a simple, high energy organic lifestyle plan starting today.
For this week, Kit will be eliminating all cooked and processed foods, eating organically and cutting out all stimulants. This is not just a change in diet, but will address key factors important to athletes including recovery/sleep habits and hydration. Based on the foundation principles of health from Dr Douglas Graham (for more info, read Nutrition and Athletic Performance and 80/10/10), Kit will be enjoying a high energy fruit based diet, ensuring he is getting enough calories to perform at his peak.
With Kit’s permission I will share what he has been eating of late.....
The day before I met Kit, it included: 4 crumpets with margarine and vegemite, 25 chicken nuggets, 7 microwaved crumb chicken pieces, fried rice, honey chicken, beef in blackbean sauce. The day I met Kit, it was 4 crumpets, half a roast chicken, 2 cups of tea… "How much water did you drink today Kit?" One cup.
Well Kit is going to have a great time on this fruit and veggie island! A cleansing experience. Kit has decided to go all raw and organic for 7 days, and based on his current nutrition intake, I have suggested a 2 week period, but we will leave it up to Kit to see how he is feeling, and how he enjoys the energy he receives from heavily increasing healthful foods and eliminating the other stuff.
Kit received his first organic delivery yesterday, equipped with some Doug Graham audio (Perfect Health Program), Chris Kendall’s two great books, a few recipes and with the determination, focus and great attitude that has seen him achieve much success in Jiu-Jitsu, Kit is ready and excited to give his body a big health boost!
The most important factor in enhancing performance and general wellbeing - Increase Quality of Fuel
Take care of your body like you would a well tuned, high performance, expensive sports car. Get the best fuel in for health, performance and longevity! There are many of Kit’s followers, MMA and Jiu-Jitsu fighters and athletes in general who still choose to eat cooked food and animal products and I respect each person for their decisions. I honestly believe that a ripe, raw, seasonal organic fresh produce diet accompanied with adequate rest, hydration, fresh air and sunshine are some of the keys to perfect health, which is my goal. This is living as closely as possible to the way our bodies were physiologically designed. The one message that I do promote and that I expect for all to see from Kit’s experience, regardless of whether you choose to consume, processed, cooked foods, supplements, animal products and so on.... is that an increase in raw, organic fruits and vegetables will enhance your training, performance and recovery time in your chosen sport. Its what our bodies were physiologically designed to enjoy and thrive on, remember there are no such things as supplement trees in nature ;)
And to all you budding athletes who want to get that edge in health and fitness and want to fuel your body right, you don’t need to search any further for Melbourne’s best quality, freshest organic and biodynamic food. Start shopping and we’ll bring it to your door, so you can spend more time training and achieving your health goals!
Start Shopping with Miss O!
Some of my blog posts about raw organic lifestyle and my healthy changes experienced by a change in diet
Recipe for My Healthier Body
Fruit = Friend not Foe
WHY I Eat Organic
How do I feel
Invest in your Wellness
Drink Up!
How much do you spend on 'food' each day
Seven Top Organic Produce Storage Tips
For those of you who are wondering where is Kit getting his energy, his protein, his fat and so on here are some really top resources that I highly recommend. I don’t believe anyone could possibly strike off this way of living as the ultimate way to live healthily, with high energy and avoid sickness, especially after reading all these materials.
- Dr Douglas Graham, this man has helped thousands on the path to perfect health and high athletic performance – Nutrition and Athletic Performance and 80/10/10, website: Food and Sport …the perfect start. Read these first, do not pass go do not collect $200 ;)
- Chris Kendall – The Raw Advantage
- Dr Campbell - The China Study
- Dr McDougall – www.drmcdougall.com , McDougall promotes cooked food as well as raw, but top information regarding wellness, sickness
- People to add and quiz on Facebook - Harley Johnstone/Durianrider Vegano, Grant Campbell, Tim Van Orden, Chris Kendall, Tyler Tolman, Marcus Patrick – raw food athletes and wellness presenters who've been doing this lifestyle for a while, with all the answers!
- My friend Ashley’s recent blog post, about the human diet
- The guy who shared the information that woke me up. Harley’s blog www.durianriders.org scroll down for some awesome blog posts and packed full of references, facts and training tips.
- Can’t get big on a vegan diet? Robert Cheeke begs to differ! www.veganbodybuilding.com
- My favourite activist Gary Yourovsky - The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear
- The movie: Earthlings
- Don Tolman - The Wholefood Medicine Man
A bit more about Kit:
A professional, driven athlete, Jiu-Jitsu purple belt and future world champion, trains between 2 and 6 hours daily, mixed intensity levels. Kit has won Gold medals at every State Championship, Australian Championship, and Pan Pacific Championship he has entered. The only Australian to have won 2 Gold and 1 Silver Medal at the prestigious Abu Dhabi Pro jiu-jitsu World Cup and a gold medal in the under 85kg purple belt division at the brasileiro in Rio De Janeiro Brazil.
Intentions for this week's Raw Food Adventure with Miss O
- Use food as fuel for enhancing performance
- Learn about the importance of healthy raw organic foods for a high energy, athletic lifestyle
- Take steps to achieving and maintaining ideal body weight
- Develop an understanding to how the body utilises food, carbohydrates, proteins and fats in their most natural form
- Improve digestive function and immune system
- Make an active start to implementing a healthy nutritious diet to increase strength, performance and overall wellbeing
- Reducing and eliminating cravings for low quality foods and stimulants
***The great thing about this way of living***
- it is a high energy lifestyle program, not only using food as fuel, but incorporating other lifestyle factors to enhance performance and wellbeing, including hydration and recovery.
- it is NOT a starvation program, although you may be cleansing out because of the heavy increase of raw organic ripe fruits and vegetables in your diet, you will feel a sense of increased energy and strength. You won't be calorie restricting, rather choosing more efficient sources of fuel.
- Although only one week commitment, you should notice a positive change, it will set the wheels in motion for a more permanent lifestyle changes and will notice a drop in excess body fat
- Compared to other nutrition programs, this one is sustainable, achievable, enjoyable and has been proven successful with high achieving athletes all over the world. (nothing more natural than ripe, raw and organic)
Some key points discussed in Kit's consults
· Ripe, raw, organic sweet fruits and tender green leafy veggies
- recipe ideas online, keep it simple www.missorganic.com.au
- fruit smoothies
- green smoothies
- fruit before salads – dinner
- mono meals
- eat your greens, enjoy salads that you would normally feed a whole family, to yourself
- be prepared, spend just 10-15 mins each morning getting your meals together if you’re on the road all day
- eat as much as you care for from your Miss Organic delivery, eat til you’re full
- go to sleep like Buddha, wake up like Ghandi ;)
· Digestion
- enhanced function/cleansing from current diet to raw organic
- food combining
· Hydration
- Drink 1 litre of water on waking up. Keep hydrated throughout the day
· Recovery
- sleep - recharge your batteries
- in harmony with nature’s cycles (with the sun) (reduce late night facebooking!)
· Fresh Air/Sunshine
· Detoxification as a result of changing diet rapidly
· Enjoyment – Keep It Simple
We only have one body, so take this opportunity to get the most out of it. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting, so if you want to get fitter, healthier, leaner, stronger, more vibrant and achieve your goals, take on Miss Organic's Wellness Adventure. Contact info@missorganic.com.au for more details
Stay tuned for Kit's progress!
