Read Online I Can Make You Hot! by Kelly Killoren Bensimon - Free Book Online
Authors: Kelly Killoren Bensimon
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my energy when I’m not feeling too hot, and some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way, so that you can learn from what I’ve learned. I’m actually glad for the mistakes I’ve made because anyone who doesn’t make mistakes doesn’t learn, and if you don’t learn, you’re boring! I’m sure you’ll still be making some mistakes of your own, but you might as well learn what you can from mine instead of repeating them.
One of my biggest lessons came when I was competing in my very first horse show in Sagaponack, New York. I knew that I’d be jumping three rounds of eight 2-foot, 6-inch jumps set in three different courses. I knew I’d need lots of energy and decided to have a filling and nutritious lunch of pasta, broccoli, and shrimp. All great, but the show was running late and by four o’clock in the afternoon my adrenaline was pumped high and to me it felt as if I were starving. I decided to have an egg on a bagel from the food-service van. That turned out to be not so great. I was hot and sweaty and feeling like a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey. I wasn’t energized. I was totally lethargic. I did all right in the competition, but I wasn’t relaxed and I was pushing and pulling my horse instead of letting him go.
What lesson did I learn from that unhappy experience? To never eat more than I normally would, especially when I need to be physically active. In this case, my adrenaline was pumping but my blood sugar wasn’t dropping.
What could I have done differently? I should have hydrated more when I started to feel hungry. On a recent Thanksgiving when I was fox hunting in North Carolina, it almost happened to me again. But this time I had granola with soy milk and a banana, and I drank a couple of bottles of water and a cup of coffee, so I could gallop through the hills. Even though I was anxious, I was hydrated, and I had a great time. Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re hungry; it means you’re anxious. Food doesn’t help anxiety and neither does alcohol.
Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, so I always try to drink eight glasses or about a liter of water a day. Soda isn’t water. Coffee isn’t water. Water is water. Drink throughout the day; don’t try to get it all down at once. You wouldn’t drown an orchid, so don’t drown yourself.
Even when I was training to run the New York City Marathon in 2007, I stuck to my basic diet. I ate high-fiber cereal for breakfast, lots of good carbs for lunch, and a steak and salad for dinner. I didn’t stuff myself (even at the carb-loading fest at Tavern on the Green the night before when everyone around me was loading up on pasta and beer), and when I completed the run—on the first day of my period, I should add—I felt fit and strong rather than depleted.
----
Sometimes when you think you are hungry, you really just need a little energy boost and a sweet drink will do the trick. Next time you think you’re hungry, try a lemonade and a diversion.
----
That said, however, everyone, including me, has some days when their energy is not as high as they would like or need it to be in order to get everything done. I don’t have a life that allows me to crash and burn, so here are a few of the energy boosters I reach for when I’m having one of those days:
JELLY BEANS: Find really good ones that are so bursting with great flavor that you really can’t eat more than a few. They’re tiny, they satisfy my sweet tooth, and they give me that burst of energy I need to keep on going. At that point, I’m frankly not concerned with sugar turning to fat. I just know what I need.
GOJI BERRIES: They have many different nutrients and antioxidants to help boost my immune system and keep me looking and feeling HOT.
Dehydrated fruit of any kind
Frozen grapes
Tomato, pineapple, cantaloupe, or watermelon with a dash of salt
Peanut butter on rice crackers
Jicama (a great substitute for chips) with guacamole
Hummus with baked tortilla
One of my biggest lessons came when I was competing in my very first horse show in Sagaponack, New York. I knew that I’d be jumping three rounds of eight 2-foot, 6-inch jumps set in three different courses. I knew I’d need lots of energy and decided to have a filling and nutritious lunch of pasta, broccoli, and shrimp. All great, but the show was running late and by four o’clock in the afternoon my adrenaline was pumped high and to me it felt as if I were starving. I decided to have an egg on a bagel from the food-service van. That turned out to be not so great. I was hot and sweaty and feeling like a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey. I wasn’t energized. I was totally lethargic. I did all right in the competition, but I wasn’t relaxed and I was pushing and pulling my horse instead of letting him go.
What lesson did I learn from that unhappy experience? To never eat more than I normally would, especially when I need to be physically active. In this case, my adrenaline was pumping but my blood sugar wasn’t dropping.
What could I have done differently? I should have hydrated more when I started to feel hungry. On a recent Thanksgiving when I was fox hunting in North Carolina, it almost happened to me again. But this time I had granola with soy milk and a banana, and I drank a couple of bottles of water and a cup of coffee, so I could gallop through the hills. Even though I was anxious, I was hydrated, and I had a great time. Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re hungry; it means you’re anxious. Food doesn’t help anxiety and neither does alcohol.
Staying hydrated is important no matter what you’re doing, so I always try to drink eight glasses or about a liter of water a day. Soda isn’t water. Coffee isn’t water. Water is water. Drink throughout the day; don’t try to get it all down at once. You wouldn’t drown an orchid, so don’t drown yourself.
Even when I was training to run the New York City Marathon in 2007, I stuck to my basic diet. I ate high-fiber cereal for breakfast, lots of good carbs for lunch, and a steak and salad for dinner. I didn’t stuff myself (even at the carb-loading fest at Tavern on the Green the night before when everyone around me was loading up on pasta and beer), and when I completed the run—on the first day of my period, I should add—I felt fit and strong rather than depleted.
----
Sometimes when you think you are hungry, you really just need a little energy boost and a sweet drink will do the trick. Next time you think you’re hungry, try a lemonade and a diversion.
----
That said, however, everyone, including me, has some days when their energy is not as high as they would like or need it to be in order to get everything done. I don’t have a life that allows me to crash and burn, so here are a few of the energy boosters I reach for when I’m having one of those days:
JELLY BEANS: Find really good ones that are so bursting with great flavor that you really can’t eat more than a few. They’re tiny, they satisfy my sweet tooth, and they give me that burst of energy I need to keep on going. At that point, I’m frankly not concerned with sugar turning to fat. I just know what I need.
GOJI BERRIES: They have many different nutrients and antioxidants to help boost my immune system and keep me looking and feeling HOT.
Dehydrated fruit of any kind
Frozen grapes
Tomato, pineapple, cantaloupe, or watermelon with a dash of salt
Peanut butter on rice crackers
Jicama (a great substitute for chips) with guacamole
Hummus with baked tortilla
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