Nutrition Q & A with Coach Moose
Coach Ben “Moose” Moselle talks about his nutrition philosophy in this month’s Core Corner
Core Wellness (CW)
We at SoCal know you’re a workout fanatic Coach Moose, but tell us a little about your diet and nutrition philosophy.
Coach Moose
Thanks for the opportunity. I should mention that I’m no dietitian (that’s actually more Coach Audrey’s area of interest, as she’s pursuing a master’s degree in dietetics). But I’ve always been pretty health-conscious. Even before taking my first nutrition class in 7th grade, I gave up eating Cap’n Crunch cereal because it was made with “artery clogging” coconut oil. We now know that coconut oil is safe, and sugar is a much more dangerous dietary foe. So I’m still off the Cap’n Crunch.
CW
Your background is in fitness, you’re ACSM-certified as a Personal Trainer and hold an AAHF “Jr.Fit” Youth Fitness Specialty Certification. Since you are so active, do you feel you get some leeway when it comes to your diet?
Coach Moose
The short answer is yes — and I’m lucky from a genetic standpoint too. Every person is unique, but in general the human body has amazing healing and weight maintenance capabilities. Exercise can certainly improve health and help maintain healthy body composition, but ultimately it’s our eating habits that put on the unwanted pounds. We should sometimes ask ourselves why we’re eating what we’re eating. Is it because we’re bored, stressed, tired or tempted? Those habits will catch up to your waistline in the long run, regardless of how active you are.
CW
Do you have a go-to pre-workout snack?
Coach Moose
For a while it was a bowl of cheerios with 1% milk, but I noticed that would sometimes leave me feeling lazy or tired. It has evolved to a toasted open-face peanut or almond butter and jelly on whole wheat sourdough bread. That ratio of carbohydrate, protein, and fat works better for me.
CW
What’s your take on dietary supplements and vitamins?
Coach Moose
Supplements play an important role in certain populations’ diets — such as vegetarians or senior citizens. I try to cover my nutritional bases with real food rather than vitamin supplements. Food is more than just the sum of its vitamin and mineral components. It’s more satisfying and tastes better than vitamin capsules too. I do take a liquid fish oil supplement, however, because I just can’t seem to get into the habit of buying and preparing fish often enough.
CW
Energy drinks are currently popular among athletes. What is your take on caffeine?
Coach Moose
I consider coffee and tea to be health beverages and legitimate pre-workout pick-me-ups – as long as they don’t interfere with your sleep cycles. I like to drink a small cup of coffee before morning or afternoon workouts. I don’t have much experience with Red Bull, Monster and those types of “energy” drinks. They’re full of sugar or artificial sweeteners, so I avoid them. The same goes for sports drinks like Gatorade. Only athletes who’ve been sweating profusely or exercising for hours really need that electrolyte and glucose replacement. Most of us should just stick with water.
CW
Other than following your instincts, are there any diet/nutrition resources you recommend for someone looking to improve their eating habits?
Coach Moose
Absolutely. Mindless Eating (Brian Wansink) and Food Rules (Michael Pollan) are quick reads that offer plenty of food for thought in terms of weight management — forming good eating habits and avoiding bad ones. Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and Wendell Berry’s Bringing It to the Table offer compelling insight about the origins of food and how our food choices may affect the environment. Mark Sisson’s “Primal/Paleo” principles in 21 Day Total Body Transformation and Dr. Terry Wahls’ Minding Your Mitochondria TED Talk changed the way I eat.
I’d also encourage SoCal members to come visit or email us with their questions about diet and nutrition. If there’s demand for it, we’d love to set up a nutrition workshop for SoCal players and parents.
