Scrutinize your daily diet. Begin by answering the self-assessment questions on the next two pages. After that, the information on pages 18-25 will help you gauge the value of what you have been eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks — and provide strategies for making your meals and snacks as nutritious as possible. From there, you can move on more knowledgeably to the recipes themselves.
Special high-nutrient sports drinks are promoted as helping to restore your energy. But according to a report from the American Dietetic Association, the primary nutrient that you need to replace when exercising is plain water. Bather than waiting until you are thirsty, drink a glass of water 20 minutes before you exercise, at 20-minute intervals during exercise and again after you exercise. And drink cool. water — it is absorbed more efficiently than warm, water.
