week 5: november 29 - december 5

big hurdle down!! Thanksgiving, the excuses of all excuses for gluttony. Hopefully you were able to indulge with enough moderation that you didn't feel a "3-a-day" was necessary.

so i spent thanksgiving house/dog sitting, where my friend (another trainer) left a giant nutrition book out on the table. 200 pages in and i've hardly made a dent, I'm left as frustrated as i always am reading nutrition hypotheses that seem to clash with what i've been taught. this week's new trend or new fad is different than last week's it seems.

closing the book and walking out the door to write this blog and go get a glass of wine, i've come to the conclusion that keeping things simple is the way to go. anything more than that will just make you crazy. i mean we are not looking to get a hot spray tan to flex on stage accentuating body parts that look like they should belong on a gentleman. well, i shouldn't generalize...if you are looking for that, don't worry, i have the book for you.

what i did learn more of, adding to what i deem consistent, was balance. last week we focused on fat, and i really wanted to focus this week on protein, but in all reality it is almost impossible to focus on either or without looking at the whole picture. so as we stated last week, fat should be around 20%, which puts carbs and proteins around 40%, give or take.

again, since we aren't counting calories....we can still get an idea by looking at labels. 40% protein will put us anywhere between 50-70 grams of protein a day. protein is great because it rebuilds what we are breaking down with all of our workouts. if you are one of those people like me who constantly feels "sore", it may be that you're not getting enough protein.

in this book it reminded me, as you must know...that not all protein is created equal. the two podium toppers are casein which is found in milk and whey which is found in egg whites. the reason these two win are because they are filled with the perfect components to make them readily usable. they contain the 8 amino acids that make their breakdown quick and easy.

grains, beans, fruits and veggies, which are also great sources of protein are not equipped with all 8 of the amino acids. that is why pairing beans and rice and veggies and carbs has been done since the ancients, borrowing amino acids from one another to make them more nourishing.

so without getting all technical or historical. this week i would like you to focus on protein. knowing that it is impossible to focus on one without the other, try to be mindful of fats and carbs as well, keeping the ratio as close as you can get it to 20fat/40protein/40 carbs.

i would also like you this week to focus on leafy greens. because this book also talked about the importance of vitamins and minerals, it has brought my awareness to the fact that we can't just live on fat, protein, and carbs, which are often overemphasized. taking a daily vitamin and making sure you are getting a diversity of plant based vitamins yields a healthy balance which is what we are ultimately striving for.

i read a diet book once that said, eat raw veggies all day long....they don't count in your calories. and, i buy it. there are so many books that say grapes and carrots are bad because of their sugar content, but you never see anyone obese who claims that the sole cause is fruits and veggies. so i am an advocate of eating all fruits and veggies without worry.

so, this week. if you are not a milk or eggs person like me, either add whey protein to a smoothie after a workout, or add some legumes and rice into the works this week as well.

the problem with meat protein, for instance, is, let's just say ham for example. sure it's 25% protein, but 75% fat. so meat protein is ok, but keeping in mind it's protein to fat ratio, it might be wise to look into some vegetarian options this week.

i know we are only suppoesed to focus on one or two things at a time, but just given the time...i think it might be wise to test yourself on the sugar content once more. since we just allowed a little indulgence and we won't have holiday parties for another week at least, lets let those vitamins and minerals soak in without the depletion that occurs with excessive sugar intake.

so....in short....50-70 grams protein. leafy greens....recipes welcome!....and sugars on the minimum.

k...that's it.....i swear;)

ps...this is the downward side to this bellcurve. congratulations you've made it this far!