Health and Fitness Articles

August’s Fitness Makeover will focus on nutrition for the endurance athlete. A year ago, Bob Petraglia from Boston, Mass., began swimming 800 meters three times a week for fun and fitness. As most of us find, he was addicted to the endorphin rush that his newfound exercise provided, and within six months Bob was up to 2,000 meters six times a week (with 3,000 meters on the seventh day).

This fall, he plans to race in the annual 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater swim, and depending on how that goes, perhaps a five-mile swim in St. Croix.

These are ambitious goals for a relative newcomer to the sport, but having spoken with Bob I’m confident that he’ll be crossing the finish line in both events with no problem at all.

Bob had questions regarding his daily diet and how he could maintain or gain back some of his weight; he has dropped 18 pounds since he started swimming, only half of those pounds intentional and necessary.

At 5’9” and 152 pounds, Bob needs to be about 160 pounds, according to Leigh Fish, MS RD, a Los Angeles-based registered dietician who specializes in athletes (her boyfriend Josh also happens to be a triathlete on the US National Team!).

Given that I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist, I have deferred all advice that follows to Leigh — and have only served to break it down into a reader-friendly article (and I’ve learned a few things from our guest source in the process …so thank you, Leigh).

Bob writes that he feels healthier, more alert, and a lot hungrier than ever before since he began swimming on a daily basis. This is natural, and he needs to increase his intake of carbohydrates in a specific way to avoid losing more weight — while sustaining the energy he needs for optimum performance.

Most people assume that binge-ing on pasta, grains and breads is the best way to gain the quick energy needed for endurance training.  Wrong.

According to Leigh, Bob needs to keep his metabolism running all day long with frequent snacking, and not just three large carbo-friendly meals.

“Eating only large meals may not give you the sustained energy that you need for an intense swim workout, especially if your most recent meal was more than two hours before the training session,” she explains.

“Although you wouldn’t want to have a large meal right before your swim, a small snack which is mainly carbs, such as a cup of juice or a half a granola bar, would be just right.”

Bob supplied me with a comprehensive daily diet breakdown of foods he eats and snacks on (which I forwarded to Leigh), and vegetables were the only food group that was somewhat neglected.

“Including vegetables in your lunch and dinner meals is very important,” says Leigh, “because  it allows you to eat a large volume of food without a large amount of calories. Be sure to choose an array of colors when eating fruits and vegetables, as this will provide you with the multitude of vitamins and minerals that you need before, during, and after your workouts.  Remember, not everything comes in a pill, even if it’s a multivitamin.” (Great advice, if you ask
me … like most people I know, I rely on vitamins more than I should for my daily allowances).

Bob’s diet could also use more dairy, and Leigh recommends consuming it after the tough workouts.

“Reloading with a protein/carbohydrate food is useful to replete any glycogen stores that may have been lost in heavy training. Good options are a glass of milk, low fat ice cream, cottage cheese, or yogurt.”

Bob’s consumption of protein is Herculean, with generous daily portions of chicken, nuts, hamburgers, and tuna. Leigh reminds him that fish and eggs are another protein source not to be overlooked.

Bob’s only apparent vice is a passionate addiction to Doritos. A whopping five times a week at up to 10 handfuls a pop, this is the one area that gave Leigh the right to slap our subject with a major meal makeover.

“‘10 healthy handfuls a day’! Now really, how healthy can a handful of Doritos be? A good substitute here would be pretzels," Leigh says. "In the meantime, weaning yourself off the Doritos would be a wise option since your dependence seems to be so … immense!  "Allow yourself Doritos three times a week and limit your intake to two handfuls that fit into a small bowl. If you want more, refill the bowl ... with pretzels!  Slowly, your dependence will just turn into a now-and-again indulgence.

Comment from the peanut gallery: My guilty pleasure is ice cream,  and since speaking with Leigh I’ve begun weaning myself off of those easy-to-consume-in-one-sitting Ben & Jerry’s pints. Instead, I’ve stocked my fridge with Ben & Jerry’s frozen yogurt, and I now only allow myself a half-pint (served in a bowl instead of right from the carton). Hopefully I’m getting my post-workout protein fix while weaning myself off of those oh-so-good-but-oh-so-bad fat calories.

As far as monitoring his weight, Bob need only step on a scale once a week. Daily scale-stepping will show minor fluctuations that can wreak havoc on one’s psyche and contribute to hyper-self-analysis — not a good road to go down.

Instead, a weekly weigh-in can give you a consistent reading that over time will paint an accurate picture of where your body weight is, and should be.

Bob is an avid vitamin- and mineral-taker, and although Leigh admits that most people would rather rely on a pill for their essential needs, she stands by her claim that there is no comparison to vitamins nd minerals gleaned from real foods.

She does, however, suggest the occasional extra dose of Vitamin C and E, given the endurance athlete’s above-average training intensity: “Vitamin C and E are good antioxidants, especially for endurance athletes who experience a great deal of oxidative damage during long bouts of cardiovascular activity. It can’t hurt to take this, but also may not be necessary each day.”

Finally, the last bit of wisdom that Leigh offered to impart to Bob (and possibly to more than a few readers of this column), is the “if a little is good, then a lot is better” misconception about protein intake.

Given Bob’s healthy meat consumption discussed earlier, there is little reason for him to boost his protein intake with powders and energy bars in his between-meal snacks.

“Considering the intensity level that you are swimming, you need, at the most, 1.2b/kg of protein per day," Leigh said. "For a 152-pound man, this is only 83 grams of protein. 1 cup of milk for breakfast, 3 oz. of turkey and 1 slice of cheese for lunch, and 5 oz. of turkey for dinner provides about 87 grams of protein.  Some protein powders in smoothies can offer up to 25 grams of protein (and 100 calories), all of which are unneeded in Bob’s case.”

Although the above overview is broad and has been written to apply to the general active population, it is important to note that the feedback came after a comprehensive analysis by a registered dietician.  It was based on an individual of a certain height and weight, with detailed specifics of the subject’s diet plan.  Anyone considering a drastic change to their eating habits (for better or worse) is urged to consult a registered dietician or nutritionist who can outline a plan to address each individual’s specific needs.

Runners therefore need to do everything in their power to accelerate muscle recovery after exercise. First, in the first two hours after completing each workout, they need to take in water, carbohydrate, electrolytes, protein, and antioxidants.  This will promote rapid rehydration, replenishment of muscle and liver glycogen, and muscle tissue repair, and will reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness.

Runners should also stretch their running muscles immediately after each workout, as this accelerates the removal of metabolic wastes from the muscles and prevents tightening of the muscles.

And finally, at some point prior to the next workout, runners should engage in self-massage to reduce tissue welling, increase bloodflow, and relieve muscular adhesions and trigger points.

Athletes and protein: The truth about supplements By Nancy Clark, MS, RD Active.com  1/22/2003 When you look at the ads in almost any sports publication, you cannot help but notice the supplement industry is hard at work promoting protein powders, bars and shakes. Their goal: to convince athletes they need extra protein to build muscles and recover from exercise. Never before have I talked to so many frenzied athletes, bodybuilders and marathoners alike, who are worried their standard diets are protein-deficient and inadequate to support their sports program. They commonly ask: What's the best protein supplement? My response: Why do you think you even need a protein supplement in the first place? You can easily get the protein you need through standard foods. Believe it or not, very few athletes need any type of protein supplement. Yes, protein supplements can be helpful in certain medical situations. For example, an athlete with anorexia may be more willing to consume a protein shake than eat tuna, cottage cheese or chicken. Patients with cancer or AIDS often benefit from protein supplements if they are unable to eat well. But I have yet to meet a healthy athlete who is unable to consume adequate protein through his or her sports diet. Hence, the purpose of this article is to look at the myths and facts surrounding protein supplements, so you can make informed decisions regarding your sports diet. How much is enough? Only 10% to 15% of total calories need to come from protein. Although athletes require slightly more protein than does a sedentary person, a hungry athlete tends to eat hefty meals with large portions of protein-rich foods. That extra peanut butter sandwich, second chicken breast at dinner and taller glass of milk satisfies any and all protein needs without any supplements. Following are recommendations for a safe, adequate protein intake: (numbers are given for grams per pound of body weight, with an example for a 150-pound person): Sedentary person: 0.4 gms/lb; 60 gms/150 lb person Recreational exerciser, adult: 0.5 - 0.75, 75 -112 Competitive athlete, adult: 0.6 - 0.9, 90 - 135 Growing teenage athlete: 0.8 - 0.9, 120 - 135 Dieting athlete, reduced calories: 0.8 - 0.9, 120 - 135 Maximum for all healthy athletes: 0.9 gram/lb (2 gm/kg) Note: Protein needs change depending upon calorie intake. That is, if you are dieting to lose weight and are in calorie deficit, you will need more protein than if you are eating adequate calories. Your muscles burn protein for energy when fuel is scarce. Example: If you weigh 160 pounds and want the maximum acceptable protein intake (0.9 gms pro/lb), you'd need 144 grams of protein ? an amount you could easily consume from a day's diet that includes 1 quart skim milk (30 gms protein), 1 can tuna (30 gms pro), and 8 ounces chicken breast (70 gms pro). The small amounts of protein you get from the foods that fill out the rest of your diet (cereal, bread, broccoli, frozen yogurt, etc.) will bring you to more than 144 grams of protein. More protein will not be "better." And no scientific evidence supports the idea the protein or amino acids in supplements are in any way superior to the protein from eggs, milk, lean meats, fish, soy or other ordinary foods. Is more better? Eating more than the recommended protein intake offers no benefits. Apart from being costly, a protein-based diet commonly displaces important carbs from the diet. That is, if you have an omelet and a protein shake for breakfast instead of cereal with banana, you'll consume fewer carbs to fuel your muscles properly. Carbs are the primary fuel for athletes who do muscle-building resistance exercise. Once your muscles become carb-depleted, fatigue sets in and your workout is over. Your diet should provide extra carbs, not extra protein. If you consume too much protein from supplements, you may also fail to invest in optimal health. For example, I had one client who daily ate five protein shakes and four protein bars ? to the exclusion of standard food. Displacing natural foods with engineered foods (such as protein supplements) limits your intake of the vegetables, fruits, grains, fiber, phytochemicals, natural vitamins and other health-protective nutrients that Nature puts in whole foods. Pre- and post-exercise protein Q. I've heard I should eat a protein bar for a pre-exercise snack? A. Protein has typically been consumed at meals, away from the time of exercise. New research suggests eating protein before you work out can optimize muscle development. Pre-exercise protein digests into amino acids that are then ready and waiting to be taken up by the muscles after a strength workout. This does not mean you'll evolve into Charles Atlas; you'll simply optimize your body's ability to build and repair muscle at that moment. The amount of protein needed for this benefit is tiny ? about 6 grams (less than 1 ounce of meat). You certainly do not need a hefty pre-exercise protein bar nor a thick steak. A yogurt, cereal with milk, or a slice of peanut butter toast will do the job just fine! A pre-exercise protein supplement is a needless expensive. Protein source (with cost/grams of protein/cost per gram) MetRx Big 100 Bar: $2.50, 26 grams, 9.5 cents PowerBar ProteinPlus: $1.95, 24, 8 cents Tuna, 6 oz can: $0.99, 30, 3.5 cents Skim milk, 1 quart: $0.75, 32, 2.5 cents Peanut butter, 2 tbsp: $0.15, 7, 2 cents Q. I?ve heard I should I eat protein right after I exercise to enhance the speed of glycogen recovery? A. Supposedly, eating some protein along with carbohydrates after exercise stimulates insulin, and that stimulates greater glycogen uptake. At least five carefully controlled studies have shown the addition of post-exercise protein does not offer any advantages when the athlete eats adequate calories from carbs. My advice: If you refuel with wholesome, refreshing meals that appeal to you, you'll inevitably get the nutrients you need. Fruit and yogurt, nuts and raisins, bagel sandwich, and pasta with meat sauce are just a few popular recovery foods that offer an enjoyable combination of both protein and carbs to refuel, rebuild and repair muscles.

Breakfast: the most important meal of an athlete's day

By Nancy Clark, MS, RD
Active.com   2/12/2003

I commonly counsel athletes who skip breakfast, grab only a light lunch, train on fumes, gorge at dinner and snack on "junk" until bedtime. They not only rob their bodies of the nutrients needed for health, but also lack energy for high-quality workouts.

A satisfying breakfast tends to invest in better health than does a grab-anything-in-sight dinner. Sarah, a collegiate athlete, learned that fueling her body's engine at the start of her day helps her feel more energetic and also able to choose better quality lunch and dinner foods.

That is, when she has granola, banana and juice in the morning, as well as a sandwich and yogurt for lunch, she stops devouring brownies after dinner.

Excuses to skip breakfast are abundant: "No time," "I'm not hungry in the morning" and "I don't like breakfast foods." Weight-conscious athletes pipe up, "My diet starts at breakfast."

These excuses are just that, excuses; they sabotage your sports performance.

Here's a look at the benefits of eating breakfast. I hope to convince you that breakfast is the most important meal of your sports diet.

Breakfast for dieters

If you want to lose weight, you should start your diet at dinner, not at breakfast! For example, do not eat a meager bowl of Special K for your "diet breakfast." You'll get too hungry later in the day and crave sweets.

A bigger breakfast (cereal + toast + peanut butter) can prevent afternoon or evening cookie-binges. An adequate (500 - 700 calorie) breakfast provides enough energy for you to enjoy your exercise, as opposed to dragging yourself through an afternoon workout that feels like punishment.

If you are trying to lose weight, you should target at least 500 to 700 calories for breakfast; this should leave you feeling adequately fed.

To prove the benefits of eating such a big breakfast, try this experiment:

1. Using food labels to calculate calories, boost your standard breakfast to at least 500 calories. For example, add to your english muffin (150 calories): 1 tablespoon peanut butter (100 cal.), 8 oz. orange juice (100 cal.) and a yogurt (150 cal). Total: 500 calories.

2. Observe what happens to your day's food intake when you eat a full breakfast vs. a skimpy "diet breakfast." The 500+ calorie breakfast allows you to successfully eat less at night and create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight.

Remember: Your job as a dieter is to fuel by day and lose weight by night. Successful dieters lose weight while they are sleeping; they wake up ready for another nice breakfast that fuels them for another high-energy day.

Breakfast for the morning exerciser

If you exercise first thing in the morning, you may not want a big pre-exercise breakfast; too much food can feel heavy and uncomfortable. However, you can likely tolerate half a breakfast, such as half a bagel, a slice of toast, or a banana before your workout.

Just 100 to 300 calories can put a little carbohydrate into your system, boost your blood sugar so that you are running on fuel, not fumes, and enhance your performance.

You'll likely discover this small pre-exercise meal adds endurance and enthusiasm to your workout. In a research study, athletes who ate breakfast were able to exercise for 137 minutes as compared to only 109 minutes when they skipped this pre-exercise fuel.

After his morning workout, Jim, a banker, felt rushed and was more concerned about getting to work on time than eating breakfast. Using the excuse "No time," he overlooked the importance of refueling his muscles.

I reminded him: Muscles are most receptive to replacing depleted glycogen stores within the first two hours after the workout, regardless of whether or not the athlete feels hungry. I encouraged Jim to be responsible! Just as he chose to make time for exercise, he could also choose to make time for breakfast.

One simple post-exercise breakfast is fluids. Liquid breakfasts take minimal time to prepare and very little time to drink, yet they can supply the calories, water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals you need ? all in a travel mug. (You can always get coffee at the office.)

Because Jim felt thirsty after his morning workout, he found he could easily drink 16 ounces of juice or lowfat milk. Sometimes, he'd make a refreshing fruit smoothie with milk, banana and berries.

Later on mid-morning, when his appetite returned, Jim enjoyed the rest of his breakfast: (instant) oatmeal, multi-grain bagel with peanut butter, yogurt with granola, a banana ? or any other carbohydrate-rich foods that conveniently fit into his schedule.

This nutritious "second breakfast" refueled his muscles, abated hunger and curbed his lunchtime cookie cravings.

Breakfast for the noon-time, afternoon and evening exerciser

A hearty breakfast is important for people who exercise later in the day. It not only tames hunger but also provides the fuel needed for hard workouts.

Research has shown that athletes who ate breakfast, then four hours later enjoyed an energy bar five minutes before a noontime workout were able to exercise 20% harder at the end of the hourlong exercise test compared to when they ate no breakfast and no pre-exercise snack. (They worked 10% harder with only the snack.)

Breakfast works! Breakfast + a pre-exercise snack works even better!

What's for breakfast?

From my perspective as a sports nutritionist, one of the simplest breakfasts of champions is a wholesome cereal with lowfat milk, banana and orange juice. This provides not only carbohydrates to fuel the muscles, but also protein (from the milk) to build strong muscles, and numerous other vitamins and minerals such as calcium, potassium, vitamin C, iron (if you choose enriched breakfast cereals) and fiber (if you choose bran cereals).

Equally important is the fact that cereal is quick and easy, requires no cooking, no preparation, no refrigeration. You can keep cereal at the office, bring milk to work and eat breakfast at the office. Breakfast is a good investment in a productive morning.

The bottom line

Breakfast works wonders for improving the quality of your diet. That is, eating breakfast results in less "junk food" later in the day. Breakfast also enhances weight control, sports performance, daily energy levels and future health.

Breakfast is indeed the meal of champions. Make it a habit ? no excuses!

Sample grab-and-go sports breakfasts

Maximize your potential through mental training and focus

By Adam Zucco
UltraFit.com  7/2/2003

Principles of Focusing

Focusing Strategies

Breathing 101: Increase your efficiency for better oxygen uptake

By Thomas Chapple
UltraFit.com  9/3/2003

The diaphragm is the muscle located under the lungs that is designated to expand the lungs and bring air into them.

To breathe efficiently by using the diaphragm effectively, think about drawing air into the bottom third of your lungs as you expand your belly like a balloon.

Try doing this while inhaling through your nose and you'll notice a relaxing sensation throughout your body.

Take a few moments before each workout to sit quietly and practice breathing through your nose and with the diaphragm. This will start your workout in the right frame of mind and with correct breathing.

Keep reminding yourself how to breathe with the diaphragm throughout your workout, and return to it if you fall back on incorrect breathing.

Another breathing aid is to focus on exhaling forcefully during climbing and hard efforts. Once you've developed the habit of filling your lungs completely by breathing with the diaphragm, your body will take care of the inhaling portion on its own.

By forcing the air out of your lungs you'll develop a more complete, efficient breathing cycle. Short, shallow breaths don't completely fill or empty the lungs and will dilute incoming oxygen with carbon dioxide.

I've also found that airflow improves if I drop my jaw and open my mouth in an oval shape (vertically) during hard efforts

Feeding our muscles: A key to smart training By June M. Lay HealthNewsDigest.com  9/29/2003   Today we discuss "feeding our muscles" since the fuel we give our muscles plays an important part in being able to "smart weight train" and it's also an important factor in avoiding an injury. So, whether our goal is to tone, get strong, gain muscle, heal from an injury, or participate in a sport activity, we need to feed our muscles! Many of us think that if we eat lots of protein, we'll get lean, strong and we'll build muscle. Let me say now that it is the carbohydrates that we eat that gives us the energy to push the weights, to use the protein we do eat to build muscle. Those of us who participate in endurance sports such as running, cycling etc. know the importance of eating a diet high in carbohydrates with some extra protein. But did we know, for instance, that carbs are the foundation to our performance, whether to power our tennis game, aerobic workout, or bodybuilding routine? So, here are a few sport nutrition rules to "Feed our muscles": Eat enough and often enough When we eat enough calories and we eat often, we fuel our muscles, not just for getting around, but for all the additional activities, especially if we are active in sports. When we restrict our calories too much (this goes for us dieters) over a period of time, we send a signal to our body that a famine is coming. The body may then adjust our metabolic rate to slow down to conserve calories. Result? Most likely less strength, less energy, and even higher body fat! Eat carbohydrates Yes, let's eat the dreaded starches! When we eat enough carbohydrates, we give our muscles the fuel to work out hard. This in turn will give our body the need to utilize all that protein we're taking in to make more muscle (when we tone we add muscle fibers too, so this is not just for bodybuilders). Carbohydrates also feed our brain, so when our blood sugar levels are low from not eating enough carbs, we will impair our energy, focus, and performance. When we are in short supply of carbs, the process of turning protein into fuel for our muscles and brain is costly to our body. We impair our performance, our ability to build and repair muscle, our health and even our ability to lose weight (ever get constant sugar cravings after eating mostly protein?). Lastly, high-protein diets can cause dehydration. This is deadly to our energy. Drink water Water is stored in our muscles with carbohydrates. This is the energy source for our muscles. When we need to produce energy, the stored carbohydrates are used and water is released during the process. We need water to make and release energy. Guess what happens when we are dehydrated? We get fatigued easily. Water aids stamina and performance, and it helps to ward of those muscle cramps during intense exercise. Eat a balanced diet This means that for those of us who eat lots of protein, we also need to eat enough fruits, veggies and grains. And for those of us who are vegetarians, it is important to get enough protein, iron, calcium, B12, and Vitamin D. Supplements, sports bars and sports drinks are not a substitute for real food. Eat wisely I call this being choosy about what kind of calories we eat. If I want a tough workout, I will choose a nutrient-dense food over a junk food. Of course, there is always room for a little junk -- I recommend no more than 10% of our total daily calories (that's about 200 calories for most of us). So, if we want to look good, feel energetic, and perform well, let's "feed our muscles." Have we eaten enough carbohydrates; eaten often enough; eaten wisely and had enough water? If the answer is yes, we're off to a good start.