Someone new to resistance training recently asked me what they should eat after a workout.

I was actually quite impressed that the question was even asked, for it showed that this person at least had a basic understanding of the significant role food plays in the 20 to 30 minutes right after you’ve lifted your last weight.

The post-resistance workout meal is actually quite specific in terms of its contents, as suggested by this piece from CNN.com. To help begin the muscle repair process, you need to consume food high in protein and fast-digesting carbohydrates. In fact, this post-resistance training workout meal (whew, that’s getting to be a lot to say. I think I’ll stick to calling it the PRWM from now on) is just about the only time you actually want to consume food or drink that is high in simple sugars.

Something else to keep in mind about the PRWM is this: Stay away from fats. Whereas eating healthy sources of fat is something you should be doing at other parts of the day, try to avoid fats of all kinds right after your workout. This is because fat will slow digestion. And, since we want that protein and those carbs to get back into our system as quickly as possible, eating fat during this meal becomes counterproductive.

Personally, I feel that one of the best ways to get a proper post-resistance training meal is to down a protein or meal replacement shake. However, not everyone wants to spend their hard earned money on nutritional supplements. Fortunately, a much simpler solution can be found at your local grocery store for about two bucks. Low-fat chocolate milk will satisfy both your need for protein and simple carbohydrates (sourced from the sugar contained in the milk and its chocolate syrup) in a single serving.

Editor’s Note: A recent study also showed that consuming caffeine post workout, aids in muscle glycogen replenishment.

More like this in Exercise Apr 2, 2009

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New research suggests that certain people are at a greater risk of developing anorexia due to the way their brains develop while they’re still in the womb.

Ian Frampton (honorary consultant in paediatric psychology at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital) and colleagues studied over 200 young women aged 12 – 25 who were being treated for anorexia.

As The Guardian newspaper explains:

70% of the patients had suffered damage to their neurotransmitters, which help brain cells communicate with each other, had undergone subtle changes in the structure of their brains, or both.

In the past, scientists believed that being severely underweight caused changes in brain chemistry: Framptom’s research suggests it’s the other way round: the changes are caused in the womb. (There is no link to poor maternal diet, or environmental factors.)

The findings have given hope to eating disorder charities and campaigners, who believe that this could revolutionise the way anorexia is treated. Some hope that drugs could be produced to correct the brain chemistry, in a similar way to using anti-depressants to treat depression.

The head of the eating disorders charity Beat, Susan Ringwood, welcomed the news and told the Guardian that:

It will help parents understand that they aren’t to blame. Parents always blame themselves when their child develops an eating disorder. But what we are learning more and more from research in this area is that some people are very vulnerable to anorexia and that is down to genetic factors and brain chemistry.

The study is due to be presented at the 9th London International Eating Disorders Conference.

More like this in Science Mar 31, 2009

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There’s never going to be an easy time of year for dieters, and most of us have a love-hate relationship with popular holidays that are, it seems, an excuse to indulge. With Easter looming and chocolate eggs lining the shelves, dieting temptation seems to lie everywhere.

Here’s your guide to surviving Easter without putting on unwanted pounds – but without feeling that you’ve missed out, either.

1. Don’t Buy Early

There are often big discounts on Easter eggs well before Easter. This isn’t because big chain stores want you to have a great deal in credit crunch times – it’s because they want to maximise their profits. How? Well, if you buy all your eggs six weeks in advance, chances are that you’ll have eaten some of them well before Easter … and you’ll need to buy more.

2. Bake Your Own Buns and Cakes

When it comes to traditional Easter treats like hot cross buns and simnel cake, why not bake your own? You’ll have complete control over what goes in, and it’s often possible to adapt recipes to make them lower-fat.

3. Think Of Alternative Gifts

Whether you’re the giver or the receiver, brainstorm some Easter gifts that don’t involve chocolate! A book (perhaps of poems, or if you’re religious, prayers) might work well. You could also put together a dieter-friendly Easter basket of healthy and/or non-edible treats: fresh fruits and seasonal flowers work well. Holiday decorations, like blown and painted eggs, are another alternative.

4. If You Do Buy Chocolate Eggs, Go Small

Many of us struggle with portion control when foods don’t come ready-portioned. A 100g milk chocolate Easter egg contains around 520 calories – and that’s without the chocolate bars and candy that eggs typically come with.

Try buying or asking for small, wrapped eggs (like shelled nuts, unwrapping each individual piece of chocolate means you’ll eat fewer). Then you can enjoy one or two as a treat, without breaking the calorie bank in a single sitting.

Dark chocolate is also a better choice than milk or white – less sugar, fewer calories, and more health benefits. With dark chocolate, you’re also likely to be satisfied with less.

5. Children and Chocolate

You’d be hard-pressed to ban chocolate eggs from the house entirely, but it’s a good idea to encourage children to focus on something other than just the chocolate. The Easter weekend is a great time for family activities – why not have an active Easter egg hunt in your yard or local park, to encourage kids to run around and burn off some of that chocolate?

Also – don’t eat your kids’ Easter eggs! If they get given too many by indulgent aunts and grandparents, keep back a few to use as cooking ingredients throughout the year.

6. Compensate Before and After

A bit more chocolate than usual isn’t going to cause you any long-term problems, but make sure you’re careful about eating healthily in the run-up to Easter – and afterwards. If you’ve been scoffing chocolate for day in the office, or if you go on a big chocolate binge all week after Easter, you’ll end up feeling ill, sluggish and guilty. Stick to your usual healthy eating patterns, and you’ll enjoy those Easter treats all the more.

What are your tips for enjoying Easter without completely abandoning your healthy eating plan? And have you ever seen an Easter egg as big as this 70lb one?

More like this in Food Mar 30, 2009

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Amongst all the differing nutritional advice out there, one common factor stands out: eat more fruit and vegetables. Governments around the world recommend “five a day” (five portions of fruit and vegetables, rather than five of each).

But how much constitutes a “portion” and what exactly counts?

Here’s your easy guide to the five-a-day recommendation:

How Big Is A Portion?

One portion is defined as:
80g (3oz) of fresh fruit or vegetables
One tablespoon of dried fruit
150ml (5 fluid oz) of pure fruit juice

Of course, most of us don’t want to weigh out every morsal, so here are the rough portion sizes for a few common fruits and veggies:

FruitsOne medium sized apple, banana, pear or orangeTwo small satsumas, kiwi fruit, plums or figsSeven strawberries

(See also fruit portion sizes table from the 5 A Day website)

VegetablesOne medium sized tomatoThree heaped tablespoons of peas, carrots, or sweetcornThree heaped tablespoons of beans or pulses

(See also vegetable portions sizes table from the 5 A Day website.)

Children aged five and above should eat five portions per day of different fruits and vegetables, but the portion sizes can be slightly smaller.

What Counts?

Fresh, Frozen, Dried and Canned All Count

You don’t have to eat fresh fruit and veggies – dried, frozen and canned ones count in just the same way. In some cases, frozen produce contains more vitamins than fresh, as it’s frozen straight after being harvested.

Juice and Beans Only Count Once A Day

However much fresh juice you drink, it only counts as one portion per day. This is mainly because it contains very little fiber, meaning it isn’t as beneficial as whole fruit.

The same goes for beans and pulses – you can only count them as one portion. This is because they don’t contain the same range of nutrients as fruits and vegetables, so you can’t get all five of your portions from baked beans!

Potatoes Don’t Count

One common misconception is that potatoes count towards your five-a-day. They don’t: they’re classed as a starchy food. (Yams and cassava also don’t count.)

How Are You Doing?

Did the above information contain any surprises? Do you manage to get five-a-day? Have you been mistakenly counting five glasses of juice? Or have you been discounting dried fruit or tinned veggies because you thought they didn’t count?

More like this in Food Apr 3, 2009

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The study, which analyzed more than 3500 adolescents aged 12-19 showed that those with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were;

2.36 times more likely to have high blood pressure2.54 times more likely to have high blood sugar3.99 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome*

Researchers adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, socioeconomic status and physical activity.

The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican Americans. Whites had almost twice as high levels as blacks.

These data on serum vitamin D levels in young people raise some concern about their food choices and even the amount of time they spend in the sunshine,” Robert H. Eckel, M.D., American Heart Association past president.

I tend to agree. The horrific diets of our youth combined with sun phobia makes the results of this study unsurprising.

What to doEnsure adequate sunshine: No more than 10-20 minutes of sun exposure on the arms, legs or face 2-3 times per week between the hours of 11 and 2.Eat better: I am a strong advocate of wholesale dietary changes rather than simply trying to “plug holes”. Eat a diet rich in fruits and veggies, adequate in protein, good fats and whole grains. Consume foods with vitamin D: Not as easy as it sounds as there aren’t many foods rich in this vitamin. Cod liver oil is the top source by a country mile with salmon, tuna and sardines also providing good sources. Most milks are fortified with about 100 IU’s of vitamin D.Supplement: Not a bad idea to add a 400 or even a 1000 IU’s in the form of a pill or cod liver oil. For more details see Vitamin D: Are you Getting Enough.

*Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels.

Source: Eureka Alerts

More like this in Science Apr 1, 2009

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Flickr: SvadilfariWith Easter fast approaching and Peter Cottontail bearing down on us, Cadbury Crème Eggs, the famous chocolate eggs filled with sugary yolk-ish cream, are once again hitting supermarket shelves.

Like marshmallow Peeps, the eggs have earned a cult following, arguably edging out chocolate rabbits as the quintessential holiday treat, but some consumer groups aren’t sold on them.

In 2007, companies like Cadbury and Mars pledged to reformulate their products without six food colorings linked to hyperactivity in children by the end of 2008, but as of now, they have yet to make completely good on their promise.

The colors in question are Tartrazine, Quinoline Yellow, Sunset Yellow, Carmoisine, Ponceau and Allura Red and are referred to as the “Southampton Six” named after the study associating them with hyperactivity.

Calling the situation highly irresponsible, the U.K. Food Commission’s Action on Additives campaign claims many candies still contain one or more of these additives, including the Cadbury Crème Egg and some Mars products, like Starbursts.

A Mars spokesperson says they plan to continue reformulating their products and claims the company has been transparent all along. However, the Action on Additives campaign is now pushing for a mandatory ban on harmful food additives, saying its a simple plan that would force food producers to act and take the burden off parents.

Now, if you’re upset by this, satisfy your bloodlust and see what happens when Peeps meet the microwave and Cadbury Crème Eggs fall on mousetraps.

Via Food Navigator.

More like this in Food Mar 30, 2009

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IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) held their annual conference this month – a monster of an affair which draws the who’s who of fitness equipment manufacturers, club owners and enthusiasts in general. Not surprisingly, computer-based fitness games and health data for the web stood out as big trends. One part irony, one part ingenuity, the health industry is using the very tools that are contributing to obesity to try and reverse the trend. For better or for worse, here’s what’s new and popular in the world of fitness.

Speed board:
A parabolic, self-powered treadmill that adjusts speed according to how far forward or back you are on it.

Cybex FT-450 Functional Trainer:
For all the hype this multipurpose cable machine has received, I really don’t see what the hype is about. I guess it’s kind of neat that there’s an adjustable padded piece that unfolds from the machine but when you really think about it, this can take the “function” right out of a machine designed to be “functional”.

Treadwall:
Think treadmill, only vertical! Yes it is a moving climbing wall. A great idea for clubs (and homes, I suppose) with vertical restrictions. Plus, you don’t have to wear a harness.

Gravity Treadmills:
This isn’t your mother’s treadmill, but maybe it should be. Using gravity differential technology, an advanced air pressure regulation system, enclosure sealing component and other technology that only NASA rocket scientists comprehend, this super-treadmill takes weight off you your body to lessen impact and improve speed.

Jacob’s Ladder:
A self-propelled, moving ladder placed at a 40 degree angle. The faster you go, the faster it goes – which sounds as scary as…well, the movie Jacob’s Ladder.

xrkade: An active gaming lifestyle that simulate real sports. Interactive games include; boxing, skateboarding, soccer, biking and dancing. Xrkade targets the younger gaming enthusiasts and has actual gyms throughout the U.S.

Other Cool Fitness Toys and Popular items

Vibration training and vibrating exercise machines continue to be popular with companies such as powerplate .

Fancy Heart Rate Monitors. Suunto has a monitor that measures EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) or how much you are continuing to burn after a workout.

RealRyder: The spinning bike that moves side to side. Also new, this thing where you can actually take the bikes outside and get this… ride them on real roads!

Fitness Anywhere continues to make waves with augmentations to their TRX training systems.

Will any of these have staying power?

Most of these aforementioned items are marketed towards commercial gyms. With an economic downturn, it may be challenging for these companies to sell these rather expensive items to health clubs. Time will tell. I for one want to try these things out.

More like this in Exercise Mar 31, 2009

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Sorry about this. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with a better solution.

More like this in Site News Mar 29, 2009

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Basically the GI diet is eating foods that have a low GI value, when you eat this particular way, it takes longer for the food to be broken down in your body than it would do eating high GI foods instead.

Scientists have recently been wondering why this happens and think they may have arrived at a conclusion as to why, and how this happens. Some scientists from Kings College London, examined what happened in people stomach’s when they ate either a high GI or low GI meal.

GI is related to how quickly carbohydrates are broken down in your body each is given a specific number value and the lower the number the better, the higher the number is then it will take less time for the carbohydrates to be broken down into sugar, eating this way can be beneficial to people who may have diabetes.

Some examples of high GI foods can be white bread, Kellogg’s cornflakes, jacket potatoes eaten with nothing else, whereas low GI foods tend to be things like most fruit and vegetables. The scientists knew that eating foods that were low GI somehow managed to curb people’s appetites but they didn’t quite know why this was.

To try and find out why they conducted some experiments on some people they gave 12 healthy volunteers a low GI meal and then a high GI meal, to see what difference there were between the two meals.

Each participant ate a medium GI meal for lunch and then fasted until breakfast the next morning, when they came to eat breakfast the next morning they were either given a low scoring GI meal or a high scoring GI meal. Then blood samples were taken from the participants to see what differences there were, between each group and what they ate. The blood samples were taken the blood samples were taken every every 30 minutes for approximately 150 minutes.

They measured the levels of a gut hormone, which is called glucagon-like peptide 1 or short for GLP-1, they also measured levels of insulin, the aforementioned gut hormone is known particularly for its ability for suppressing appetite in people and making them feel full.

The results of the tests were those people who ate a low GI breakfast, had 20 percent more of the hormone GLP-1 and 38 percent lesser in insulin, compared to those who ate a high GI breakfast who had lower levels or none at all of the hormone and higher insulin levels.

This This overall proves that eating meals with a low GI component can make you feel fuller longer so hence you eat less, another thing we can take away from this is lower insulin levels, when you have high insulin levels, it can tend to make you more hungry overtime.

Even though this was a particularly small study done on people, it is quite good news if you do follow the GI diet and

In a way proves that it’s all not hot air. Like some people seem to think it is. The thing is with all these studies etc is don’t knock it until you have tried it. If you have any opinions or comments you would like to leave about this particular article please feel free to do so.

Source http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317201139.htm

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Professor James O. Hill popularized the 10,000 step phenomenon – an idea that became an initiative of sorts, encouraging people to get at least 10,000 steps each day. Pedometers became popular gadgets, flying off of store shelves and making their way into boxes of Frosted Flakes (I won’t go there).

So we know approximately how many steps we need, but how fast we should be taking those steps to keep fit?

At least 100 per minute, say researchers.

Researchers at San Diego State University found that a pace of 100 steps a minute or more was enough for the workout to be considered of moderate intensity. This equates to a minimum of 3000 steps in 30 minutes.

How to Use this Information

I have to say I have always liked the 10,000 steps idea. The concept of just getting up and moving around more can only help improve your health. I feel that this study adds another dimension to the “get more steps” philosophy – setting a “pace” goal.

For the masses of deconditioned people, I doubt you’ll find a better combination of simplicity and effectiveness.

Great idea, but prioritize

As highly supportive I am of the idea of walking more and walking faster, putting a major dent in fat loss efforts will requires a more multi-pronged approach.

Walking should be towards the bottom of the priority hierarchy, with consistent focus on healthy eating and resistance training taking precedence. That said, walking should take priority over Grey’s Anatomy, Texas Hold ‘em and X-Box.

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 36, Issue 5 (May 2009)

More like this in Exercise and Science Mar 23, 2009

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