A few days ago, I had a major fitness breakthrough. I cranked through more pull ups than I’ve ever done in my life. 8 + 6 + 6. I have never been able to do 8 pull ups in a row, let alone two follow up sets of 6 each. And I’m pushing 40. I was elated! Pull ups are an exercise I have long struggled with. And I’m turning 40 this year.
I’m sharing because I think my breakthrough has largely been due to nutrition. First, about a year ago, I started trying various different diets, Paleo, Whole 30, low-carb, low-glycemic index, etc. I did not really lose any weight on any of these diets (nor was I trying to), but I found I do better on lower carb diets of pretty much any kind: more energy, more muscle, lower body fat, better performance, near elimination of hangry moments.
Throughout this endeavor, I repeatedly came across the notion that I probably should be eating more protein for my body size. Two weeks ago, after a convincing conversation with a good friend who was also making a more concerted effort to increase protein intake, I gave a higher protein diet (my target is 150 – 160 grams per day) a try. Ten days later, I’m busting out more pull ups that ever before.
I suppose I’m sharing this because it has taken me so damn long to figure out that nutrition is so much more important to health than I ever gave it credit for. And now I want to help others to learn what I’ve discovered. For me, proper nutrition is turning out to be the foundation component for my day-to-day well-being. Sure, exercise, sleep, and time with friends and family are all important, too, but nutrition has the most noticeable effect and figuring this out has been like finding a skeleton key to health.
Good luck and good eating
