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  • Out of the Training Room, into the Kitchen

    Major league baseball training rooms are a popular spot for guys looking to get their daily drug fix. The drug of choice? Advil. Over the course of 162 games, plus spring training, plus the post season, an inflamed muscle here and there is impossible to avoid. I have clear recollections of taking 12 Advil a…

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  • Indulgences

    It’s Friday. I’m assuming more than a few of you are sitting at work, dreaming of starting the weekend. Although this is a blog devoted to promoting and improving your health and well-being, you know I’m no stranger to indulgences. In fact, I preach it. Depriving yourself consistently is ineffective, so I encourage and support…

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  • General – Page 7

    If you have strong opinions and share them unapologetically, you should expect to be disliked by a large percentage of the population. Being a leader typically means taking a stand on a position, even in the face of opposition. The best leaders are unquestionably empathetic individuals, ones who seek collaboration and work as a team.…

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    Improving Focus and Attention

    I am constantly toying with ways to improve my focus and attention through nutrition, sleep and exercise. When I was a child, I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. I didn’t like being labeled (I despise labels in general) but I wasn’t alone. I rubbed elbows with 13.5% of boys 3-17 years diagnosed with ADHD,…

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  • vitamin d

    When you find yourself with a cold, don’t avoid the milk. You may have heard the myth that drinking milk will make a cold worse. Our regular readers know we don’t fall for a catchphrase without doing our due diligence. From listverse.com: A lot of people think that drinking milk while you have a cold…

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  • Bill Gives It Away

    There is only one New England Patriots franchise. Inevitably, and with good reason, businesses, sports organizations and families across the country will be looking to Bill, Tom and the Pats for the “tricks” to make their companies and teams stronger. Innumerable stories will be written featuring sound bytes like “culture over strategy” and quotes from…

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  • Au Naturel

    If you want to be your strongest, get some sun on your boys. And by boys, I mean your testicles. Baseball players are continually trying to mine every (legal) advantage they can. Any pro athlete is working to get stronger, faster, more powerful, and they’re looking to their nutrition, supplements, even superstitions to do so.…

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    Breaking Down Mental Barriers – Kelly Jenks [Guest Post]

    Publicly, pro athletes are portrayed as bigger than life. The athletes will say that being a pro isn’t as glamorous as it seems. That’s utter bullshit. Getting paid to play a sport and travel the world doing so? Yeah, pretty damn glamorous.  What the players are really trying to tell you when they remove the…

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    Failing to Succeed

    Striving to avoid slipups isn’t noble. Striving to take bold action, knowing that you’ll inevitably fail and look foolish, is a strong strategy. Recently, an inspiring colleague of mine shared this with me. Life is a maze and we are mice. We have decisions to make at every fork in the road. We will unquestionably…

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  • Failing to Succeed

    Striving to avoid slipups isn’t noble. Striving to take bold action, knowing that you’ll inevitably fail and look foolish, is a strong strategy. Recently, an inspiring colleague of mine shared this with me. Life is a maze and we are mice. We have decisions to make at every fork in the road. We will unquestionably…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap