EAPNS: Are you a runner?

Source:
http://www.impactlab.net/2009/05/31
/cherry-juice-eases-pain-after-running/

Is YES your final answer? Good, you should continue reading this blog. 
           Not sure if it is the same for you, but I don't remember being sore from running when I was a teenager, maybe I was simply in better shape :).
           These days I find myself with heavy legs after a long run or a track workout. Tart cherry juice has helped me to reduce the post run pain.
           I know it sounds funny, but what is so special about tart cherry juice? Cherry juice has natural anti-inflammatory powers, which are also giving the cherry the bright red and pretty color. Cherry juice can be purchased as a concentrate. I have been taking 1-2 table spoons, added to a 12 oz glass of water after a run or other activities. Some sites refer to taking the juice 2x a day. You can obviously play with the amount you are taking. You can find several different research studies providing more scientific information regarding the reduced acidic levels measured in athletes taking the juice vs. placebos after a marathon or other running events.
Here is one, more recent article: Tart Cherry Juice Reduces Muscle Pain and Inflammation


Enjoy your run!

Food as joy and energy source

One of my friends recently asked me, how he can achieve his goals for next years triathlon season including losing some weight.
Rule # 1: Don't beat yourself up over your current weight. Beating yourself up can lead to extreme reactions such as a diet, which is not sustainable and you will bounce back to what you were before. Plus it simply is too much pressure, we already have to deal with enough "stress" in our daily activities; family, work and our busy schedules.


Alright, now that we are done beating ourselves up, we can look at what we have been eating. My friend did a great job documenting and analyzing his nutrition, starting with breakfast. He realized a few things regarding his lunch and his dinners and at the same time found out that his percentages of crabs, protein and fat where off from where he thought they would be.


Before we start looking at what changes to make, we need to understand that food is there to be enjoyed and it isn't something bad. We usually sit down, have a good conversation over breakfast, lunch or dinner and indulge ourselves with a favorite meal. If you are rushing through your meal, you should probably consider taking a few minutes to sit down and eat!!


Without knowing, my friend probably feels tired and wants to take a nap after some of his meals. A reason for that may be that the meals consists of meat, some fried side dish and cheese. All of those foods are difficult for your system to digest. Ever cleaned a pot after preparing mac & cheese? Cheese is generally speaking high in fat content and its chemical structures are hard to break down, so is the fat your french fries and the meat your eating was cooked in, especially when eating out.


Again, it is about enjoying your food and providing your body with the energy it needs. Since it is hard to make changes to your diet without going through major cravings, I would suggest to have 2 days a week where you don't eat cheese and another two days (separate days), where you don't eat meat or fried food. 


I will continue to provide ideas to slowly change your diet in a sustainable and enjoyable way, for it to become your new way of walking through your life - feeling good and energized after eating.


Enjoy your meal.


PS: Before every meal, have a glass of water. You are probably not drinking enough throughout the day anyway and it will take up some room in your tummy that would otherwise be consumed by the 20-30 % of food that shouldn't be on your plate to begin with! Don't fell bad leaving something on your table, even if your grandma told you not to :)

Hot Stone Massage

Recovery and its importance for continuous improvement and health. 

Source: http://www.peacefulmind.com/hotstones.htm

                    I have been getting massages over the past few years and they were mostly deep tissue and trigger point. At a recent massage, the massage therapist pointed out that I have big knots in my upper back and that it is hard to get them out with deep work and if I had given hot stone massage (Link source: www.Livestrong.com) a try before. I hadn't since I was a firm believer in deep work for years. As most of you know, nutrition is a huge part of exercising, racing and recovery. However there are plenty of other factors that you may want to consider to stay healthy, continue to improve your performance and enjoy your sport.

                  Having experienced hot stone last Friday, I have to say that it was a amazing; not only could I feel the knots being loosened up, but my whole body was very relaxed. You should give it a try, I can only recommend Cary Massage Therapy and Therapist Melissa Martin. You can schedule an appointment right here.

http://www.carymassagetherapy.com/

PS: I know this is not about nutrition, the hot stones are a little too big for micro nutrients :)

Off season nutrition #1

The off season has by now started for most triathletes! I just took a month off myself, before I am getting back into it for next year's races. Most everyone treats themselves to foods they don't usually do :). One of my favorite daily comic strips "Frazz", has a good one for you:

source: http://comics.com/frazz/2010-10-30

Today's breakfast from the Outer Banks, NC Recipe: Chicken sausage, grits and more

Today's breakfast is brought to you with lots of sunshine from the Outer Banks. This almost seems to have become my annual trip to the beach. Last year I was here with friends from Germany, this year it's just two of us. I get to cook some food, mostly breakfast. I hope you read the previous blog and found out about what one should eat for breakfast. Following that recommendation, we have been preparing solid, hearty and delicious breakfasts. Today's was a little different!!!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 hot chicken sausages (cooked beforehand)
1/4 cup of grits (original not instant) (prepared with milk)
1/2 an onion
a hand full of grape tomatoes
3 eggs
sharp cheddar cheese (2% if you want lighter fare)
sea salt/black pepper

Directions:
1.  prepare grits (takes 10-15 min)
2.  cook the sausages and cut in thin slices
in a good size frying pan:
3. chop up the onion and fy gently with some olive oil
4. add sausages and continue to fry until they get s a nice gentle brown surface
5. add grits and spread out evenly, mix in the onions and sausage
6. add grape tomatoes (cut in halfs), this will let the juices join your wonderful meal
7. add the three eggs, you can put them in a bowl and stir them up, or simply add them to the pan and mix everything up
8. add salt and pepper, you could also add some hot sauce to the dish, but I prefer to add that on my plate since not everybody likes hot sauce
9. mix and let the eggs cook at medium heat
10. add a layer of sharp cheddar cheese, let melt and then stir into the rest of the meal
11. depending on your liking, let the meal brown some in the pan, which gives the ingredients some more time to combine and develop their flavors together


Enjoy your meal!!

Eat lots - Early

I was thinking about this subject for a while and came across this article. Since I won't be able to sum it up any better, I am just going to be lazy and reference it.
Lose Weight by Eating Earlier

Dark Chocolate

Now how does chocolate and eating right fit together? It can in small amounts :), especially if it is dark chocolate! 

Dark chocolate compared to milk or white chocolate contains a higher percentage of cocoa, which brings along healthier fats, less sugar, more protein and more antioxidants. There actually quite a few good reasons to eat dark chocolate: 
- lowers you blood pressure
- lowers LDL cholesterol (LDL=bad cholesterol)
- will increase your mood via the natural "anti-depressant" serotonin
- contains flavonoids, which is an antioxidant that aids strengthening the connective tissue of blood vessels


After all it tastes really good :); a small piece of dark chocolate and a cup of coffee gets me through my afternoon low !!


My personal favorite is Lindt Swiss chocolate.

5. EAPNS: No to sunburn - Astaxanthin

It is a little late in this summer, but I thought this may still interesting for some of you, who choose to spend time in the sun, exercising outside etc. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant, which absorbs/reduces free radicals created by skin exposed to UV rays.

It can also reduce the pain and inflammation occurring with sunburn. The objective of course is to not get sunburned at all. Not to be mistaken, Astaxanthin is not a replacement for sunscreen, but sort of functions as internal sunscreen. I have been trying to find out if there are actual studies with regards to the SPF of Astaxanthin, but couldn't find anything. It reaches its effect after ~2 weeks of taking 4mg a day.

Some cites refer to increased protection against the sun and state the Astaxanthin is 500 times stronger than Vitamin E and 10 times stronger than beta-carotene, which in the past have been recommended to aid exposure to sun.

Astaxanthin

          As many of us I am usually a little skeptical, when it comes to supplements, especially if there is so much different information available online, but no profound scientific studies. I am giving it a try and will let you know what my experience is. The antioxidant also shows significant other benefits. Just Google Astaxanthin + benefits and you will be surprised :)!!!

Where to buy:

http://www.astavita.com/astaxanthin.html  >>Chris Lieto's main sponsor

The Vitamin Shoppe

For the science geeks amongst you: http://www.cyanotech.com/pdfs/bioastin/batl09.pdf

4. EAPNS: Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative to improve personal health and our environment. It is an interesting read and the website provides recipes. 

          As an athlete I am supporting the idea, at least from a personal health standpoint. The question remains, what day of the week should be the one without meat? This time of the year I usually have hard and long workout days on the weekend and I seem to struggle to get enough calories in on those days. Since it is a good thing to eat some fatty fish once a week, you could substitute your meat protein with fish on one of your weekend days. The earlier days of the week, or at least Monday is usually an easier workout day for most athletes and therefore seems to work with the initiative. One could argue against that and say you need a good source of protein the day after a hard weekend of training to rebuilt the muscular damages. Lets all remember that meat and fish aren't the only good sources of protein. I have talked about potato and egg as a great source for protein or legumes (lentils, beans....). It is also a good thing to add some vegetables to your meal that are high in antioxidants such as broccoli and fresh tomatoes. Don't forget the complex carbs, such as wheat pasta and off you go with a simple, but healthy and protein rich meal. Yes even the pasta contains some protein.
Recipe:
2 Tomatoes on the vine
Broccoli
1/2 an onion
1 jar of traditional pasta sauce
1 can of beans of your liking
1 lbs of whole wheat pasta

3. EAPNS: Post Workout Nutrition

The theory behind refueling:

I have been struggling with that subject for a few days now and think I have found the right answers. 

They are:

- Window of opportunity: Eat as quickly as you can after your workout. Ideally 10-15 mins after, but no longer than 60 mins.

- Simple Carbs

- Protein

- No fat

It doesn't seem to be very difficult, does it? The part I was struggling with were the simple carbs (sugars). In one of the earlier blogs I was preaching of the importance of complex carbs and how they are used to restore muscle glycogen and how simple carbs will not do the job. For immediate post work out nutrition that whole theory can be thrown out the window. Simple carbs are the way to go, ideally in liquid form. Liquids can be absorbed even quicker! 

             The reasons why simple carbs are better are twofold. They can be absorbed much quicker then starch and can therefore be transported to the muscles more quickly. In addition simple carbs will increase the low and depleted insulin levels. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the human body and is responsible for delivery of nutrients from the bloodstream into muscle cells. The higher insulin levels also speed up the synthesis of protein, which aids the rebuilding of muscle tissue. The amount of carbohydrates you should take in depends on your body weight and the duration of the workout. It is roughly 0.5 g carbs per pound or 1.2 g per kg. The suggested values per weight range at the figures provided seem to be the average. One site suggested to take in 1.6g/kg immediately after the workout and another drink 1 hour afterwards. . 

              Protein is generally 50% of the carbs and can therefore range from 0.6g/kg to 0.8g/kg. Sources for carbs can be sports drinks, juices etc or fruit; bananas work well, they contain 25-30g of sugars. As far as fat goes, immediate recovery nutrition doesn't need to contain fat and it is probably better to focus on sugars and protein and get your healthy fats as part of your regular meals. 

            A few examples of recovery drink of my choice are Walmart's alternative to Slim Fast or Mass XXX from GNC, which contains complex carbs and is better for secondary refueling  1-3 hours after the workout.

Alrighty off to a short run with drils and in the pool for some more drills!!!!

Rediscover Yogurt - Fruit + Yogurt= Perfect Snack

It has been a while since the last blog, as things have gotten busy and the nice weather draws me outside for training, the time to dedicate to the blog pretty much dissipated. I cannot promise much as far as how much I will be writing over the next few months, since the triathlon season is reaching its peak.
Rediscovered Yogurt:
Ever since I moved to the US about 6 years ago and probably even before then,  I pretty much wasn't eating yogurt. Part of it was that I didn't like the flavor of fat free yogurt. I have recently rediscovered yogurt, with a different viewpoint and positive experience of its taste. Instead of normal (mostly fat free) yogurt, a friend pointed out "Greek Strained Yogurt" from Fage. It is very creamy and smooth and has a little bit of a salty flavor to it. It comes in 3 different fat content categories, where I prefer the 2 % option. There are obviously pros and cons to each version, in general I eat yogurt as a snack in between meals or as a dessert and therefore try not to consume too many calories from fat. It is however important, especially for snacks, to add some calories from fat, since a the body needs fat and b the meal/snack will last much longer and you will prevent heisshunger (ravenous appetite).  Snacks should generally have similar nutritional contents as meals, just in smaller doses. If you only eat fruit, you are providing you body with a lot of sugar, which will drive up your insulin levels quickly and are also digested very quickly. If you eat fruit and a yogurt that contains some, fat, you are not only adding fat, but your are adding valuable protein. Voila, here goes your complete meal :).

+

Image Sources:

Left: http://www.fageusa.com/NutritionChecklist.aspx

Right: http://www.mehc.ae/images/temp/fresh_fruit.jpg

2. EAPNS: Carb loading 1: Simple and complex carbohydrates

Endurance athletes talk about carb loading all the time :); everybody has a different approach prior to race day. Carb loading prior to race day can be up to a weeklong routine, or just a few days. I will talk about race prep carb loading in a different blog.

One of the things only few people think about is that carb loading needs to occur all the time, it is one of the most important elements of recovery and continuous training efforts. Carb loading simply means that you are replenishing your sugar depots in your muscles and your liver. Those are the main sources that can store glycogen, there is also some stored in your blood, but those sugars are maintained continuously by calorie intake and insulin production. The energy stored in those depots is recalled, when working out, not only on race day.

What kind of carbs/sugars can be stored in your muscles/liver?

There are essentially 2 types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are small molecules, such as sugar (glucose), fructose (sugar in fruit and fruit juices). lactose (sugar in milk), galactose (monosaccharides) and two sugars bonded together. Simple sugars are easily digestible and are perfect for quick energy replacement during workouts and races. Excess simple sugars are easily converted into fat.

Complex sugars or starch are simple sugars bonded together in a long chain. They are not as easily digestible, but are the source of glucose stored in our muscles and liver. The fact that complex carbs take longer to be digested leads to the effect that they are not as easily converted into body fat.

It is recommended to keep the intake of simple sugars as low as 10% of you daily carbohydrate intake.

How much energy can be stored in muscles and the liver?

Muscles are the main storage of glycogen, one can store anywhere from 200-500 grams of glycogen, which translates into 800-2000 calories. Some athletes have shown storage of up to 2700 calories stored in muscle. Long term training will result in greater storage depots in muscles as well as the amount of muscle mass of course. However, greater muscle mass will also means that your body burns more calories at any given time.

The liver can store 60-120 grams of glycogen, which equals 250–500 calories. 

Your body generally uses mostly liver glycogen over night, which means that a good breakfast with supplements can easily replenish liver glycogen. I will write about that subject separately as well.

Image source: http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/images/i-pasta-penne-rigate.jpg

Carbohydrate foods:

Simple Sugars:

 - Table Sugar

 - Cakes, pastry, biscuits

 - Fruit (the calorie content of fruit is generally low and fruits contain fiber, which slows down the digestive, which    reduces the amount of excess calories stored in form of body fat)

 - Juices

 - Soda

 - Jam

 - Chocolate/Candy

Complex Sugars:

(Food in it’s most natural form i.e. whole wheat etc)

 - Bran

 - Cornmeal

 - Oatmeal

 - Whole wheat pasta, regular pasta

 - Brown/white Rice

 - Potatoes

 - Wholemeal breads

 - Wholegrain cereals

 - Legumes: Peas, Beans Lentils

What have we learned?

Reduce the simple sugars in your daily diet. Carbohydrates are fuel for your body, if carbohydrate stores are low exercise will seem like a real effort! Not only on race day!!

1. Endurance Athlete Performance Nutrition and Supplements Blog: Advanced Cheese

This is the first blog of a series that will specifically talk about Endurance Athlete Performance Nutrition and Supplements (EAPNS). I have been reading a book written by Dr. Feil, which unfortunately is only available in German, most of the information provided will be inspired by the boo. Today’s blog is a little out of sequence, but there was a specific need to extend on my favorite subject “CHEESE”.
            It took me a while to find a real good reason to eat cheese; cheese contains Chromium. Thus far I have only found out that there are differences in how much they contain, Edamer and Gouda (95 micro grams/100g) seem to be high on the list, as well as American Cheese. Other sources list all cheeses at 56 micro grams/100g. The daily needs of Chromium for adults are 35 microgram for men and 25 microgram for women, athletes and diabetics tend to have higher daily needs. The reason therefore is that Chromium is an essential nutrient that helps the body use sugar, protein, and fat. Daily intake beyond 200 micrograms can lead to health risks. A blog that specifically talks about Chromium will follow. On a side note wine and beer also contain considerable amounts of Chromium :).

Here are some facts about cheese:

The fat content in the cheese impacts the flavor of the cheese, the community of cheese connoisseurs thinks that the fat content should be between 20-30% for ripened cheeses.

The biological value of protein in cheese is generally not as high as that in milk. Reason being is that the higher valuable whey protein is excluded in the process of cheese making. However, there are some repined cheeses that have up to 15 % whey protein, whereas most other cheeses only have 4-6% whey protein. On the plus side, ripened cheese also has a greater digestibility compared to milk (96-97% vs. 92%). Vitamin A and Calcium are of course valuable and should be considered as something positive when eating cheese.

If you would like to find out more about protein in cheese, here is an interesting article from www.dairyforall.com

145 lbs SUGAR

I went to the coffee shop this afternoon to get myself a Medium Mocha, no whip. I had just finished a 2.45 h ride and needed to get some calories in my system. I walked over to the milk and sugar stand and there was this not-skinny girl topping of her coffee with sugar. She was holding the sugar dispenser over her cup circling around , must have been at least 7-10 s. To say the least, she is well contributing to the 145 lbs of sugar the average American consumes a year. Now lets makes this a little bit more visible, you can build a figure who is roughly 5'6" inches and normally built with that amount of sugar, by the time July 4th comes around, you have eaten half of the poor thing.
Reality is that there are some of us, who eat probably up to 200 lbs of sugar, since others eat considerably less.
For this upcoming week, look at the sugar you take in.

Obesity campaign "Let's move"

Since the US has now officially decided to spend money against childhood obesity, maybe even blogs like this one can get a share of the money. I have previously drawn conclusions based on the size of people i have seen in certain states and their legacy. For instance Wisconsin to me seemed to be one of the states with the highest obesity, part of that was supported by the fact that there are a lot of big people in WI and that they love their cheese. Now that I have looked at the Obesity rate by state (Source WSJ), I have been proven wrong. I am not even sure how to interpret these numbers, it looks like a few southern states are in the highest ranks, which could be explained by the fried foods. 
        Ultimately the problem seems to be spread around the whole country!! 
Solutions:
1. Eating Out:
Don't eat out as much and cook healthy meals at home with only little trans fat.
Pro: You can loose weight by still enjoying the foods you like, by the simple fact that the preparation itself makes it a lot healthier. For kids that will mean that there dinner will include veggies and all the other things that are good for you. Side Note: Have you ever looked at a kids menu? Chicken tenders and fries, or whatever the restaurant calls it. If you can find veggies on a kids menu let me know :).
Cons: We all love to eat out, it is so easy. The US services economy would be in big trouble if only half of the US decided to not eat out anymore.


2. Portion Size:
Reduce the amount of food you eat.
Pro: You can still eat the things you enjoy, but have to cut back on how much you enjoy.
Cons: This means we have to discipline ourselves, which is way to hard. We already have to do that at work and in the rest of our private life. 
Side Note: Even the FDA has recognized the issue. I find this rather humerus portion size (Source: New York Times)


Ok, I have to move now, running 10 miles this morning was just not enough :)

Cholesterol lowering foods

Here we go again, the annual physical came back with too high LDL-Cholesterol. The letter in the mail suggests regular aerobic exercise. For some people that may be the issue, for others it may not be. So what else can be done? Even for already healthy eaters, there are more things that can be done. Soluble fiber is the number 1 of the bad cholesterol lowering foods, now what is that. Fiber 101. 
Oatmeal and oat bran is followed by nuts and in third place for LDL lowering foods are fish and omega 3 fatty acids (didn't we just have those a few days ago in another blog???). This information and more can be found under (Source): http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

Food for thought

Food for thought, what does that really mean!! Well, I guess there is more than one meaning. The commonly known one is a catalyst, which makes one think about a subject. The real food for thought is also referred to as brain food. Walnuts not only look like little brains, but they are also known to be a great brain food. They are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids.
Here is some more healthful information:
http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/06/some-food-for-your-thoughts-nuts-part-1/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99

What does Heinz 57 Varieties do for you?

Friends don't let friends eat Ketchup!!! Where is that saying coming from? A lot of us whether tall, large or small like our ketchup. It just goes well with fries, eggs or other foods. Besides that fact that it tastes good, there are certain health benefits.

Lycopene is one of the good things found in tomatoes, it becomes more bio-available if the tomatoes are cooked. Ketchup on the other hand contains a lot of sugar and salt, which offset the health benefits. A good alternative to ketchup are tomato sauces and other cooked tomato foods (Source:Wikipedia Ketchup-Nutrition).








Image Source: http://www.heinz.com/our-food/products/ketchup.aspx

Limits of our rational minds!

This was an awesome show on NPR this morning:


Limitis of our rational minds! by NPR/Radioland

Source: istockphoto.com/NPR

Cravings

How to overcome food cravings? This is probably something most of you have either directly asked yourself or struggled with before! There are of course several different reasons. I was listening to a show on NPR last night. The guy on the show was talking about the brain and was asking the simple question, why do we not know more about how our brain works. The same is probably true for knowing about cravings. There are some good articles about cravings out there, here one example:
How to reduce food cravings? by Anne Collins

The consensus is that there are several different reasons, but the biggest reason being a blood sugar imbalance. Easy ways of overcoming that is never letting your blood sugar drop too far, by eating snacks in between meals. These snacks can be a fruit or vegetables. I have also had good success with V8 vegetable Juices or V8 Fusion.
One of the other things I have heard is that cravings get more intense, if we discipline ourselves from not eating the craved foods at all (i.e. candy). A recommendation was: instead of cutting out candy for instance entirely from one day to the other, slowly reduce the amount of candy consumed and therefore having a less difficult time to control the craving, but with a sustainable result.

Have a great evening.

Steffen

Caffeine

Caffeine is known to increase your metabolism (Caffeine and your metabolism), which in effect means that fewer calories get absorbed (see Calorie Balance post). Caffeine is found in a lot of beverages and foods, coffee/tea is one of the ways of caffeine intake, which generally has few to 0 calories. That of course is only true if you don't add milk or cream, or a lot of sugar. Flavors that you can add to your coffee are high and sugar!! Sodas or soft drinks contain a lot of caffeine as well, but they eitehr contain a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners (see blog on sweeteners). Of course there are some side effects of caffeine that most of us experience, such as difficulties to sleep etc.
The recommendation for the day is, drink a cup of coffee after you ate lunch. Only add a little bit of cream, or at least consider milk and don't add any sugar.

The link below lists the caffeine content of drinks, you can also find foods on the same website:

Caffeine Content of Drinks (Source:www.energyfiend.com)

Juices

Although juices are generally a good source of vitamins and are better than soda, they contain a decent amount of calories. Please look at the packaging of the orange juice of your choice. One of the things that you can do is to either not drink juice today, or try to mix it with 50% of water. This is also what you find in the grocery store under light juice, the companies simply add 50% water and therefore reduce the calories by 50%.

Early Dinner

Today, try not to eat dinner any later than 7.00 PM. Everybody’s metabolism slows down at the end of the day and the calorie absorption increases the later it gets in the evening.

Beer and Wine

This blog was inspired by a discussion I had with friends at a Master's Swim team social. We started talking about the different types of beers and eventually ended up talking about the calories of different beers. One has to consider, drinking alcohol in general, not only beer, slows down your metabolism. I knew something about the effect of alcohol and that the liver will be busy instead of actively supporting your metabolism. As always I ended up searching the web and found a really good article:

The REAL Effects of Alcohol On Your Body

What do we learn from that? If you are going to drink alcohol, have the drink you like!! Just don't have as many. One of the things I have successfully done is also not drink Monday through Wednesday or Thursday.

Just to be aware of how many calories beers and a glass of wine has, here are two interesting links:
Beer
Wine

An easy breakfast

While the pros and cons of eating egg yolks often changes each decade, no one will argue that fresh, chopped veggies are tasty and healthy. So an easy and quick breakfast you can make for yourself after that good morning workout, or before you head off for a busy day at the office:

1) a bit of olive oil in the pan
2) 2 whole eggs (or 4 egg whites only) beat and then added to the pan
3) throw in a few chopped veggies - spinach, green peppers, artichoke, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and any other favorites
4) cook thoroughly on low-medium heat without stirring for a fritatta
- or stir for scrambled style
- or cook halfway and then fold for an omelette
5) add a few of your favorite spices
6) Eat with a slice of whole wheat bread and a nice glass of fruit juice.

Voila! Good, healthy calories in a short time frame. Almost anyone can do it. :)

Don't break down

I have to apologize, I haven't been writing any blogs the past couple of days. I have a recipe ready, just need to type it it. Has anybody ever been in a situation, when you have been working 14 hour days and still haven't gotten everything done? Ok, enough wining for the day. I still managed to eat healthy and work out, even though it was only for 30 min on the treadmill, while still recovering from a cold.
Motto of the day: Drink lots of water, especially when you are working in a heated environment, continue to eat healthy (remember the energy balance (if you are not able to work out, simply eat less)). Ok, you can have a beer or two at night and sit down and relax.

Happy Wednesday

Calorie Balance

Losing weight is the New Year's resolution for many of us. How does it work? It is actually very simple, if you want to loose weight, you have to create a negative calorie balance. It essentially means that your calorie intake needs to be less than what you are burning.

Imagine a scale, if you are eating more calories than what your body is burning, your body will store access calories in form of body fat. The objective is to have an even (maintain weight), or negative calorie balance.
Ways to achieve a negative calorie balance:
1. Eat less
Reduce the amount of food you are taking in. There are several helpful tool to do so, often referred to as calorie counters. One of the iPhone apps that I have heard positive reviews for is Tap&Track. Some people like the help from organizations like www.weightwatchers.com. You ultimately need to be comfortable with what you are doing. It may be as simple as following the advice that we are providing on www.LoveToEatRight.com. It is often enough to be aware of what you are eating an knowing how many calories the food contains.
2. Burn more calories
Any kind of physical activity will burn calories, even a 15 min walk in your lunch break does. It starts with easy things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator etc. If you enjoy doing sports even better!! Tomorrows blog will talk about the different types of work outs and the related ways of burning calories.


Most importantly, how do you find out, how many calories you should be taking in per day. Here is a helpful site, which lets you calculate your daily calorie needs.

Olive Oil

Olive Oil is commonly known for its health aspects, unlike animal fats, it is known to lower cholesterol levels as well as blood sugar and blood pressure. It is high in mono saturated fat. You can use Olive Oil for cooking and frying, if you like its flavor. For less flavor, you can use cheaper version of Olive Oil for frying. My favorite salad dressing is balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, salt, little bit of sugar and pepper. If you like, you can add mustard and/or light sour crème. Olive Oil is also good as a base for any marinate. If you’d like to know more about its nutritional facts, please see the following links:

Cooking with Olive Oil

Nutritional Facts

Culinary use (incl. comparison with other fats)

Sleep

Go to bed early, to be well rested for the week. A decent amount of sleep is necessary to maintain a normal metabolism. There are studies that show that your metabolism is negatively affected if you don’t get enough sleep on a regularly. Sleep is also important for your immune system, especially in the cold weather we have been having!!

Early Dinner

Today, try not to eat dinner any later than 7.00 PM. Everybody’s metabolism slows down at the end of the day and the calorie absorption increases the later it gets in the evening.

2. Recipe: Sweet Potato Gratin

Cook time: 1 hour, prep time 20 min

4-5 entree servings

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of sweet potatoes

¾-1 pound of boneless chicken breast

1 yellow squash or zucchini

1 small onion

4 eggs

1 ½ cups of milk

¼ cup of flower

1 can of beans of your choice

Bag of sharp cheddar cheese (2% milk fat, if you prefer a lower fat cheese)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Paprika

Crushed Red Peppers

Directions

Chop onions into small pieces and poor a little bit of olive oil into a frying pan, caramelize the onions, add black pepper and crushed peppers to the onions by your liking. Cut chicken into small pieces and add into the hot frying pan. Add sea salt, black pepper and paprika.

Cut the sweet potatoes (1/8”) and squash (1/4”) into thin slices. If the potatoes or the squash are thick, cut them in half so the slices aren’t too big. Put the potatoes, squash, beans and the chicken into a big bowl and mix it.

Mix the eggs, milk and flower in a bowl; add sea salt, black pepper and other spices.

In a big glass baking form, spread some olive oil, so the gratin won’t stick. Add the potatoes and other ingredients from the big bowl. You can get fancy and put the potatoes in layers, most importantly mix the ingredients that you have a nice mixture of the potatoes, beans and squash. Pour the eggs and milk into the baking form. You should have roughly ½-2/3 of the potatoes covered with the eggs. Spread cheese as a final layer on top of the other ingredients, feel free to add as much cheese as you like. Cover the baking form with aluminum foil (otherwise the potatoes won’t get done).

Bake in the oven at 380 degrees (190 C) for ~40-50 min.

Note:

The potato egg combination is one the most effective ways for the human body to absorb protein. Here are two links explaining the Biological Value as well as a listing of the best protein sources:

Biological Value (Protein)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27450-list-high-protein-foods/

3 in 1 New Year's Resolution

What are your New Year's Resolutions?
1. Money: Handle money better and get out of debt.
2. Weight: Lose weight, go on a diet.
3. Time: Manage time better and spend more time with your family and friends
Those seem to be the top 3, if you are a little creative, you can accomplish them all at the same time!!


1. Money: If you spend a little time analyzing your monthly spending , you will most likely find out that you spend a lot on "Eating out". (If you are looking for a good tool to do so, Mint has gotten decent reviews) Eating out means that you don't really know how the meal is prepared and what exactly you are eating, in addition, portions are usually too big when you are eating out and the healthy food choices are limited.
2. Weight: A lot of us have the goal to lose some weight going into the new year. Diets are not the way to go, your goal should be to change your eating habits long term, which makes them sustainable. Simply read the love to eat right" blog and you will hopefully get some good ideas on what you need to do.
3. Time: Have you ever thought of cooking being one of the things, where you could spend more time with your family?


1+2+3=Cook and eat  the weekly "Love to eat right" recipe with your family and friends and you will accomplish all three resolutions at the same time. You will learn about foods, know what you are eating, enjoy the company of your family and friends and if planned out, you will even save time driving around to a restaurant and waiting in line.


If you have a questions or ideas, please send me an e-mail: steffen@lovetoeatright.com

Aspartame and its effects on liver glycogen

Here we go, we sit at breakfast this morning and have a conversation about carb loading. There are two ways to store carbohydrates in your body, the liver (up to 160 g) and muscles (up to 720g). Thoughts that are going through my head are, how to improve the glycogen stored in the liver. I was doing some research on how the liver works and what causes the release of glycogen. Without being to scientific, a hypothesis could be that Aspartame (commonly known under the brand name Nutrasweet) has a negative effect on storing glycogen in the liver. Aspartame has a similar effect as carbohydrates, as far as triggering the liver to manage the blood sugar levels. This process, will negatively affect the stored glycogen, which we need throughout the day or in a race.

Long story short, stay away from Diet Sodas and anything that contains artificial sweeteners.

Happy racing in 2010 :)