February 12, 2010
Asparaguas:Winter::Saying Sarah (When her name is Susan):During Sex
…I think the titles is rather self explanatory, you just shouldn’t do it.
But Chris, why shouldn’t I eat asparagus in the winter?
It’s not in season!!!; this means you are eating vegetables and or fruit that could be imported as far as Columbia!
"Fresh" Nectarines Imported from Chile
Oh ya, well it says “fresh organic”, so it must be fine!
This is all good and well, but let me paint a picture for you when buying out of season fruits and vegetables.
"Tender" Green Asparagus from Mexico
You could be putting money in the pocket of Sarah Pallin’s campaign to run for president, that would be carnage!
Let me back track with that statement…
You buy organic bananas from Columbia…those bananas are picked fresh from a tree, that banana gets thrown into a truck (fueled by gas), that truck, takes it directly to a plane (fueled by gas), that plane travels the 5,000 miles to get to New York. From there, the banana is moved to another truck (fueled by gas), which goes to a warehouse, which goes into another truck, which brings it to your store, where they market “Fresh Organic”…all of those trucks, needed fuel, the fuel came from lets say GAS PLUS; GAS PLUS supports the republican party, and funds part of their campaign…Sarah Pallin runs for office in 2012. CARNAGE.
See how it all comes full swing…Nothing against the Republican party, or sexy airhead soccer mom Sarah Pallin, just her politics! Spend Spend Spend…
There are multiple reasons you should buy A) Local and B) In-Season fruits and vegetables. These are some summarized points from the award winning book by Michael Pollan, “Omnivores Dilemma”.
- Support the local economy, they could be your neighbors and friends.Finding this source of grocery gives you a face to your food, gives you a relationship to your food and the food grower. Can you put a face to the lettuce you just bought?…didn’t think so.
- The more In-Season and local you buy, the less chemicals used, less fuel burned and less pollution you dump into the atmosphere for produce transportation
- If you don’t or can’t buy local in your direct area, at least support” local” on the national level, buy from the USA!!! Not some foreign country that barely has a stable government! Even then, some fruit can travel upwards of 3-4,000 miles across the country.
- By researching what is “in-season” in your area, and becoming more aware of what you eat, this will play off into many health benefits in the end.
Red Grapefruit from the Good Ole USA!!!!
Below are 3 charts that cover many vegetables and fruits that are in-season, marked by green lines! Stop eating fuel covered produce!!!!!
I know the below charts say New York, but what grows in New York can usually grow in New England and if not, it’s a lot closer than Chile!!!!!
A Complete list of In-Season Fruits and Veg in the New England Area.
Complete List of In season Fruit and Veg in New England
I hope this post has opened the eyes of some to the fact that yes the world has this new found ability to eat whatever we want whenever we want it, but at what cost? The planet? Local Economy? Your health?
To End, let me go on a little bit of a rant, or a tangent if I must…I don’t have millions of dollars, in fact I am actually a poor college student and will be for at least 2 more years from now. However, I will tell you that I prioritize my budget accordingly and eat healthy. If that means, I don’t buy new jeans or stay home from a night out at the local watering hole, then that’s what it means!
Many people make excuses saying that buying locally grown or organic is too much money. Initially it may be that way, but if you look in the long run and what you spend on health care and medications from eating like shit for 35 years…you won’t think about the $7 you saved at the grocery store. Being sick from E Coli or Diabetes is a choice for many, you choose to eat the food you eat, no one else. All it takes is a little effort and diligence; just sad to say that the common man doesn’t have the ability to put in effort or be diligent anymore, and everyone else is paying for it…
Peace.Love & Grow Up and Budget yourself to live a healthier life.
January 29, 2010
Q&A Addition…What if you are a vegan?
Another blog fan of mine, this time for realz yo, sent me a text today with words of encouragement about my blog to my recent post…” I like todays nutrition article! But help a vegan out brah!”
Well Arjan, here you go…brah!
Eating alternatively to the everyday norm, like a vegetarin or in this case, a vegan, can be a tough feat. One thing must be understood in either of these cases. You will take in more carbs than normal because you are lacking a direct source or protein and fats, like what you find in meat, eggs and fish. The protein in your diet naturally has more carbs…One important aspect to note here is that you are looking for complete protein sources, not incomplete, peanut butter is not a complete protein as noted in the previous post.
Here are some simple and sufficient sources of protein:
Hemp Protein Powder
Quinoa (most protein dense whole grain)
Tempeh (made from soy beans, but it is a whole soy bean product, unlike tofu)
Beans, kidney, black, Lentil, Pinto
Whole Grain Rice
Tofu (even though I’m not a huge soy guy)
Almond Milk (If I could shower in this…I wouldn’t, but its damn tasty non the less!
Sample Menu:
Breakfest: Oatmeal, Almond Milk and a Bagel
Lunch: 2 slices of whole grain bread and baked vegetarian beans
Dinner: Cooked Lentils and Cooked Bulgur (whole grain)
For a typical 70kg (154lb) Male, is looking for .8-1.0 grams of protein, this is the recommendation for light exercise and body maintenance. You could recommend 1.4-1.8 grams of protein per KG of body weight (1kg=2.2lbs) if you are looking to add some Lean Body Mass to your frame. Again, this is a tough feat to accomplish and you need to be frugal when following a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Live. Laugh. Eat Meat Eat Healthy.
Q & A: Pre and Post Workout Nutrition
I have been delayed a bit in blogging these last couple of days! Big things have been happening…
- Will most likely end up at Kean University as a graduate assistant for Field Hockey and full time student studying Exercise Science concentrating in Athletic Training.
- Met and listened to Curt Schilling for the better part of the morning coach our minor league ball players as they threw bullpens and talked shop.
- Trained Braden, Kevin Youkilis assistant and cousin. Let’s just say he will remember my name for at least 3 more days after those GCB Reverse Lunges. Good work Braden!!
EPIC
To get to the meat and potatoes of this post, I got an email from a very loyal fan of my blog…kidding, I got a text from one of my players asking about pre and post nutrition and what its all about! Here we go…
In the book by Portman and Ivy, Nutrient Timing, they discuss three major phases of nutrient timing.
- Energy- 10 minutes prior to and during your workout
- Anabolic- Within 45 minutes after a workout
- Growth- Rapid Segment-The first 4 hours after a workout and Sustained Segment the next 16-18 hours
Each timing segment has a major goal and objective to complete in order to get the bets out of a workout.
- Energy- Set the nutritional stage for a faster recovery following your workout.
- Anabolic- Replenish muscle glycogen stores.
- Growth- Promote protein turnover and muscle development.
Don't worry ladies, unless you are taking steroids this won't happen to you!
Simple Guidelines
PRIOR to lifting heavy shit working out, you want to consume complex carbs and protein. You want this CHO:PROTEIN ratio to be around 4:1 grams. In a research study by Ivy, Sprague et al., ingesting protein prior to or during your workout will help stimulate muscle glycogen uptake post workout during the Anabolic phase. This could be in the form of a 8-12oz drink, or a small snack, like a CLIFF Bar.
Now remember this supplementation is just prior to working out. You would want to of ingested a decent meal 3-4 hours prior to your workout. It all depends when you are working out and you must set a favorable time where you can get a solid 600-1000 calories in at this time.
POST workout is a very important time management case. You want to make sure you eat within 45 minutes of the end of your workout, the window to muscle restoration and building slowly decreases the longer you wait. Lifting heavy shit Working out in essense tears small muscle fibers with each repetition and set. So your main goal is to rebuild these fibers so they are stronger and bigger.
Sorry people, but peanut butter does not count as a sufficient protein post workout. We all know what packs the punch with protein, effin meat. Chicken, beef, fish, eggs and Surge Recovery all have enough protein for a post workout meal.
Here is a sample meal/snack set up I stole from CP trainer, Brian St. Pierre, aspiring nutritionist. He typically lifts heavy shit workouts around 11am each morning.
Breakfast
Omelet
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 5 whole omega-3 eggs
- 1 cup mixed frozen peppers (red, yellow, green) and onions
- dash Redmond Real Salt
- 1-2 tbsp black bean & corn salsa
Oatmeal
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup Wyman’s wild frozen blueberries
- 1 tbsp milled flaxseed.
- 1 scoop Biotest Superfood (veggie supplement)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Beverages
- 3oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
- 12oz water
- 1 cup black coffee
Pre-Workout Smoothie (this could also be a bar or something easily digested.)
- 6-8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
- 5 grams creatine
- 1 cup frozen dark cherries
- 1 tbsp milled flaxseed
- 1 tbsp raw cocao nibs
- 2 tbsp walnuts
- 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
Post-Workout Meal
Greek Yogurt Special
- 16oz 2% Plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Wyman’s wild frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp almonds and pecans
- 1 packet Truvia (natural, no calorie sweetener)
or
[Insert MEat Here] Sandwich
- Honey Oat Wrap
- Meat
- Cheese if desired
- Lettuce, Onions and Tomatoes
- Humus Spread
Dinner- Asian inspired Stir Fry
- Grass Fed [Insert Meat Here]
- Chopping Green Peppers, Yellow Peppers, Onions and Pineapple
- General Tsao’s Marinade
- Cooked Whole Grain Rice
Depending on the intensity of your workout, if its a high intensity workout then you can spare to eat a higher glycimic weighted food. IE white bread, sugars and such because this is exactly what your body just used to keep you at that intensity.
The mission here was to give you some base ideas that you can run with, adapt too or create your own ideas! Just remember don’t rely on supplements to get all of your nutrients, but use them as a tool to reach that little bit you need or go above your nutrient goals.
There will need to be an element of thought that goes into proper nutrient timing so don’t just think that after lifting heavy shit working out everything will take care of its self. You have to set the stone work before your workout and finish them after your workout and continue too throughout the day.
You only get one body. Manage it wiselly.
Peace, Love and Deadlift.
