HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday. Enjoy all the good food (I know I did and my guts are hurting for it) and drink and great company this season. Here is a little taste of what to expect at CrossFit Kingston in the new year. Hahaha!

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that help in the protection of cells against the damaging effects of free radicals.

Free radicals are atoms or a group of atoms that do not have an even pair of electrons. They can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. This occurs during the digestion of foods, normal metabolism, exercise, and environmental factors (pollution, cigarette smoke, etc). Eventually, they interact with DNA or cell membranes causing cells to die. Exercise increases oxygen utilization by the muscles and cells significantly more than being in a rested state leading to a greater production of free radicals. They are produced in significant numbers which can lead to damage of muscle and tissues. Scientists cannot measure the amount of free radicals that are formed by exercising or any of the aforementioned causes. Antioxidants help prevent vital cells to be damaged by the effects of free radicals. It is unknown how much antioxidants can/should be taken post-workout. Vitamin E has been shown to help protect the cells from the free radicals produced by exercise.

NUTRITION CHALLENGE

The start date for the challenge has changed. It will start on Monday, January 4 and run until Sunday, February 14th. Just in time to look even better for your loved one on Valentine's Day. And maybe even kick his/her ass if they don't compliment you.

The workouts will be held Monday January 4, 2010. If you are unable to make it on Monday, arrangements can be made for Tuesday.

Feel free to post questions, concerns, suggestions, helpful tips, recipes, etc in the comments section.

Soft Drinks

What's the word on soft drinks? You know what I'm talking about. Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, etc. The colourful cans, fancy logos, animated commercials. That's what these companies are using to encourage consumers, mainly teenagers, to purchase these calorie-dense, nutrient-lacking, body-altering products.

Have you ever thought to yourself... "I don't want to feel younger today; I wish I was 80 years old; I want to wear dentures"? If you have, grab a can of pop, sit down, and continue reading. I know I sure as hell haven't thought that way. I wish I could be 21 every day (I'm over 30 but younger than 35 by the way). But we all know that is not possible. By consuming soft drinks you can bet your K-Car that you will speed up the aging process in your body.

Nutrition Certification

Completed the nutrition certification with Robb Wolf today. What a brilliant, laid back, funny guy. Although 2 of his jokes he laughed himself but he did warn us that not very many people get the first joke. Something about a teeter totter and your ass. Hmmmm??? I'm still stumped.

He was very systematic and broke everything down so it was easy to understand for everyone.

We started the morning off talking about endocrinology. Even though I have a decent understanding about it, being a paramedic and dealing with diabetic patients daily, he simplified things and introduced me a Type 3 diabetes. What the hell is that you ask? I had the exact same question. It caught me by surprise. Essentially it's Alzheimers. Weird eh?

OVERTRAINING SYNDROME

Most people fail to recognize that rest is what makes a person stronger. It occurs “in response to maximal loading of the cardiovascular and muscular systems and is accomplished by improving efficiency of the heart, increasing capillaries in the muscles, and increasing glycogen stores and mitochondrial enzyme systems within the muscle cells.” It is during this rest period that the systems increase their performance because they are attempting to compensate from the stresses put on them from the previous workout. This results in a higher level of performance for the next workout. However, without adequate rest, these systems do not have the ability to regenerate resulting in a plateau.

CARB LOADING - DO WE OR DON'T WE?

Also known as carb loading or carbo-loading. It happens when a few days prior to an event an athlete increases his/her carbohydrate intake in order to maximize the amount of glycogen stored in the muscles and liver.

Any individual that trains hard must understand how important the role carbohydrates (CHO) play before, during, and after a workout/competition. It is important to know how much CHO to consume at these given times. The average athlete can store between 1500 - 2000 kilocalories (kcal) of CHO. When the CHO stores are depleted, the athlete can experience heavy and/or tired muscles, decreased performance, or overall fatigue.

Pea"nut" or Pea"gume"?

As one of the most consumed "nuts" in the world, peanuts are not a part of the nut family. They are a legume.

What is the difference between a legume and a nut? Legumes are beans and are grown on bushes/vines in pods. Nuts grow on trees, bushes, underground, and have their own husk (shell).

Peanuts originate from stems. After pollination the pods get pushed underground by the plant in the early stages of development. While underground, the peanuts mature to become 1 - 2 inches long. After 120 - 150 days they are dug up from just below the pods. The plant is turned upside down and the pods are left to dry for up to three days.

Zone Pumpkin Muffins

Here is a recipe for Zone Pumpkin Muffins. I got the original recipe from the Zone website. I changed a few of the ingredients because:

A. I didn't have the ingredient and

B. when I first made the muffins I found them really dry.

Each muffin makes a 1-block snack

1/2 cup egg white

2 medium eggs

3 Tbsp almond oil

1 15 oz can canned pumpkin (be sure not to get the pumpkin pie mix)

3/8 cup of unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup oat flour

1-1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

14 oz protein powder (preferably no flavour or vanilla)

2 Tbsp pumpkin spice

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp Stevia (in powder form)

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

Place all dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.

Combine wet and dry ingredients until lightly mixed.

Pour into muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes

The original recipe calls for 4 Tbsp liquid fructose instead of the Stevia powder. It also does not include applesauce. I found that without the applesauce the muffins were really dry. As well, it calls for only 1 Tbsp pumpkin spice but I like the spice so much that I throw a second Tbsp in it. 

The muffins will be fairly small if you make 18. If you want to make larger muffins make 9 muffins then you will have a 2 block snack. Cooking time will increase and the best way to determine if they are cooked is by poking them with a toothpick. When you remove the toothpick and it comes out dry, then the muffins are done.

Cheat Meal

So I had my first official cheat meal while on the Zone Diet. It tasted soooo good but I felt so awful afterwards. I kept a log of how I felt and what my blood sugar was post-meal. Being able to check my blood sugar (I am not diabetic) was a bonus during the post-meal evaluation. I work as a paramedic so I have access to a glucometer. I did this at the advice of my work partner.

Flexibility And Stretching

Our body is a flexible machine. It needs to be flexible so we can pick things up from the ground, reach overhead or out in front for an object, and even scratch our own backs. Stretching is often neglected by people, especially at the end of a training session. The common reason... fatigue. And when stretches are done, they are often rushed through because we want to get it over with. This does not allow us to get the full benefits of stretching.

Zone Diet

I am currently on Day 6 of the Zone Diet. Unfortunately I can't determine whether it is helping me or not other than seeing my weight drop on the scale. I am nursing a cold so my overall production is less than normal. Still trying to keep up with the workouts at CrossFit Kingston with hopes to "sweat out" this cold.

I started off the Zone Diet by doing the prescribed 1:1:1 (carb:protein:fat) ratio with hopes of leaning up a bit and shedding a few pounds so I can build from there. After calculating my lean body weight and physical activity, I have to consume 5 block meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and 3 block meals for snacks. So the first few days were challenging with measuring, weighing, and determining what combinations of food to make.

New To Blogging

Well this is the first blog I have ever set up. I'm hoping to be able to share some helpful information that I read or discuss with others. I hope that this can be an informative site where people can obtain information on nutrition mostly. But I may have a few rants that may get posted. However, they won't be anywhere near as brilliant as Jon Gilson's of Again Faster.