Nibbles and Bits

Day 36 - Glad I didn't have these when I was in high school.

Back when I was in high school, the drinking age was 18.  Most of us, though, could pretty much buy beer and wine if we looked old enough as no one really carded back then.  And, to top that off, I was living in Hawaii at the time and the driving age was 15.  I can only imagine the struggle my parents must have had given the environment I was exposed to.  Fortunately, I think I turned out okay despite the temptations of too much fun.  In any case, imagine having access to a drink like Four Loko!  Wow, what a combo.  If you don't know what Four Loko is, you probably won't be able to taste it to find out for yourself because it's being pulled off the shelves due to it's potent combination of alcohol, caffeine, and Red Bull.  Click HERE to read more.

so, for the sake of discussion, what's your favorite drink?  Mine is beer.  Blue Moon in particular.  I really enjoy good quality tasting beer and not the cheap stuff.  Sure do miss it.

Day 35 - Does size matter? (Portion size, that is)

It seems that now marketing via portion size on the food label directly impacts how much a person eats of a particular product.  Click HERE to read.  Post thoughts to comments.

Day 34 - Compute your virtual age

Click HERE to run through some questions and compute your virtual age.  Be honest and then post results to comments.

Remember - conference call tonight at 9.

Day 33 - A reminder about the addictiveness of sugar

A few weeks back, I posted about the addictiveness of sugar and compared that to illegal drugs.  Well, here's another article that supports this assertion - click HERE.  This is a good reminder as we head into the final turn of this 50-Day race.  Will you go back to sugar when this is over?

Day 32 - A Review of Body Composition, Lean Muscle to Fat Ratio

 
image from www.merrimackvalleychiropractic.com

Body composition refers to the percentage of lean tissue (muscle) and fat that makes up total body weight. Body fat percentage is the portion of body weight that is simply that - fat.  The actual % number one receives when having a body comp test done varies according to who does the calculations, what equipment or method is used, experience of the individual doing the measurements, and many other factors.  There are many methods out there to choose from (click HERE), but most are limited by cost and equipment.  Like most things in life, you have to pay for greater accuracy.  For our challenge event, we took various measurements of people and plugged those into the Zone Diet bodyfat calculator (click HERE) to come up with a baseline percentage.  Although not high end or 100%, the Zone Diet Calculator is accurate within a few percentage points. Using the same method will enable you to gauge progress over time and help you determine what changes take place. 

Many people in the Cave want to improve their health and fitness by improving their body composition. As such, they want to use stored fat for fuel, decrease their overall fat %, and gain lean mass by training hard.  Others have different body composition change goals.  They want to maintain their weight, lose 1-3 pounds of fat and replace those 1-3 pounds with solid, lean mass.  

But what is a healthy body fat?  That depends upon what source you use.  The National Institute of Health has published its guidelines HERE using the BMI (body mass index) as their point of reference.  There are others, international ones, that factor in age to the equation.  Click HERE. 

Knowing what you know now about body composition as a component of fitness and an indicator of health, what steps do you need to take to adjust your body composition to maximize your health, your performance, and your goals?  Do you think you will look, feel, and perform better if your body composition is different than it is today?

Day 31 - Does epigenetics factor into your weight?

You try and try, but the weight won't come off.  Should you put some of that blame on your parents (and your father in particular)?  The answer is maybe.  Epigenetics is the study of how your DNA can be affected by environmental factors and lead to different behaviors (gene expression) than what would normally be those associated with inherited DNA.  A few weeks back, NPR (yes, I do pay attention to their quality programming) did a story on the environmental factors and their role on DNA, specifically with regard to fat make-up inherited from fathers.  Click HERE.  The study, done on rats, was remarkable in what it revealed, leading to the conclusion that the body composition of ones parents affects the epigenetics of the cells at the time of conception.  Quite simply, if your parents were overweight (even just one of them) at the time of conception, you could be predisposed to looking just like your parents.  This is true especially if the father had weight issues.  You can get the study by clicking HERE, but unfortunately you have to pay to download it.

So, let's turn this on its head.  What if you're planning to start a family?  Should you train for the start of that event like any other athletic contest?  Should both parents eat well and get into the best shape they can prior to the "big event"?  Why not?  If environmental factors play a role in determining gene expression (epigenetics), then doing the best you can to be in the best shape you can be might be a good goal to have to set the conditions now for how you want your offspring to look later.

Post thoughts to comments.

Day 30 - Some notes on the individual challenge for this week

Improved performance results from consistent training, proper mechanics, and intensity built upon a foundation of solid nutrition.  This week, take a look back at your blue food journal where you logged your results of the 50-Days in the Cave baseline workout.  Focus on what you need to do mentally to repeat this baseline sometime this week.  If you didn't log your results from the kickoff event, no worries.  This week will be the time to establish another baseline.  Whether you improve, stay the same, or slow down doesn't matter.  You'll have another data point to assess where you are in this challenge.

Only 20 more days to go with this challenge, but the real challenge will be whether you've made a permanent lifestyle change for the next 20+ years based upon what you've learned in the past month.

Day 29 - CONTROL CORTISOL BY CONTROLLING STRESS

Cortisol secretion varies by individual.  Cortisol is a hormone released by the body primarily as a "fight or flight" response.  Unfortunately, we're constantly in this state of "fight or flight" due to all of the ongoing stressful events we face.  Consequently, the excess cortisol leads to all kinds of health problems, most notable of which is increased weight gain.  Click HERE to read more on this important, but often problematic, hormone.

Day 28 - AVERAGE DIET VS. LOW-FAT DIET

Please read this article/reference write-up (click HERE) from the New York Times.  While the article is focused on cholesterol, scroll down and take a look at the average American diet and the recommended low-fat diet.  What's wrong with these two diets and would you choose the low-fat diet as a means to reduce your cholesterol levels? 

Day 27 - Tasty Salad Toppers

Red Leaf Lettuce. Spinach. Broccoli Slaw. Mixed Greens. Romaine. Bibb. These are some of my favorite salad base ingredients.  I don't use commercial salad dressings anymore.  In fact, on most days, I have so much "stuff" in my salad, I don't even feel the need to put anything on it.  However, every now and then, I want something with a lot of zing!

Recently, Sue Ryan of the Good Earth Market presented a fabulous Lunch and Learn.  In addition to educating us on the value of local poultry, organic vegetables, coconut oil & milk, fish oil, and much, much more, she made an amazing lunch.  She topped our grass-fed beef salads with this Thai Spice Dressing that delivered a lot of punch:

      - juice from 2 limes

      - 1/2 cup Cilantro (finely chopped)

      - a bit of water

      - 1/2 tsp Agave or Raw Honey

      - 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

      - 1 Jalapeno Pepper (finely chopped)

Do you have a good salad topper you'd like to share?