La dieta di Steve Nash

THE NASH DIET

Apparently my diet has gotten some attention recently since Shaq told the world he is on the 'Nash' diet. Some of my teammates including Shaq have asked me what I eat and it's turned into a big point of conversation in the locker room, on the team bus and on the plane. It's now to the point that guys are policing each other's caloric intake and food choices. Jared Dudley, the most interested player who has lost over 10lbs, initially asked Grant Hill and I what our diets were like to keep in shape after all these years (a backhanded complement but we let it slide because of his genuine interest.).
I never thought of what I eat as a particular diet or thought to name it like most diets today. It's really just a natural evolution of my interest in being the best athlete I can be and being a healthful person who prevents injury and illness and can perform at my highest level. I realized sometime in college that I couldn't eat everything I wanted anymore and stay skinny. Not that I had terrible habits but the liberation of an all you can eat buffet known as a college cafeteria was a big step backwards and a learning experience from the thoughtful home cooked meal plan my Mom had me on for the 18 years prior to college. My Mom always made sure we had balanced meals or at least a balance week of meals and almost always had the house free of cookies, cakes, donuts and sodas. We'd have ice cream after dinner but even when there were cookies in the house they'd usually be hidden. This was probably also driven by financial reasons. Why buy a bunch of crap that's not good for you when we really can't afford it anyways?
Since I was a junior in college I started to watch what I eat more carefully and listen and learn what I could from the world around me. What I knew then is much different that what I know now and hopefully I'll continue to learn more about diet and nutrition for the rest of my life. I feel there are two areas of life that are greatly overlooked, misunderstood or not credited with their importance in our ability to reach our optimal levels of performance and also our greatest quality of everyday life. Diet and sleep. Maybe some other time I'll write about sleep.
Fortunately, for me I've always loved fruits and vegetables. Actually, I've always liked everything and could at least cut out the bad stuff and resort to things I loved: fruits, vegetables and grilled fish and chicken. I used to eat Lots of pasta and rice but now I only eat brown rice or pasta made from a natural food source on occasion. Basically what I've tried to do is cut out all the bad sugars, fats and processed foods from my diet.

Just to make my life more difficult, my wife urged me to see her naturopath and have a blood test to find my food sensitivities. Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to wheat, gluten, dairy and even two of my favorite vegetables - tomatoes and onions (there goes salsa, one of my favorites and maybe the healthiest part of my beloved Mexican food.). Our naturopath will also give me regular IV's of vitamins and trace minerals that may be low due to training, competing, traveling and stress.

I believe that eating six smaller meals a day is more healthful than eating three larger meals a day but that can be difficult with our schedule. So much of our time is spent training, playing, traveling and sleeping that I just do what I can. It always helps to plan ahead especially when you're traveling and eating out all the time. I generally eat three good-sized meals a day and supplement them with good snack foods. When we're traveling the snack foods can be extremely important to take with because you often will get stuck at a restaurant or hotel without good options.
Here's how my day usually looks.
Breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day.... along with lunch and dinner. I feel if your diet is consistent and well balanced (think long term rather than short term) it isn't so important what you eat right before you play or the night before because your energy levels and recovery will be on target from the quality of your previous three to seven days of meals.

 -Gluten and wheat free cereal, sliced almonds and almond or rice milk. (If you don't have the sensitivities I have look for a high fiber cereal. At least 4 grams of fiber.)

I will also have a whole fruit smoothie or an apple, banana or orange.

Green tea.

Lunch. A salad with grilled chicken or fish, vegetables, raw nuts and dried fruit.

I will also have fruit afterwards.

Dinner. Grilled or baked fish or chicken with vegetables. Sometimes I'll have brown rice.

Again, plan ahead. If you get hungry between meals have a plan as to what foods you'll turn to and make sure you have plenty of them so your only options aren't will power or ice cream. My snack foods are, dried fruit, whole almonds or whole cashews. All natural, raw foods energy bars. Raw vegetables like carrots and celery. Whole fruit or whole fruit smoothies. It goes without saying drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated. If you feel like you need electrolytes coconut water has the highest concentration of electrolytes but if your diet is good you should have plenty of electrolytes.

If this diet sounds boring it can be if you don't like fruits, vegetables and grilled, steamed or baked chicken or fish. On the other hand there's so many healthful ways to prepare your food and there's tons of fruits and vegetables that offer you slightly different nutritional values and tastes. It may take a lot of discipline and time to train yourself to eat well but it's incredibly worthwhile for your short term and long term goals.

SN