CoachBioArt

You’ve gotta try this… these shakes are amazing. They pack a whole bunch of nutrients/vitamins, w/ very little calories and great taste! It also feels you up pretty well.

Contact me if you want to find out more about Shakeology. I drink it every day and feel better than ever!

One of my favorite blogs, In The Pipeline deals with the pharma industry and often talks about interesting discoveries.  He has a very nice write up on a research paper published in the journal Nature.  In that paper, the authors looked at the effect of calorie restriction on lifespan and fertility in fruit flies.  This has been done in the past, but the interesting thing is that they started adding back nutrients to their diets to see what the effect was.  The conclusions are very interesting, in that adding carbs did not affect lifespan, but that adding methionine (one of the essential amino acids) had a more significant effect than adding anything else.

Now, Don’t go out and start overeating carbohydrates… those are still things to keep in check for diabetes/etc., but it is likely that you will see reformulations of supplements to include less methionine and other amino acids.  Very cool stuff, good to keep an eye out for…

That Late-night Snack: Worse Than You Think.

Interesting article on the ScienceDaily site.   Basically they examined the effects of timing of food intake on weight gain.   Finding the optimal time for eating is almost as important as what you eat!

From the writeup: “Our circadian clock, or biological timing system, governs our daily cycles of feeding, activity and sleep, with respect to external dark and light cycles. Recent studies have found the body’s internal clock also regulates energy use, suggesting the timing of meals may matter in the balance between caloric intake and expenditure.”

The question is, what is the right time?

There’s an interesting article on the NYTimes Well Blog about how fatty foods can affect memory on laboratory experiments (on rats).  So, if this holds for humans, Atkins will help you lose weight, but should affect your mind.  Interesting thing is that I felt the same way when I was doing Atkins… I felt a little cloudy most of the time (like a fog of war for those of you gamers).  Sure, the low sugar will do some of that, but since switching to a more balanced diet, I am certainly more alert and I can do a lot better on my high-intensity workouts!

Don’t get me wrong, a high fat burger or other fried delicacy is good every now and then, but the point is to keep it to “every now and then!”….

The image below makes me sleepy just looking at it.  Look closely… The carbohydrate overdose will cause an insulin coma and according to the article, the fat will make you slow and senile.  At least you’ll have a smile on while eating it, but is it worth it?  If you are like me, you’ll want to indulge every now and then, but trust me… Run to the gym right after eating it (or 1-2 hours later if you are responsible for cleanup duty where you work out, in case you lose some it while working out!).

You’ll regret it more if you don’t.

Having lost enough weight to be considered in fair shape, I hate that according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculators, I’m just going from obese to oveweight… hey! I have a lot more muscle than the average american, and although I’m not thin, I’m not on the upper limit of being overweight or even worse, obese!  The BMI calculators are meant for a general audience that doesn’t really work out as much as I do (6-7 times a week for at least 30-60 minutes).

I finally found a BMI calculator that is corrected for lean body mass in the formula and is shifted so that it does not just assume you are pear-shaped… check it out:

Body Mass Index – Lean Body Mass

Here’s another calculator that also takes into account your waist size and gives more info than just the BMI number

There’s an interesting article over at bloomberg that describes some recent analysis suggesting that there is a higher mortality rate in swine flu patients with who had a body mass index (BMI) over 40.  Although BMI is a grossly skewed scale (does not take into account % body fat, so many athletes classify as overweight or obese), it is a good measure of height/weight ratio.

The observation still needs to be validated with more cases, but if the link is real, it makes for a very compelling reason to loose weight now that the swine flu is becoming a pandemic problem.  Obviously, morbidly obese people have many problems that either cause or are caused by their weights (diabetes, respiratory issues, etc), so the actual reason for the increased mortality isn’t clear, but there’s no denying that fit people seem to be healthier anyways.

In looking for an explanation, the article goes on to explore some real biological reasons for this correlation:

Scientists don’t yet know whether extremely overweight people get sicker because of associated conditions like heart disease and asthma, or whether the excess fat itself makes them more vulnerable. Both may be to blame.

Fat cells secrete chemicals that cause chronic, low-level inflammation that can hamper the body’s immune response and narrow the airways, says Tim Armstrong, a doctor working in the WHO’s chronic diseases department in Geneva.

What’s more, excess fatty tissue compresses the chest, and the fatty infiltration of the chest wall causes a decrease in lung function and an increase in the pulmonary blood volume, Armstrong said. “If you are obese, you tend to be less physically active and have an associated shallower breathing pattern. All these compound, leading to breathing difficulties.”

The morbidly obese are also more likely to experience insulin resistance, a condition that makes it harder for doctors to lower the level of sugar in the blood of critically ill patients, said Greet Van den Berghe, head of acute medical sciences at Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven.

So what does that tell us? It could be the respiratory issues, it could be the diabetes or it could be some biochemistry.  The bottom line is that it seems like being overweight isn’t an asset in this case (If only I had known that 30 years ago to tell my grandmother that it was ok for me not to finish my meal!)

The article also mentions that studies in mice fed a high fat diet seem to confirm the higher mortality, so at least there is some extra supporting evidence for it.  That being said, it’s probably too early to tell (unfortunately) and it will take some time and many more illnesses for a clear link to be established.  In the meantime, if you needed another reason losing weight and getting in shape… you have it now!

Guess what? some of these 10-minute workout programs may not be as crazy as they sound… There’s an article in the Well Blog from the NY Times that talks about new research that seems to indicate that working hard (really hard) for a few minutes three days a week may be as effective as long workouts.  The key is that you have to bust your butt during that time.  In other words, Intervals!

I’m a firm believe in interval training.  Before P90X, I would work out 30-60 minutes 4-5 times a week at a heart rate of 120-130bpm, and it didn’t do squat… It wasn’t until I started bringing my HR to >160 that I started seeing real results.  Both P90X and Insanity achieve this through different approaches, but they both work… check them out!

Go check out The Healthy and Fit Algorithm, written by Adam Gilber of mybodytutor.com
It is a very good collection of hints for eating well and staying fit.   Yes, you’ve heard most of the points somewhere else, but here, they are nicely put together…

In particular, I love the first three dealing with exercise:

Do it 4 times per week for at least 30 minutes. Seriously, doesn’t matter. Basketball, jogging, weights, push ups, etc. Unless you have a specific goal just make sure to get it done!

The two day rule! You can’t miss 2 days of working out in a row. You can skip one day. But not the next!

Don’t let the “Exercise Monster” build up. When I don’t do laundry for a while it becomes what I like to call the ‘Laundry Monster’. It builds up in my mind and I avoid doing it at all costs. Until finally, I have to. And it’s never as bad as I think it’ll be! Don’t let it happen to you. Follow the two day rule!

My old rugby coach used to say: “For every 2 days you skip, you lose a day of work”   This means, that if you only work out three days a week (skipping 4) it means that you really once worked out once a week.

Similarly, one of my favorite Tony Horton’s quotes is: “If you are going to only work out 3 days a week, you might as well throw yourself down the stairs… you’ll be just as sore and no more fit”

As you can see… these things are all telling you the same thing.  Work out 5-6 days a week (even if you don’t kill yourself at it).  The benefts of doing some physical exercise almost every day are bigger than what you get from any single day.  In other words, the sum is greater than the parts.

On my previous post, I talked about condiments on sandwiches, and the fact that many times, you didn’t really need them and they just added extra calories and fat.  Specifically, things like Mayo and Butter just add a minor amount of flavour, but significant amounts of fat and calories.  I wanted to extend the idea to every day foods, not just fast food.  There are some very easy switches that save you calories and fat, but have a minor impact on flavour or the enjoyment of any dish.

For example, 1 or 2% milk is a no-brainer to most people.  Sure, whole milk is creamy, but 2% is too… switching to 1% isn’t that much of a change once you get used to 2%.  In addition, skim milk has enough milk taste that it is a great substitute.  Have cereal in the morning? use skim milk… there’s no reason to use regular or even 2%.  Most of the flavour comes from the cereal anyways! Soy milk is a good option too (but, do soybeans have nipples?), though it sometimes has as much fat as 2% milk.

Sometimes it is also easy to save many calories by just going for a different flavor.  BBQ sauces taste great, but why don’t you use Tabasco instead? it will still taste great and the amount of fat goes down significantly.  And BTW, skip the blue cheese, or just use a small dab.  Salads are a great example of this… always ask for dressing on the side and add the minimum amount to get a flavor.  Aim to use 1/3 to 1/2 of whatever dressing they give you.  You will feel better and save some extraneous fat and calories that you won’t miss.

Another potential for disaster is peanut butter.  I *LOVE* peanut butter… really.  I could eat a jar with a spoon if I didn’t think it would kill me .  If you are going to use some in a sandwich, use the smallest amount possible, those are extra calories and fat that are really hard to control. If you really want to have peanut butter, my recommendation is that you really measure the serving size… take a spoon and weigh it out before you put the peanut butter in it and then weigh it afterwards.  You will be surprised at what the serving size is really like.  In the past, I would make a peanut butter, banana and cheese sandwich that is to die for, but unfortunately, that’s probably the end result.  There were probably over 1000 calories in a sandwich that I could devour in less than one minute… what a waste!

Other easy things that can be replaced:

• “Butter” -> “I can’t believe it’s not butter”
• Peanut butter -> Soynut butter (this is a great switch!)
• American Singles -> fat free singles (works great on sandwiches, not that great by itself)
• Potatoes -> Sweet potatoes (more fiber, better taste)
• Chicken -> Turkey (usually a good choice and it tastes very similar)
• Bacon -> No Bacon (sure, it’s tasty, but do you really need it?)

Finally, back to butter… do you really need to put any butter/oil in rice or pasta? try it without next time.  The consistency may change a little, but it will be an enjoyable dish nonetheless.  Also, do you really need butter in mash potatoes? use milk, or use nothing!

A great place to look at substitutions is the “Eat This, Not That” set of books and website… you’ll be amazed at what you could accomplish by doing some minor changes in your food choices!

Do you have any other suggestions? I’d love to hear about other extraneous ingredients!

I’ll admit it, I never did Yoga before P90X.  I thought it was somewhat silly and didn’t really think it would help my strength/fitness.  Boy was I wrong.  YogaX is an integral part of P90X and it has made me stronger and much more flexible.  Sure, there are a few poses I can’t do yet… but I’m working on them.  I hated downward dog at first.  My wrists would hurt like hell and I was close to tears a few times.  With time, however, I’ve gotten much better at it, and it has significantly helped my push-ups (and many other moves).

Here’s a short post from www.fitsugar.com that shows you 5 very good poses.  I can’t do the last two properly, but I really like the first 3