Joe Pilates said, "...

9 years ago, this Summer, I "rediscovered" my passion for physical movement through the Pilates method of physical fitness. recently, I downloaded a free iPhone app that had the Joseph Pilates book RETURN TO LIFE. I've read the pamphlet-style book probably over 2 dozen times, and couldn't help but read it again on my phone, and took notice of Joe's take on nutrition:

"The principal point to remember with regard to diet is to eat only enough food to restore the "fuel" consumed by the body to keep enought of it on hand at all times to furnish the extra energy required on occasions beyond our norml needs and to meet unexpected emergencies. Merely eating to satifiy one's lust for good food is both foolish and dangerous to one's health."

Strong words, but true. "Such a person cannot ever be truly physically fit. No Wonder! Youth and growing children quite naturlly require a greater intake of food than do adults and the aged. The former are matering; the later have matured." Even truer. I cannot and should not eat like I did was a busy teenager, in dance classes and walking a mile home from school each day.

"Heavy eating followed immediately by sitting, or even lying down awake or asleep, is comparable to over-loading the firebox with coal and then closing the drafts of the furnace. The former instance is ideal for generating "poisons" that eventually find their way into your bloodstream. The latter instance is ideal if your aim is to maintain a smoldering fire without adequate heat instead of a bright, glowing fire to radiate comforting warmth throughout your house."

I believe the same holds true to our bodies. Unless with want our body to be a fat storing machine instead of a fat burning machine, we need to "fuel" for our activity level. If we happen to follow the calories in vs calories out method, consuming protein in each meal, drink lots of water, then we are going to be a a muscle building machine and not a muscle eating machine. A properly "fueled" body results in great energy, sustained energy, and a stronger, fitter, healthier body.