Archive for the ‘Nutrition Articles’ Category
From Cookie Crisp to the Crockpot: An American’s Food Journey
I’ve been on just about every form of diet imaginable over the last fifteen years of my life (excluding any diet that removes animal proteins).
I’ve gone through phases where I’ve eaten a ton, barely eaten at all, dropped all carbs, removed grains and dairy, been hypocaloric, isocaloric, hypercaloric and about everything in between.
I’ve done Zone, Atkins, Paleo and Primal. You name it and I’ve done it.
In each instance I have experienced very different yet very real effects on both my health and body composition, and if there’s one thing I have learned over those fifteen years its that I believe there to be a right way and dozens of wrong ways to go about putting food in our bodies.
If you’re interested in my opinion then keep reading. We’re going to take this back to high school when I disappeared if I turned sideways, roll through college where I put on 40 pounds in one year, enter the post-college phase where Pete Coors and Chiptole were my closest mates and then into my professional career where I started to wise up.
1996 – 2000: The “Homeless Shelter” Years
Cookie Crisp, Ramen noodles, white rice with A1 sauce, cheese quesadillas, Breyer’s Ice Cream shakes, 6 for $0.29 McDonald’s Hamburger, Fruity Pebbles.
What do all of these have in common?
If you said, “staples of Dave’s diet all through high school” well then you’d be Johnny on the spot.
I was a pretty good athlete in high school in no thanks to my elected diet of basically 100% refined, processed carbohydrates. Those meals are what I ate consistently for the better part of three years and I am not even joking for a second. I will happily give you my mom’s email address if you don’t believe me.
Not far off from how I looked shirtless in high school.
In fact, let’s get ole’ Ma Bruce on the horn.
“I tried substituting chicken in chile and tacos – didn’t go over that great. I tried serving eggs for dinner – sometimes worked. But, sadly, as a mother I have to confess David subsisted predominantly on cereal! He and his brother went through a box a day – I tried buying generic and low sugar, because they would eat anything out of a cardboard box. That, and we always had Big Batch chocolate chip cookies – I had a sweet tooth – and passed on a terrible habit! Fortunately, I think they still love me.”
(And to prove my mom wrote that, I didn’t even know ‘subsisted’ is a word.)
Of course we lova ya, ma! You’re the reason I’m as awesome as I am today!
Now, I ate this way for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost I had about as much of a clue about nutrition as I do about constructing an airplane. My idea of proper sports performance nutrition was to eat as much quantity as I could for my $3 a day meal allowance at school.
This usually lead to two churros at break time, an egg roll with white rice and a cookie for lunch and the crucial 1 p.m. Veryfine juice from the vending machine to get me out of Trig or whatever for a few minutes. After practice? I’d drive my ass over to McDonald’s and load up on as many hamburgers as I could and call it a day.
Remember these things?!
My second priority for diet was that it had to taste incredible.
Add those two priorities together and you get a malnourished, void of any muscle mass weakling who somehow earned a DI baseball spot with what must have been solely because of Harry’s genes (my father, a very good athlete in his day).
My diet was so bad that I swear to you, my best friend Zach’s mom had a standing invitation for me to eat dinner at their house whenever I wanted. Let’s go to the phones again and hear it from Zach via email.
“Mom always felt the need to feed her kids’ friends, especially when she learned about their eating habits. You were a top priority as the after school/dinner refugee as the Cookie Crisp, Chef Boyardee, Campbell soup diet horrified her…by the way, when you get a chance look through some high school pictures, you were freaking a twig. Hats off to you for playing D1 baseball because the canned food aisle didn’t do you any favors. You’ve come a long way.”
Could have done without the jab but we get the point.
I was 135 pounds as I entered college and had never seriously lifted weights or really understood the concept of protein. My diet of 80%+ refined carbohydrates left me literally starving for growth and muscle. My body was ready to soak up nutrients and explode, I just didn’t know it until…
2000 – 2004: The “Holy Shit I Can Eat This for Free?” Years
With the urging of my college coach who apparently was not pleased with my physical appearance when recruiting me, I saw a strength coach leading up to my first semester at University or Richmond. It helped. A little. But, I was still scrawny and ripe to have my lunch money taken by stronger, bigger seniors who probably were repulsed I was placed in a college uniform when first seeing me.
“Hey, nerd. Go get me some damn water.”
I was bracing to hear this repeatedly for a year, however something happened and it happened faster than I could say say, “sir, yes sir!”
Weight. Muscle. Size. Mass.
My body started expanding and quickly. Thanks to the glorious notion that is d-hall, I could crush whatever I wanted for three meals a day. Seconds? You bet your ass I want seconds, lady with the sloppy joe spatula! Whipped cream to go along with those corn nuggets? An ALL YOU CAN EAT FROZEN YOGURT BAR?
I put on 25 pounds in the first month of school via weight training and the aforementioned massive increase in caloric intake.
Fast forward to the end of my freshmen year and I was 175 pounds which represented a 40 pound weight gain over the course of ten months. Not too shabby.
This is where it hit me like a cold hard bench press slap of reality to my Cookie Crisp eating face…I can eat a lot and it will result in bigger muscles? Sweet!
Unfortunately, I got a little drunk with my new power.
I was a lean, fit and fast 175 pounds after my first year and I thought that this was the greatest realization of all time. Eat whatever I want, whenever I want, in as much quantity as I want and I will just add muscle?
Ehhh!!!!
Wrong answer.
My third year is when Tubs McGee started to make a little bit of an appearance and I went up to 190 pounds, to date the heaviest I have ever been in my life. My strength plateaued that year and I put on probably a total of 20 pounds of fat via this new game called Beer Pong. I was slower on the basepaths and the valuable quickness that I needed as a middle infielder was vanishing like cake at a fat lady hang out.
It was my senior year when the whole diet and performance combination started to really sink in and I started to actively seek knowledge on how I could cut weight without sacrificing strength.
Little did I know I was researching performance.
This was the first time when I started to be cognizant of my carbohydrate consumption and I made one simple adjustment. I removed all processed carbohydrates from my sober breakfast, lunches and dinners (my teammates to date probably still don’t know that I did this) and kept protein, fruits and vegetables high. Still had the late night Sheetz and Papa John’s runs but cleaned up the daytime habits.
The result was a 12 pound fat loss and back down to my 175ish playing weight.
I was leaner, got my foot speed back and my quickness in the infield. I started to play noticeably better and hit over .350 the second half of the season (which was too late to balance out the .175 and subsequent benching to start the season).
As I graduated college, I took this recent passion for how diet and training could change my body weight, performance, composition, muscle fiber breakdown and overall energy and…
2004 – 2007: The “You Sure College is Over?” Years
….drank and ate burritos.
Dammit. That didn’t go as planned.
The one constant in my life since 2000 has been that I’ve always trained, gone to the gym religiously and committed myself to routine.
However, in these post-college years my diet fluctuated drastically with direct correlation to partying. The more I partied, the worse I ate and I partied…A LOT.
Even though I still “went to the gym” I noticed I was gaining weight in a manner I didn’t like. What the F? I’m “working out, bro”. How come I am gaining weight in the wrong areas? I was putting on muscle but I was not lean, strong and athletic like I wanted to be. I was puffy. I had no interest in the “get huge” approach where I could bicep curl 50′s and leg press multiple nerds. I wanted to be strong, but functionally strong and in a lean body weight range. I wanted to be able to sprint a mile and sidestep ninjas and shit.
Problem was, I still didn’t really know a ton about training. I knew what I learned from our strength coach Jim Roney in college and by reading Men’s Health here and there, but never really tried and experimented with anything other than that.
I continued to toil away in the ‘fairly muscular but feel like shit and not that strong’ area for a couple of years until I moved to San Diego, went back to school and learned of two things that would change my life.
- Circuit Training
- Clean Eating
2007 – Present: The “I Must Break You” Years
The past three years are where I really feel like I’ve dialed in my routine, fined tuned my nutritional approach and gained a much broader perspective on food content and how it not only effects body composition and performance, but longevity and your “thrivability” factor.
Do I just want to get by or do I want to f’ing thrive? That’s what I asked myself.
Ever since I started to incorporate strength-included circuit training on top of a zero processed carb diet I’ve been in the best physical and mental condition of my life.
I am stronger and more athletic than I was in my college playing days and I have the energy to sustain 14 hour work days for five days a week.
Take a look at my college vitals for everything, age 21.
- 190 pound body weight
- ~18% body fat
- 250# bench press
- 295# pound squat
- 40″ box jump
Now, at age 29 I should theoretically be going downhill in everything and should absolutely not be able to have my strength increase as my body weight decreases by 22 pounds, right?
- 168 pounds
- 9% body fat
- 205# push press (have not maxed bench in over a year but I’d guess it’s around 260# – 275#)
- 315# squat
- 360# deadlift
- 50″ box jump
This is mean to illustrate a very important point.
There is a reason that Pritz and I opened a gym based on the diet we teach and the training we coach.
It. fucking. works.
The one definitive conclusion that I am comfortable putting my name behind is that circuit training with a strength element on top of a diet based largely around animal proteins, vegetables and fruits is going to get you in the best health and performance of your life, and unleash the hard wiring we all have in our DNA to be lean and strong.
You can eat a high-carb diet with crap like cereal and white rice. You can even eat a perceived healthy diet with whole grains, dairy, protein etc. Maybe it works for you and maybe it doesn’t. The only thing you can do is try a range of alternatives and until you do that you really have no idea what works best for your individual body and goals.
I removed grains, dairy and other neolithic foods I didn’t need and saw my body composition improve, my strength increase and fat decrease and my health and energy take off like never before.
If you recall at the beginning of this obnoxious Tim Tebow-like memoir I stated,
“I believe there to be a right way and dozens of wrong ways.”
This is the right way, my friends.
But, at the end of the day it’s your life and your personal decision in which you’re entitled. You can either be “Homeless Shelter” Years or The “I Must Break You” years. You can choose to be fit, lean and strong or choose to be passive, weak and timid.
Whatever you do, make no mistake about it. It’s an active choice either way and that choice is yours and yours alone.
Like Andy Dufresne once said, “get busy livin’ or get busy dyin.”
What’s it gonna’ be?
-DT
Food Ramblings
I’ve been slacking hard since the last blog entry (you can access the archives to the right) and I’m not sure I remember how to do this. With gym growth and everything going on the tricky business end, I’ve become a sell out and forgotten about what I’m here for. I am going to make an effort to try and get back into a consistent writing schedule so that if nothing else, you guys have something to read while you’re pretending to work.
There are so many quick hitting food topics that I want to cover that I figured the easiest and laziest way to do it is to just straight up bullet them out in no rhyme, reason or thought.
Just the way that I like it. Let’s get this started.
Gluten. That tricky little a-hole and oft-debated substance in the health industry is causing an uproar on both sides of the debate (if you can call it that).
For starters, let me just say that gluten avoidance is the first scare-trend and bad-guy buzzword I am 150% behind. To quickly put this into context, I was a complete non-believer for a while.
If you know me a little bit you know that I can be stubborn, to put it kindly. I was a skeptic for months and months refusing to believe that this pesky little wheat protein could be that harmful and even hazardous to our health. I read all the research, traded emails with my buddy Matt who to his credit, tried to convince me for a year that it was terrible until one day I just decided that I was going to remove it altogether and see what happened.
Like everything in life you have to try it for yourself before rendering a verdict. Judgement through trial, right?
This was about a year and a half ago that I did this and I can tell you the following things have occured.
- My chronic acid reflux and heartburn that runs in my family has essentially disappeared. I used to be a Zantac three times a week guy and have not purchased a single pack of it in 2011.
- My immune system strength has noticeably increased. Until two weeks I haven’t caught so much as a sniffle when previously I’d be at the doc’s once a year for throat issues.
- And, before we opened the gym and started working 14-15 hour days I had substantially more energy.
Don’t get me wrong, I still eat gluten on the weekends but when I do it noticeably jams me up. I decided to go completely off the rails last week to see what happened to my body and the results were nothing short of shocking.
Bad heartburn, felt like crap and honestly feel like I am coming down with something as I type this.
Is that the result of one week of high gluten intake? Maybe. Maybe not.
This is not hyperbole, this is just honest testament from my own experience. No agenda for me, here. I don’t sell any products.
Suffice it to say I am personally convinced that it’s nasty stuff and am wholeheartedly convinced that any skeptic only remains one because they have never experimented with complete abstinence.
I’ve never called myself a Paleo guy since I eat cheese, enjoy a Saturday burrito and tend to stray on the weekends, but the reality is that the principles we teach at the gym and that I live by on a 90% basis are on par with Paleo prescription.
I am not nearly as fanatical as the rest of the Paleo community but if you are looking to clean up your health, body composition and host of other troubling ailments then all I can suggest to you is to try eating the P360/Paleo way for just a few weeks and see what it does for you.
Moving on…
- Start adding cinnamon to different foods and drinks. Coffee, berries and cream, even chili. It’s one of those wonder spices that helps control insulin sensitivity which moderates healthy body compositon. It also adds taste and perceived sweetness without the inclusion of sugar.
- ‘Big Food’ packaging drives me insane. If I see another fat-free cookie package, gluten-free chocolate lava cake, pure cane sugar (!!!) or protein-enhanced breakfast cereal I’m going Michael Douglas in Falling Down on the grocery store and just go on a slapping spree.
While it's a critical step in the right direction the removal of gluten does not overcome the inclusion of 12 tablespoons of sugar.
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- One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your diet without overhauling foods is to get rid of mass-produced food brands (Lucerne, Tyson, etc.) Not to sound all Occupy Wall Streety on you, but Big Food is a corrupt entity that doesn’t give a rats ass about your health. They care about their margins. The sooner you learn and accept that the healthier you will be. You would be very well served to purchase at local market stores like Henry’s/Sprouts, Trader Joe’s and farmer’s markets. Look for “grass-fed”, “cage-free”, “antibiotic-free”, “wild” and “organic”. Stay away from “farm-raised”, “vegetarian-fed”, “corn-fed” and “whole-wheat” misleadings.
- Fat does not make you fat. Eggs are not bad for your heart. That’s it. Mmk?
- If you use supplements please treat them as just that. If you are replacing whole food meals with protein shakes then you are missing the boat on what food is actually supposed to do for us. No food product supplement will replace whole food macro (protein, fat, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).
- In my humble opinion the best supplement available is Fish Oil. Be careful of ingredients as many are watered down and/or made with farmed salmon, or fish like sardines and anchovies. My recommendation is WholeMega 100% Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil. Just make sure that whatever you purchase is extracted from wild fish and preferably from salmon.
- Whole food > food product
- I am yet to see or experience a huge problem with small cheese inclusion in my diet. I even tested complete removal and felt no change. I don’t eat a lot of it but I put it on eggs and sometimes veggies because well, veggies taste like veggies. One of the ways I counter the negatives of cheese (lactose) is by buying premium cheeses that are aged, which is a tip I learned from Mark Sisson. I realize what a complete snob I just sounded like but those cheeses have far less lactose in them and are generally a lot less processed. Also, always look for grass-fed cheeses.
- I’ve now mentioned grass-fed a few times and before you go confusing me with a poser who likes fancy buzz words, I’ll tell you the main benefit of grass-fed over corn-fed as succinctly as I can.
Basically, it all boils down to omega profiles among other things. For the sake of simplicity, let’s focus on the two most popular omega’s. Omega-3 and Omega-6.
They exist to naturally counter balance each other. One promotes deflammation (omega-3), the other promotes inflammation (omega-6). Both of those are critical processes that we rely upon for survival but the problem is too much of any one of them is very detrimental for our health. We’ve evolved to need and thrive on both but Big Food makes it nearly impossible to keep them within the boundaries we need.
Science has shown the most ideal ratio of omegas needs to be in the range of 2:1 for Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio, however almost all commercially processed dairy, meat and other foods are jam packed with Omega-6s due to the diet the animals feed upon.
Commercial chicken and beef are raised in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) and they fatten up on diets exclusively made from corn and drugs (corn creates heavier animals faster, thus brings them to slaughter quicker and turns over profit at a greater rate then letting them fatten up on grass naturally).
The problem is that corn is naturally high in Omega-6′s which in turn results in beef and chicken that are loaded in 6′s. Over the years, this has skewed the average person to be closer to 20:1 ratio than 2:1 and puts our bodies in a constant state of inflammation (remember, Omega-6′s promote inflammation).
Thanks, Big Food!
When you consider that a lot of modern research is linking inflammation to all of the nastiness that is heart disease, diabetes, childhood obesity and more, you start to understand that getting omega-3′s wherever we can get them is vital for our thriving and survival.
That’s where grass-fed beef and wild seafood come in. The animals in each instance feed on their natural diet of grass and algae, both of which are loaded in omega-3′s which in turn gets precious omega-3s into our system.
So, the morals of today’s blog were:
- Do not under any circumstance blindly trust the government mandated food pyramid if your reason is because “the government says so.”
- Trial on your own is the best research.
- Grass-fed whenever you can.
- Try removing gluten from your diet and testing what happens for yourself.
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a comment with any questions and let’s get some healthy discussion going.
-DT
6 Meals I’m Currently Crushing
I read a great article over at Mark’s Daily Apple where Mark Sisson talked about the ‘10 Foods He Can’t Live Without‘. It’s a great read and I agree with basically all of them (except I really just dislike broccoli) so make sure you give it a read.
I always like reading about good whole foods, but I always prefer seeing how they tie together and how I can turn them into an actual meal that I can eat for a week. I like cost-effectiveness and the ease of knowing what I’m eating all week long.
So, thanks to MDA.com for the inspiration for this one. Most are healthy, one is not but they all taste great and are super easy.
Jalapeno Breakfast “Sandwiches”
I have posted a version of this recipe before, but I dabbled with upping the ‘kick’ in the latest batch and let’s just say ‘me likey’.
One of the best pieces of basic nutritional advice I can give people is to eat a high protein, low carbohydrate breakfast. It’s the cornerstone of not just your day but your nutritional approach, andif you eat well at breakfast then I firmly believe you’ll be more inclined to eat well at other meals.
- 12-16 whole eggs
- 1 lb. cooked ground breakfast sausage
- 2 diced jalapenos
- 1 diced green pepper
- 1 diced onion
- 1c pepper jack cheese
Cook the sausage, jalapenos, peppers and onions in a pan. While they are cooking, whisk together the 12-16 eggs. Once the frying pan contents are cooked, add them to the mixing bowl. Pour all of the ingredients into a large baking dish and cook at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
It provides breakfast for an entire week without having to wake up a second earlier than you normally would. Simply cut pre-wrapped squares and take them to work, pop them in the microwave and enjoy about 25g of protein per serving.
The eggs contain an amazing source of bioavailable protein and choline. Do not be scared of the yolks of eggs as the fat in eggs is great for our hearts. When people start trying to systematically remove fat from whole foods and get rid of animal fats, they run into problems. (There is even a new theory that Attention Deficit Disorder might be caused by kids growing up with low levels of fatty acids in their diets. The theory is that the brain did not fully develop from the healthy fats it needs to thrive.)
Out of all the macronutrients (fat, protein & carbs), protein has the highest Thermic Effect of Eating. That means it takes our body more energy to digest it, which means the mere act of eating protein provides a caloric burn. It is a slow digesting macronutrient so it will fill us for hours. Along with being the best of the macros for our body composition, starting your day with a high protein meal will likely fill us up until lunch time reducing the need to snack.
Pritz and I make some variation of this recipe every week and don’t think twice about it.
7-Layer Smoothie
I’ve been getting more and more into the research of green smoothies ever since a former client of mine (thanks, Claire) lent me ‘Green for Life’. This is a great book that really offers one of those ‘aha’ perspective moments similar to ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma’ and I recommend that everyone read it (we have both at the gym if you ever want to check them out).
People tend to think that smoothies must only contain fruit when in reality, the best smoothie to make will contain more vegetables than fruit and skew more alkaline than acidic. When you add only fruit to a smoothie you likely are getting a surplus of sugar that you don’t really need. The common homemade smoothie takes three to four servings of fruit and crams it into one 16 oz travel glass. That can be fine for after a workout, but you don’t want to do that at all times of day if you’re trying to lose those last few five pounds.
You need balance, and the addition of green vegetables will not only make you instantly feel better, but will also do wonders for your bodyby putting it into a more alkaline state and removing a lot of acidity from your diet.
- 1c frozen blueberries
- 2c organic spinach
- 1/2 c parsley
- 1/2c raw kale or collared greens
- 1/2 c ice water
- handful ice cubes
- 1/2 banana (optional)
I include the banana because I am not too concerned with the additional sugar a banana will bring. I’m not currently trying to burn fat and I need the additional carbs for the demands of my day. I would suggest removing it if fat loss is your goal, but if you’re good with your current body composition then go for it.
If you ever find yourself at the La Jolla or Little Italy Farmer’s Market then make sure to stop by GreenFix Smoothies. These dudes are whipping up their home-bottle green smoothies and they are OFF. THE. HOOK.
P360 Basil Chili
This is a ridiculously easy recipe that I came up with while aimlessly browsing the grocery store the other day. It’s high in protein and very efficient with carbohydrates as all of them are in the form of vegetables.
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 2 diced jalapenos
- 1 sliced Anaheim pepper
- 1 diced onion
- 2c fresh basil leaves
- 3 cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, black pepper each
This is about as easy as it gets. You simply add all of the ingredients to a large crockpot, set it on high for six hours and then come back to a delicious meal that will last you an entire week. If you do not have a crockpot you’re going to want to drop the $40 at Target. It will be your new best friend for those that either don’t have the time to cook a full meal and those who are terrible cooks. I happen to be both.
Grass-Fed Ribeye and Parmesan Asparagus
Honestly…I salivated typing that header. There is just nothing better than a nice, juicy cut of American grass-fed steer cooked to perfection. Seriously, come up with something more delicious.
…
…
That’s what I thought.
- 8 oz. grass-fed NY strip or ribeye
- 3 oz. asparagus
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated aged-Parmesan
- 1 teaspoon Irish creme butter
- salt & pepper
Turn the stove top on it’s highest heat/flame setting and let a pan get REALLY hot. Marinade your steak in olive oil, salt and pepper and let it sit for five minutes while the pan is getting scalding. Toss the steak onto the pan and sear each side on high heat for 90 seconds. If you don’t have an exhaust system over your stove top range then get ready for your kitchen to look like James Franco’s living room, but it will be worth it. After both sides are seared, reduce from high to medium heat and cook your steak to your preferred temperature.
In a separate pan, sautee the asparagus with the teaspoon of butter and Parmesan cheese until tender.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. Steak? Butter? I thought these were healthy meals! Alas, they are. In case you missed my entry vindicating butter and animal fat then check it out here. Or take it from a globally renowned expert here, and here (Sisson). And oh hell here’s one more for good measure (Taubes).
I came across MDA’s article denouncing butter as an unhealthy food a few months ago, and since then I have been adding it to all of my veggies. In that time span I have lost seven pounds and my cholesterol levels are perfectly healthy.
The key is to make sure your meal is without complex carbs and most of your day for that matter. When carbs are low, we’ll use the fat in butter for fuel but when carbs are high, we’ll store it as fat.
Chocolate Berry Fuel
This is my favorite post workout drink as it’s loaded with readily available protein and fast acting carbohydrates.
- 1c frozen blueberries
- 1 banana (optional)
- 1 tbsp sugar-free almond butter
- 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
- 1/c ice water
(P360 friend Megan May suggested hemp protein if you have whey allergies or if you have trouble digesting. Good call.)
Blend it together in a smoothie that doesn’t sound like a 757 taking off (like ours).
Yep, it’s that easy. Pritz and I have a blender in the gym specifically to make these after we’re done training. It’s loaded in antioxidants and the sugar in the blueberries will go towards refilling your lost glycogen (stored energy) that you depend upon for circuit training.
And if you don’t want to make it at home then just head to your local smoothie store (Smoothie King) and get a similar variety by asking them to add protein.
Dreyer’s Maxx Peanut Butter Ice Cream
In the spirit of keeping it real, I need to come forward (hey, I told you my diet is not 100% perfect).
I don’t know what it is, but I feel like a pregnant woman right now in that I am legitimately craving ice cream and nines time out of ten, I’m going peanut butter flavored.
(Actually, I know exactly what it is. It’s because I am not feeding my body enough right now which I need to correct. I am on an unintentional hypocaloric diet, and combined with a high calorie need for myself I’m currently breaking down all of the dietary fat for energy that I can, but in the end it’s falling a bit short so my body is craving high-sugar foods after I work out to replace the glycogen.
Circuit training is very glyoclytic in that it burns through glycogen as the primary fuel (glycogen is stored glucose we use for energy during circuit training), and by nature your body will crave sugar to fill it back up when it’s run dry. I need to reverse this by eating more throughout the day and feeding myself post-workout properly, but the rigors of running a business often get in the way. It’s no excuse because I know what I’m doing wrong and will correct it soon, but for now the ice cream is killing it.)
Ice cream has it's hook in me until I correct my correct calorie consumption..
When I’m eating to enjoy, I don’t worry about calories and as you might already know, I follow the adage that whole fats are better than reduced fat or skim dairy products. Sometimes you have a long day or week and just need the comfort of something that tastes incredible.
So, what did I do after a day that included arriving to the gym to find a water leak, finding out at lunch that a little kid at our neighbor’s Kids Camp took a crap in the urinal, and by 5 pm almost knocking myself out cold by high pulling too high?
Unwound with my boy Dreyer. Hey, it’s better than meth, right?
(Don’t answer that.)
So, there you have it. I highly encourage you to start implementing five out of the six meals in this article starting this week.
Let me know what recipes you’re making at home that are healthy, and if we decided to post them we’ll give you two entries to the gift card raffle!
Click here for Thursday’s Daily Challenge and Surf n’ Turf workouts.
-DT
‘Red Light’ Foods
First, let me just say that there are not many foods that I know of that I will categorically label as “NEVER EAT”. Sure, there are some foods out there that are completely terrible for you (I’m looking at you, Fried Kool-Aid) that by and large I will avoid like the plague, but there is nothing out there that I can honestly say that I never eat. I like pleasure, and California burritos bring me a lot of pleasure.
You stay classy, San Diego!
Without the double negatives, I generally eat everything…at least every now and then.
I can just hear the health community shaking their head if they were to read this, but it’s true and I don’t necessarily apologize for it. Sure, there are plenty of foods I recommend avoiding and certainly a lot that I will say never to eat if you are trying to lose weight, but if you are trying to blend weight management AND life pleasure then It all boils down to two words: consistency and moderation.
Consistency, as in what foods are you consistently eating? Hopefully, it’s a list full of the ‘green light’ foods. Moderation, as in eating these ‘red light’ foods in a very limited format if fat loss and leaning out is your goal on any level. Some foods that I’ll label as bad or ‘red light’ mean that I’ll eat them maybe once a week, once a month, maybe once a year or some of them never.
The key is knowing what’s actually bad for your health and goals and what should be avoided as staples in a diet.
The following ‘red light’ foods are labeled as such because they bring nothing to the table. They only take. They are like the mooch friend at Thanksgiving who always chips in with utensils and paper towels while the rest of us are making turkey and homemade sides.
If you abandon these ‘red light’ foods from your diet completely, I’m entirely positive you would see a dramatic improvement in your body composition.
(It’s important to mention that athletes should not be as concerned with food avoidance, as whole food calories are the name of the game. Athletes need more complex and simple carbs, and they need them more often than the rest of us….good luck training for a triathlon on a low-carb diet.)
Fruit Juice, Gatorade & Soda
Everybody reading this knows to avoid soda and is probably already doing so, and maybe there are a few of you already in the know that Gatorade’s not the greatest drink in the world for weight management, but I am betting that fruit juice might come as a surprise for most of you.
Take a look at the following macro profiles of these drinks.
- Drink A – 100 calories, 25g sugar, 0g protein
- Drink B- 120 calories, 30g sugar, 0g protein
- Drink C – 200 calories, 50g sugar, 0g protein
What do all of these drinks have in common? They are all absolutely LOADED with sugar, and Gatorade and Soda are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS is some nasty, nasty stuff and this is a food product you should really try and cleanse from your diet.
What’s more shocking??
Drink A – Coke
Drink B – Fruit Juice
Drink C – Gatorade
Coke ranks the best of all three in terms of sugar content! Let the madness ensue.
With the average Gatorade serving coming in at about 50 grams of sugar, it does absolutely no favors for your efforts to stay lean and in reality, aside from the electrolytes it offers about the same terrible effect on your insulin as soda.
Are the electrolytes good for post-workout? Sure. But, you know what’s better? Fruit & Protein Smoothie, and chances are you did not work out long and hard enough to really need electrolyte replenishment.
Now, fruit juice. I know, I know. All of those OJ commercials that paint it as some miracle juice that will completely reinvent your day have to be true right?
Yesss…..commercials are always correct and sensible.
Marketing. Sells.
The issue with fruit juice is that it’s essentially the sugar of fruit in a liquified form without any of the health benefits of whole fruit. There is no fiber in fruit juice and no solidity to slow the absorption of the fructose into your system. It’s a total insulin spike, and when our insulin is spiked during the day then fat storage is promoted. This is why we try and tell people to save their fruit consumption for post-workout. That spike in insulin, along with protein will deliver essential repair and nutrients to your muscles.
Further, a glass of fruit juice is going to contain roughly 40g of carbs, and if you are trying to lose weight you are now roughly half way to your carbohydrate limit. That glass also provided absolutely no satiety to your hunger making it a tall, cool glass of pure empty calories.
Sorry to burst any bubbles, but fruit juice es no bueno.
Flour
Flour is made by taking cereal grains and grinding the ever living shit out of them until they are nutritionless, void of anything good for us white powder. It contains gluten, which hopefully you know by now is possibly very, very bad for us, and that doesn’t do it any favors when trying to make the argument that flour should be included in a diet.
Flour literally has no nutritional benefit, and like soda, its just pure empty calories whose only purpose is to spike our blood sugar, bring in too much insulin and make us feel like complete ass after we consume it.
Now, I know that people aren’t eating tablespoons of pure flour and while most people know which foods contain flour, let’s be perfectly clear.
- Breads (yes, whole wheat flour is still bad)
- Bagels, muffins, tortillas, donuts
- Chips, pretzels, 100 calorie snacks and all related cousins
- Pastas
MAH-DER-AYSHUN
Thing is, I love sandwiches and burritos. Love ‘em. The guys at Rubicon Deli train at our gym and if I could be BFFs with Alberto, I would. I generally eat either at Rubicon or at Alberto’s once per week (always on the weekend) so I am not going to get up here on my soap box only to duck around the corner and stuff my face.
I will freely admit that I eat sandwiches and burritos on the regular. Are they a staple of my diet in the sense that I expect to get positive net metabolic benefit by eating them? No. By and large, I do follow most of the Paleo/Primal principle. I treat these splurges as strategic cheat meals after a workout or to enjoy watching the playoffs, etc.
For me, the negatives are more long-term health oriented than weight management since I am not trying to lean out. The key is to know your own goal and how decisions like that adversely effect accomplishing them.
There you have it. Stay away from Gatorade, fruit juice, soda, flour-based foods and all high-sugar foods and you’ll see some great changes in your body and daily energy maintenance. Eat plenty of vegetables, tons of protein and some strategic fruit. Have your snacks be whole foods and never add sugar to anything. Keep your weekdays air tight and let yourself live a little on the weekends.
It’s not rocket science, it’s just hard work and dedication.
-DT
P360 Training Insider: 6/13
Hope everybody had an excellent weekend and enjoyed watching Dirk and the Mavs get their first title as much as I did. You can consider me firmly entrenched in the haters corner for the Miami Heat so yesterday made me happy. Good dudes like Dirk and Jason Terry deserve to win titles and I was happy to see a hard worker like him finally bring one home.
We’ve got a fair amount of thing to cover this week so let’s get to it.
Please Keep Voting!
Thank you guys very much for baring with us and continuing to vote for P360 as San Diego’s Best Alternative Exercise Studio. We are still shocked that you guys got us to the final balloting, and now that we are here we want to win the damn thing! So please help us by voting each day (you can click the banner at the top of the page) and if we win we’ll throw a huge free BBQ to celebrate!
Referral Contest: FREE Boat Rental
We settled on the Grand Prize for June’s referral contest: Free 4-Hour Boat Rental from our neighbors, the Mission Bay Sportcenter. It’s an awesome way to spend a Summer Saturday – take a few friends out, bring some cold ones and some tunes and make an afternoon out of it (feel free to invite me and Pritz, too). We are off to a red hot start with the referrals as you can see below, four already!
New Class Times Start
You have probably already noticed that the class times for Tuesday and Thursday are different for this week. As a reminder, we are trying out our new class schedule those days in anticipation of rolling them out full time as membership continues to expand. The class times are only slightly different on those days, but we feel it will continue to provide you guys with good times and allow us to space the times out over the course of the evening. Continue to drop us your feedback.
Member Shout Outs!
This week was a big week for three folks. While it might seem like that kind of jump in pull-ups is not that big of a deal, it’s huge in actuality. To be able to either pull you own bodyweight up once or consistently rep your own bodyweight is a tremendous improvement in strength. Seeing Carol execute a full pull-up was awesome to see and hopefully a real inspiration to those ladies who are working towards doing one!
Carol right before getting that chin past the bar!!
We also just found out today that Carol has lost 15 pounds, as well! Way to kick some ass, Carol!
New Athletes
We’re very excited to announce the arrival of Taylor Johnson and Mackie Caldwell to our athlete base. Mackie trained with us last year prior to starting his freshmen season for the USD Torero soccer team, and Taylor comes to P360 from SDSU’s Women’s Track & Field team. Taylor is an Arkansas transfer who was formerly an SEC All-Freshmen and both are looking for very big things in 2011. We’ll be updating their progress as their seasons get started, but we know there are some Torero and Aztec alums in the house so show both some support over the coming months if you see them around P360.
What’s the Deal With: Post-Workout
We have some bullet points about post-workout nutrition on the Food Science board this week. Basically, in the most condensed nutshell as possible, after you train hard your body generally is need of restoring glycogen (glycogen is the primary fuel source for most P360 workouts). So, when you consume complex carbohydrates or fruit, your body is going to take the majority of those carbs and put it to refilling the glycogen tank rather than fat storage. Always pay attention to your goal and where you need to be for total daily carbohydrate intake, but if there is a time to eat pure carbs it’s immediately after class.
Good Eats: Southwest Breakfast Bites
Saw this incredible recipe on Mark’s Daily Apple and absolutely love it. It solves the ‘what do I eat for breakfast’ question once and for all for those looking for a high protein, quick prep time combination.
12 Eggs (do not fear egg whites)
1 lb. ground turkey sausage
1 bag spinach
1 diced onion
1 cup aged Parmesan cheese
Sautee the sausage, onions and spinach in a pan until the sausage is cooked about 75% of the way. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the 12 eggs and combined all of the ingredients and stir. In a butter coated baking dish, add the contents of the bowl evenly so that it forms a casserole. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees and you have breakfast for the entire week.
Drop us a comment with any questions or feedback and we’ll see you guys soon.
Best,
DT
P360 Weekly Newsletter: Grand Opening, Marathoners & More
What a WEEKEND! Things could not have possibly gone any better at P360 as we were fortunate enough to have so many of you show up for our Grand Opening. Then, when we thought the good times were over we see three of our members go out and CRUSH the Rock & Roll Marathon on Sunday.
We also have some really important announcements regarding class times starting next week, so please be sure to read those if nothing else.
Class Schedule
Next week the Mission Bay Sportcenter launches it’s Summer Kid’s Camp that goes from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. To be frank, it’s going to be busy as hell around here during those hours which is perfectly fine for classes since they run before and after. However, for those groups and classes that meet during the day we will be figuring out a solution for you. More than likely, we are going to the following schedule but we will be in touch as soon as we can figure it all out…just a heads up.
- 6:30 am – Daily Challenge Class
- 7:30 am – Daily Challenge Class
- 7:30 am – Boot Camp
- 5:45 pm – Daily Challenge Class (at least a few times per week)
- 6:30 pm – Daily Challenge Class
- 7:15 pm – Daily Challenge Class
The Kid’s Camp will have no ill effect on parking for morning and evening classes. We’ll be as proactive as we can be to accommodate everyone who currently trains during other hours.
P360 for Best Exercise Studio!
We can’t possibly thank you guys enough for nominating us as San Diego’s Best Alternative Exercise Studio. We are seriously so grateful and appreciative that you guys took the time out of your days to cast votes.
Now that we are actually in the final ballots, we need you to keep helping us bring home the bacon! If you can please take a minute to create a quick account and then vote daily until voting closes, we will figure out a way to reward everyone for a big bash on our dime.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/bestof/2011/vote/sports-recreation/alternative-exercise-studio/
P360 in the Rock and Roll Marathon
Okay, ‘WOW’ is all that we can say in regards to our athletes in the Rock and Roll Marathon this past weekend. We had three people run it and all of them posted awesome times. Check them out below.
- Laura Sumrow – Full marathon in 4 hours!! (she set her PR by 58 minutes!)
Laura training for her race.
- Jacquelyn Molino – She did a ‘show and go’ half marathon, with a cold, in 1:44!
- Andy Bayon - Full marathon in 3:21 even with a hammy that acted up during the race.
Pretty impressive, right?
Grand Opening
Pritz and I had an incredible time hanging out with everyone on Saturday, and if you were able to swing by then you saw the great turnout we had. The day was a blast, we had some active things going on, some leisurely events and gave away some great prizes.
- Andy Bayon – Free Membership for Life Grand Prize Winner
- Nick C. – Free Month of Unlimited Classes
- Billy Votava – Free Month of Unlimited Boot Camps
- Brandon Flora & Matt Nipper - $60 to Sneak Join, Cornhole Tournament Champs
- Matt McKee – IronMan Champ, Free Month of Classes
- Robbie Davis - IronMan Runner-up, 50% off 1st Month
- Becca – Obstacle Course Winner (female), Free Month of Classes
- Brandon Flora – Obstacle Course Winner (male), Free Month of Classes
- And a bunch of other people came away with gift cards to Trader Joe’s, Starbuck’s, Paddle Into Fitness, Sneak Joint and Rubicon Deli
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the event.
From the IronMan Challenge…
Flora immediately after his sub 11 IronMan Challenge.
Matt on rep 17 of his 95 pound push press.
- Jennifer on rep 12 of 75 pound squats
- Robbie after his finish.
- Flora, Matt and Robbie post IronMan
Fun & Games…
Head on over to our Facebook page to see the full album.
Thank you again to Sneak Joint, Rubicon Deli and Zico Coconut Water!
What’s the Deal With: Omega-3s?
Head on over to the Food Science board next time you are in class. Essentially, omega-3s and omega-6s serve to counter balance each other but you really need to watch your omega-6 intake. Omega-6s, most commonly found in grains and grain-fed meats promote inflammation by nature, so it’s important you are balancing them out with a healthy dose of omega-3s (most commonly found in seafood & fish oil).
June Referral Contest
Congrats again to Tyler Chernack on winning the May Referral Contest and snagging the $75 Visa Gift Card. We have a completely clean slate and everyone has a crack at the Grand Prize: a FREE 2-Hour Pontoon Boat Rental from the Mission Bay Sportcenter!
Last month the winner had two so don’t go thinking you need to be Mr. or Mrs. Popular to get the prize!
Best,
DT
13 ‘Green Light’ Foods
One of the first things that you might notice at Performance360 is our nutrition board, and it’s one of the things we are most proud and happy to provide our members. In one of the sections, we have a food guide that has three sections: green light, yellow light and red light and foods that correspond with each.
I’m going to profile all of them over a series of entries to give you the reasoning and the science behind why we either promote consumption (green), careful treading (yellow) or complete abstinence (red). Today we’re covering the foods that we want you to feel free to eat whenever you want.
Green Light
Lean Meats – This is numero uno on the list of things that you should be consuming. Do not, under any circumstance, listen to a vegan as advice for healthy nutrition. Without meat and animal fat in your diet you are robbing your body of precious protein, b vitamins and fuel for your brain, muscles and organs. Without meat in your diet you run the risk of having your muscle deteriorate over time. If this happens, your metabolism will slow and you’ll ultimately run the risk of that dreaded look…
...SKINNY FAT!
Try and keep the cuts of mean as lean as possible and ALWAYS buy grass-fed.
Spinach, Kale & Other Greans – For one, they are very good source of non-grain based fiber that aids in digestion. They also have cancer fighting flavonoids, as well as antioxidants vitamin C, E. beta-carotene, zinc and selenium for immune function. They provide a lot of nutrients at little effect on your caloric intake.
Eggs - This is one thing that separates me from true Paleo as I believe eggs to be a great food and eaten without any hesitancy. Further, as America becomes less stupid in our nutrition, more and more studies have come out to completely eradicate our fear of egg yolks. Yolks contain all of the helpful nutrients and WILL NOT increase your cholesterol.
Futher, the protein in egg whites is the most bioavailable protein in nature, meaning our bodies use up just about every single gram efficiently. They are filling, easy to prepare and can be cooked in a variety of ways. They rule.
(By the way, the knock on eggs from those members in other communities is that they are high in omega-6 fatty acids, as are chickens. Omega-6s promote inflammation, which is not good. It is is true eggs tend to run high in them since chickens are fed grains for the most part. So long as you are eating a healthy, well-rounded diet then the dose of omega-6 will be kept in check. If you are going to go easy on eggs, make this the reason and not the saturated fat content.)
Unsalted Mixed Nuts – Almonds are the leader of the pack here, and rightly so, but don’t feel like you can’t eat more than just almond nuts. Macadamia nuts, although expensive are jam packed with healthy fats and the flavor variety of mixed nuts will go a long way in keeping your taste buds friendly.
Almonds, cashews and macadamia nuts all have relatively low omega-6 counts and are very complete nutritional sources, offering a healthy dose of great-for-us monounsaturated fats, protein and carbohydrates. They are also high in the antioxidant vitamin E, as well as copper and potassium.
Further, they also have been shown to protect cardiovascular health.
Make sure they’re raw and unsalted.
Wild Salmon (and other seafood) – One of the highest natural sources of Omega-3 fatty acids nature has to offer. Omega-3s, as I will explain on the chalkboard next week, are incredible for us for a variety of reasons. Additionally, salmon contains the healthy fats that aid in our body’s natural ability to burn fat and are an incredible source of protein.
Not where you want your salmon to come from.
One caveat here; make absolutely certain that the salmon is wild as farmed salmon is no good. Farmed salmon do not feed on algae, which is where wild salmon develop their healthy Omega-3 profile. You know what they feed on? F’ing CORN. You know what corn is high in? Yep, Omega-6s; as well as fat content for animals (the reason cows are force fed corn is because it fattens them up faster). So do yourself a favor and opt for wild salmon.
All Vegetables – There are far too many healthy vegetables to list here, so just try and eat as many possible in any form possible. Fresh vegetables are always better than frozen, as they are higher in nutrient content. Organic vegetables tend to have higher vitamin contents than non-organic, so if you can splurge the extra buck or so then go for it. Vegetables help keep our body in an alkaline state. Many foods we eat on a daily basis are acidic and vegetables will balance that out nicely.
Hot Sauce, Salsa & Mustard - simple, these are low-to-zero sugar condiments that are versatile, diverse in flavor and tasty.
Butter – uh, what? Just lost you didn’t I? Well, don’t let this throw you off track. Let me try and defend butter. For starters, butter is essentially pure animal fat, and remember what we just said about animal fats? It contains very little traces of dairy proteins and is a whole-food option that we can control in our food, not to mention it tastes plain awesome when cooked with green beans.
If you are following the low-carbohydrate approach, then your body will take the fat in butter and use it as pure, unadulterated fuel for training. If you are eating a lot of carbohydrates throughout the day, then stay way from butter as you’ll then store it as fat. So long as you ‘green light’ yourself with this foods on this list then you’ll be good to go. Opt for grass-fed when you can and stay away from margarine.
Cinnamon – cinnamon and a bit of whole cream (for the same reason as butter) are now replacing skim milk and splenda in your coffee. Cinnamon is a superpower in the spice world by bringing the following benefits to the table: fights natural infection, is anti-inflammatory in nature (inflammation is going to be the poster boy for all heart disease once America smartens up), helps insulin sensitivity, manages our triglyceride levels and has even been shown to improve memory and performance.
Alright cinnamon…alright.
Just don’t pound tablespoons of it as not only will it make you spew everywhere but too much can thin your blood.
Try swallowing a tablespoon of cinnamon and report back to me.
All-Natural, Sugar-Free Almond Butter – I chose to include almond butter because it has a better Omega-6:Omega-3 profile and almonds are just plain WAY healthier than peanuts. It is also less allergenic and assuming that you are not sitting in front of Jersey Shore with a tub of almond butter, it is is a great protein supplement for shakes, smoothies and fruit with a nice kick of monounsaturated fats.
Coffee & Tea – While tea has historically received all of the credit for caffeinated breakfast drinks, we shouldn’t forget about coffee, either. Am I bias because sometimes I will mainline coffee straight into an IV? Yes. But, the point remains that coffee is full of antioxidants and actually has been shown to reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Alzheimers…not bad for $3.50 and a snobby attitude per cup.
–
The following foods are a bit different, in that you get the green light to eat as many of them as you want so long as it is AFTER you workout. If you don’t want to read the linked recap, then I’ll give you the condensed version. Fruits and yams are high in sugar. Your body can use sugar effectively, but only after you have depleted your stored glycogen after working out. Post workout = low glycogen = you’ll use sugar for refueling rather than blood sugar spike and fat storage.
Fruit – many traditionalists might be put off by not seeing fruit in the section above, since all we have ever been told is to eat five fruits and vegetables a day. You know what else? We’ve also been told to eat 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, pasta and rice and hopefully by now you know that’s a pure load of shit.
This is ass backwards, from top to bottom
Before you freak out and call me an idiot for saying fruit is unhealthy, I want to clarify that I’m NOT saying it’s unhealthy. I’m saying it can be problematic for fat loss if that is your goal.
Consider that a serving of fruit often has 20g or more of sugary carbohydrates. If you are eating five servings a day then you’re at around 100g, the absolute high end of carb intake for losing weight.
Target one to two times per day eating fruit, mostly antioxidant rich berries, and get the rest of your vitamins and minerals from healthier, less sugary vegetables.
Sweet Potatoes – this barely made the list, along with quinoa since they are so high in carbohydrates and can have an insulin-spiking effect. Why is it here, then? Because spiking your insulin after training is not such a bad thing since your starving muscles will be delivered protein and nutrient via that high level of insulin. They are also great for restoring glycogen levels if you have really hit it hard in the gym or on the running trail. Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C and beta-carotene, and for being high in carbs it ranks pretty well on the glycemic index.
Quinoa – this has become a popular little guy in many healthy communities of late as they are not really a grain and they have a very, very high protein content for a food in that family. Quinoa is thousands of years old and consumed by man long before the agricultural revolution that made corn and corn-like grains such a problem. It’s origin was actually to fuel Incan warriors, which is pretty bad ass, too. Quinoa is also a complete protein which means it contains all essential amino acids, and does not contains any gluten whatsoever.
There you have it. Comment away with any questions, comments or experiences you’ve had with these foods.
The When, Why & How of ‘Low Carb’
Was Fat Bastard right? Is the villain from Austin Powers actually a sage soothsayer of proper nutrition?
"Ehh eh, carbs are the enemy"
No.
But, he brings up a point worthy of discussion.
Anyone who has read my stuff before, trained with me previously or casually conversed with me knows that I am 100% in the group of people who believe a low-carbohydrate lifestyle is a smart decision. As I’ll get into, monitoring your carbohydrate intake has a dramatic positive effect on your body composition, but more importantly there is overwhelming research that indicates a low-carb nutritional lifestyle is far better for our long-term health and livelihood than one might think.
Nutritional life-what?
Lifestyle. I’m not talking about a damn diet.
We’ll answer just what the hell ‘low-carb’ is, since it’s been bastardized by ridiculous and ineffective diets across the globe for the last 25 years. It DOESN’T mean you eat nothing but meat and fat. It DOESN’T mean you shouldn’t eat fruits and vegetables and it most certainly DOESN’T mean you can’t eat any carbs.
Now that I have all the double negatives out of my system, be prepared to take the word ‘diet’ and chuck it down the garbage disposal. I do not and will never advocate diets. This is a nutritional lifestyle built for the long-haul.
What is a Carb and Why Do You Need Them?
A carbohydrate is a saccharide molecular compound made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Uh, cool. In English?
It’s ultimately a sugar and there are two kinds: simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates are made up of one sugar (ie. fructose, glucose, lactose, etc.). Examples of these include
- Fruit & Fruit Juice (fructose)
- Table Sugar (sucrose)
- Many Processed Foods
- Milk (lactose)
- Soda (sucrose or fructose)
Complex carbohydrates are made up of more than one sugar. Examples of these include
- Grains (oats, barley, quinoa, millet, etc)
- Starches (potatoes and yams)
- Breads of all kind (bagels, tortillas, pitas, including whole wheat varieties)
- Oatmeal
Ultimately, it does not matter the type of carbohydrate since they all get broken down into glucose after we eat them. It’s a matter of how quickly this process happens; widely known as the Gylcemic Index and the speed of turning a food into blood glucose is what makes something potentially problematic.
Simple carbs are broken down much faster than complex carbs and tend to hit our bloodstream faster, which in turn spikes insulin which can be a good or bad thing depending on the timing of when you eat them.
For training purposes, carbs in some form are often essential to replace glycogen stores after a P360, CrossFit or high intensity interval workout.
Glycogen is the tank of stored carbohydrates in your body and a large source of energy during high intensity interval training (HIIT), which is what you’ll often find at our gym. Since you’ll burn through a ton of glycogen during a HIIT workout, I recommend that you fill the tank back up after training (more on that below) with acceptable complex carbs.
Carbs and Their Pal, Insulin
Your body goes through a very specific process after you’re finished eating a high-carb meal (ie. a burrito, slices of pizza, a large sandwich, even a big bowl of oatmeal with honey and some skim milk).
- First, your pancreas sends out insulin to try and clear the excess glucose in your bloodstream. While glucose in the muscles is a good thing, it’s toxic when it’s in the bloodstream which is why your body runs the hurry-up offense to try and get it the hell out of there.
- If your glycogen stores are full (which will be the case if you have not yet exercised that day), then that excess glucose will be shuttled to your fat cells, and stored as body fat more often than not. If you have worked out intensely, you will need to replenish glycogen stores which is why small doses of good, clean carbs like quinoa or sweet potatoes post-training are often recommended.
- Your body sends additional hormones in attempt to even things out internally since it does not like this current state of spiked insulin. It’s a combination of adrenaline and cortisol which have completely opposite effects on the body and creates a back-and-forth feeling that is quite unpleasant.
Ever felt like complete ass after a large pig out? Nausea? Heart racing? This is the direct effect of your body handling excess sugar in the bloodstream.
Effect on Body Composition
Carbohydrates, when eaten in excess amounts of what we need, will be stored as fat. Since their job in the body is to provide fuel and energy, it has nowhere to go if that fuel tank is already full and you’re not burning it. It will spill out of the tank and into the fat cells, essentially.
Let’s take a look at the following graph from Mark’s Daily Apple. This is the best representation I have ever come across on what you can expect as a result, both chronic and acute, for daily carbohydrate consumption. We love this graph so much we put it front and center in our gym and make it recommended viewing.
Here’s the summary:
- Consuming an average of 50g per day = ketosis, rapid fat loss (ketosis is when your body switches over and uses it’s body fat for fuel. Prepare to feel like pure shit for a day or two when this shift occurs, but it’s not a bad approach to kick start fat loss. You’ll experience headaches and lethargy at first but after a day you will adapt. I shock my body with this at least once every six weeks.)
- 50 – 100g per day = Slow and steady fat loss (**P360 ZONE**)
- 100 – 150g per day = maintenance of body composition; won’t get better, won’t get worse (**P360 ZONE**)
- 150 – 300g per day = Slow and steady fat storage
- 300+ = you’re either carrying a lot of excess fat or will be soon. You are always playing diabetes roulete.
The craziest part of this whole thing?
The average American consumes between 350 and 600 grams of carbohydrates per day!!!
To put this number into perspective, that’s eight bowels of oatmeal, or four burritos or the most probable – fast food at all three meals. My mind was freakin’ BLOWN when I read this since I assumed the public had a general idea about how bad excess carbohydrates are for health…I couldn’t have been more incorrect.
But you can still consume nowhere near that number and still be fighting against fat loss. The reality is that most people do not actually need the amount of carbohydrates they eat on a daily basis, since they simply don’t need to burn through that much fuel. And remember what we said happens when you’re at a carbohydrate surplus?
You store it as fat! Correct!
This is why our country is a nation of fatties, brainwashed to believe that oatmeal for breakfast, 12″ turkey sandwich for lunch and chicken with brown rice for dinner is “healthy” when in reality, that type of carb consumption would not change your body at all, and probably come with a host of gastrointestinal side effects, as well.
Let’s take the following references so that we can better understand daily carbohydrate intake:
- 1 slice of bread = ~25g
- 1 serving of brown rice = ~75g
- 1 apple = ~20g
- 1c vegetables = ~10g
- 1 serving whole wheat pasta = ~75g (most people eat at least two servings at a meal)
All the Big Food marketing jargon in the world can't change the fact this will spike your insulin and turn you into Tubs McGee.
Think about what you currently eat for the day. Does it contain multiple sources of complex carbohydrates? Does it contain a complex carb at most every major sitting? If you eat the aforementioned oatmeal, sandwich and rice as your meals you are consuming at least 180 grams of carbohydrates. Next time you’re here, check the graph (or scroll up) and see where that puts you.
Also, what do you notice about that list?
For me, I notice that I can get at least three times the nutrients in one cup of vegetables at 1/7th of the unnecessary carbohydrates, and if I ate two apples throughout the day it wouldn’t equal half the amount of carbs in one small plate of whole wheat Healthy Harvest.
The only time I fully endorse the consistent ingestion of clean, good carbohydrates is after you’re done with a grueling workout. Slow strength training tends to not deplete glycogen stores so you don’t need to worry about it after a slow-paced (yet heavy) day of strength training, but an intense circuit? Yes, replenish and refuel smartly and without guilt.
If carbs are for energy? Will I be run down without enough?
The reality is, when on a low carb diet your body can and will turn to healthy fats as an efficient fuel source. Great sources of these fuel fats are:
- avocados
- salmon and fish
- beef & chicken
- nuts
- oils
Fat, despite all of the conventional wisdom that’s actually made America the sickest nation in the world over the last forty years, is your friend and should be treated as such. Give him a huge, butt slap or high five and even stroke his ego a little bit. Healthy fats such as those mentioned above will not only provide your body with fuel but will actually work with your body to burn the unhealthy and unwanted fat.
The Grain Debate
There’s been a growing mountain of scientific evidence forming over the past few years that paints a very grim portrait for the consumption of grains. Since our government actually subsidizes their growth (literally), they won’t be going away anytime soon (hmm, wonder why they serve as the foundation on the government-approved Food Pyramid), but you can certainly make yourself aware of the proposed dangers
I’ll summarize it as best I can.
Those who promote grains say:
- they contain valuable fiber which is critical for our digestive health
- they help prevent colon cancer
- they help lower cholesterol
Those who are anti-grain say:
- that fiber in grains is actually not as good as it’s cracked up to be. They’ll point to the fact that there are plenty of studies that prove the most valuable fiber is found in fruits and vegetables, rendering whole grains unneeded in that regard.
- that grains put our insulin levels in complete turmoil, priming us to store and accumulate fat rather than burn it.
- that they are VERY taxing on the digestive system and gut, to put it lightly.
Grains contain gluten and lectin. Gluten is the protein processed from wheat and what creates the elasticity in dough.
Do you know what gluten means in Latin?…”Glue”. It’s also an ingredient in commercial wallpaper glue? If you are fine with eating something that literally means “glue” and is used to make wallpaper stick, fine, but I’m avoiding it as often as I can. Ever seen apples or spinach as an ingredient in Elmer’s? They are both good sources of fiber.
We hear a lot about gluten in today’s culture since it’s estimated by some that 1/3 of America is actually gluten intolerant. This means that there are a large chunk of us who, every time we eat gluten, put our body in a state of internal stress and repair.
Lectins are not off the hook, either. They are mild toxins that do not play nicely with your gastrointestinal tract.
Grains are dirt cheap to produce and are big business. Our government is literally invested in their production so people like Bob Harper will continue to promote them for millions of easy dollars.
I’m not part of the Paleo group (though I believe that philosophy to be very sound) that says never to eat grains. I’m just saying be aware of the arguments against them, do some research on gluten for yourself and treat what you find seriously. Experiment with complete removal from your diet for a few weeks and see your body reacts. I’m betting that you feel better and have more energy, not to mention you’ll most likely shed some unneeded body fat.
The Bottom Line
Get the vast majority of your carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables and the occasional complex carb craving. Follow that graph above religiously and adjust your intake based on what you want to accomplish.
To put this into perspective, I eat more fat than carbohydrates on a daily basis and I would classify myself as fairly skinny. I have no cholesterol or health issues and have plenty of energy to train intensely four to five times per week. I also go bananas eating whatever I want one to two days out of every fourteen and don’t think twice about it. I just understand what it will do to me and strategically plan when I’m going to pass out with a Yogurtland needle in my arm.
This nutritional lifestyle works for me and others that I’ve trained. I’m not trying to lose weight so I don’t always watch my carb intake as closely as I recommend to others who are. I’ll mix in three or four weeks of very close monitoring and then go into two weeks of crushing breakfast burritos. Why?
IT’S ALL. ABOUT. YOUR GOAL.
Don’t treat nutrition it like a death sentence. If you are absolutely craving Roberto’s, then take the damn thing down. Just understand the aforementioned consequences will occur in the short-term and move forward.
Every person has different sensitivity to carbs and a different tolerance to certain foods, like grains. Genetics play a role. Age plays a role. Gender plays a role. Activity and metabolism play roles. I’m simply saying I believe a low-carb nutritional lifestyle to be the absolute best way to achieve a lean, healthy body that’s energized and on a path to longevity.
Let me know your feedback – are you eating low-carb? High-carb? Paleo? Zone?
DT