nutrition

Eric Paskel (of XFlowsion fame) is back in town and Heather and I have started taking his class every Sunday at Your Neighborhood Studio in Culver City. It’s been a while since we’ve done XFlowsion, but I’ve been running 5k’s so I thought his class would be a good supplement to my training routine. What I didn’t realize is how much his class would kick my ass. It’s now been 2 days since class and my entire body is still sore! Heather and I walked a 7k last night to help stretch out our muscles but I really wanted to get in a 5k run today, but I’m too sore to attempt it. So today I’ve been researching muscle recovery strategies for athletes. I’ve always known that some athletes do ice baths, but I didn’t know the exact reason why they did it. So I did some research on google and found a good article from the BBC: “Why Sports Stars Love Ice Baths“. The article says that ice baths drain blood and lactic acid from the veins because the veins constrict in the cold and when you emerge from the ice bath “new” blood rushes through your veins with oxygen to help muscle cells function better. Runner’s World also has a how-to article called “The Big Chill” that explains how to take an ice bath and the benefits from it. I’ll definitely have to try one.

There are also nutrition/supplement strategies for optimum muscle recovery. I found a pretty thorough article on Washington Running Report that outlines nutrition for optimum muscle recovery. At the end of the article they endorse a product called Endurox R4 which is a combination of electrolytes, protein, glutamine and other vitaimins - nothing too exotic. I might have to check it out.

I usually try to stay away from boxed prepared foods for lunch, but today while I was at the grocery store picking up some cleaning supplies I noticed the South Beach Living Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad Kit. I had my doubts on the quality and taste of the ingredients, but it turns out it was pretty good! The kit comes with wheat pita chips, grilled chicken breast cuts, light mayo, dried cranberries, walnuts and sugar free Jello. At 290 calories and 24g of protein it was a decent serving - although for my weight/size and fitness goals I know I should be taking in more like 500cal/meal. At least I know I have decent options at the local grocery store when I don’t bring a lunch.

My summary from “The Six Habits for a Six-Pack” in this month’s Men’s Health:

• Drink 16oz of water 1st thing in the morning. German scientists found that this boosts metabolism by 24% fr 90mins.
• Eat breakfast - at most 500 calories.
• Review goals
• 30mins of lifting weight burns as many calories as running at a fast pace.
• Don’t skimp on sleep

A study done by San Diego State scientists states that eating raisins before training enhanced cardio performance similarly to cardio gels plus provided antioxidants, fiber and vitamins. Time to stock up on raisins.

I also found this great article on nutrition for triathletes on race day.

According to this month’s Men’s Health, shirataki noodles are loaded with a highly soluble fiber called glucomannan. Researchers recently found that 1 gram of this fiber significantly slows the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. A single serving of shirataki noodles contains up to 3 grams of glucomannan. You can get your fix of noodles at miraclenoodle.com

I just saw these two recipes in Men’s Health and they sounded really good…

Penne Bolognese
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup diced smoked turkey
1 diced carrot
1 diced celery stalk
1 diced onion
1lb ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic
¾ cup red wine
¾ cup chicken broth
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
¼ cup milk
4oz Barilla Plus penne pasta
4 tbsp grated mozzarella

per serving
485 calories
35g protein
32g carbs
4g fiber

Blue Cheese Salad
2½ cups mixed greens
½ cup berries
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

per serving
235 calories
6g protein
24g carbs
7g fiber

Last night while watching Workout (not by choice), they happened to mention a food delivery service called Sunfare. H and I hadn’t heard of that service before so we decided to Google it. From what we could find, there was no mention of organic ingredients, but the few reviews we found about the service gave it really positive reviews. Ultimately it was way too expensive for us to do on a daily basis ($52/day for 5 meals for 1 person), but the idea was appealing. So we we decided to do a little research online for organic food delivery services in LA. What we found were a couple of places that delivered organic prepared meals intended to help with fitness, health and weight-loss, but we also found a couple of places that delivered fresh organic produce on a weekly basis. I don’t think we’re going to try the prepared food delivery services, but we may try the organic produce delivery. Let me know if you’ve had any experience with the following companies. I’d love to hear more reviews!

Nutritious prepared meals:

• Sunfare
• Fresh Dining
• Optimal Nutrition

Organic produce delivery:

• The Farmer’s Cart
• Spud
• Paradise O
• Papa’s Organic

We also found a site called Local Harvest which shows locally grown food closest to you.