Nutrition Energy Zappers & Symptom Starters

By: Anita Nall Richesson (Olympian, Nutrition & Wellness Expert)

In my last article, the number one key in achieving an elite mindset with food was linking what you eat with how you feel. Olympic Gold Medalist Dana Vollmer shared that “listening to her body and understanding the signals” has been a real key to her success since working with me on her nutrition years ago. “Learning about nutrition has made a dramatic change to my training and is one of the keys to my success”, says Vollmer.

So, how can you link what you eat with how you feel? What are the possible signals your body might be sending to let you know a particular food might not be working? The following sample assessment is what I use with clients to gauge their health.

ENERGY	JOINT & MUSCLES	WEIGHT
Fatigue ___ Sluggishness ___ Hyperactivity ___ Restlessness ___ Erratic energy ___	Pain in joints ___ Arthritis ___ Stiffness ___ Aches in Muscles ___ RLS ___	Binge eating ___ Cravings ___ Excessive weight ___ Compulsive eating ___ Water Retention ___
EARS	EYES	SKIN
Itchy ears ___ Ear aches ___ Ear infections ___ Ringing in ears ___ Hearing Loss ___	Watery eyes ___ Itchy eyes ___ Dark Circles ___ Swollen eyelids ___	Acne ___ Hives, rashes ___ Hair loss ___ Hot flashes ___ Excessive sweating ___
EMOTIONS	MOUTH & THROAT	NOSE
Mood swings ___ Anxiety, fear ___ Depression ___ Aggressiveness ___ Nervousness ___ Irritability, Anger ___	Chronic coughing ___ Gagging ___ Often clear throat ___ Sore throat ___ Canker sores ___ Swollen Tongue ___	Stuffy Nose ___ Sinus Problems ___ Hay Fever ___ Sneezing attacks ___ Excessive Mucus ___
DIGESTION	HEAD	OTHER
Diarrhea ___ Constipation ___ Bloated ___ Belching ___ Passing Gas ___ Stomach Pains ___	Headaches ___ Faintness ___ Dizziness ___ Insomnia ___ Poor concentration ___ Brain Fog __	Frequent illness ___ Urgent urination ___ Frequent urination __ Frequent UTI’s ___ Frequent yeast infections __ Period problems___

Rate the following symptoms on a scale of 1-10. If you do not experience the symptom, leave it blank.

1——————————————-5————————————————10

Minimal effect/impact Moderate Severely impacts your life

Now, add up ALL of your numbers from the assessment to get your total and compare with the scorecard below.

Score	Assessment
0-25	Amazing Health! On the right track, look to see where you could refine your diet even more. Don’t stop!
26-40	Good health overall! Could use some fine-tuning to get to amazing status.
41–55	Warning Zone! Turn it around now before your body really lets you know its’ not happy.
56 & up	Yikes! Consider a major diet overhaul to achieve your goals.

I’m not saying you HAVE TO feel amazing in order to have a breakthrough performance. Our minds can certainly push past our ‘feelings’ at any given moment and overcome many circumstances. However, we can assert that, the more vibrant and energized you feel day in and day out at practice, the higher your performance capacity will be. If you are chronically plagued with migraine headaches and sinusitis like I was, it will take its toll at some point and decrease your capacity to perform. Energy spent handling ear infections and sore throats is unavailable energy for your training time.

How can you reduce your numbers from above? Reducing foods that encourage symptoms and zap energy is your first step. Here are the top energy zappers & symptom-makers that I regularly see in my work:

Foods w/ added sugars & chemical sweeteners
Processed foods Whole Foods
Toxic Oils (soybean, hydrogenated & other vegetable oils)

Here are some simple switches you can make to get a jump on removing some of the above ingredients from your daily diet.

INSTEAD OF THIS	TRY THIS
Traditional grocery store applesauce	All Natural, unsweetened applesauce
Traditional peanut butter	Natural, non-hydrogenated peanut butter
High sugar, dry cereal w/milk, or Flavored oatmeal in packets	Warm crock pot mixed whole-grain porridge or oatmeal w/ berries & honey
Nesquick or Carnation Chocolate Milk	Unsweetened chocolate almond milk w/ vanilla stevia (Almond Breeze Brand)
Mini bite sized candy bars	Chocolate dipped dates (homemade w/ low sugar chocolate)
Corn syrup or sugar sweetened jelly/jam	ALL fruit spread (no sugar or corn syrup, just fruit)
Soda	Sparkling mineral water or seltzer & a little juice OR Mineral water & flavored stevia. Try Zevia soda or Steaz
Pasta	Spaghetti Squash
Fruit Roll Up	Real, all fruit leather
Salted or sweetened nuts	Raw nuts
Traditional Chips	Avocado or Olive Oil Chips

Stay tuned for my next article, “Ingredient Reading vs. Label Reading”. It will teach you an invaluable skill that will empower you in your elite nutrition journey.

BIOGRAPHY

Setting the swimming world ablaze at the young age of fifteen with 2 world records in one day propelled Anita into the fast lane of success. After swimming for the cycle (gold, silver, and bronze) in the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona, many health challenges hampered her attempts at returning to an Olympic level. Challenged by a series of “mystery illnesses” that lasted a decade after the Olympics, Anita rediscovered health through food. Traditional medicine’s failed healing attempts drove her towards a personal quest for wellness and a passionate understanding of the healing power of food. Her profound experiences with illness, healing and professional athletics have given her a unique perspective she shares with clients.

After completing her undergraduate degree in Communications and Spanish from Arizona State University she pursued holistic nutrition education at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona. Anita is a Certified Holistic Nutrition Specialist, Certified Life Coach and accomplished motivational speaker. Anita is also an elite member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Anita coaches clients on how to become the CWO (Chief Wellness Officer) of their own lives through her company Feed Me Anita. She completed 3 NFL seasons as Nutrition Consultant for the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Football Team. She works with various elite professional athletes including UFC fighters, boxers & world-class swimmers as well as major corporations around the country. She recently began another business called More Than Medals. It is an empowerment program for teenage female athletes that centers around motivation, nutrition & increased self-esteem. www.morethanmedals.us

Read the following articles to learn more about Anita:

How Anita helped guide the NFL team the Jacksonville Jaguars.

How Anita caught Dana Vollmer’s food allergies and helped her get on the right nutritional track to succeed at the Olympics.

By: Anita Nall Richesson (Olympian, Nutrition & Wellness Expert)