Endurance Training Tips from Mark Allen

Hi Everyone!  I think this article does an excellent job of explaining the benefits of heart rate training and thought I would share it with you.  The following comes from an article written by Mark Allen, world renowned Triathlete and Coach and winner of SIX Ironman Triathalon Championships. 

"Now for the tougher part…the endurance. This is where heart rate training becomes king. Endurance is THE most important piece of a triathlete’s fitness. Why is it tough to develop? Simply put, it is challenging because it usually means an athlete will have to slow things down from their normal group training pace to effectively develop their aerobic engine and being guided by what is going on with your heart rate rather than your will to the champion of the daily training sessions with your training partners! It means swimming, cycling and running with the ego checked at the door. But for those patient enough to do just that, once the aerobic engine is built the speedwork will have a profound positive effect their fitness and allow for a longer-lasting improvement in performance than for those who blast away from the first day of training each year.

What is the solution to maximizing your endurance engine? It’s called a heart rate monitor.

Whether your goal is to win a race or just live a long healthy life, using a heart rate monitor is the single most valuable tool you can have in your training equipment arsenal. And using one in the way I am going to describe will not only help you shed those last few pounds, but will enable you to do it without either killing yourself in training or starving yourself at the dinner table.

I came from a swimming background, which in the 70’s and 80’s when I competed was a sport that lived by the “No Pain, No Gain” motto. My coach would give us workouts that were designed to push us to our limit every single day. I would go home dead, sleep as much as I could, then come back the next day for another round of punishing interval sets.

It was all I knew. So, when I entered the sport of triathlon in the early 1980’s, my mentality was to go as hard as I could at some point in every single workout I did. And to gauge how fast that might have to be, I looked at how fast the best triathletes were running at the end of the short distance races. Guys like Dave Scott, Scott Tinley and Scott Molina were able to hold close to 5 minute miles for their 10ks after swimming and biking!

So that’s what I did. Every run, even the slow ones, for at least one mile, I would try to get close to 5 minute pace. And it worked…sort of. I had some good races the first year or two, but I also suffered from minor injuries and was always feeling one run away from being too burned out to want to continue with my training.

Then came the heart rate monitor. A man named Phil Maffetone, who had done a lot of research with the monitors, contacted me. He had me try one out according to a very specific protocol. Phil said that I was doing too much anaerobic training, too much speed work, too many high end/high heart rate sessions. I was forcing my body into a chemistry that only burns carbohydrates for fuel by elevating my heart rate so high each time I went out and ran.


So he told me to go to the track, strap on the heart rate monitor, and keep my heart rate below 155 beats per minute. Maffetone told me that below this number that my body would be able to take in enough oxygen to burn fat as the main source of fuel for my muscle to move. I was going to develop my aerobic/fat burning system. What I discovered was a shock.


To keep my heart rate below 155 beats/minute, I had to slow my pace down to an 8:15 mile. That’s three minutes/mile SLOWER than I had been trying to hit in every single workout I did! My body just couldn’t utilize fat for fuel.


So, for the next four months, I did exclusively aerobic training keeping my heart rate at or below my maximum aerobic heart rate, using the monitor every single workout. And at the end of that period, my pace at the same heart rate of 155 beats/minute had improved by over a minute. And after nearly a year of doing mostly aerobic training, which by the way was much more comfortable and less taxing than the anaerobic style that I was used to, my pace at 155 beats/minute had improved to a blistering 5:20 mile.


That means that I was now able to burn fat for fuel efficiently enough to hold a pace that a year before was redlining my effort at a maximum heart rate of about 190. I had become an aerobic machine! On top of the speed benefit at lower heart rates, I was no longer feeling like I was ready for an injury the next run I went on, and I was feeling fresh after my workouts instead of being totally wasted from them.


So let’s figure out what heart rate will give you this kind of benefit and improvement. There is a formula that will determine your Maximum Aerobic Heart Rate, which is the maximum heart rate you can go and still burn fat as the main source of energy in your muscles. It is the heart rate that will enable you to recover day to day from your training. It’s the maximum heart rate that will help you burn those last few pounds of fat. It is the heart that will build the size of your internal engine so that you have more power to give when you do want to maximize your heart rate in a race situation.


Here is the formula:*

1. Take 180
2. Subtract your age
3. Take this number and correct it by the following:
-If you do not workout, subtract another 5 beats.
-If you workout only 1-2 days a week, only subtract 2 or 3 beats
-If you workout 3-4 times a week keep the number where it is.
-If you workout 5-6 times a week keep the number where it is.
-If you workout 7 or more times a week and have done so for over a year, add 5 beats to the number.
-If you are over about 55 years old or younger than about 25 years old, add another 5 beats to whatever number you now have.
-If you are about 60 years old or older OR if you are about 20 years old or younger, add an additional 5 beats to the corrected number you now have."

What an excellent article!  We have seen so many of our clients who come back after their initial V02 test and tell us that their pace has improved dramatically since they started training in their zones.  If you have questions about heart rate training, heart rate monitors, or the V02 test, email eveann@baselinefitness.com or call our office at 614-880-9180 and we'll be happy to help!  

*The V02 Max/SubMax test here at Baseline will give you your unique heart rate zones.  It willl also give you the exact point during exercise when you are burning the most fat.

Share Your Opinion: Dietary Guidelines

Every five years Congress mandates that the Federal Dietary Guidelines be reviewed and updated to better represent current nutritional needs.  Well folks, that time has come!  Some of the new guidelines that are being suggested according to the 'Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (Advisory Report)', include...

1. Lowering maximum sodium intake from 2,300 milligrams to 1,500 milligrams
2. Dropping the total amount that saturated fats contribute to our diet from 10 percent to 7 percent.
3. Drinking fewer sugary beverages
4. Eating more seafood and low-fat dairy products
5. Eating more vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds

What do you think?  The Advisory Committee wants to know!

Go to http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm  and give your feedback.  There will also be a  meeting set up so the public can share their comments on the new guidelines July 8th in Washington DC.  

The Controversy Over Salt

Salt can be found in just about everything, from salad dressing to strawberry shortcake. So what's the big deal if we are eating too much, or too little?

Most table salt contains iodine, added to increase it's nutritional value. A diet that is deficient in iodine can lead to thyroid problems, and is the leading preventable cause of metal illness. 

On the other hand, too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and increased risk of stroke.  Consuming too much of the white stuff has also been liked to weight gain and obesity.

The National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association recommend taking in no more than 2.4 grams, or about one teaspoon, of salt each day. 

Americans are taking in at least three times the recommend amount (on average men get 10.4 grams per day, with women taking in 7.3 grams). 

The culprit is  heavily processed foods.  Processed foods contribute 75-80% of our total salt consumption each year.  There has been a recent push for the FDA to start regulating the amount of salt that goes into processed foods, but for now your best bet is to avoid them as much as possible.  Salt is primarily used in foods as a flavor enhancer, so it's no surprise that food companies are reluctant to reduce a product's sodium content.  Kraft Foods as pledged a 10% salt reduction in their products, but other's have been slow to follow Kraft's example. 

One way to help curb salt consumption is to cook fresh foods yourself at home.  While almost every food as some naturally occurring salt, you will have more control over what goes into each meal than you would at a restaurant.  As always, moderation is key!

Chocolate & Depression

If you are having a bad day, do you gravitate toward chocolaty treats? A new study from researchers at UC Davis and UC San Diego studied the moods and eating habits of 931 men and women who were not taking antidepressants, looking specifically at links between depression and consumption of fats, carbohydrates, caffeine and chocolate.
They found that the participants who reported bouts with depression ate more servings of chocolate per month than participants who did not report depression symptoms.  Researchers did not find a correlation between depression and fat, carbohydrate or caffeine consumption.


The reasons behind the chocolate/depression link are not clear. Chocolate prompts the release of the chemical dopamine, which results in elevated mood and may be one possible explanation, although a 2007 study published in the journal 'Appetie'  found that eating chocolate generally improves mood for only three minutes. It has been suggested that chocolate could be the cause for depression, but researchers doubt this theory.
 
The study was published by the LA Times April 27th, 2010.  Read the study on LATimes.com here.

The Kitchen Counter Diet

Researchers at Cornell University just released their findings after studying 78 adults' eating habits.  Their conclusion?  Less calories are consumed at the table when serving dishes are left on the counter.


"We looked at whether serving foods from the kitchen counter, instead of at the table, would reducde the number of times a person refilled his or her plate.  When we kept the serving dishes off the table, people ate 20 percent fewer calories.  Men ate close to 29 percent less," Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University said in a statement. 

Wansink goes on to suggest put foods like fruits and vegetables out on the counter and stash the junk food away in the pantry. Out of sight, out of mind!

Team Baseline at the 2010 Arnold 5K Pump and Run

Baseline Fitness had 13 clients participate in the 2010 Arnold Pump and Run this year!  This is Eve Ann Buxton's sixth year at the Arnold.   A great big thanks go to clients Tom, our videographer, and Skip , who took the awesome pictures below! 
We have a couple clients who are on such a roll with their diet and cardio routines that they've decided to sign up for the Cincinnatti Flying Pig.  This event features a 5K and 10K on Saturday, May 1st.  A half-marthon and full marathon take place on Sunday, May 2nd.  Anyone who has signed up for one (or more!) of the races has the 'pump and run' option.  For more details, visit the Flying Pig Marathon Page.
If you think you may be interested in the Pump and Run this May but need some extra help on the bench press, contact us.  We can help!

Pumpkin Recipes

Did you know that pumpkin has 300% of your daily recommendation of vitamin A in 1/2 cup? This is truly a wonderful vegetable to add to breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Pumpkin Pudding

1 small box vanilla sugar-free, fat free pudding mix

1 1/2 cups skim milk

2 scoops natural flavored Designer Whey

1/2 c 100% pure canned pumpkin

pumpkin pie spice and/or cinnamon to taste

Put milk into mixing bowl then add pudding mix, protein powder, pumpkin and spices, if using. Whisk together for at least 2 minutes, then divide into two or three pudding cups. Refrigerate until set, at least 20 minutes.

You an use different flavors of pudding for this recipe. I've tried the banana flavor with delicious results. I find that using vanilla praline flavored protein powder also works. I use the Designer Whey brand whenever I need to mix the powder with anything. We here at Baseline have found that this brand blends better than others without being chalky or gritty. They've started selling Designer Whey at Kroger, but for the best price go to http://www.vitacost.com/ and search for "Designer Whey natural".

Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

1 scoop Designer Whey natural flavor

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup 100% pure canned pumpkin

4 egg whites, or 1/2 cup liquid egg whites (can use egg beaters)

Splenda, cinnamon,and pumpkin pie spice to taste.

For fluffier pancakes, add 1/4 tsp - 1/2tsp baking soda

In a blender or food processor, mix all ingredients together until smooth. Spray a medium skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium low. Pour batter onto the skillet and flip when bubbles start to form and pop in the middle of your pancake. Serve with applesauce or sugar free maple syrup.

You can substitute Fiber One for the oatmeal if you want the extra fiber. You may need to use more than 1/4 cup.

Adding almond butter or peanut butter to this recipe makes it an extra special treat. You can also top these with a few pecans. Sometimes my husband will add 1/2 a small banana to his mix for added flavor, just make sure that you account for all the calories the nut butters and extras may contain.

Hot Cereal

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal

1/4 cup 100% pure canned pumpkin

1 tsp flax seed oil

1 scoop Designer Whey natural flavor

Splenda and cinnamon to taste

Cook hot cereal in microwave according to package directions (add extra water if you do not like thick hot cereal).

Add pumpkin, oil, protein powder, Splenda and cinnamon. Mix well and enjoy!

1152 Miles in Three Months!

The new Baseline Client Challenge is to walk the distance from Columbus, Ohio to Miami, Florida before the holidays are over. That's 1152 miles in twelve weeks! Here how it works:

We ordered the best-of-the-best pedometers* for our clients to track of their steps. EVERY step counts, not just cardio steps.

Every week that our clients attend all of their scheduled training sessions, those clients will get an 80 mile credit (or a "Baseline Bus ride" as we like to call it). If a client can only make two out of three sessions, they still get a 25 mile credit for every session they do attend.

Every Monday we will download the pedometers onto the front desk computer at Baseline, and move them however many miles south on our map. The first one to reach Miami before New Year's Day receives bragging rights and glory. We decided not to have an entry fee or big reward for the winner. Everyone's cardio routine is different and someone who is a runner will arrive in Miami far before any walker. The goal is to keep everyone moving as holiday cookies and cakes start to become frequent fixtures at social gatherings!

Over the next several weeks we will also be helping Westerville salon Perfect Image track their challenge participants. The Perfect Image challenge is based on body composition, and anyone participating will have their body fat checked at least twice using our Bod Pod. The salon is working hard to keep everyone motivated, and has outlawed any fast food inside the building! Look for the challenge results coming in the next several weeks.

Good luck with the challenges everyone! We will keep you posted with results.

*the pedometers we found are the Omron Go Smart HJ-720ITC model. They are very accurate and come with PC Software so you can download all of your data into the computer. This model will also work if kept in your pocket or purse. We have extra pedometers available at Baseline Fitness for $39 if you are interested in tracking your steps.

2009 Challenge Winners!

The challenge is over and after three months of consistent dieting and weight training, the winner is Alexis!

Alexis lost 7.9% body fat over twelve weeks. She is one of Scott Buxton's personal training clients, and someone we will have to look out for in future challenges! Over the past three months, winning Baseline's challenge was not her only goal; she was gearing up for the "America's Perfect Miss" National Pageant in Florida, where she finished in the top fifteen! As winner of the challenge, Alexis received the sum of the entry fees, which totalled $250. Congratulations Alexis!

Second place went to another one of Scott's clients, Tony. Tony started the challenge two weeks later than everyone else, but still managed to lose 6% body fat! He gained 9.6lbs. of lean mass and lost 27.5lbs of fat. Tony received a $100 gift card for Lowe's to help with his new house.

Third place with 5.5% body fat reduction is Jon. Jon has been training with Scott for less than a year but has made huge gains. His lean mass continues to increase as his fat weight drops. Jon received a gift certificate for a massage therapy session at Baseline Fitness for finishing third.

Lululemon Discount Today!

Everyone here at Baseline Fitness loves the Lululemon Athletica clothing line. We are big fans of their pants because they won't budge while working out (even when stretching or doing squats!). Lululemon opened it's first Columbus store down the Short North last fall, but you can also buy items online at their website (http://www.lululemon.com/)



The member-only online boutique Rue La La is offering Lululemon clothing at a discount for a short time today. The boutique opens at 11:00am, and will only be open for a short period of time, so make sure you get there today!

You must be invited by a member to access the boutiques, but as a thank you to our blog readers we are extending an invitation to join Rue La La! (it's free to sign up and you are not obligated to buy anything). Once you are a member you can browse the boutiques and get great deals on designer clothing. Click the link below to accept our member invitation!

Buy Lululemon on Rue La La Here

Baseline on Facebook

Baseline Fitness on Facebook!

Visit our Facebook page for more information about our services, clients and staff. We've posted pictures from past Arnold Fitness Classics and other various events in which some of our clients and staff have participated. You can also view some our client's amazing transformations and check out the staff photos.

Why you Can't Eat "Just One"

I heard NPR's Ira Flatow interview Dr. Kessler, former Federal Food and Drug Administrator last Friday and want to share the link with you all.  Kessler's understanding of how our brains react to sugar, fat and salt combinations gave me some great insight on why is it so hard for many of us to stay away from the foods we know are making us fat and unhealthy.  I've beaten myself up many times for eating that extra brownie or cookie, when I know I didn't really want it.  Kessler explains the science behind why we are drawn to these foods, how large corporations are capitalizing on our weaknesses and what we can do to re-teach our brains not to go back to the sundae bar again and again.

The link sends you to NPR's website, click the "listen now" button to hear the interview in it's entirety.  You won't be disappointed!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106470909

Get the Most From Your Meals

The above meal is eight ounces of broccoli and six ounces of cod.  It has 239 calories, 45 grams of protein and only 12 grams of carbs.  Now, that's almost one pound of food, so you won't have to worry about being hungry.  It's also low in fat (about 2 grams) and will most defiantly keep you full for at least two hours.  If you add lemon juice and salt for flavoring, the meal only has four ingredients.  

Many people who come into Baseline are worried about getting enough protein in their diets while trying not eat too many calories.  The trick is figuring out where the majority of your calories are coming from.  For example, if you eat lots of "junk" foods like crackers, cereal bars, chips, cookies, sauces, etc.,  you are consuming a very high amount of carbohydrates but almost no protein.  There isn't any reason you can consume over 150 grams of protein a day while still losing weight, if your calories are coming from the right sources.

The meal above has 239 calories, as I mentioned before.  What does that look like?

Foods with comparative calories:

3 Oreo cookies

1 small McDonald's french fry

2 1/2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup tomato soup

2 1/2 ounces of cream cheese

1/3 cup almonds

1 Hershey Bar

1 Grilled Snack Wrap from Wendys

1 and 1/2 Nutri-Grain Bars

1 cup frosted shredded wheat with 1/2 cup milk

1 Three Cheese and Broccoli Lean Pocket

Some of the foods above are not "bad" for you, but you can see that for the same amount of calories in the pictured meal, you will not even come close to getting the amount of protein in these comparative meals.  1/3 cup of almonds contains high amounts of heart-healthy fats, but only 11 grams of protein and 19 grams of carbs.

Something else to consider when fixing your plate for dinner is the "staying power" of the foods you are about to eat. Tomato soup may sound like a healthy option, but is it going to sustain your hunger until your next meal?  The same thing goes for the lean pocket and Wendy's Snack Wrap.

Getting the most out your meals can be easier than you think.  Load up on veggies like broccoli, asparagus, green beans and salad greens.  These foods take more work for you to digest and help keep you full longer, not to mention they have lots of antioxidants and vitamins for good health.  Lean protein in 4 to 6 ounce portions is an excellent way to consume your protein without consuming all the extra calories you'll get from ground beef, fried chicken, or any processed meats.  Chicken, white fish, tuna, salmon and buffalo meat are all very lean and offer upwards of 45 grams of protein per serving, and contain 200 calories or less.

Protein Pudding Recipe

I use this whenever I desperately need something chocolaty but can't bring myself to buy an entire chocolate bar.  I usually eat this as a snack or small meal replacement.

Protein Pudding

2 servings

You will need:

1 and 1/3 cup skim milk (107 calories, 16 carbs, 11 grams protein)

1 small box of sugar free, fat free instant chocolate pudding mix (140 calories, 32 carbs, 4 grams protein)

2 scoops Designer Whey protein powder, natural flavor (200 calories, 4 carbs, 40 grams protein)

Add pudding mix to cold milk.  Whisk for a minute, then add the two scoops of protein powder. Whisk until blended, about 2 more minutes.  Divide into two servings and chill until set ( you can usually eat this within 5 minutes, but waiting 20 minutes will yield thicker pudding)

Enjoy!

Variations:

I have tried other brands of protein powders but the natural flavored Designer Whey mixes and tastes the best.  I have also used other flavors of pudding mixes, with generally delicious results.  Sometimes I will use the "cheesecake" flavored sugar-free, fat-free instant mix and use 1/2 scoop strawberry flavored Designer Whey protein powder, along with 1 and 1/2 scoops of the natural.  Yum!

Nutrition Facts per Serving:

223.5 calories

26 grams of carbohydrates

27.5 grams of protein

Ohio ties for 10th Fattest State

Some of you may remember last year's newletter where I was happy to report that Ohio had dropped in the United State's obesity percentage ranking. Unfortunatly, this year we regressed back to tie for 10th fattest state in the nation, according to the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Tied at 28.6%, Ohio and Arkansas aren't as fat as Mississippi, the fattest state in the nation with 32.5% of it's population being obese. None of the states saw a decresease in their obesity percentages, and almost half saw an increase. Colorado stands alone as being the fittest state in the nation with between 15-20% of it's population categorized as obese.

The economy seems to be taking most of the blame for the country's increasing obesity problem. With unemployment at a record 26-year high and health care costs soaring, more and more Americans are spending less on their own health care, while at the same time seeking out cheaper foods that don't offer the same type of quality nutrition that fresh foods have.

The most upsetting part of the study was the prevalency of obesity amoung young people. 28.6% of Ohio's population is obese, but of people aged 10 to 17, 33.3% were obese. The future looks even more grim when I consider the cost of health care as these young ones get older. The Ohio Department of Health is taking a closer look at the state's youth and the quality of food being offered in schools, and there is talk of developing an Office of Healthy Schools. This new office would be involved in developing guidelines for foods that are offered at state schools.

We can't leave everything up to local and federal government! You can take small steps toward improving you health, even if you decide to improve your eating only one day a week. Invest in a pedometer to help you count your steps for the day (a great goal is 10,000 steps/day) and if you always eat out for lunch, begin by starting a "pack your lunch Tuesday" rule for yourself. Weight loss can be slow, but making changes over time will help ensure you develop new patterns and start living a healthier lifestyle.

You can read more about Ohio's plan to combat obesity at www.healthyohioprogram.org

Box Squat Demo

Scott Buxton's training client Jon Weiss demonstrates proper form while doing box squats.

Decoding Food Labels

Today I saw a commerical that was so decieving, I felt the need to blog about nutrition labels. So many foods are starting to target markets that are concerned with health and weight management, so it's no surprise that advertiser are twisting the way things are worded or presented in order to make their product appear less bad for you.

For example, the current Country Crock Buttery Spread commercial features active kids and warns that active children often don't get enough calcium. But, fortunatly for you, Country Crock now has added calcium so you can rest easy. One serving contains a whooping 100mg of calcium!

Wait a second. 100mg is only 10% of my daily calcium requirement. I can get more than twice that amount in a glass of skim milk, minus the all the fat calories. The advertisers at Country Crock are evil geniouses. They're warning viewers that their children are not in fact as healthy as they appear, but thank goodness for Country Crock Buttery Spread, because when you eat it you'll get the calcium you need. It fails to mention that this "buttery spread" is mostly fat calories. Advertising has becoming so misleading, I think manufacurers could add some protein to a Snickers bar and call it an energy bar.

Wait, that's already happened.

Seriously though, we Americans are busy with so many other things, the last thing we want to do is scrutinize every food advertisement or decode every food label at the grocery store. Here's a little cheat sheet to help you decide if what you're looking at is really good for you, or if it's junk food marketing itself as healthy.

The word REDUCED is very misleading. Reduced fat peanut butter does not mean that it is low fat. "Reduced" or "Lower" is only allowed to be used on food labels if that food contains at least 25 percent less than the given reference food. So reduced sodium pretzels may have less sodium that the regular full-salt variety, but can still contain more salt than may be good for you and your diet.

Fat-Free doesn't actually mean free of fat. The FDA guidelines say that in order for a food to be marketed at a fat-free food, it must contain less than .5 grams of fat per serving. Eating three serving of fat free yogurt may yield you up to three grams of fat!

The Sugar-Free guidelines are much the same. FDA guidelines for this label are less than .5 grams of sugar per serving. A food additive for baking may say it's "sugar-free", but given enough serving, the small stuff can add up!

Be wary of the number ZERO.  Any food will contain calories, given enough of it.  The FDA guideline for a labeling something as a"calorie-free" food is less than 5 calories per serving.

Let's look at cooking sprays, for example.  The nutrition label on the back of Pam Cooking Spray tells the reader that there are NO CALORIES in one serving.  Looking at the ingredient list, however, reveals that the first ingredient is canola oil (ingredients are listed in order of amount, from largest to smallest).  The reason that Pam can market itself as a zero calorie food  is because of their suggested serving size.  A serving of Pam is a 1/3 second spray.  I know that I can't cook my veggies without at least a one second spray, so I'm probably getting at least 4 serving each time I cook with Pam.  Spray butter is another way to tack on undercover calories to your diet, so be wary of the label's suggested serving size, and always look at the first ingredient listed.  If it's any kind of oil, make sure you are only using one serving at a time.

A good rule of thumb when looking at the ingredient list of any food, is to only purchase and consume edibles with five ingredients or less.  The more ingredients a food contains, the more likely you are consuming extra calories, extra chemicals, additives and non nutritive fillers.

Deadlift Demonstrations

Scott demonstrates and explains proper form for standing, straightleg and dumbbell deadlifts.

These are great for toning and shaping your hamstrings and butt!

Some links to consider

All of the articles I've linked to below were very interesting, especially the Time article exploring the link between anorexia and autism.  Hope you enjoy!

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20090619/fda-warns-of-nestle-toll-house_cookie-dough-e-coli-risk

Learn more about the Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough recall

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1904999,00.html?iref=werecommend

Time magazine explores a possible link between Autism and Anorexia

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/21/exercise.test.mortality/index.html

Walking test can help determine mortality risk

What the big deal with protein?

Protein is an essential element of any diet.  Every cell in your body is using the amino acids that make up protein to function.   It is a key part of life, and necessary for survival.

Weight Training

The goal of weight training is to breakdown your muscle, and rebuild it stronger than it was before.  When you are lifting really heavy weight, you are tearing the fibers in your muscle.  In order for those fibers to repair and re-grow, you need to consume protein after your workout. Consistent weight training sessions let your body know that "hey, I need more muscle in order to lift weight", and it will want to respond by building bigger muscle in order to meet the training demands you are putting on yourself.  Muscle is mostly made up of water and protein and cannot re-grow without it. Failure to eat protein within three hours of your workout will result in little to no gains. After you finish training, the body will go into recovery mode and work hard to rebuild, but it cannot do this unless you feed it the amino acids that it requires.  You also need protein to maintain your current muscle mass, so even if you are not lifting weights protein stills plays an important role in maintaining healthy body functions.  If the body cannot get adequate protein from food, then it will respond by breaking down it's own muscle mass to help cells continue to do their work and keep you alive.  

If you have spent hours weight training but are not making gains, you may need to look at how much protein you get everyday.  Most likely you are simply not consuming enough to be able to repair, rebuild and re-grow your muscles.  

Feel Full Longer

Protein takes longer to digest than carbs or fats, moving slowly through the gastrointestinal track.  Slower stomach emptying means you will feel full longer and get hungry much later. Fullness will last longer after you have eaten a chicken breast than if you had eaten the same amount of calories from something like a piece of bread.

Burn More Calories

The breakdown of protein within the body also burns more calories than the breakdown of carbohydrates or fat.  Anytime you eat something, you body will burn calories simply digesting it.  Eating a diet rich in protein can boost your daily calorie burn.  If you have two people (assuming they are eating at the same time of day and have the exact same genetic makeup) who both eat 1,500 calories a day, except one of them is consuming more protein than the other, the person who is consuming more protein will have a higher metabolism.

Slow Rise in Blood Sugar

Protein also slows down the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose in your blood-stream, keeping your blood sugar levels stable. Remember that protein takes longer to digest, so when you pair it with carbohydrates you have less chance of your blood sugar rising like it normally would when you consume only carbs.  A sudden spike in your blood sugar triggers the pancreas to release insulin, and a sudden increase in insulin greatly affects your body's ability to burn fat.