Nutrition Posts III: Examples
1) Breakfast
Let's have a look at a breakfast situation: A person has a “typical” breakfast, that could be considered “healthy” by some people, but that in fact is not:
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread (92gr)
- 30gr of “light” margarine
- One tomato (200gr.)
- Sugar free “diet” strawberry jam (40gr)
- 1 glass of orange juice (200ml)
Before making any adjustments, here is a quick analysis of this meal:
Nurtition Posts I
1) What am I eating?
In order to figure out what exactly we are eating, it makes sense to see which nutrients we need from food and then figure you where we can get these from. Overall, we can divide nutrients into micro- and macronutrients. Micronutrients are only required in relatively small quantities, such as vitamins and minerals. Macronutrients are required in much bigger amounts and thus it makes sense to focus on these first when looking into nutritional requirements. Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fats. We will look more into what these macronutrients do for us and how much we need of these for different purposes in one of the upcoming posts. For now, let's just figure out where we get these from:
Nutrition Posts II: Special Topics
1) Dairy
Dairy products (milk, cheese, etc.) are not paleolithic foods and thus do not fullfill the dietary quality requirements as outlined previously: They are not part of the diet humankind evolved on and they are linked to autoimmunity and hyperinsulinism as dairy elicits a high insulin response. However, there are some advantages to dairy (and specifically milk) consumption that make it favorable to include in your diet.
Workout of Friday, June 25th, 2010
Workout of the Day
Overhead Squat 3-3-3
then
As quickly as you can, perform:
- 12-9-6 One-arm overhead squats with 16/8kg kettlebell (each arm)
- 20m Broad jump
Post weight and time to comments.
New download: Elite Fitness Nutrition Guide
Workout of Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
Workout of the Day
Back squat 3-3-3
then
As quickly as you can, perform 4 rounds of:
- 20m Squat broad jump
- 50 Squats
Post weight and time to comments.
Nutrition example 3) Snack 1
No bad examples this time, as I think by now you get the picture: It should be clear that you should stay away from grains and other processed foods, such as breads, bakeries, sweets, sandwiches (bread), cereals & mueslies (mostly grains), etc.
Here is what you can rather do for a snack:
- Get some high quality protein: How about some grass fed biltong? Try having with as little additives as possible. 40g give you about 22g of protein.
- Get some high quality fat. A handful of nuts (about 10 almonds, cashews, walnuts, brazilnuts or 3 macadamias) should do the trick.
- Fruits or vegetables. A (big) apple is the easy way to go – or 150g grapes.
It is really easy to prepare one or two of these snacks in the morning and then fall back on them as needed during the rest of the day. You have high quality protein and fat with some carbohydrates in a balanced snack meal.
Can you think of similar solutions for a snack? Post suggestions and thoughts to comments.
Workout of Friday, June 18th, 2010
Workout of the Day
Clean & Jerk 1-1-1
then
"Grace" - As quickly as you can, perform:
- 30 Clean & Jerks with 60/40kg
Post weight and time to comments.
Nutrition example 4) Snack 2
Here is another option for a snack that might prove practical for some people:
- Get some high quality protein: Use 30g of “100% whey protein” for about 23g of protein (read label for exact amounts). From all processed foods, this is one of the best options to get decent quality protein.
- Get some high quality fat. About 30ml of coconut milk do the trick: This amount contains about 4.5g of fat.
- Fruits or vegetables. 200g blueberries OR 300g strawberries OR 250g blackberries (not your cellphone, Wayne!) work great.
Prepare all this with water in a blender to get the consistency you prefer – and enjoy throughout the day. Again, you can easily prepare one or two of these snack meals in the morning to fall back on during the day, and always have a great food choice handy: You have high quality protein and fat with some carbohydrates in a balanced snack meal.
Can you think of similar solutions for a snack? Post suggestions and thoughts to comments.
Workout of Friday, June 11th, 2010
Workout of the Day
Thruster 1-1-1
then
As quickly as you can, perform 3 rounds of:
- 500m Row
- Rest 3 minutes
Post weight and time to comments.
Nutrition Example 2) Lunch / Dinner (Part 2)
Option 2) You can't let go of your “pasta meal”:
It is not ideal, but if you get the quantities of your meal right, not all is lost.
- You still need to get some protein in this meal: How about some meatballs? 120g contain about 21g protein (3 blocks).
- Get some fat. This is an easy fix with a teaspoon of 100% virgin olive oil on top. (3 blocks of fat each)
- Keep the tomato sauce and the wine (7+4=11g carbohydrates), if you like, but cut out most of the spaghetti: 60g spaghetti give you about 16g carbohydrates for a total of 27g (3 blocks).
You still get some wine and the sauce and traded some spaghetti for meatballs. Overall, you now have 27g of carbohydrates (3 blocks), 21g of protein (3 blocks) and 4.5g of fat (3 blocks) in your breakfast for a balanced meal. Quality is still not good, but your body will thank you for your adjustment, work way better and burn lots more fat than before. The pasta is not ideal, but again, if you really have to, with the Zone (weighing and measuring), you can still pull it off and get away with it on occasion. Note that you should ALWAYS chose option 1 over option 2, if at all possible.
What are your thoughts? Can you relate to this example and does it help you with your lunch and dinner choices? Post questions and thoughts to comments.
Workout of Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Workout of the Day
Hang Power Snatch 3-3-3
then
As quickly as you can, perform 7 rounds of:
- 7 Overhead squats with 43/29kg
- 7 Pull ups
Post weight and time to comments.
Nutrition Example 2) Lunch / Dinner (Part 1)
Let say you have what some people consider a “normal” lunch or dinner - spaghetti napolitana – in other words, here is what not to do:
- Whole wheat spaghetti (200g)
- Napolitana sauce (100g)
- Glas red wine (150ml)
Again, here is a quick analysis of this meal:
- Macronutrients: All ingredients are mainly contain mainly carbohydrates, quality protein and fat are entirely missing.
- Food quality: All foods are processed and would not occur like this in nature. On top, the pasta is made from grains which can be detrimental to your health.
- Food quantity: The spaghetti contain 54 g carbohydrates, the sauce about 7g and the wine about 4g. In sum, we are looking at a nice “carb loading session” with about 65g of carbohydrates (about 7 blocks), no useful proteins or fats.
As in our previous example, here are two ways to fix the meal in 3 steps:
Option 1) You are flexible and accept bigger changes (you completely abandon your previous meal):
- Get high quality protein in your meal: Have 100g of wild salmon (20g protein).
- Get high quality fat in your meal: Have a few almonds on the side. (9 = 4.5g fat)
- Add some vegetables or fruit. How about asparagus (200g) on the side and 200g strawberries for desert?
This way, you get all your macronutrients to some extend. You have high food quality and in this case a perfectly balanced 3 block meal. Again, this will give your body great sources of nutrients in the right amounts in order to function ideally for the next 4 to 6 hours.
How do you like this option? Look out tomorrow for option 2. Post thoughts to comments.
Workout of Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Workout of the Day
Press 5-5-3-3-3
then
Perform 5 rounds of:
- 20 Kettlebell swings 24/16kg
- 20 Sit ups
Post weight and time to comments.
Nutrition Example 1) Breakfast (Part 2)
Option 2) You can't let go of your “bread breakfast”:
It is not ideal, but if you get the quantities of your meal right, not all is lost:
- You still need to get some protein in this meal: How about some tuna? Half a can contains about 21g (3 blocks).
- If you can, get a better fat source than margarine. How about 30g of avo (better choice), or 1 teaspoon full of light mayonnaise? (3 blocks of fat each)
- Have only one slice of bread instead of two (24g of carbohydrates instead of 48g) and have the tomato (9g carbohydrates). No juice. Have water instead. [If you would like to keep jam or juice, go with ryvita or another “bread” source which contains less carbohydrates.]
You still get your bread with tomato, but traded the jam for some tuna. (If you can't do without the jam, there are ways of balancing this out as well). And slight adjustment for the fat source. Overall, you now have 33g of carbohydrates (3.5 blocks), 21g of protein (3 blocks) and 4.5g of fat (3 blocks) in your breakfast. Quality is still not ideal but your body will thank you for your adjustment, work way better and burn lots more fat than before. Don't get me wrong, I would never recommend eating bread to anyone, but health issues aside, thanks to the Zone, you can still pull it off if you have a slice here or there...
What are your thoughts? Can you relate to this example and does it help you with your breakfast choices? Post questions and thoughts to comments.
Workout of Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Workout of the Day
Front Squat 3-3-3
then
In 10 minutes, perform as may rounds as possbile of "Fat Cindy":
- 5 Pull ups (chest-to-bar)
- 10 Clapping push ups
- 15 Box jumps
Post weight and rounds to comments.
Nutrition Example 1) Breakfast (Part 1)
Let's have a look at a breakfast situation: A person has a “typical” breakfast, that could be considered “healthy” by some people, but that in fact is not:
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread (92gr)
- 30gr of “light” margarine
- One tomato (200gr.)
- Sugar free “diet” strawberry jam (40gr)
- 1 glass of orange juice (200ml)
Before making any adjustments, here is a quick analysis of this meal:
- Macronutrients: Bread, Tomato, Marmalade and Orange juice all contain carbohydrates but no significant amounts of protein. The margarine contains some fat, but no protein.
- Food quality: All foods - except for possibly the tomato - are processed and would not occur like this in nature. On top, the bread contains grains which are detrimental to your health.
- Food quantity: The bread contains 48g carbohydrates, the tomato about 9g, the jam (even though it is “sugar free”) 10g, the orange juice 22g. The margarine may contain 12g fat. In sum, that will be 89g of carbohydrates (about 10 blocks), 12g (8 blocks) of fat and zero (0 blocks) useful protein.
Needless to say, at a closer look, this meal is far from ideal. Here is our easy to implement 3 step approach to fix this meal:
Option 1) You are flexible and accept bigger changes (you completely abandon your previous meal):
- Get high quality protein in your meal: Use 3 free range eggs to make an omelette.
- Get high quality fat in your meal: Take 1/3 of an avocado (30g) onto the omelette or on the side.
- Add some vegetables. How about mushrooms (100g) and green peppers (100g)?
This way, you get all your macronutrients to some extend. You have high food quality. And if you add an apple as a desert, you would have a perfectly balanced 3 block meal. This will give your body great sources of nutrients in the right amounts in order to function ideally for the next 4 to 6 hours.
How do you like this option? Look out tomorrow for option 2. Post thoughts to comments.