The Infonian

As an athlete, you should always be looking for ways to increase energy, strength and performance. Do you know that through the proper nutrition you can increase all of the above?

But what foods should you eat in order to make sure you stay performing at the top of your game?

We’ll take a look at these top 5 tips to ensure your body is given the proper nutrition for athletic enhancement and performance.

1. Eat 5 to 6 Small Meals a Day

This is by far the #1 tip when it comes to proper nutrition for athletes. Imagine your body like a race car. In order for a race car to function properly you need to give it the best gasoline, oil and tires to run the way it is supposed to. Likewise, without proper nutrition, you will not reach your full athletic potential. By eating 5 to 6 small meals a day, you will be able to recover at a faster rate and increase your energy levels!

2. Consume The Right Ratio of Macronutrients

A topic not discussed very often with regards to proper nutrition for athletes is macronutrients. They consist of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Without them you will not be able to survive. If you consume the correct amount of macronutrients at the right time, you will be well on your way to achieving your set goals, regardless of the sport you are in.

Definitely make sure that you emphasize complex carbs throughout the day and also include some simple carbs before and after the workouts. Finally, lean protein sources in every meal and some fats that are high in Omega 3s should be the sort of foods that make up your diet.

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3. Drink Plenty of Clean Water

The ideal amount of water to consume is your body weight multiplied by .66. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you will require 132 ounces (200 multiplied by .66) of water. If you are not properly hydrated, your athletic performance will be hindered.

Water also helps to cleanse your body and acts as a detox to any harmful substances that may linger around. It keeps you hydrated and cools you off when you are sweating. In addition, water is required for important processes such as fat burning and muscle production.

4. Consume a Post-Workout Recovery Meal

Post-workout meals are important as they help you replenish your glycogen levels. Glycogen (stored carbs) is needed for energy and gets burned up after a workout as they are your main source of energy. As a result, after working out you should consume a meal that is high in protein and carbohydrates (both simple and complex). By doing this, you will allow your body to recover faster and will allow you to be that much better the next time you exercise or perform any physical activity.

5. Take Your Multi Vitamin and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals allow your body to process chemical reactions at an accelerated rate. B-complex vitamins provide a great health benefit as they help to further break down carbohydrates which in terms will give you energy. While you do obtain vitamins and minerals from certain foods you eat, they usually are not enough for those who are involved in physical activities such as exercising and sports.

On Friday afternoon after you leave work, you probably think about going out and having a few drinks with friends to relax and wind down. Even though you may think you deserve to go out and have a few drinks, there are some things that you should certainly keep in mind.

Like any other day, tomorrow is going to be a day for exercise, and since you are exercising on a regular basis, a few drinks of alcohol won’t really hurt anything, right? Before you decide to rush out to the local bar, there are a few things below that you should think about before you make your choice about going out to drink some alcohol.

Research has proven that even small amounts of alcohol with increase muscular endurance and the output of strength, although these types of benefits are very short lived. After 20 minutes or so, the problems will begin to surface. All of the negative side effects associated with alcohol will easily outweigh any possible benefits that it can have. No matter how you look at it, alcohol is a poison that can really harm your body if you aren’t careful.

The negative side of alcohol can reduce your strength, endurance, aerobic capability, recovery time, ability to metabolize fat, and even your muscle growth as well. Alcohol will also have an effect on your nervous system and brain. If you use it long term, you can cause severe deterioration of your central nervous system. Even with short term use, nerve muscle interaction can be reduced which will result in a loss of strength.

Once alcohol reaches the blood cells, it can and probably will damage them. With alcohol users, inflammation of the muscle cells is a very common thing. Over periods of time, some of these cells that have been damaged can die which will result in less functional muscle contractions. Drinking alcohol will also leave you with more soreness of your muscles after you exercise, which means that it will take you a lot longer to recuperate.

Alcohol will also have many different effects on your heart and circulatory system as well. When you drink any type of alcohol, you may begin to see a reduction in your endurance capabilities. Anytime you drink, your heat loss will increase, due to the alcohol simulating your blood vessels to dilate. The loss in heat can cause your muscles to become quite cold, therefore become slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.

Drinking alcohol can also lead to digestive and nutrition problems as well. Alcohol cause a release of insulin that will increase the metabolism of glycogen, which spares fat and makes the loss of fat very hard. Due to alcohol interfering with the absorption of several key nutrients, you can also become anemic and deficient with B type vitamins.

Because your liver is the organ that detoxifies alcohol, the more you drink, the harder your liver has to work. The extra stress alcohol places on your liver can cause serious damage and even destroy some of your liver cells.

Since alcohol is diuretic, drinking large amounts can put a lot of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted. This can lead to heightened water retention and no one who exercises will want this to happen.

Author: Robert Bell

I have very little interest these days in all the media-hyped stories of dramatic, rapid losses of body weight. “Big losers” don’t impress me, for numerous reasons. For example, weight is not fat. “Weight” could be composed of mostly lean tissue, or it could be mostly water weight. In fact, I would go a step further and point out that rapid loss of bodyweight correlates very highly with a greater chance of relapse, weight re-gain and long term failure.

So what does impress me? What gets my attention?

I pay attention to what the “long term maintainers” have to say – those are the people who have maintained an ideal weight for over a year… preferably even 2-5 years or more.

The difference between losers and maintainers

As I was researching the subject of long term weight maintenance recently, I was surprised at the huge amount of research that’s already been done in this area.

One paper that caught my interest was published by Judy Kruger and colleagues in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, titled,

“Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults successful at weight loss maintenance.”

This was not an experimental study, but a compilation of data from the “Styles Survey” which was representative of the U.S. population and asked respondents questions about strategies to aid with maintaining an ideal weight.

In this particular survey, only one-third (30.96%) of the respondents said they were successful at keeping their weight off. The researchers wanted to know the difference between the small group that was successful and the majority that were not.

Both groups reduced the amount of food they consumed, they ate smaller portions, more fruits and vegetables, fewer fatty foods and fewer sweetened beverages.

Not really any surprises there, but what we want to know most is not what losers and maintainers have in common, but what the maintainers did that the losers didn’t.

Some major differences emerged between losers and maintainers:

First, a significantly higher proportion of successful maintainers reported exercising 30 minutes or more daily, and they also reported adding other physical activity to their daily schedules (recreation, sports, physical work, etc). In addition, more of the successful maintainers included weight training in their exercise regimens than did the losers.

Reducing sedentary activities (TV watching, etc) was also a significant difference between those who successfully maintained and those who did not.

The next big difference that separated the successful maintainers from the unsuccessful was in their “self-monitoring behaviors” including:

• tracking calories
• tracking body weight
• planning meals
• tracking fat
• measuring the amount of food on their plate

Unfortunately, these types of self-monitoring behaviors, especially weighing and measuring food and counting calories, are among the most avoided and even criticized weight control techniques. Some weight loss “experts” even claim that it’s detrimental to count calories, weigh yourself or measure and weigh your food.

However, these self monitoring behaviors are being identified more and more frequently in the research as part of “the difference that makes the difference.” I agree, and they have always played a major role in my own Burn The Fat program.

A final difference was that people who reported self-perceived “barriers” to their success were 48-76% less likely to be a successful maintainer.

For example, they said they had no time to exercise, they were too tired to exercise or it was too hard to maintain an exercise routine. I interpret this as: the unsuccessful losers were excuse makers!

THE TOP 5 STRATEGIES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MAINTAINER

So let’s recap and turn these research findings into some practical action steps you can apply today.

1. Increase your total daily activity level, including formal exercise as well as sports, physical work or recreational activity. Exercise improves weight loss, but more importantly, it is critical for weight maintenance.

2. Decrease sedentary recreational activities by cutting back on TV watching, computer games and web surfing. Take up physical recreation such as sports, boating, biking, walking, hiking, gardening, physical hobbies and playing with your kids, if you have them.

3. Include weight training as part of your formal exercise program, throughout the fat loss phase and even more seriously during maintenance.

4. Track and monitor everything! Count calories and nutrients, measure your portion sizes, weigh your food, plan your menus in writing and monitor your body weight and body fat percentage.

5. Avoid excuses and maintain positive beliefs and attitudes towards your environment and what you perceive as “barriers.” For example, say, “I can always make time for what is most important to me” instead of, “I don’t have time to exercise.”

If you’re currently on a fat loss journey, and you want to know how good your odds are for being a successful maintainer, it’s pretty easy to predict using these 5 strategies. If you’re not using all 5 of them yet, then when would be a good time to start today?

There are limitations to survey results such as these, including the fact that they are cross sectional, and therefore cannot prove causality. However, I believe these findings are important and significant.

Not only do they confirm previous similar studies and agree with the findings of other groups of successful maintainers (such as the National Weight Control Registry), I found that these results match precisely what I’ve seen among my most successful “ Burn The Fat ” clients.

THIS is the type of advice I’d suggest you listen to the most: Advice about how to lose body FAT, not body WEIGHT, and how to maintain an ideal bodyweight and body composition over the long haul, not how to lose weight as fast as possible.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. There was one more “difference that made the difference,” in this study, and this one may surprise you (although it didn’t surprise me). Successful maintainers were LESS likely to take over the counter diet products (pills, etc).

About the Author:

Your acknowledgment of the need and desire to lose weight is the first and most difficult step on the path to weight loss. When your weight is of concern to you, the emotional and physical toll it takes on you can be very stressful.

But people can have a difficult time realizing that in order to lose weight they actually should eat more often throughout the day. A common strategy at the beginning of a diet is a drastic reduction in the amount and kinds of food eaten. However, that may in fact ultimately do more damage than produce any benefit.

If you are not eating enough throughout the course of the day, you are setting yourself up for a weight loss disaster. By not eating enough you set your body up to have low energy throughout the day. Your body will also go into starvation mode and try to store as much fat as possible, which will thwart your weight loss attempts. Additionally, if you are depriving yourself, you will start to experience more intense food cravings than you would otherwise.

Your body’s main goal is to keep yourself alive and operating properly and healthfully. Our systems have all sorts of survival mechanisms in place to keep your systems working. These systems will automatically start up when your body gets the signal that it is needed. One of our most highly developed defensive mechanism is our response to famine.

Your internal mechanisms do not really realize that you could sit down and eat whatever you want. If your body is not aware that you are choosing to not eat those calories, instead, your body thinks that you are starving so it will automatically adjust how it is operating to make sure that your body is able to create the necessary energy to operate properly.

Your body’s famine response will kick in automatically by keeping yourself from eating for long between meals or by not eating enough throughout the day. When this happens, it automatically slows your metabolism, making it more difficult to burn fat quickly and effectively. Having an efficient metabolism is an essential key to your success,when your goal is weight loss.

As a result of your eating habits you will start to lose the toned muscle instead of the fat. The muscles in your body will suffer and have problems with typical daily activities if you have a diet that is low in protein. The loss of lean muscle also causes your metabolic rate to diminish even further. Again reducing the amount of fat that your body is able to burn.

When you are looking to lose weight, ensuring that your metabolism is fully functioning is an essential step to ensuring your success. The key to keeping your metabolism up is to make sure that you are eating small meals about three hours apart. If you do that in coordination with a fitness program you are sure to quickly become the new you that you have always dreamed of being.

Author: Robert Bell

You may not have even heard of it but Adrenal Fatigue is a health disorder that can affect anyone-even bodybuilders. It is a condition that is marked by persistent or deep fatigue, loss of strength and a decline in endurance. It can also be a contributing factor in a variety of health conditions ranging from allergies to obesity. Adrenal fatigue is not adrenal insufficiency, which is a condition that can result in Addison’s disease-the worst degree of adrenal insufficiency that can lead to serious illness or even death. Adrenal fatigue is thought to be the result of a decline in the function of the adrenal glands, which play a vital role in our bodies’ management of stress-physical, emotional and psychological. The adrenal glands secrete a complex array of hormones including cortisol, testosterone and estrogen that regulate a broad range of functions in our bodies. Adrenal fatigue sets in when the adrenal glands become weakened and in turn, their response to stress becomes insufficient.

Adrenal fatigue can be debilitating and can lead to serious health problems. People suffering adrenal fatigue usually find that they have trouble being active. Weight training becomes difficult, they tire more easily and find that recovery from the exertion takes a lot longer than usual. Besides just not “feeling well,” some suffers of adrenal fatigue also experience mild joint and muscle pains, reduced sex drive, bursts of energy in the evening (but tired the rest of the time), an unexplained craving for salt, as well as other symptoms.

It’s thought that adrenal fatigue is brought on by chronic, persistent stress of any kind. Some experts also say that it can be brought on by persistent overdosing of stimulants found in energy drinks, fat burners and even coffee. They say that the stimulant overexposure exacerbates the weakening function of the adrenal glands.

Diagnosing adrenal fatigue isn’t an exact science but there are several lab tests that can be done that can provide an indication of how well the adrenal glands are functioning. Blood pressure tracking, pupil contraction testing and temperature tracking are some of the other methods used that might indicate the presence of adrenal fatigue.

Besides cutting out the stimulants and eliminating the stress in your life (easier said than done, I know), adrenal fatigue treatments include hormone replacement therapy, a regimen of specific supplements and a healthy diet.

Diets that include refined sugars and processed carbs are not just hell on your body in general, but they’re particularly stressful on the adrenal glands. A proper diet with the right balance of proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats can help prevent adrenal fatigue and can help you recover from it too. Eat frequent small meals (five to six a day) and avoid prolonged hunger.

Here are some of the supplements that have shown some promise in being effective in preventing and treating adrenal fatigue:

Pantothenic Acid (PA): Also known as vitamin B5, PA plays a major role in the production of adrenal hormones, especially during high stress situations;

Ascorbic Acid: This is a sugar acid that has strong antioxidant properties. It is found in the highest concentrations in the cortex and the medulla of the adrenal gland. It is widely believed that a deficiency in ascorbic acid results in reduced adrenal activity;

Vitamin C: The adrenal gland has one of the organs that has the highest concentrations of vitamin C;

Vitamin E: The adrenal gland also has very high concentrations of vitamin E. In the adrenal gland, vitamin E plays an important role in steroidogenesis;

Vitamin A: Another important cofactor in steroidogenesis;

Vitamin B6: Pyridoxal phosphate (P5P) is the active form of vitamin B6. It helps stimulate release of adrenal catecholamines. P5P also alters cell receptor response to steroid hormones.

Hormone replacement therapy is the third option for treating adrenal fatigue. Specifically, treatment for adrenal fatigue calls for bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). This differs from general hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that BHRT involves supplemental doses of steroid hormones (hydrocortisone and aldosterone) that have a chemical structure identical to human hormones produced by the human body. HRT uses animal or synthetic hormones that have structures similar or identical to those produced by the human body.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can vary from very mild to downright debilitating. Your best defense against it is to maintain a healthy diet, cut the stimulants, limit your caffeine and make sure that your supplement regimen includes the vitamins and compounds listed above.

Author: Mike Westerdal