The Baseball Challenge

Nate and I hope you had a great Christmas.  We want to ask you how you feel.  Are you feeling sluggish and tired?  Are you experiencing mood swings? headaches? etc.

If you are you are not alone.  This time of year many people feel sick because of what they have eaten.  They give themselves permission to take a break from their regular routines and gorge themselves with food (sugars) that isn’t the best for them (empty calories)  I know this may be a boring topic for many because we all love food and many of us struggle eating unhealthy food but why do we continue to do it?

If you are a real athlete.  One who wants to take your game to the next level; you cannot ignore what you put into your body.  You literally are what you eat.  The problem with most little league players and high school players is they eat like garbage and they don’t necessarily get fat so they look okay on the outside but they wonder why they feel sick on the field at times, sluggish and not at their best.

Let’s talk about Sugar for a second and how bad it truly is for us.

I don’t mean the naturally occurring types of sugars.  I am talking about the flat out SUGARY treats and foods that are totally packed with sugar.

Why does it matter if you eat refined sugar?

Sugar has been linked to a host of issues that can ruin your health including:

Sugar is addictive

Sugar will make you FAT

Sugar slows your metabolism

Sugar can suppress the immune system (sick!)

Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides (fat!)

Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function (injury!) Pitcher’s be careful!

Sugar can cause premature aging

Sugar contributes to obesity

Sugar can cause arthritis

Sugar can contribute to heart disease

Sugar can decrease growth hormone (we need that for recovery!)

Sugar can change the structure of protein (weaken muscles and disrupt muscle repair)

Sugar can cause headaches

Sugar can cause depression

Sugar causes constipation (nice!)

The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more FAT in the bloodstream than it does starch

My challenge to you is to REMOVE SUGAR FROM YOUR DIET THIS WEEK!

JUST TRY IT!  It’s only ONE week!  If it seems overwhelming…then just commit to ONE day.  Then, after successfully doing it for ONE day…try it another day!  Then another!  Break this challenge down into HOURS if you need to.  Tell yourself:  “I am not going to eat sugar for the next three hours.”  Then after you successfully do that, see if you can increase the challenge for yourself.  Don’t forget to tell yourself how AWESOME you are for doing this!

I think this is the perfect time of year to start getting rid of all of the crappy food you eat.  Most of us adults commit to our health every January.  Some of us last a few hours and others a few days, even a month or two.  The sad thing is that we won’t commit to our health for a lifetime which is what we all know we need to do.

We are ADDICTED to sugar!  Did you know that sugar is just one chemical bond from being a DRUG?

So….we LIKE sugar.  I know I DO!  But, I also know that when sugar is absent from our daily nutrition intake…our bodies function better and we (eventually) feel better and don’t CRAVE it like we do when we are eating it on a regular basis.

Your first 2-3 days are going to be very challenging because sugar is everywhere and we really are addicted to it!  But, don’t give in to the cravings!  Stay strong and SUBSTITUTE a healthy fruit or veggie when you want that treat.  You will be SO proud of yourself at the end of the week when you see that you were the MASTER of your body and didn’t let an external stimulus (SUGAR) master you!

You can do this!!  By the way, don’t tell yourself tomorrow is the day you will start because tomorrow never comes.  Commit to the challenge now!

We want to hear about your progress with this challenge in February.  Let us know how you do.

Start the new year off with our new Baseball DVD series which includes some outstanding baseball workouts in there.  Time to get into the daily routines that make you great!