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| At least the grapevine is having a productive week... |
Sometimes, I have the need to step back, relax and regroup. That's what I've been doing this week. I've been battling some kidney issues, which is something that happens now and then, due to my 'designer kidney' playing up.
In 2003 one of my kidneys suffered a complete blockage and blew up to the size of a football. I was given the choice to have it removed or elaborately repaired, on the understanding that it would always under-perform. I opted for repair. This involved cutting some nerves and sometimes they act up, causing weird twitchy cramping in the muscle and ureter. It feels like something thrashing around inside me (you can feel it from the outside) and is very disconcerting. The Programmer calls it my alien baby.
The alien tends to get active when I've been training my abs, and I have been. Last weekend, while nursing some ab-DOMS, I got up from a kneeling in front of the CD player and felt a strong pulling sensation in the region of my very impressive scar. Then it started with the squirming and twitching and, seeing as it does feel a bit freaky, I suddenly felt all antisocial and a bit unmotivated. Ya know?
It's been two days since the alien baby stopped doing acrobatics, and now I'm into another sort of alien experience: sports nutrition. More about that in a later post, once I've gotten my head around it. For now, did you know that the nutritional recommendations booklet for olympic athletes is designed in partnership with Coca Cola and Powerade?
You can read it for yourself here.
What do you think? Could the emphasis on carbohydrate reflect the interests of the sponsors?
I'm not sure yet, but it does seem that protein is underemphasised, and as for fat? Fuggedaboudit. Just be sure to eat enough carbs.
I'll be back tomorrow with a breakfast buckwheat creation involving probiotic life-forms.
Corporate sponsorship has its downside, that's for sure. I wouldn't be at all surprised if recommendations were partially influenced by sponsorship dollars.
ReplyDeleteIt annoys me that sports nutrition recommendations always seem to assume that everyone is an endurance athlete. We don't all run marathons or ride in the Tour de France, so I seriously doubt we need the amount of carbohydrate that's usually prescribed. Hmm.
Yes, I would looove to have to eat 600g of carbs a day. I don't think I'd struggle that much to get it down either. I'm practically bottomless.
Deleteer.. when it comes to food. Not when it comes to bottoms.
DeleteOh, and I hope your alien baby is all settled now. That must be disconcerting, to say the least. :/
ReplyDeleteWow that Alien Baby sure sounds weird! I hope it doesn't hurt???
ReplyDeleteNo pain, just creepiness. Luckily it has gone back to sleep now. I just have to be careful with that part of my body. No epic ab exercises!
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