For some people, they can tell if their nutrition plan is working because they can see the numbers on the scale dropping week by week. Some people purely look at their sports performance as a gauge of if their nutrition plan is working or not.
But constantly getting on the scales and measuring sports performance aren’t strategies that work for everyone.
Over the next few articles we’ll be outlining some of the ways we help our clients figure out if their nutrition plan is working or not without needing to step on the scales or even care that much about performance in or out of the gym…
Are you stronger and do you have more endurance?
When people first start paying real attention to their nutrition they can feel hungry (but that’s why they work with us so that this isn’t a big drama) and feel like they’re not making much progress until they stick at it for a while and suddenly find themselves bouncing out of bed, being energised in the gym and maybe even thinking about doing something active on the days that you’re not in the gym
How can you tell if you’re making progress?
- – You’re able to use the same weight but through a longer range of motion
Your squat has got deeper in the gym and your knees and hips are protesting less when you’re around the house.
- – Your muscles don’t feel as sore
Being a bit sore in the days after a tough workout is normal and is to be expected as your muscles have been subjected to a bunch of tiny tears that need to be rebuilt to get stronger. But if you’re making better choices in the kitchen you’re probably getting more of the right nutrients to reduce the soreness and rebuild you even faster.
- – Your energy levels are higher
As well as doing more work inside the gym, you’re also doing more stuff more often – whether it’s playing with your kids or getting out and about more – it takes less out of you and you’re happier when you’re doing it.
- – You feel fresher and are recovering better
Your body feels better when you fuel it with real, nutritious food. It can process your food better, it can make more of the hormones and enzymes that you want and just make you feel better all round.