I have sent my Menu Planning series to the “Keeper of My List” (do you like how mysterious that sounds?) so that she may send out the final few posts to those that are signed up on my blog to make way for us to begin the next series:  Perform Beautifully.  If you are signed up you will receive how to liven up your menu and how to optimize your menu, the last two letters of the C.O.L.O.R. series.  For the rest of us, it is that time to move on.

I want to really take time in this post to really touch upon where I want to go with this and to whom I am actually speaking.  The minute I roll out the word beautiful I feel as if every man turns his ears off and every woman begins to think cosmetics or heavy creams.  You cannot be further from the truth for either.  For my male clients, I am going to hit you where it counts:  skin, hormones (i.e. sexlife—did I say that?) and your athletic performance.  For my female clients, I am going to hit you where I know you are sensitive:  emotions (hormones), overall outward appearance (skin/hair/nails/teeth) and your athletic performance. 

There is much to talk about with this topic but I am going to try to keep it brief in that this series will be no longer than 8 posts, most likely about 6 or so.  I am going to center them all on Tuesdays and Thursdays (off to a great start, *sigh*) so you know when to tune in to them.  I am interested in what you may want to know about in terms of performance nutrition so please feel free to either email me at Jodi@jodiojo.com or leave a comment below.  Much of what I will speak about will be in relation to you performing at your best while still maintaining your physique or getting the physique you have always wanted through performance, but I am willing to touch upon anything else if I can fit it into the lecture series. 

Perform beautifully.  You have heard me mention this before and now I have a whole series dedicated to it.  I love to see a body in motion operating to its fullest capacity.  I have been in the business of bodies for over 15 years now.  When I first began I really had no idea how much I was eventually going to love what I do.  I won’t go so far as to say it was a hobby, but I certainly did not think it was going to become my career.  I was a Mechanical Engineer who was very much in love with human side of the mechanics (I pursued biomechanical engineering—I have an extensive biology, anatomy, physiology and chemistry background) but truly missed the boat back then of how much poetry in motion surrounded me.  I had set in my mind that I was going to do prosthetics for a major company or design sneakers and etc. and I also taught aerobics and trained clients on the side.  As my engineering career developed I realized I had more of an impact on the bodies I love personally training them than I did developing products for them.  Enter a husband and some children and the rest is history as they say.

The human body is a true wonder that needs to be respected.  One of the themes that you will continually hear from me in this series is how much control we *don’t* have over our bodies.  Somehow, long ago, we became arrogant in believing that we control the inner workings of our body and that we can will it to do as we please.  With all the obesity and sickness in this world it is blaringly obvious how far from the truth this is so as we talk about what makes this gorgeous vessel of ours function, you are also going to learn how to respect it.  I have had my @ss handed to me by my body (now there’s a visual) and nothing will teach you humility more than stubborn weight loss, physical goals that you cannot accomplish or a disease. 

Let’s first start by just acknowledging what I mean by “you do not control your body so you will learn to respect it by the end of this series.”   Go grab a piece of candy.  Like a butterscotch or something.  Go ahead, eat it.  Now, stop your pancreas from secreting insulin.  Go ahead.  Stop it.  Oh, you can’t?  Ok, how about…don’t go to bed tonight or any other night this week.  Tell your body you are staying up and then try functioning at work. Futile?  Please lose 2 pounds by the time you are done reading this article.  Can’t?  I wonder why…  Ok, slow your breathing for 2 min. and then accelerate it for 3 min. without using exercise.  Can’t?  Hmph.   I thought you controlled your body?  No?  Then why are you so pissed when you cannot lose weight?  Why do you force yourself to workout aimlessly without off days or neglect to properly fuel it when it is obvious it needs replenishing?  I don’t understand…

If you want to master your body and push it to the farthest reaching point then you are going to have to realize that you have been given a gift (your body) and it is up to you to respect it and obey its limitations.  Bowing to the master of all masters requires you to fill it with the best foods for the activities you want to participate in, rest it when it needs to be rested and push it when it needs to be challenged.  After you have done all that, then it needs you to nurture it with love and affection (such as vitamins, post workout foods and etc.).  Does this sound like something you can handle?  Then let’s get to Performing Beautifully.  See you tomorrow..   

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