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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Kitchen Makeover


Here is a shopping list of some foods commonly found in a healthy kitchen.

PLEASE PRINT IT OUT, SO YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU TO THE MARKET!

Milk and Dairy
Cheddar or Colby cheese (low-fat): 8 oz.
Cottage cheese (low-fat): 3 cups
Eggs: 10
Feta cheese: 1 oz.
Milk (nonfat): approx. 8 cups
Swiss cheese (low-fat): approx. 4 oz.
Yogurt, plain (low-fat): 34 oz.

Fish, Poultry, and Meat
Beef flank: 4 oz.
Chicken breast: 20 oz.
Chicken broth (low-sodium): 3/4 cup
Halibut: 4 oz.
Roast beef (lean): 4 oz.
Salmon: 4 oz.
Tofu (extra-firm): 4-1/2 oz.
Turkey: 4 oz.
Turkey or chicken breast (lunch meat): 10 slices
Turkey, ground (lean): 4 oz

Fruits
Apples: 2
Avocado: 1
Bananas: 2
Blueberries, fresh: 1 cup
Blueberries, frozen (unsweetened):1-1/2 cups
Kiwi: 1
Lime juice, fresh: 3 limes
Mango: 1/2 cup
Orange: 1
Peach, frozen (unsweetened): 1/2 cup
Pear: 1
Pineapple, fresh: 1-3/4 cups
Raspberries, fresh: 1 cup
Raspberries, frozen (unsweetened): 1 cup
Strawberries: 1 cup
Strawberries, frozen (unsweetened): 1 cup

Condiments
Fat-free ranch dressing: 1 bottle
Ketchup: 1 small bottle
Lite Italian dressing: 1 bottle
Mustard: 1 jar
Olive oil (extra virgin): 1 bottle
Salsa: 1 small jar
Vinegar: 1 bottle

Deli Section
Pickles, kosher dill: 1 pickle


Veggies
Alfalfa sprouts: 4 cups
Asparagus: 1 cup
Broccoli: 3-1/2 cups
Brussels sprouts: 1 cup
Carrots and peas, frozen: 1-1/2 cups
Cauliflower: 1/2 cup
Celery: 3 stalks
Chickpeas: 1/4 cup
Cucumber: 1 cup
Garlic: 1/4 clove
Lettuce, romaine (or any kind but iceberg): approx. 12 cups
Mushrooms, fresh: 1 cup
Onion: 2
Pinto beans: 1/2 cup
Sauerkraut: 1/4 cup
Spinach: 1-1/2 cups
Sweet potatoes: 1 small, 1 medium
Tomato paste: 1 oz.
Tomato sauce (no sugar): 1 cup
Tomato: 9 slices
Tomatoes, cherry: 3/4 cup
Yellow pepper: 4-1/2 strips

Herbs
Curry powder: 1 jar
Paprika: 1 jar

Nuts and Seeds
Almonds, raw: 54
Cashews: 36
Flaxseeds, raw: 1 jar
Peanut butter: 1 jar

Breads, Grains, Legumes, Cereals, etc.
Bread (whole wheat): 6 slices
Bread, rye (optional, whole wheat may sub): 1 slice
Hamburger bun (whole wheat): 1
Melba toast: 4 pieces
Oatmeal: 6 cups
Pita bread: 2 pitas
Rice (brown): 1/2 cup
Rice (long-grain brown rice): 1 cup
Tortillas (whole wheat): 1 tortilla

Misc.
Beachbody's Whey Protein Powder: 1 container

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Monday, April 27, 2009

PRAYER NEEDED!!!!!



Today is my brother's surgery. It will last 7-10 hours, easily, and begins at 7:30am EST. Please take a brief moment and say a prayer for him. Pray for the surgeon and the hospital staff. Pray for our family. Pray for an uneventful surgery and an uneventful recovery.

Thank you so much! God Bless!


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Friday, April 24, 2009

Quick Note



I am headed to Tampa this weekend for my brother's surgery on Monday. Although things will be crazy for the next few weeks, I have made provisions for my blog. You will still have new and interesting info here Mon-Fri!

I want to thank everyone for their support. It has meant so much to me!!!!! I will try to post updates when I can, but you can follow up-to-the-minute updates via the carepage (link in left sidebar.)

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Monday, April 20, 2009

Shakeology Week

This week is SHAKEOLOGY WEEK on my blog. Why, you ask? Because I am a HUGE believer in it...and here is why...

I am preparing myself for my brother's 2nd brain surgery in less than a week. Last summer, when he had his 1st surgery, I was rather unprepared for how I would react to it. Because of the amount of complications incurred and a 5 week hospital stay, I did not take care of myself. I did not consciously do that, but the stress on my body was intense. As a result, I could barely eat. In truth, the only thing that I could easily handle was McDonald's cheeseburgers. I couldn't take vitamins because my stomach was a mess. I barely had veggies for 5 weeks. Barely is being generous.

So this time, I'm prepared (as well as I can be) for the stress. I'm expecting to not be able to eat. This time, however, I am taking a secret weapon!

SHAKEOLOGY!!!!!!

Even if I have to live on cheeseburgers again, I know that I'll be nutritionally covered with my vitamins, minerals, veggies, and a bunch of other things. It's my insurance in a single shake.

So, this week, I'll be showing YOU why I so strongly believe in this unique product.
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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Ladies...grab your men!

Ok, ladies, go get your boyfriends and hubbies! Bring them to the computer. SHOW THEM what P90X can do for them!!!!!

Coach Crit and Coach Troy are two coaches on our team who KNOW P90X! Real People. Real Results.



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Friday, April 17, 2009

Nutrition 911, Part III: Deciphering Marketing Jargon

By Steve Edwards

Welcome to Part III of our oh-so-basic nutrition class designed to give you an overview of basic nutrition and make healthy eating much simpler. First, we had an introduction, which was followed by a very simple analysis of what you should eat. Today, we delve into the tricky world of marketing.

These days, the topic of what's in food is probably less important than what you're likely to hear about food. People can go for years without discussing their diets, but it's practically impossible to go a day without hearing terms like organic, omega, or carb. Upon hearing one of these terms, you've found evidence that advertisers have used their market research tools and, thus, determined that they need to shove these words down your throat, especially since you probably have no idea what they mean. You see, as long as you don't know what they mean, they can spin them however they like. Spin: it's not just for politicians anymore. But these terms do have meaning. And once you understand them, they can help you make smarter food choices.

Foods without labels

Some foods don't require a label, which makes them harder to spin. These are mainly very fresh and haven't been tampered with so, in general, they are your healthy alternatives. The spin doctors here play both sides of the fence. When it comes to non-labeled foods, the important issue is how these foods were raised.

When it became clear that the reason certain companies could offer lower-priced goods was because they used inferior raising methods, those who didn't use inferior methods began using terms to help distinguish themselves. When this affected the business of the former, they jumped into the fray and the spin games began. But that's getting ahead of our topic. Let's begin by defining which foods don't require labels.

First are foods like apples, oranges, broccoli, and many other things that you can buy in the state that they come from the earth. Known as fruits, vegetables, and herbs, they're entirely different than that soda you just bought with "real fruit flavor." These foods have parts that aren't really foods, either. Called fiber, it's the indigestible part of a plant. It has no nutrient value, but it's still an ultra-important part of your diet because it does all kinds of things, including cleaning out our digestive tract and soaking up excess cholesterol. It's very important that our diets feature plants. They are loaded with nutrients and fiber and have no man-made ingredients (okay, some have pesticides, which we'll get to in a minute). When we do things like cook or make juice from these items, they lose their nutrients and fiber, and get a label.

Next are grains and legumes. Things like rice and beans—also plants—these foods have more protein and calories than fruits and veggies. They are less easily found in their natural state. Rice, for example, often has its shell stripped, so it's white. Grains get turned into breads and crackers, often at the expense of their healthiest ingredients. Beans get smashed and have things added to them. As a rule, the closer you can get a legume or grain to its original state, the better it is for you.

Finally, we have meats and dairy products. Nowadays, unless you live on a farm, you probably have to buy these with labels. That's mainly due to suspect growing and harvesting practices. This topic is mainly one for Politics class, but we're going to look at the consumer end of it next.

Hey! What are you rolling your eyes at? Yes, you, the guy in the white suit taking up two seats. What are you dressed like that for? Going to the Kentucky Derby after class? Well, pal. I believe that this subject concerns you more than anyone, so pay attention.

These animal products are loaded with protein, vitamins, and sometimes carbs and healthy fats. But we need to be careful with them because meats (other than fish) and dairy products have a lot of saturated fat. You can buy all of these products with much of this fat removed. For the most part, this is recommended, which we'll cover in the "fat-free" portion of the lecture later on.

Organic and other terms for natural foods


Now it's time to get to some good jargon. You've heard all of these terms, probably while you've been considering buying any of the aforementioned food items. But just what do they mean?

Organic means living, so organic foods are supposed to be alive or, at least, recently alive. Originally, "organic" meant produce that hadn't been sprayed with inorganic things, like pesticides. But now you'll see "organic ingredients" in boxed, jarred, and canned foods, which can be confusing. Organic was once a term used only by the folks who showed up at your weekly farmers' market. Then, word started to get out about large-scale farmers spraying nasty pesticides on their crops, pesticides that would still be on those crops when we bought them. Most people are pretty sure they don't want to eat something made to kill animals, so when the little "organic" guys' businesses started to feel the impact, the big guys just started slapping an "organic" label on anything, until the government had to step in.

Now we have an imperfect system. Organic rules can be fudged to some degree, but it seems to be getting better and not worse. It's made the large growers a bit more cognizant about what they add to or spray on their crops. Organic has also trickled up. So now packaged foods using "organic ingredients" are labeled as such. But be prudent because the fine print will tell you how much is organic. Lobbyists haggle over how much organic stuff needs to be in a product for the word "organic" to appear on the label, and the amount has changed and will continue to change. So you can see a product with a big "organic" on its label with very little organic inside.

Also, many farmers claim that organic growing remains behind the times. They argue that their products don't seem to grow as healthily using organic standards because the classification needs reworking. This is no doubt true, as we'll probably never be able to create a perfect system.

Bottom line: "Organic" on a label is probably better, but you should read the fine print. The more concerned the farmer or rancher, the more information they want to provide. A company that spends a lot of effort to list its practices is probably better than one that won't go to the trouble. As a general rule, those going out of their way to meet organic standards probably care more. It's not perfect, but buying "organic" still stacks the odds in your favor.

Grass fed. Cattle were once all grass fed. They lived on prairies and ate grass, 'cause that's all there was to eat. On the prairie, that grass is nutrient rich because of the soil. Cattle that ate it grew big and strong, and when we ate them, we grew big and strong. Then, some guy figured out that cattle, if they had to, would eat grain. This meant he could build houses and strip malls on the prairie, put the cattle into little fenced areas and feed them grain, and make a lot more money. The downside was that grain didn't have the same nutrient value (like eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts instead of broccoli), so the cows weren't so big and strong. To make them look like they once did, he started shooting them with things like steroids, so that the cattle started looking like Jose Conseco, and all was good in the world. Except that when we ate the cattle, they didn't have the same nutrient value. This meant we ate the same calories with less nutrient value. When this happened, we got fat.

For a while, we were none the wiser. Then, people started getting sick and dying because some genius, low on grain, started feeding cows parts of other cows mixed with the grain to make more money. Cows aren't carnivorous, like animals with sharp teeth, so this didn't work well and bad stuff like E. coli started showing up in meat. Anyway, feeding cows other cows is now against the law, but lobbyists were also able to make a deal in which it's nearly impossible for meat companies to be sued, so who knows what they're actually up to.

Bottom line: Even though meat lobbyists have been hammering away at the "grass fed" requirements, it still means that the meat is likely to be much better in quality.

Free range. Cattle weren't the only animals out on the prairie. Birds were there, too. In fact, birds were all over the place because they have wings and can, you know, fly. This became problematic when folks decided they wanted to raise them on farms. You listening, Colonel?

Figuring that if birds couldn't fly and, well, they would then need no space at all, "farmers" started loading them all together in tiny little pens. Irritated—naturally—the birds would peck at each other and cause general turmoil, so good ol' Foster the farmer put them in little cages wherein they couldn't get at each other—for their entire lives!

Since this isn't Animal Cruelty class, let's just talk about how healthy these birds are when they grow up and we eat them. When you get out and exercise, how does that help you? Hmm, since some of you can't answer this, I'll tell you. You get healthier. Your body systems work better and you get more muscle. Muscle is meat, like the part of a chicken that we want to eat. If you sit in a small room for a long time, how do you tend to look or feel? Answer: You get fat. You get sick. You die young.

Take two chickens. Let one run around and eat stuff it finds growing out of the ground. Put the other in a 2-foot-square box and feed it junk food. Which one do you want to eat?

Bottom line: Only eat free-range fowl, which is harder than ever to find now that new grades of distinction have surfaced. Again, to stay on top of it, you'll need to stay educated. To reiterate, the more concerned the company, the more likely they will want to educate you.

Farm raised. This term has to do with fish. For those of you who are confused, that is natural. Fish live in water. We live on land. How the heck do we farm them?

The obvious answer is to put them in big aquariums, but that would be too expensive. Instead, they raise fish in fenced-off areas and treat them a bit like the birds mentioned above. This tends to cause a lot of damage for the ecosystem in general, but this isn't Environment class. We don't offer environment classes because they don't help your standardized testing. Anyway, the effect on the fish depends a lot on the type of fish. Some, like catfish that naturally live in sluggish conditions, do okay, while others, like salmon, do terribly. In fact, salmon are migratory and swim for most of their lives. Keeping them in a "tank" wreaks havoc on their lifestyle. Farm-raised salmon don't even have red meat, like they do naturally, and are dyed red for market. Do you really want to eat fish that's been dyed red?

Bottom line: Avoid farm-raised fish when possible. Always avoid farm-raised salmon.

Local. Some of you are no doubt wondering why this rather boring-sounding label is taking up more shelf space lately. After all, isn't the gourmand taught to eat from exotic and far-off lands? Who, with ample means, wouldn't always opt for Maine lobster, Norwegian caviar, and water from New Zealand?

One concerned for the health of the planet might be the obvious answer. You don't have to be Al Gore to deduce that using 500,000 gallons of gas so that you can sip from a melting glacier near Christchurch might create a ripple effect with negative implications for the planet. But, hey, this isn't Earth First 911; it's Nutrition 911, so let's stay focused. Buying locally allows us to play watchdog. It's easy to check out your local dairy. Just ask around. You don't even need to research. Good businesses tend to get talked about in the community. And if you suspect that a local business is wielding a bit too much power and influence over your neighbors, that's probably all the information you need. But your local Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureaus, and independent news organizations are keen to help out should your scuttlebutt network not be broad enough.

Bottom line: Local companies should always be considered first.

Ah, there's the bell. I hope you'll feel a bit better next time you walk into your local market. But we're not finished. Fat and carbs, two words known far better for their colloquial rather than literal meanings, will be covered next time.

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Insanity is COMING. You INSANE?


Insanity is the most intense and thorough cardio-intensive program ever set to DVD. Beachbody expects it to launch in summer 2009 with a base Configuration of 10 workouts, including:

1. Dig Deeper/Fit Test

2. Plyometric Cardio Circuit

3. Cardio Power & Resistance

4. Cardio Recovery/Max Recovery

5. Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs

6. Cardio Abs

7. Core Cardio & Balance

8. Max Interval Circuit

9. Max Interval Plyo

10. Max Cardio Conditioning/Cardio Abs

Plus it will include the Insanity Fitness guide (which will be brief... we want you moving, not reading!), the Elite Nutrition guide and Wall calendar.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Nutrition 911, Part II: What to Eat: Here's the straight 411, so you can avoid a dietary 911

By Steve Edwards

Welcome to Part II of our oh-so-basic nutrition class designed to give you an overview of basic nutrition and make healthy eating much simpler. Last time was our intro, and we're already changing the syllabus.

Today we're going to talk about what to eat. I've changed the schedule because of something that happened on the Message Boards this week, which hammered home just how far we've fallen in our basic understanding of dieting. In brief, a guy had heard that olive oil was good for him, so he was eating 12 tablespoons of it along with 4 ounces of chicken for lunch. Because of what he had read and heard about dieting, he actually believed he was doing something beneficial. Boys and girls, the situation has become alarming. Let's jump right into discussing what we should eat. When we're finished, I'm sure you'll know exactly what's wrong with that guy's lunch, other than that it sounds like a food challenge.

Your options: protein, fats, carbs, and . . . ?


People often ask me—and I'm not kidding—why they need to eat protein, carbs, or fat. I had one person submit a scathing letter saying something along the lines of "no professional" would ever recommend more than such and such amount of protein, fat, and carbs. The reason I bring this up is that the percentages she claimed "no professional" would ever exceed totaled 70 percent. The problem with her logic was that proteins, fats, and carbs are—basically—your only choices. They have to equal 100 percent of your diet.

Well, actually, they don't have to, but they certainly ought to. Let's look at a few other things that can make up part of your 100 percent. Mainly it's just alcohol. At 7 calories per gram, alcohol is loaded with calories and can, especially during the holiday season, make up a fairly high percentage of your diet. However, I'm not aware of any nutritionist who would recommend that it be much more than a trace percentage, given that alcohol has no nutrient value. Other things you can eat are pesticides, heavy metals in your water, dust, dirt, toys, etc. Most of these things don't have calories, but, even if they did, I think we can conclude that they should not make up a percentage of your daily diet, at least not purposely. Therefore, the percentage of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in your diet should equal 99.99 percent or, ya know, 95 percent on girls' night out or during Super Bowl weekend.

What are they, what do they do, and how much of them should you eat?


I'd like to discuss this more fully, but remember, this class is only the CliffsNotes version.

Protein. Protein serves as building blocks for your body tissues. You need it to grow and repair your muscles and pretty much everything else. It's found in animal products and, to a lesser degree, in plants, making getting enough protein challenging for vegetarians, especially those who avoid dairy products.

What it doesn't do is give you energy. It's material, not fuel. A diet with too much protein does not help you function well. Too little protein, however, and you won't recover from the energy you burn.

It's found in abundance not only in animal products but also in grains and legumes, like rice and beans, respectively. This is why beans, rice, and soy products are so popular in cultures that tend to be vegetarian. It's also found in many vegetables, but because veggies contain so few calories, it's tough to make them a significant part of your protein intake, unless you use a juicer, but now I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll save juicing for a later date.

Proteins weigh in at 4 calories per gram.

Fat. Dietary fat, the kind you eat, should not be confused with body fat, the stuff that causes you to ask your husband or your wife, "Do I look fat in this?" That type of fat comes from an improper diet or lack of exercise—though it's usually both. The fat you eat is very important for many day-to-day functions. Fat:

* Fuels the body and is especially useful for long-term aerobic exercise.
* Aids digestion of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and promotes a feeling of fullness after eating.
* Helps regulate blood pressure, heart rate, blood vessel constriction, blood clotting, and the nervous system.
* Provides essential fatty acids, in particular omega-3, which help us with brain development, nervous system function, and eyesight. Many experts also believe fatty acids reduce the risk of arthritis, some cancers, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

But before you rush out to stock your fridge with butter and cheese, be aware that 1) there are good fats and bad fats and 2) you don't need too much fat to satisfy the above list.

Bad fats include animal and trans fats, which should be severely restricted in your diet. Animal fats are pretty easy to avoid, since they are obvious. Trans fats are a man-made variety and tend to show up in processed junk foods, like cookies, cakes, chips, and stuff that may sit on a shelf for months or years. Fortunately, they are now required to be listed on labels, which have hurt sales so much that most companies have stopped using them.

Good fats come from plant sources, like olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, and so on.

You may have noticed a pattern: All the foods mentioned above tend to be filling. That's because they are what's termed "nutrient dense." Fat has more than twice the calories per gram than carbs and protein. You don't need much in their natural state. And condensed fats, like oils and butter, should be used sparingly indeed.

Fats weigh in at 9 calories per gram.

Carbohydrates. Maligned and misunderstood, carbs are probably the simplest foods to understand. They are fuel for your body, plain and simple. Carbs help you do stuff, as in they help you stay active. The more stuff you do, the more carbs you need to eat. Conversely, the lazier you are, the less you need to eat.

Carbs basically break down into glucose—blood sugar—in your body, which provides energy for both your muscles and your brain. Unlike fats, there aren't really good and bad carbs. Different types suit you better at different times, depending on—you guessed it—what sort of stuff you happen to be doing.

Carbs mainly come from plant sources, with milk products being the primary exception. In nature, plants have something called fiber, which is the part of the plant we can't digest. The rest of the plant will become blood sugar—fuel—in our bodies, while the fiber will help regulate how we use it. Fiber is important stuff. It not only helps us digest nutrients, it cleanses our digestive tracts and soaks up excess cholesterol.

The "bad carb" moniker comes from those carbs without fiber—things like simple sugars (candy)—and carbs that have been stripped of their fiber—things like white rice, some cereals, fruit juices, pastas, etc., etc. These foods aren't really bad, per se; they are just bad most of the time because they speed into your system and cause an insulin spike, or what we call a sugar rush. Unfortunately, and where the negative association comes from, we tend to consume sugars at the worst times, such as when we're sitting around at movies, watching TV, at work, etc. Insulin spikes during these times can lead us into a vicious cycle, which we'll look at a bit deeper during our dessert session.

But there are times when a sugar rush is advantageous, like during or immediately after sports. At these times, you want an insulin spike because it will help you recover faster by rushing nutrients back into a system that you've depleted by doing exercise. The quicker you recharge your body's glycogen (sugar) stores, the less damage your muscle tissue incurs from the workout and the quicker you recover. This is why "sports foods" tend to be sugary, and why Gatorade has no business as a regular part of your diet. Sports foods are for sports, only, and I don't mean watching sports.

At all inactive times you should opt for the natural version of carbs, complete with fiber, like whole fruits, fresh veggies, whole grains, legumes, sweet potatoes, etc. This will not only keep your energy level more consistent, it will also keep you from craving more sugar. While you need carbohydrates, you only need enough to keep your blood sugar levels stocked up. Your body can't store extra carbs, so it stores them as fat—and not as good dietary fat, but in adipose tissue, which is the kind of fat that might cause your husband to lie to you about how you look in that new dress or your wife to lie to you about how tight that belt really looks.

Carbs weigh in at 4 calories per gram.

How much of each do you need?

The one key piece of advice to take from this class is this: You should eat for what you do each day. Let me use a simple analogy. How much fuel do you put in your car when you don't drive it? How much when you do?

This doesn't exactly equate. You are not a machine, plus you're always on. But the fuel example is relevant. When you are active, you burn more glycogen and, hence, need to eat more carbs. Carbs should be the most variable item in your diet. If you've been hiking through the Grand Canyon, you may eat double, or even triple, the amount of carbs you'd eat than during a day at the office. Your other nutrients don't change as much. You need more protein if you are causing more muscle breakdown, but only so much. Carbs are literally burned off.

How much is quite variable. A muscular athlete will burn more fuel at rest than someone who is out of shape. With my clients, I tend to start them at 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat, and then adjust as necessary. This varies by the individual, but this ratio seems like the best average place to start.

Keep in mind that your diet is always a moving target. As you change, so does your nutrient requirement. People often ask me, "Can't you just tell me exactly what I should eat every day?" My answer is, "No."

A person trying to change his or her body composition (lose or gain weight) will eat differently than someone trying to maintain it. And everyone, no matter what his or her goal is, should eat differently on days when he or she does different things. It's not as simple as "calories in, calories out," but that cliché is not a bad ballpark figure to think about while deciding what, when, and why to eat.

Here are simple guidelines. Of course, results vary because all of our bodies are different to a degree. But we're also similar, so using these guidelines as a starting point will work for most people. In the end, no one will be better able to tell you what you need than you will. You have to learn to listen to your body's signals and adjust.

* Overweight and out of shape. This is the only time I recommend a "low-carb" diet. A diet of 40 percent to 50 percent protein, 30 percent fat, and 20 percent to 30 percent carbs can be effective in the early stages of a transition.
* Overweight and in decent shape, or not too overweight and in bad shape. A now-fairly-standard ratio of 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat.
* Ideal weight and fit. 50 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 25 percent fat. This is probably what I personally average, but consider that my diet varies wildly. On days like today, when I sit in front of this computer for hours on end, carbs might be only 30 percent to 40 percent of my diet. On a day I'm riding my bike for 6 hours, they might make up 70 percent. My protein and fat intake won't change too much. My calories might go from 2,000 to 6,000, with most of this difference being carbs. I'm more active than most people, but my radical example will, hopefully, make this idea easier to understand.

Vitamins and minerals

We left these out of today's discussion. While they are a big part of your nutritional equation, you're likely to get enough if you use the above guidelines to eat. These are found in abundance in all natural foods. Processing foods ruins their nutrient values, so these foods often have nutrients added to them. But there is no guarantee that manufacturers have added good nutrients—you can't beat natural foods for ensuring quality and bioavailability. When we eat enough natural foods to support our activities, we generally get plenty. People who are cutting calories, exercising excessively, or eating a lot of processed food should consider supplementing. There are many different ways to choose vitamin and mineral supplements. Beachbody's ActiVit® is a vitamin supplement with some added performance ingredients, while P90X® Peak Health Formula is a vitamin and mineral supplement. The upcoming Shakeology® formulation not only has all the vitamins and minerals you need, it also has a probiotic and complete greens formula blend—but now we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Now let's get back to that guy in the intro. His lunch consisted of 4 ounces of chicken, which is mainly protein with a little fat. Olive oil is a healthy fat. But 12 tablespoons is around 1,500 calories. So we're looking at a nutrient ration of around 12 percent protein, 0 percent carbohydrate, and 88 percent fat in a lunch approaching what is probably 80 percent of the calories that guy should eat that day. It doesn't take a nutritionist to figure out that this guy is going to have a problem reaching any of the nutrient ratios discussed above. That is unless he, quite literally, loses his lunch, which seems pretty likely.

That's it for today. Next time, we'll get back on track of sorting out what advertisers mean as we're sorting through all those catchy slogans at our local supermarkets.
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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Tired of the Treadmill? Go Play!

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tired of the same old exercise routine? Get out and play instead, suggests a fitness expert who spoke at the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Annual Health and Fitness Summit in Atlanta.

Play is "the perfect anecdote for when your exercise routine starts to feel like more of a chore than an activity of enjoyment," health scientist from Bethesda, Maryland, and ACSM faculty member Dr. Carol E. Torgan noted in a statement from the meeting. It's good for the body, mind and soul.

"Think about activities you loved to do as a child and incorporate those into your routine (and) include your family," Torgan added in comments to Reuters Health.

To rediscover your inner child, visit a playground, toss a Frisbee, take a hike, go rock climbing, pick up a hoola hoop, or dance. An adult weighing 150 pounds can burn more than 300 calories an hour by dancing.

"If you spent your childhood outside exploring," suggested Torgan, "head out the front door and try Geocaching" -- an outdoor treasure hunt game using GPS.

You don't need to be young to reap the calorie-burning, mind-stimulating benefits of play. "The 'power of play' for adults," Torgan said, "lies in simply focusing on the joy of moving, having a little fun with it, and not taking ourselves too seriously."

"Whether it's shooting hoops or even playing on a teeter-totter with a friend, these unstructured activities can create a sense of belonging and community," Torgan said.

Another benefit of "play" exercise is that it "doesn't require expensive equipment, a gym membership, or form-fitting Lycra - it's free. You only need an open mind," Torgan said.

"The key for most adults," she added, "is simply to give themselves permission to play - even for 10-15 minutes. Unplug and dance. Life is too short to spend it checking your email."
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