It turns out that among nutritionists water is actually considered a nutrient. Some people swear it’s a diet elixir, and studies show it helps your skin as well. Certainly anyone who’s ever gone to the beach all day in the sun knows how drained you’ll feel later in the day. A lot of this is due to dehydration too.
If you’re exercising in the summer months, you have to be particularly aware and careful about hydration. In direct sun, heat exhaustion and heat stroke become risks. I try to run along routes where there are water fountains. Spraying some cold water on yourself every 15 minutes or so does wonders. I also run with a water pack which is easier than carrying a water bottle, and is always available. Plus the weight sits nicely distributed around your core, where it’s easiest to balance.
I would recommend some specifics about how much water if it were a simple matter. But the truth is each persons body is different, based on size, weight, age, and exercise intensity. So the best way, as I’ve mentioned before is to monitor your urine color (should be clear) before and after workout.
It is especially important not to just wait until you’re thirsty. This happens after the body has already become dehydrated, and even then is not consistent in all people. Another method to monitor your fluid intake is to weigh yourself before and after your workout. If you have significant weight loss, this is most likely from liquids lost. Over time you should learn to gauge your own body. Monitoring is the best way to get better at this.
About.com has a pretty good article on the topic. Read here.
People have asked me about supplements. First, a caveat, I’m not a nutritionist, so ultimately you should consult one, or your doctor, for proper recommendations.
Second, let me throw my bias on the table. I prefer to avoid the chemicals and supplements if at all possible. My take is that ultimately good nutrition, and a balanced diet are in the end the best ways to achieve your training goals.
Creatine is a hot supplement among fitness folks. I confess to having little experience with it personally, so I’ll just quote from ACE (American Council on Exercise):
“Several studies suggest that ingestion of 20 to 25 grams of creatine monohydrate per day for five to six days improves muscular performance during activities that require short periods of high-intensity poer and strength…”
They also note however some possible side effects like liver + kidney damage if you consume a lot, stomach cramps + diarrhea, and weight gain. They specifically don’t recommend it for those doing endurance exercises as the weight would hurt your overall performance.
And on to the Protein question. Protein, protein, protein. Everyone’s obsessed with it, yet we only need 12% of our diet as protein. And there are all sorts of plant + carb combinations that make a good protein for us. So why all the worry. Well you can read Michael Pollan’s book, or just go by his simplified motto: “eat food, mostly plants, not too much”. What he’s distilling into this little sound bite is the fact that many of the diseases we face are caused by not doing one of those. Instead of food, eating processed food. Instead of mostly plants we eat sugary stuff, and too much protein. And instead of not too much, we eat much too much. That’s not to say that we should eat a little more protein if we’re training, ACE recommends increasing that 12% to 18%.
But vis-a-vis the protein supplements, be aware that too much protein can be a problem.
“Consuming too much protein can be physically harmful. Extra protein must be broken down metabolically, and the waste products must be excreted from the body, placing additional strain on the kidneys.”
“Protein consumption in and of itself does not increase muscle size. After the growth years, muscles must be stimulated by progressive resistance exercise to increase their size and strength. In fact, even though American adults ingest plenty of protein, they lose more than one-half pound of muscle every year unless they perform regular strength training”.
Do some reading folks, there are a lot of myths out there…
You’ve probably heard it, you’ve probably had a conversation about it, or maybe you asked the question… How do I keep my butt firm, or the back of my arms? The ladies ask, how do I keep my tummy firm, or my boobs?
Or maybe you’ve wondered, is there a certain diet or exercise regimen that is good for my skin?
There are a couple of points to keep in mind here. First off, the good news. Cardiovascular exercise is great for your circulation, and as such is great for your skin. Think: it removes toxins & improves blood flow, etc. Also, if you’re smoking, this is bad news for your skin, so stop, or at least cut down. And here’s another little gem, drink lots of water! Dehydration is bad for your skin. Don’t know if you’re dehydrated, well if you’re thirsty, you’re more than likely long since dehydrated. Better yet check the color of your pee. That’s right, yellow means your dehydrated, clear means you have plenty of fluids.
What else? How do I lose fat in this one location? Unfortunately it doesn’t really work that way. Your body distributes your fat exactly how it sees fit to. It does this by concentrating fat around your center of gravity. That is slightly different in men than women, but on the whole, what you need to keep in mind is that exercise overall reduces your overall bodyfat content, which reduces it everywhere at once. That’s right ladies, as you probably already know, when you lose weight, your breasts get smaller too. Less fat means firmer. One caveat to all of this though, as you gain muscle mass, the fat you do have sits better on your body too, so that is a small added benefit. In general try to do a combination of cardiovascular training such as running or other sport that gets your heart rate up, and on alternate days resistance training, which builds muscle mass. These two in combination will increase your metabolism, improve your overall body composition (or body density) so that your burn calories more efficiently.
Last but not least, don’t forget your diet. As my favorite write/speaker on nutrition Michael Pollan says “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much”. Check out his video below.
This has to be the number one universal question I hear people ask. When I start working out, do I need to eat a lot of protein??There are so many myths around diet, it’s hard to know where to start.
So instead I’ll cut right to the chase. These are the basic recommendations from American Council on Exercise:
Protein: 12-20% caloric intake
Carbohydrate: 55-65% caloric intake
Fat: 25-30% caloric intake
Vitamins: see RDA
Minerals: see RDA
Water: 2-3 quarts per day
Increasing the protein intake from 12% to 18% when doing resistance training, is recommended.
Note that the former “meat” group on the food guide pyramid is now called the meat and beans group. For 2200 calorie diet:
2 cups fruits
3 cups veggies
7 oz grains
6 oz meat or beans
3 cups milk/dairy
6 tsp oils
Here’s some more good news. Even if you don’t think about protein, there are lots of ways to get it. Not eating a lot of meat or fish? No problem, our omnivorian bodies can make it. Here are a few ways:
rice + sesame seeds = complete protein
sunflower seeds + peanuts = complete protein
milk + legume soups = complete protein
macaroni + cheese = complete protein
cereal + milk = complete protein
peanut butter sandwich = complete protein
rice + bean casserole = complete protein
My conclusions (note these are mine only, for official word on the topic, please talk to a registered dietician): 12% of protein is so low as to not even have to think about it. Most americans eat a huge amount of protein, and many have to worry about REDUCING their protein intake. Too much protein actually taxes the body, as the liver has to convert it to carbohydrate energy. So what most people really have to concentrate on, and worry about is eating enough fruits and vegetables.
Here’s an interesting article that appeared on BBC news in December. It talks about the diet of Medieval people. These heavy laboring peasants would have done 12 hours of heavy labor per day, consumed roughly 30-50% more calories, nearly two loaves of bread, and three pints of beer. Those are pints, or roughly five 12oz servings! They also consumed only 8oz of meat, which by proportion to their total calorie intake would be 4-5oz by todays calorie standards. They make a strong point that they did not consume much in the way of our modern demon, refined sugar. Say goodbye to heart disease and diabetes. About a year ago Michael Pollan wrote an article for the Times which talked about eating and diet. His conclusion: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. This article more than most others I’ve read, puts debates to rest, and simplifies the debate to the essential concepts which are often lost to nitty gritty details that are in the end irrelevant.
It is really staggering how much there is out there on the web now. It’s so difficult to keep track of. I keep my sights fixed on fitness related content, so hopefully I can help you find some of interest.
Here’s one, the Fitness Toolbox from Mashables.com. It boasts 60 plus sites related to health and fitness. Yum yum!
Want to find out your body mass index? That’s easy go to Body Mass Index Calculator. Want some new workouts, head over to this site (yeah, I love the name too!) Gimme 20.
From health and fitness loggers and journals, to diet trackers, it’s all here. Enjoy!
