Fit Fare

According to the Oxford Encyclopedia English Dictionary, L athleta f. Gk athletes f. athleo contend for a prize (athlon)
1. a skilled performer in physical exercises, especially in track and field events
2. a healthy person with natural athletic ability

I would like to offer up a third alternative: a healthy person who trains and pushes herself athletically (whether or not she possesses a “natural athletic ability”).

It has taken me forever to identify myself as an athlete. I think it was finally this year that I could bring myself to think or even say aloud: “I’m a runner. I’m an athlete,” and actually believe it. And I know that I’m not the only who feels this way about myself. Yet I’ve been running somewhat consistently for the past six years. I must admit - I even started writing the Athlete Gourmet articles before I was seriously convinced that I was truly an athlete.

Why does this matter? Well, maybe it doesn’t.  For many people, believing that one is an athlete has little to do with anything other than self esteem. However, I tend to think that it is that one small change in mentality that determines who you are or can be.  Also, I believe that this belief is important when it comes to learning how to eat. If you are an athlete, and in this case, I mean more than moderately active, you need to understand the importance of properly fueling your body.

Maybe you don’t think you’re an athlete - you’re just a recreational health-motivated jogger, but you find yourself running 5 miles every other day and sometimes more. Or perhaps you play tennis several times a week, or just started a marathon training program for the very first time. Or maybe you’re an avid yoga person. If your activity level is definitely more than your average couch potato and possibly even more than the average American (which is not that hard a feat), you probably need to start thinking about your fueling needs. Several factors influence the amount of energy that you would need for your workouts. The type, intensity and frequency of training, as well as your size, age and gender are major factors that dictate your energy needs.

Still, if you aren’t convinced that you’re an athlete and may have more rigorous nutrition needs, the best thing to do is to listen to your body. Say it’s a weekday afternoon and you’re feeling sluggish as you head out for your after-work run. Your body is telling you something: it could be that the healthy salad that you had for lunch (low fat vinaigrette, hold the bread and butter) is not giving you the proper fuel to sustain you though your afternoon, let alone on a run.

Or maybe you’re finding that you can barely hold your poses during your bikram yoga session despite the fact that yesterday’s session was a piece of cake. It could be that the meal you had after that last session was not enough to help your body recover properly.

I think that identifying as an athlete has helped me keep my commitments to myself: keep myself from opting out of a run or choosing to laze on the couch instead of doing a strength workout. At the same time, it has made me more comfortable with my food choices: not feeling as guilty for having a dessert or eating that bread with my salad. But as I said, it was a title it took me a long time to come to terms with. If this is a struggle you’re having, I’d urge you to consider adopting the title of athlete and you may well find that the characteristics would very soon follow.