Does diet really matter much for anything in your experience?

When you are young, you can eat anything and you won't notice that it affects you, but it almost surely does affect you. For example, sugars and other foods increase inflammation, so it likely hurts your recovery process and you aren't able to train as hard you could with a healthy diet.

do you think a diet of 2000 calories a day from beer and donuts over a year will produce the same results as a diet of steak, fresh veggies and some fruit?

As I get older I notice that diet effects my sleep and energy levels more than it used to. In my 20s it felt like I could eat anything and still perform. Now bad diet hinders recovery and training quality.

That would be what I describe as an extreme diet. Read the OP for what I mean by eating “well”. I don’t think of alcohol as food, but donuts are food. Eating only donuts all day every day is very difficult and doesn’t qualify as “eating without thinking much”, the alternative to eating “well”.

My post wasn’t targeted at training so much as general health, but if we do focus on training, sugars would appear to be excellent fuel.

I’m like you and these days drink even less than once a week. Maybe that’s the reason why I don’t see a perfectly “clean” diet making any difference because my unthinking food choices are already good enough.

One warm and fuzzy, possibly woo woo theory I have is we all have innate tastebud and variety cravings that if we only tuned into carefully, the healthiest diet would be to just eat whatever we feel like eating most whenever we feel hungry. Guess this is not a new idea and pretty much what the “intuitive eating” school of thought is about.

Diet does matter, less in your 20s, some in your 30s, by your 40s you need to start to get it right. I am in my 50s and lousy diet makes me fat and lethargic. I am trying to make it on no meats, fried foods, empty calorie sweets, and way less processed food in general. I'm not being militant about it and cheat once or twice a month. My weight is better, cholesterol better, and my doctors don't fuss at me. Exercise wise, I guess it helps to eat right if you are chasing goals.

Inflammation is an important factor in recovery from workouts. Processed foods, sugar, alcohol, etc., contribute to such.

Eating healthy is one of the best things you can do for your long term health. Eat garbage for 50 years and see how you feel later in life.

Everything should be looked at as long term decisions and don't trade feel good now for feel good later.

It can go too far the other way and turn into a disorder or like Steve Jobs and his carrot intake but in general eating healthy food and getting enough sleep are two of the best things you can do for your 80 year old self.

Yes diet matters tremendously. In fact, diet along with sleep are the most important components of healthy living. You

OP. I get what you are talking about. When Weldon was competing, Super SIze me came out. I thought, "I should try to get Weldon an endorsement contract from McDonld's. I bet he could eat there every day and run just as fast."

I'm not as sure now. My wife worries a tone about what we are eating and the type of calories. Isn't it mainly about the number?

I eat pieces of sh!t like you for breakfast.

I've run all of my PRs since going vegan in 2017 even though I started running back in 2007. 17:12 to 16:31 for 5k, 1:18 to 1:14 for half marathon, etc. Honestly not sure if there's any connection there or not though, too many variables.

And when people eat poor diets cause that is what they crave, you are just going to say they aren't in tune with their bodies? Modern food exploits all historical cravings to make us eat poorly. We didn't evolve to live in a world where you can eat 2000 calories in 10 mins....

Always liked the 80/20, 70/30 idea or to at least strive for it. Trying to have the perfect diet is miserable but having some balance is key. Even the elites are eating pizza (and yes, burritos)

Too much sugar and dairy are culprits when it comes to inflammation. Coming back from Achilles tendon problems, keeping the intake of these items low helps.

No matter how you slice it, we are literally made of what we eat. It has a huge bearing on our well-being.

This makes me think. What about eating a banana with peanut butter.

1. organic banana with Whole Food peanut butter nothing added. Or 2. a pesticide banana with store peanut butter with sugar and preservative…

1. fresh made pizza with whole tomatoes and basil 2. frozen pizza that’s pretty greasy.

assuming the same kind of calorie intake/lifestyle It’s probably pretty Negligible difference? Maybe the difference is in taste, and nothing else. Maybe how you feel from it is all in your head.
so the reasonable conclusion would be to force yourself to eat greasy food to prove to yourself that “healthy food” is placebo. sounds good to me

Unfortunately yes, I hate it to, but:

Eating enought carbs and while beeing low body fat % , hydrated and sleeping enought is important because they allow you to train hard & train high Volumen while recovering this is why beeing a champion is hard...

I totally agree with this, as out there as it may sound. I was once obsessed with having a "healthy" diet, which for me meant macro- and calorie-tracking and trying to get as much protein as possible. I felt physically and mentally bad and spend years underperforming. One day I got so sick of it I gave up and started eating whatever I wanted. It took a while for things to all get balanced out, but I'm now mostly vegetarian (not arguing that this is best for everyone, but it worked out well for me), 10lbs lighter, significantly faster, and far more at peace. I crave, and eat, 2-3 big sugary servings a day (donut, cereal, cookies), especially when training hard. I also crave several servings a day of vegetables, beans, whole grains, etc.

Anyway, I think the aspects of diet that impact performance come primarily from quantity – does your body have enough energy to fuel your training? This isn't solely a question of total calories but getting sufficient carbs at regular intervals throughout the day. – and mentality – are you obsessing over food, restricting yourself, or letting food become a reason for you to feel bad about yourself?

Major nutrient deficiencies like low iron of course will also have a big impact, as will food sensitivities like celiac. But for most people, I think eating intuitively will ultimately yield the best results.