Last Saturday I went surfing and I experienced a perfect performance day. I have been experiencing these days quite often lately. I already wrote what perfect performance day means in my previous PPD article. It is a day when I am able to do certain demanding physical activity with surprising ease. That kind of performance usually lasts all day, if I stick to certain principles.
I was in the water for about 3 hours, waves were about 8 feet tall, it was kind of cold, foggy morning, simply perfect northern California surfing conditions. And water is about 57 degrees which creates an environment that sucks the energy out of you at an incredible fast rate. The current was strong, which means a lot of pedaling and that means great cardiovascular exercise and that also means large calorie expenditure.
I usually catch first wave when I get behind the break, so it was a constant moving up and down, pedaling and catching waves. After years of performing in competitive rowing I can easily tell what my heart rate is based on my feeling and intensity I am in. It is a pretty common for an athlete or person who constantly monitors his heart rate to know what his heart rate is at the moment, even without using heart rate monitor. My heart rate was ranging between 140-180 beats per minute, which is very intensive for 3 hours activity. Surfing gets very demanding on cardiovascular system especially on a big day, when currents are very strong and waves are large.
It is very intensive state to hold heart rate that high and for that long. But I felt incredibly well and strong for entire 3 hours. I managed to ride about 30 large waves that day, getting out of the water still kind of fresh. My surfing partners had been already waiting for me for an hour on the shore and they wanted to leave. Since we all ride in 1 car, I was the last one they were waiting for. They are great athletes and they are very fit, but somehow they never last as long in the water as I do. Could that have something to do with what they eat before we go surfing?
Why did I feel so great, and performed so well?
I am certain, that the main reason and difference in my performance were my rich in protein breakfast and other rich in protein meals throughout the day.
My breakfast that day consisted of 5 eggs fried on the pan on olive oil and 2 apples. That kind of breakfast contains about 30 grams of protein, lots of good fat (olive oil) and great low glycemic carbohydrates (apples) and as incredible as it sounds it is also low on calories.
I know, eggs have a bad reputation because of they’re cholesterol content and many people are simply scared to eat them. But if you are reasonably intelligent and did your research, you know, that egg is a super healthy power food. The combination of nutrients in egg, yes cholesterol too are actually great for your heart health, not bad for your hearth and arteries as the popular myth suggests. I usually eat about 10-20eggs per week.
I am not suggestin that you too should eat 5 eggs for breakfast. You should eat as many as it is appropriate for your body structure. I am 6’3″ and190 lb. and I find that about 5 eggs – 30 grams of protein is just right for nutritious breakfast before long intensive physical activity for me. If you are only 150 lb., 2-3 eggs and 1 apple would be enough for you. You have to experiment a little with amount you eat and find out what works best for you. You can follow this guideline of how much protein should you eat per day based on your activity level and your lean body weight.
I didn’t pollute my body with some processed white flour English muffin that says that it’s whole grain, sweet danish or doughnut and sweetened beverage like orange juice. Yes, I know, these stuff taste great and I really like foods like that, we all do, we are programmed to like stuff that are bad for us. But I am certain that I wouldn’t last very long in that cold fast moving ocean had I have breakfast like that.
Lesson: If you want to perform well, even great throughout your day, it doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, office worker, construction worker or piano repairer, having rich in protein breakfast and eating only natural carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables in all other meals in your day is a must. Not having enough protein in your meal can decrease your overall performance by more than 50 percent. And it doesn’t matter how fit you are.
Of course, to perform well at some intensive heard athletic activity, in this case surfing 3 hours, it requires you to be physically ready.
If you have great quality meal high in protein and low in bad carbohydrates it will greatly improve your performance. But if you are already fit and trained and you eat garbage, you will most likely perform like garbage too.
For weekend warriors, who don’t do much of a physical activity over the week, pick only activities you can handle, stick with it for a while eat well and than push yourself harder.
No, diet doesn’t play big roll on your overall physical and mental performance and well being, it plays huge roll in it. Don’t ignore it.