This topic seems to be a common struggle I hear from a lot of people... They want to get lean, but they don't
want to give up drinking alcohol.
Now, I'm not talking about alcoholic type of drinking (that is obviously
a problem)... we're just talking moderate social drinking here.
First, although some people may willingly
choose to give up alcohol entirely, I still think most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and
lean. But there are a few tricks that can help you to not pack on the pounds... and I'll mention those in a little
bit.
As for myself, it comes down to choosing what I'm going to be strict about to maintain my fitness lifestyle
and what I'm not going to be strict about.
For example, I'm pretty strict about never eating anything
deep fried or made with trans fats, never eating white bread, and never drinking sodas or
sweetened soft drinks of any kind... but I'll admit that one thing I've chosen to
not be strict about is drinking alcohol.
I'm in my 30's now and I certainly don't drink as
frequently as I did back in my crazy college days, but I'll certainly enjoy some cold ones when hanging out with friends,
going to a BBQ or dinner party, or during a night out at the bars and nightclubs.
It's all about balance in
your life, and not every aspect has to be perfect in order for you to still get the body and health that you want. You'll
drive yourself crazy if you're trying to be perfect.
Of course, if you have no problem abstaining from alcohol,
then that will certainly be the best thing for your health and your body.
However, for the rest of us, that actually
do like to partake in some social drinking, here are a few tips that have helped me to stay single-digit body fat lean, while
still drinking occasionally.
1. Obviously alcohol gives you extra empty calories
on the days that you choose to drink. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein,
and 9 calories per gram for fats.
On nights that I know are going to involve some drinking, it helps to make sure
that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables. You're going to take in a lot of empty calories with the alcohol,
so eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite
and give your body the nutrients it needs.
Plus, most importantly, there's just no room for loads of carbohydrate-rich
foods if you're also going to be consuming alcohol. Carbs + alcohol is a perfect recipe for growing a beer belly!
2. If you want to save your body from adding layers of ugly fat, by all means stay away from syrupy, fruity drinks
that are loaded with sugar... this is a double whammy for your gut as you're not only getting all of the empty alcohol
calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. Big fruity drinks such as a margarita can sometimes have as much as 500-600
calories per serving!
Instead, your best bet is to stick with a clear alcohol mixed with club soda and a squeeze
of lime or lemon. Vodka with club soda and extra lemon/lime squeeze is my drink of choice at the bars/nightclubs.
Stay away from tonic water mixers!
Some people don't realize this, but tonic water is loaded with almost as much sugar as regular soda pop... on the other
hand, club soda has no calories at all. It's clearly the lowest calorie way to drink.
3. If you're going to drink beer, you're better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather
than 5 or 6 light beers. Sure, dark beers have more calories than light beers, but dark beers also have more B vitamins
and antioxidants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer. As long as you keep it to
just 1 or 2 dark beers, you may still stay within 150-400 calories.
4. Try to get in a high intensityfull
body workout before your night out of drinking. At least you've
revved up your metabolism and have your body processing calories a little faster.
Also, trying to get in some sort of exercise the morning after your night out can also help to
get your body back to a good state of health. This may not be your best workouts in terms of energy, but it can help to just
get your body moving and break a sweat.
5. Avoid
the late-night munchies after a night of drinking! This is where most people do the biggest damage to their waistlines.
Instead, make sure to have some lean protein and vegetables
quickly available at home (perhaps some pre-cooked chicken breasts, grass-fed steaks, or even tuna fish and some veggie sticks)
so that you can satisfy your late night post-party appetite with lean protein instead of carbohydrates.
The worst thing for your body is loading up on pizza, ice cream, and other
carb-rich junk after a night out of drinking.
6.
If you drink multiple drinks socially, try to keep drinking alcohol to only 1-2 days/week maximum if you want to stay lean.
On the other hand, if you never drink more than 1-2 drinks per day, I think having 1-2 drinks daily with a meal can still
be part of a healthy lifestyle. As long as those calories are accounted for and you still stay within your daily caloric maintenance.
7. Wine is one of the healthier drink choices... if you must
have a drink, you might as well choose wine so you at least get a good dose of antioxidants as well. Red wine is known for
it's antioxidant content, however even white wines contain antioxidants as well.
And finally, like I mentioned before, drinking alcohol just adds one more thing to your list
that you have to work against in getting the body you want.
Abstaining may always be the best choice, BUT we also need to be realistic and know that social drinking is not something
that most people are willing to give up entirely.
For that reason, this list of tips to help manage social drinking in a healthier way can really help you to stay leaner and
healthier and still balance a little bit of social drinking into your life.
Performance Nutrition for Lacrosse:
Fuel Like a Champion!
By: Christopher R. Mohr, PhD, RD
Lacrosse is a unique sport; a mix of short bursts of
speed, power, and surely mental focus. Of course we know training is crucial to success, but the missing piece to the performance
puzzle is very often nutrition. Chugging an energy drink in the locker room before your match will not help performance. Waking
up with a 20 oz bottle of soda is like pouring 17 tsp of sugar on a bowl of cereal and eating it. Again, not so effective.
Let's instead delve a bit into some
specific nutrition tips for Lacrosse players.
Carbohydrates should absolutely be the cornerstone
of a lacrosse players diet. The key, is to focus heavily on quality -- "think fiber, not carbs!" There is a huge
difference between white bread and whole grain, high fiber bread; a sugar coated cereal and oatmeal; French fries vs. sweet
potatoes. Focus on the quality of the carbohydrates.
For example, definitely eat breakfast, but try a whole grain based cereal with some fresh fruit for the nutrients
and fiber. Sandwiches should be made with whole grain bread, rather than their white counterpart. Snacks can be whole grain
crackers with peanut butter, fruit or veggie sticks with peanut butter, etc. The list can go on. The focus of carbohydrates
should always be on foods that provide a few grams of fiber per serving (exception is milk and yogurt, which are very healthy
and carbohydrate based, but provide little, if any fiber).
Fruit and vegetables are also a crucial element for a high performance athlete. Kids often shy away from them and
parents don't always push them. However, research has suggested it can take as many as one dozen times to determine if
a child likes a particular food. The key for a parent is to introduce kids to as many of these nutrient dense, colorful foods
as possible! Make it fun. Here are a few ideas:
o Ants on a log (celery with natural peanut butter and raisins)
o Sailboats (apple slices with toothpicks holding a cheddar cheese "sail"-- of course watch your child
to ensure they don't eat the toothpick).
o Homemade trail mix (mixed nuts, dried fruit, and some whole grain cereal)
Keep in mind that dried fruit counts towards the total fruit intake for the day,
as does 100% juice (of course this shouldn't be the mainstay, though, as whole fruit provides more fiber), along with
fruit puree.
Protein Needs of Lacrosse Players
In the world of athletics, no other macronutrient has received the same level of attention as protein. Everywhere
you look, everything you see, tells us we need more and more protein, whether you're trying to lose weight or gain muscle.
But how about for adolescent athletes; do they too have higher protein requirements like other fitness enthusiasts? As you
know, they too are trying to improve performance, put some muscles on those bodies, and of course just improve overall health
(at least we hope they are!).
Of course protein
plays a role and a very important one at that! One important message is to make sure young athletes always focus on food first.
High quality protein sources include:
* fish
and other seafood
* low or non fat
milk or yogurt
* chicken and turkey
breast
* lean red meat
* tofu
* mixed nuts
* eggs
* beans
* natural peanut butter and more.
The greater the variety in the diet, the better off they will be getting the most "bang for their buck"
in terms of various amino acids and other nutrients.
We
need to teach young athletes proper nutrition habits, which should include whole, nutrient dense foods rather than teaching
them to immediately turn to supplements, which is common with protein.
At the same time, there are quality supplements out there that can be of use. I would much rather have a teen athlete
have a high quality protein shake, blended with some fruit versus a snack like those served at the soccer game I alluded to
earlier, or fast food, which is way too common these days.
o Do they need a protein supplement? No.
o Will it make them into the next college or pro athlete? Of course not!
o Can it be beneficial and a healthier option than many of the alternative high
sugar, high fat foods marketed directly towards children? Absolutely!
But food first as whole foods provide more nutrients than any supplement does or ever will be able to provide.
Chewing
the Fat
Fat is another crucial nutrient
for athletes. The key, like with the other macronutrients, is to focus on quality. In fact, there have been a handful of scientific
studies to even show that one component of omega-3 fats, DHA, is crucial in terms of brain development. Fat also provides
a lot of calories (over double that of protein or carbohydrates), which can be important for very active, young athletes who
need more calories than most to develop healthy, strong bodies.
Here are a few fats to choose:
*
Fish
* Whole eggs
* olive oil
* Raw mixed nuts
* Natural
peanut butter
* Avocadoes and more
Don't overdo the fats, but definitely
don't skimp on them either--moderation and quality is king!
Fluids
These are actually the most important nutrient anyone can consume. The quality of the fluid is a struggle for kids
in particular; they are surely drinking more fluids, but not the type we'd encourage. Over the past few decades, milk
consumption has decreased dramatically and is being replaced with soft drinks. This is unfortunate because of the nutrients
being lost without the milk and the empty calories they're being replaced with. Remember I mentioned earlier that 100%
juice does count as fruit; however, we also don't want kids to live off this, as it doesn't provide all the same fiber
and nutrients whole fruit does, in addition to being way too easy to over consume. Keep in mind that 4 oz of juice counts
as one fruit; this is ½ of a cup of juice. It would be very easy to drink 2 whole cups of juice, but you are less likely
to eat the equivalent 4 whole oranges, meaning it is easy to pack in a lot of excess calories.
Water is really the
best option. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines do in fact make a recommendation to consume at least 3 servings of low-fat milk or
other dairy products, and the majority of other fluids should be water. If you need to make water more exciting for kids,
add a squeeze of orange, lemon, lime, or cucumber. And always keep a pitcher in the refrigerator, so there is cold water at
their fingertips.
In summary, here are a few
tips to keep in mind when fueling young athletes.
o Variety is crucial--the more the variety, the better
o The more fruits and vegetables each day, the better
o Think fiber, not carbs
o Protein is absolutely important, just as it is with adults.
o Fat quality is crucial
o Be creative to get kids to eat a variety of foods
o Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
o Very basic supplements, such as a high quality protein, are OK, within reason, but the food first approach is
always the best with folks of all ages.
Feed
your body. It's a machine. To be the best lacrosse player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world.
A Kidney Stone's #1 Natural Enemy
Here is a great article and a video following the article
on kidney stones. I've been following Dr. Mercola's advice and information for a while now and the guy is pretty sharp
and really knows what he is talking about. A lot of people suffer from kidney stones when they really don't need
to. So, here is some pertinent advice that you can use yourself or share with your friends and loved ones so neither of you
have to suffer through this extremely painful attack. Enoy...
What
Causes Kidney Stones?
In the U.S., about 10-15 percent of adults will be diagnosed with
a kidney stone in their lifetime. Roughly 1 million Americans develop kidney stones each year.
Once you have had one
kidney stone attack, your chance of recurrence is about 70 to 80 percent, and the younger you are when you have your first
attack, the greater your risk of recurrence.
Typically, a kidney stone is the result of a super-saturation of minerals
and acid salts in your urine, such as calcium and uric acid, which then crystallize and form solid masses. This can happen
if you don’t drink enough fluids, and if your urine is highly acidic or highly alkaline.
Certain drugs can also
promote kidney stones, such as Lasix (furosemide), Topomax (topiramate), and Xenical, among others.
Most kidney stones contain crystals of various types, with calcium as the key ingredient. However,
usually one type of crystals predominates, and determining the type helps you identify the underlying cause.
The most
common type is calcium oxalate stones, comprising about 75 percent of all cases. Oxalate is found in some fruits and vegetables,
but your liver actually produces most of your oxalate.
You’d think one of the solutions for avoiding kidney
stones would be to eliminate or radically reduce your intake of calcium, because calcium is part of the stone, but that is
actually NOT a wise strategy.
This is because, normally, the calcium in your diet binds to the oxalate, and helps you
excrete it in other ways than through your urine.
Other types of stones, and their underlying causes, include:
Struvite stones: Found more often in women, these are almost always the result
of urinary tract infections.
Uric acid stones: These are a byproduct of protein metabolism. They’re
commonly seen with gout, and may result from certain genetic factors and disorders of your blood-producing tissues.
Cystine
stones: Represent a very small percentage of kidney stones. These are the result of a hereditary disorder that causes
your kidneys to excrete massive amounts of certain amino acids (cystinuria).
Two risk factors
that elevate your chances of developing kidney stones include high blood pressure and digestive problems.
Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Stones
Most likely
you’ll never know you have a stone until it moves into your ureter—the tube connecting your kidney to your bladder.
At that point, common symptoms include:
Pain in your side and back, below your ribs
Episodes of pain
lasting 20 to 60 minutes, of varying intensity
Pain “waves” radiating from your side and back, to your
lower abdomen and groin
Bloody, cloudy or foul-smelling urine
Pain with urination
Nausea and vomiting
“Urgency” (persistent urge to urinate)
Fever and chills (indicates an infection is also present)
The pain you feel is a result of distention of the tissues above the stone, since it is blocking the passage
of urine, rather than from the pressure of the stone itself.
To diagnose a kidney stone you can collect the kidney
stone and have it analyzed for a definitive answer, or you can do a 24-hour urine test. This is a useful strategy to ascertain
any imbalances in your urine that contribute and predispose you to develop stones.
Watch What You Eat if You Have Kidney Stones
There are a number of strategies
you can use to treat this condition. If you suffer mainly from calcium oxalate stones, you’ll want to minimize the amount
of oxalates in your body (as opposed to reducing your calcium intake).
Two foods in particular contribute to creating
oxalates, namely soy, and beer. If you’ve read my newsletter for any amount of time, you already know I warn against unfermented soy products
for a number of reasons, but preventing the formation of kidney stones is yet another.
Other foods that contain high
levels of oxalate that you’ll want to avoid include:
Spinach
Rhubarb
Chocolate
Parsley
Beetroot
Strawberries
Wheat flour
Pepper
Nuts
A diet high in sugar can also set you up for stones, since sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body by interfering with calcium and
magnesium absorption.
Diets high in processed salt are also bad news as salt increases the amount of calcium and oxalate
in your urine. Processed foods have notoriously high salt content and should therefore be avoided as much as possible.
Keep in mind that the salt referenced here is processed salt, like your regular table salt, not high quality,
unprocessed salts that contain numerous essential minerals that your body actually needs for optimal health.
Naturally,
eating fresh, whole foods according to your nutritional type is the best way to ensure you’re eating what your body needs for optimal performance, regardless of what health conditions
you seek to avoid or improve.
Prevent and Treat Kidney Stones with
Plain Water
Probably the single most effective way to prevent and treat kidney stones
is to make sure you’re drinking enough water.
Actually, the number one risk factor for kidney stones is not
staying hydrated enough, as it prevents your urine from dissolving minerals and acid salts.
One of the ways you’ll
know if you’re drinking enough is to look at the color of your urine. Ideally, you’ll want your urine to be a light yellow. If it’s dark yellow or even orange, it may be a clue that
you’re not drinking enough.
Every person’s water requirement is different, depending on your particular
system and activity level, but simply keeping your urine light yellow will go a long way toward preventing kidney stones.
Remember to increase your water intake whenever you increase your activity, and during summer months when you’re
likely to sweat more. Also know that once you’re thirsty it’s usually too late. Thirst is usually a sign of dehydration.
The only condition that will interfere with that analysis is if you’re taking a multivitamin containing B vitamins,
or a B vitamin complex. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), specifically, tends to turn your urine a bright, fluorescent yellow, which
will prevent you from using the color of your urine as a guide.
Are
You Still Drinking Soda?
With respect to your fluids, you also want to stay away from
soda as it is loaded with phosphorous.
Sadly, the number one source of calories in the U.S. is from soda, and is in
many cases the main source of fluids. The average American drinks a staggering 56 gallons of soda a year, which is a
surefire way to ensure health problems, including an increased risk of kidney stones.
In fact, children as young as
five years old are now starting to struggle with kidney stones, and soda consumption is a major contributor to this disturbing
trend.
Also, diet soda is probably worse for your health than regular soda, so please don’t think switching to a “lighter” variety
will make a positive difference.
Quitting soda is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your health, and
can reduce your risk of developing kidney stones. If you’re struggling to quit drinking soda, a very effective technique
called Turbo Tapping may help reduce your cravings.
Other Approaches That Can Help
Prevent and Treat Kidney Stones
Kidney stones can range in size from a grain of sand to
a golf ball. If you do get a large kidney stone, naturally you will not be able to pass it without some type of intervention.
In the past they had to do surgery to physically remove these larger stones, but now there are some more advanced options
such as extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. This treatment entails being submerged in a tub of water where sound waves traveling
through the liquid shatter the stones. They then pass as gravel through your urine in a few days or weeks.
Lastly,
it may surprise you, but exercise is a very important aspect of kidney stone prevention. If you live a sedentary lifestyle,
you definitely raise your risk of developing stones, so implementing a regular exercise regimen can go a long way to keep
kidney stones at bay.
Hopefully, by applying the principles above you will prevent it from ever getting to that stage,
because kidney stones are no laughing matter, painful as they are.
So if you know someone who suffers with kidney stones
on a regular basis, hopefully you’ll pass this article along to them, because this is the type of information you, and
your friends and family, can use to take control of your health.
Make Your Own Protein Bars
There are a number of ways to make your
own protein bars, and this video goes over the basic process. Use your favorite type of nut butter, protein powder and experiment.
You really can’t go far wrong.
One
of the questions that I get asked most often is "What kind of protein powder should I buy?" Below is a great video
with some key info on protein powders...enjoy.
Protein consumption is a MUST in any athlete's nutritional program.
Depending upon who you listen
to, you'll get many different answers for "how much protein" you should consume in order to build the proper
amount of muscle.
Magazines and supplement manufacturers tell you that you should consume at least "2 grams
of protein per pound of body weight" because you need all that protein to recover from your workouts and increase muscle
mass.
But are they blowing these dosages way out of proportion?
I mean, supplement companies who promote
massive dosages (some up to 5g/lb of body weight!) couldn't POSSIBLY be trying to get you to consume more of their product
so you'll go and buy some more, right?
Well a recent study looked at just how much protein is "enough"
and how much is "too much".
Protein Study: How Much Protein Should You Consume?
A group of highly trained athletes consumed one of five different doses following a bout of resistance exercise.
* Og: The "control" group * 5g * 10g * 20g * or 40g
Following exercise, ALL
groups increased muscle-protein synthesis, but the 20g dose produced nearly DOUBLE the amount of muscle-protein synthesis
than the control group!
The 40g dose was even higher, but not by all that much. Therefore, it appears that even
after resistance training, your body can only USE so much protein (somewhere between 20g and 40g) and then the rest gets burned
up as fuel.
By not consuming "too much" protein, your body can focus on burning FAT for fuel instead
of the excess protein.
So what they're saying is to consume about 20g - 40g of high quality protein in 5
meals throughout the day and add a separate 30-40g serving immediately after your workouts for your post workout-meal to ensure
full muscle-protein synthesis when you need it the most.
I personally consume 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of lean body mass. I eat
5-6 meals a day, every 3 hours. This has worked extremely well for me over the years. Give this a try and let
me know how well it works for you.
The Truth About Diet Soda
We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your
body... the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose
corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don't
care about their health or body.
Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some
way a good thing for losing body fat. In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and
only drink diet soda.
So let's set the record
straight...
There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet
soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet
soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.
Here's some findings
from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read...
An excerpt from the study author:
"What
didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."
"There was
a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,"
Fowler says.
Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing
us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!
There's a lot of complicating factors
as to why this occurs...
One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat
storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.
Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more
leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.
I've said this all along, but
the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything
for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.
So
what is a good alternative to diet sodas?
The best alternatives are good old water with lemon or unsweetened iced teas... you have plenty of options with teas - green, white,
black, oolong, red... be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy it more. Plus, you get a greater array of
anti-aging antioxidants.
Just add a little of the natural non-caloric sweetener Stevia to your iced teas. I hope
this has helped with many of the misunderstandings with diet soda.
