Fact. Those who eat breakfast succeed on multiple levels including higher energy, increased weight loss, and lower amount of headaches. Fact. Breakfast doesn't need to be a full course meal. I just got done reading this article and I feel like plugging breakfast.
http://www2.newsadvance.com/lifestyles/2011/jul/28/dietician-knows-value-health-breakfast-ar-1200342/
So, it's pretty simple; eat breakfast, see results. It doesn't matter if its in season, off season, out of sport, or whatever. Eating something after waking up or early in the day starts our metabolism's motor. This allows us to either start burning calories earlier (for those wanting weight loss) or gives us a better appetite throughout the day to eat more or eat better (for those wanting to gain weight).
Here's my favorite part; breakfast can be anything you want it to be! A lot of people get stuck on having only breakfast type foods for breakfast. I say, "why not expand!" I like to eat noodles, rice, leftover dinner, sandwiches, cold pizza, and the list goes on! It's great to eat a nice balanced breakfast that includes at least one fruit and tries to incorporate vegetables, but that can be hard to do sometimes. Eating breakfast always beats not eating breakfast...always.
So grab that granola bar, glass of milk, PB&J, banana, fruit snacks, bowl of pasta, cold pizza and/or yogurt. Eat that breakfast and see results.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Don't get swept away
A lot of diets out there these days are barely diets at all. They like to grab a hold of an idea and run with it regardless of successful results. They like to think "how does this make me money," instead of "how can I make this population healthier." This is what's important when considering new diets.
I just looked into a couple diet fads around the internet right now. I'm somewhat shocked to see what people are willing to try. One of the diets, designed for women, says "Here! Take this hormone that pregnant women make more of in order to feed their baby more instead of their own body! Then, eat only about 500 Calories per day!" Seriously?? 0_o
People, it's these kinds of diets we need to step back and say wow. Let me ask you, what's making these people lose weight? The expensive hormone? Or the 500 Calories per day?
In relation to sport, this can happen on multiple levels. Diets that promise to lose fat and gain lean muscle or cut/gain weight are everywhere. Products are thrown around from teas to protein smoothies. For the athlete what's most important is to realize that diets can produce results, but long term results come from changing behaviors. What I mean is that most could lose weight on a crazy or not so crazy diet but once we get off of these diets a lot of the time we head right back down to where we don't want to be.
So, for you athletes out there looking to gain/lose weight on whatever level, it's not about laying off the Twinkies and chips for a month or two until you get to a happy weight. It's about understanding food, and realizing it's not the Twinkies that's the problem and not the protein shake and other supplements that's the solution. We must individually find out what we eat that makes us happy, whether that's on a emotional, physiological, or social level. This can be tough because it requires to become attached to our food. And by attached I mean you should know or start to learn a couple of things:
I lived with my teammate Joey for a full year my junior year in college. Every now and then he would be in the mood to cook some Italian food. And the process would begin. He would get out to the grocery and buy all the ingredients he needed. Then he would set up the kitchen in order for him to be ready on time; this usually meant getting some sausages into the crock pot. After leaving that delicious smell on all day, he would start cooking the main dish later that night and recruit others to help on whatever level. Did he cook from a recipe? Not really. Just family tradition. If he had a question it was as easy as calling up mom or dad and saying "what kind of cheeses again?" After all was cooked and ready to go, he'd call everyone in, including friends. Everyone would sit down food in front of us and we would throw on some sports game or other TV. But then we'd socialize. And everyone loved it, except whoever was left with the dishes...
What I'm trying to say is, love your food and have some fun with it. Invite friends over saying, "Hey! I'm trying fried rice for the first time and want some testers." Take notes or mental notes on how to make it better next time. This relationship to build with understanding food will automatically make you a better eater. You can start to develop knowledge of basic foods and then YOU can answer the question, "how can I eat healthier?"
I just looked into a couple diet fads around the internet right now. I'm somewhat shocked to see what people are willing to try. One of the diets, designed for women, says "Here! Take this hormone that pregnant women make more of in order to feed their baby more instead of their own body! Then, eat only about 500 Calories per day!" Seriously?? 0_o
People, it's these kinds of diets we need to step back and say wow. Let me ask you, what's making these people lose weight? The expensive hormone? Or the 500 Calories per day?
In relation to sport, this can happen on multiple levels. Diets that promise to lose fat and gain lean muscle or cut/gain weight are everywhere. Products are thrown around from teas to protein smoothies. For the athlete what's most important is to realize that diets can produce results, but long term results come from changing behaviors. What I mean is that most could lose weight on a crazy or not so crazy diet but once we get off of these diets a lot of the time we head right back down to where we don't want to be.
So, for you athletes out there looking to gain/lose weight on whatever level, it's not about laying off the Twinkies and chips for a month or two until you get to a happy weight. It's about understanding food, and realizing it's not the Twinkies that's the problem and not the protein shake and other supplements that's the solution. We must individually find out what we eat that makes us happy, whether that's on a emotional, physiological, or social level. This can be tough because it requires to become attached to our food. And by attached I mean you should know or start to learn a couple of things:
- Where your food comes from
- What is in your food
- How do I cook this food
- How certain foods make you feel
I lived with my teammate Joey for a full year my junior year in college. Every now and then he would be in the mood to cook some Italian food. And the process would begin. He would get out to the grocery and buy all the ingredients he needed. Then he would set up the kitchen in order for him to be ready on time; this usually meant getting some sausages into the crock pot. After leaving that delicious smell on all day, he would start cooking the main dish later that night and recruit others to help on whatever level. Did he cook from a recipe? Not really. Just family tradition. If he had a question it was as easy as calling up mom or dad and saying "what kind of cheeses again?" After all was cooked and ready to go, he'd call everyone in, including friends. Everyone would sit down food in front of us and we would throw on some sports game or other TV. But then we'd socialize. And everyone loved it, except whoever was left with the dishes...
What I'm trying to say is, love your food and have some fun with it. Invite friends over saying, "Hey! I'm trying fried rice for the first time and want some testers." Take notes or mental notes on how to make it better next time. This relationship to build with understanding food will automatically make you a better eater. You can start to develop knowledge of basic foods and then YOU can answer the question, "how can I eat healthier?"
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Electrolytes: A Brief Explanation
If you are an athlete, you are told that electrolytes are important. End of discussion. We drink our Gatorade, because it has been so well commercialized to tell you it has electrolytes, and we go on our way. Well, has anyone stopped and actually wondered...what the hell do electrolytes do?
If you look at the Periodic Table of the Elements, you will actually find a couple of the electrolytes up there (Na, Cl, Ca, K, and Mg). There are electrolytes not on there because it is a combination of some different ones, but I'm not here to make things difficult to understand. Basically, electrolytes are salt; and I mean salt including table salt (NaCl) and other salts made of different elements. Stick with me, chemistry class is over now.
So they why, you ask, do we need to ingest a bunch of these little mineral elements? (Yes these are included in the "vitamins and minerals" of a daily diet) It's because our cells in our body hold very specific concentrations of these different elements. Specific actions such as a nerve impulse or sugar being absorbed are controlled by the concentrations changing and electrolytes flowing. Most importantly for us, muscle contractions are controlled by electrolytes flowing in and out of cells. Ever had a muscle cramp? That's why they tell you to drink Gatorade. The electrolytes in it will help restore the balance around the muscle allowing it to contract and relax normally again. Starting to make sense?
There are electrolytes in things other than sports drinks. Milk and fruit juice both have them (and milk is an amazing post-exercise drink) and fruits and vegetables also naturally have these minerals. You can even try making your own sports drink! Mix these together:
If you look at the Periodic Table of the Elements, you will actually find a couple of the electrolytes up there (Na, Cl, Ca, K, and Mg). There are electrolytes not on there because it is a combination of some different ones, but I'm not here to make things difficult to understand. Basically, electrolytes are salt; and I mean salt including table salt (NaCl) and other salts made of different elements. Stick with me, chemistry class is over now.
So they why, you ask, do we need to ingest a bunch of these little mineral elements? (Yes these are included in the "vitamins and minerals" of a daily diet) It's because our cells in our body hold very specific concentrations of these different elements. Specific actions such as a nerve impulse or sugar being absorbed are controlled by the concentrations changing and electrolytes flowing. Most importantly for us, muscle contractions are controlled by electrolytes flowing in and out of cells. Ever had a muscle cramp? That's why they tell you to drink Gatorade. The electrolytes in it will help restore the balance around the muscle allowing it to contract and relax normally again. Starting to make sense?
There are electrolytes in things other than sports drinks. Milk and fruit juice both have them (and milk is an amazing post-exercise drink) and fruits and vegetables also naturally have these minerals. You can even try making your own sports drink! Mix these together:
- 4 cups water
- Half a lemon's juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
My Thoughts: A difference in our realm of sports
So I've realized I haven't shared too much specifically to the athlete with a disability. So today I've decided to share with you all a theory of mine which I would love some input on.
The majority of us play our sport in a chair and a majority of that majority stay in a chair for most the day. The amount of leg usage is much less (if not zero) in comparison to the able bodied person. What's important to know is that leg usage and the natural motion of walking does a lot for our digestive system. There's also no argument that our biggest, most energy using muscles are located in our legs....welllll there's the problem.
Since a lot of calorie burning comes from leg sprints, running, biking, etc. we have to account for the lost "normal" physiological actions bodies go through. For example, a paraplegic will burn less calories then a same sized able bodied person through the transport from one location to another. I know that we have strong arms, shoulders, etc. and that most able bodied people wouldn't be able to push as far or hard or as long as us, but arms in comparison to legs is not a fair comparison.
For this reason I put into question two things:
The second part, fiber, also poses an interesting question. Fiber has been very much pushed by health experts and dietitians, especially to lose weight. The DRI's or Daily Reference Intakes as stated by the USDA states that adult men need 38 grams of fiber/day and adult women need 25 grams/day. Now, I don't know if any of you have tried to get your full amount of fiber for one day, but it is tough! Obviously easier for females, but still difficult! On top of that, I believe that fiber could actually hurt the athlete with a disability.
Fiber does a great job of pushing the digestive system along. This is because fiber acts as non-absorbed material that literally "pushes" food through the system. What it can also do is give us a sense of "urgency" (if you know what I mean) or even have an opposite effect and make our stomach and abdominal area feel like stone. Gas related pressure can build up and hurt us, especially against belt buckles or other seat constraints.
I'm not telling any of you to not eat fiber, I am only giving you my theory as to what I think differences are between the able bodied and disabled athlete. My suggestion is to be smart when it comes to eating close to work outs or competition, or whatever it is you do actively. I normally eat my fiber around dinner time after I've done all my daily exercising or what not. It's a comfort zone that is worth looking for.
Anyway, that's just my theory. I'd love to hear some feedback as to what any of you think or experiences involving this matter.
The majority of us play our sport in a chair and a majority of that majority stay in a chair for most the day. The amount of leg usage is much less (if not zero) in comparison to the able bodied person. What's important to know is that leg usage and the natural motion of walking does a lot for our digestive system. There's also no argument that our biggest, most energy using muscles are located in our legs....welllll there's the problem.
Since a lot of calorie burning comes from leg sprints, running, biking, etc. we have to account for the lost "normal" physiological actions bodies go through. For example, a paraplegic will burn less calories then a same sized able bodied person through the transport from one location to another. I know that we have strong arms, shoulders, etc. and that most able bodied people wouldn't be able to push as far or hard or as long as us, but arms in comparison to legs is not a fair comparison.
For this reason I put into question two things:
- Hydration
- Fiber
The second part, fiber, also poses an interesting question. Fiber has been very much pushed by health experts and dietitians, especially to lose weight. The DRI's or Daily Reference Intakes as stated by the USDA states that adult men need 38 grams of fiber/day and adult women need 25 grams/day. Now, I don't know if any of you have tried to get your full amount of fiber for one day, but it is tough! Obviously easier for females, but still difficult! On top of that, I believe that fiber could actually hurt the athlete with a disability.
Fiber does a great job of pushing the digestive system along. This is because fiber acts as non-absorbed material that literally "pushes" food through the system. What it can also do is give us a sense of "urgency" (if you know what I mean) or even have an opposite effect and make our stomach and abdominal area feel like stone. Gas related pressure can build up and hurt us, especially against belt buckles or other seat constraints.
I'm not telling any of you to not eat fiber, I am only giving you my theory as to what I think differences are between the able bodied and disabled athlete. My suggestion is to be smart when it comes to eating close to work outs or competition, or whatever it is you do actively. I normally eat my fiber around dinner time after I've done all my daily exercising or what not. It's a comfort zone that is worth looking for.
Anyway, that's just my theory. I'd love to hear some feedback as to what any of you think or experiences involving this matter.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
School lunches around the world
Thought you all would find this really eye-opening. Compare the US meal to any other country.
http://todayilearned.co.uk/2011/04/20/what-kids-of-the-world-eat-at-school/
This doesn't have too much to do with us as athletes specifically, but I do think that it points out two things:
http://todayilearned.co.uk/2011/04/20/what-kids-of-the-world-eat-at-school/
This doesn't have too much to do with us as athletes specifically, but I do think that it points out two things:
- We should be thankful for everything available to us
- We really need to eat more vegetables
Monday, July 25, 2011
Pre-exercise Nutrition
Let's go over something real quick. Eating to prepare for exercise and events.
I just read this article which supported my theory of preparatory eating.
Basically, carbohydrates are the most easily digestible form of food. They get through our digestive system the fastest as well. Once digested, the energy they provide us are immediately available for our muscles unlike other sources which might need transforming first. When eating high fat and high protein meals, our blood flow gets concentrated to digestion instead of our muscles, so it is not wise to get ready using protein and fat on moderate to high levels.
Some foods that I like to eat or drink about 1 hour to 30 min before a workout or game are:
I just read this article which supported my theory of preparatory eating.
Basically, carbohydrates are the most easily digestible form of food. They get through our digestive system the fastest as well. Once digested, the energy they provide us are immediately available for our muscles unlike other sources which might need transforming first. When eating high fat and high protein meals, our blood flow gets concentrated to digestion instead of our muscles, so it is not wise to get ready using protein and fat on moderate to high levels.
Some foods that I like to eat or drink about 1 hour to 30 min before a workout or game are:
- Bananas
- Gatorade
- Granola bars (Cliff, Quaker Oats, any will do)
- Ramen noodles, holding back on some of the flavor packet
- Crackers or pretzels
- Grapes
- Water
- Real juice (100%)
Largest Ever McDonald's at the Olympics
This is kinda cool. A giant McDonald's at the Olympics in London...
McDonald's to build its largest restaurant at London Olympic games
My favorite part is that they bring employees from all over the world as well.
This is a nice thing to have for athletes because McDonald's is recognized all over the world. Great for when the hosting country's food is getting old or when you just need some comfort food. Remember, it's incredibly easy to splurge or overeat at McDonald's so go in with the mindset that you are only going to eat so much.
McDonald's to build its largest restaurant at London Olympic games
My favorite part is that they bring employees from all over the world as well.
This is a nice thing to have for athletes because McDonald's is recognized all over the world. Great for when the hosting country's food is getting old or when you just need some comfort food. Remember, it's incredibly easy to splurge or overeat at McDonald's so go in with the mindset that you are only going to eat so much.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Eating on the Road
One of the hardest challenges for any athlete is having to eat out of the comfort zone of one's own kitchen. In all honesty, this is a skill to develop and takes time, so be patient.There are two kinds of travel one can run into: traveling in your country and international travel. I'll cover both.
When traveling on the road in one's own country, It's important to learn how to see through the tempting food and understand that you are here to compete and need to choose healthier options. Something that has helped me is using a "Eat This, Not That" book. The Restaurant Guide book works the best. If this isn't something in your best interests, that's fine too.
Now that you are looking at your menu, let me give you some quick pointers as to what to choose.
Delicious pastries from Paris to splurge on
When traveling on the road in one's own country, It's important to learn how to see through the tempting food and understand that you are here to compete and need to choose healthier options. Something that has helped me is using a "Eat This, Not That" book. The Restaurant Guide book works the best. If this isn't something in your best interests, that's fine too.
Now that you are looking at your menu, let me give you some quick pointers as to what to choose.
- Quick fix: change your side! No french fries or mashed potatoes; go for baked potatoes, veggies, and salads
- Your main dish should be carbohydrate based. Pasta, salad, and sandwiches are great for this. Watch out for cream sauces, thick dressings, and multiple sauces on sandwiches.
- Choose juice and water instead of sodas and sugary drinks. Soda can dehydrate you faster.
- Overeating can lead to a painful stomach, so eat until you are comfortable. This takes some understanding of your own stomach. Never stuff withing 3 hours of a game or practice. Just snack.
Eating internationally is a different story. We get thrown into a different environment and are forced to eat out of our comfort zone. It is still possible to eat well, but it requires a lot of attention. Here are my tips:
- Read through a menu, and get translation help if you need. Ask a ton of questions to the cashier or server.
- Follow the same guidelines as above for eating in your own country.
- It can be fun to try new foods and have fun, but make sure you do so in safety as to not upset your stomach. I almost ordered tartare while in Paris, I'm glad I didn't (wikipedia it, and you'll understand).
- If eating from a food service becomes too difficult, find a grocery and get some foods that are something you like to eat. This way you have a little more control over what you eat.
So there you have it, hopefully these tips help all of you throughout the season. Just a reminder, this takes practice, try to stick with it and understand you can splurge when competition is over. Oh and here's a great pic of what the Rice Krispies elves look like in France:
Kinda freaky...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
I've got a challenge for everyone.
For one week, track what you eat online in a free diet tracker. I like to use fitday.com because it gives a nice pie graph of the carbs, protein, and fat that you've eaten that day. On top of that, it gives you many other options including exercise, mood, and weight goals. Under exercise they even had a wheelchair basketball option! Boo ya.
I heard about a sweet free app for smart phones too. The best one is MyFitnessPal. Since I don't have a fancy smartphone, I have no idea how to go about actually getting it, but I'm sure you know how.
So back to the challenge, I want everyone willing to track their eating for one week and I want everyone to pay attention to the pie graph percentages for carbs, fat, and protein. For an athlete, a great ratio to aim for would be:
For one week, track what you eat online in a free diet tracker. I like to use fitday.com because it gives a nice pie graph of the carbs, protein, and fat that you've eaten that day. On top of that, it gives you many other options including exercise, mood, and weight goals. Under exercise they even had a wheelchair basketball option! Boo ya.
I heard about a sweet free app for smart phones too. The best one is MyFitnessPal. Since I don't have a fancy smartphone, I have no idea how to go about actually getting it, but I'm sure you know how.
So back to the challenge, I want everyone willing to track their eating for one week and I want everyone to pay attention to the pie graph percentages for carbs, fat, and protein. For an athlete, a great ratio to aim for would be:
- Carbs: 50-60%
- Protein: 15-20%
- Fat: 20-30%
This is how a typical diet should be laid out to be most healthy. I understand that most of us get into some intense training episodes and need a little more help in the recovery department. If this is you then I would decrease fat and increase protein. This can be really tough to do with the amount of hidden fats in America's diet these days, but using a meal tracker (even just for a week) will open your eyes to where those hidden fats lie. Also remember in order to keep up with a strenuous practice schedule, you will be needing to increase total calorie input in comparison to the normal 2000-ish-area Calorie diet. By inputting your data and exercising into the meal tracker, you'll be able to understand about how many calories you should be getting per day.
So! Get to it! Suck it up and put in everything you eat daily for one week.And no cheating, that helps no one! Feel free to post other trackers you use and your results if you are brave enough...
Friday, July 22, 2011
Intriguing article which I can relate to!
Interesting article. I think this stresses the importance of finding the foods that fuel you properly and are also very comfortable to play with.
One point I'd like to stress for the disabled athlete, a lot of us are sitting while we play and not using our legs whatsoever. This does make a difference on our digestive system. For this reason it is extra important that we stay hydrated in order to help the flow of our digestive tract. Also, when we are done with vigorous exercise, make sure we don't stuff our faces too quickly as this could easily cause stomach pains.
Let me know what you guys think!
Welcome to my blog!
Hey everyone!
Name's Tom and I recently graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelors in Food Science, concentration in dietetics. I have been playing wheelchair basketball for the last 11 years of my life and have also gotten to try a multitude of other sports. I am highly interested in the nutritional side of sports, especially for the disabled athlete. A quick google search will let you know that there isn't much out there for us specifically! This blog aims to create that information and hopefully back it up with scientific findings and personal experience. Feel free to ask questions, post comments, and email me.
I am going to be playing wheelchair basketball semi-professionally in Milan, Italy this Sept to May. I am extremely excited for this opportunity and hope to further my knowledge of food and nutrition in a land where food thrives! Us internationally skilled athletes have to struggle with eating on the road so I hope to gain experience in eating on the road in other countries.
So once again, thank you for checking me out and I hope you use my blog to fuel your athletic goals!
-Tom
Name's Tom and I recently graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelors in Food Science, concentration in dietetics. I have been playing wheelchair basketball for the last 11 years of my life and have also gotten to try a multitude of other sports. I am highly interested in the nutritional side of sports, especially for the disabled athlete. A quick google search will let you know that there isn't much out there for us specifically! This blog aims to create that information and hopefully back it up with scientific findings and personal experience. Feel free to ask questions, post comments, and email me.
I am going to be playing wheelchair basketball semi-professionally in Milan, Italy this Sept to May. I am extremely excited for this opportunity and hope to further my knowledge of food and nutrition in a land where food thrives! Us internationally skilled athletes have to struggle with eating on the road so I hope to gain experience in eating on the road in other countries.
So once again, thank you for checking me out and I hope you use my blog to fuel your athletic goals!
-Tom
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