By Steve Bechtel
There are few areas in human performance and health that are more contentious than nutrition. From people selling prepackaged meals, to convincing us we’re eating “toxic” foods, to diet cults, it seems that everyone knows exactly how you should eat. Many of us change directions frequently, don’t get the results we’d like, and change directions again. We listen to podcasts, try a powdered supplement, or get fed up and throw the whole idea out for a few days.
The fact of the matter is that we have to eat, and a big part of being a human animal is finding a way to keep our energy up and our stress around it down. This is where the input of a good nutrition coach can be really helpful.
One of the things that is so simple about training is that it is an “approach” process, meaning we simply have to show up for an hour or two, do some fun exercises or climbs, and that box is checked for the day. In contrast, our nutrition is of constant concern. We can go several hours without food, but there is discomfort. What’s more, food is almost always available to us and the stuff sitting in the breakroom at work is usually not what’s best for us.
Having a few guidelines helps, and having someone to help create these is invaluable. Instead of thinking in terms of hiring someone to build a meal plan for you and send you an app to help track macros (which rarely is effective), you should think of a nutrition coach as you would a climbing guide. They’re there to show you a path up the mountain, there to help in times of difficulty, but they can’t do the climbing for you.
Start Where You Are
In Leo Babuta’s book, The Power of Less, he discusses how hard it is for people to make changes in their habits. He explains that if we try to make a single change, such as “eating 3 pieces of fruit each day,” about 70% of us will succeed in eventually making it a habit. If we try to make two changes, our success rate drops to around 30%, and more changes than that are almost unmanageable.
Think back to the last time you decided to try a new diet. Going from a “normal” diet of a variety of foods to Keto, Vegan, or what have you is made up of dozens of changes all at once—no wonder almost every new diet fails! But what if you looked at your new diet not as a quick fix, but a long-term behavior change? What if you took today’s menu and simply added a little more water, aimed for a new recipe, or tried to get to sleep 15 minutes earlier? Too often our desires for results ask more than we can give. Having help with figuring out what to do and how quickly it’s going to work is essential.
Fail. Then assess, plan, and try again.
Figuring out how to do anything worthwhile takes some testing. You have to try stuff, and then be a scientist when it comes to assessing its merits. Every good training program, nutrition intervention, or long-term plan is a result of failing, assessing, and re-trying. A good nutrition coach won’t start by telling you to download an app and to track macros and limit calories. Research shows that this, too, almost never works. Instead, they’ll suggest you try small changes, make emotionless assessments, and then adjust.
Not sure where to begin?
We have training plans available for any level athlete!
No bad foods.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of dogma. It’s easy to listen to a convincing voice on this or that podcast, hear about the virtues of some foods and the evils of others and decide to eliminate a type of food or even a whole macronutrient family from your diet. And you will feel different. You may even lose a bunch of weight the first week or so. The important thing is that acute changes rarely result in long-term benefits. In fact, a good nutrition coach would let you know that long-term improvements rarely result in “feeling” anything right away. You might start drinking more water or moving away from eating late or changing portion sizes slightly, but you’re not going to rock your own world.
Your coach will help you navigate in the direction of better choices, and will help you have the patience to see these results through. Instead of beating yourself up about eating certain things, they will help you understand why your eating is taking this pattern and whether or not it is a necessary and sustainable change.
Following simple guidelines.
Most importantly, any true expert is going to make the subject matter easier for you to understand rather than harder. Your nutrition coach will give you clear goals, easy-to-follow guidelines, and a flexible plan for success. It’s not about what you can get done with some hardcore suffering over the next 2 weeks, but what you can get done simply and sustainably over the next 2 years. It's actually much easier than you'd expect. You just have to give it the time it deserves.
When we've tried a thing for what seems like a hundred times, it's easy to give in to despair.
"I'll never feel that energetic ever again."
"I'll never perform well on rock because I get so tired mid-day."
"I can't seem to maintain a consistent and healthy weight."
If it really were about crazy diets and highly restrictive eating, let me tell you—people would be able to do it. But the best path to better health, performance, and recovery might be a lot less painful. You just need someone who can look at it from a different perspective, and help you find the way.
ABOUT STEVE BECHTEL
Steve is the founder of Climb Strong, and is proud to be the worst coach on the Climb Strong team. A climber for nearly 40 years, he has traveled to globe bouldering, sport climbing, and doing first ascents of some of the world's biggest walls.
Steve has a plan for this winter, and knows it will take some time.
He is education director of the Performance Climbing Coach organization, and is the author of several books on training for climbing. He can eat an entire tray of Rice Krispy treats in one sitting. He lives in Lander, Wyoming, with his wife Ellen, and children Sam and Anabel.
Tags: climbing coach, coaching, hiring a coach, Nutrition, Steve Bechtel