Fitness Facts

A sports dietician would probably say that nutrition for athletes would seek the same ultimate goal as general nutrition – insofar as that ultimate goal being, of course, good overall health. However, within the confines of good overall health an athlete is able to train hard. Hard training athletes expose themselves to nutritional needs that non-athletes don't usually face. So, in constructing an athlete's meal plan, not only must the tenets of good health be followed, but an athlete's diet should also consist of specific nutrient densities that satisfy the unique requirements generated by the sports they pursue. So, to answer the question, do sports nutrition and general nutrition have the same goals? The answer is both yes and no. Nutrition for non-athletes is traditionally fairly basic. It pretty much boils down to maintaining acceptable body composition through a calculation of the traditional “calories in” vs “calories out” formula to satisfy base metabolic rate, (with any additional activity factored in), and dispersing those calories over a balance of macro nutrients from clean, fresh, wholesome food sources. Throw in a daily multi-vitamin/ mineral complex and some fish oil and that's good for 90% of the population. In fact, if 90% of the general population followed such a simple, non-athlete meal plan, our national health would soar! A balanced diet of healthy foods and maintaining favorable body composition is by far the best, most effective and proven path to good health. At this point, nutrition for athletes takes the divergent path. Depending on a variety of factors that include: the type of exercises being performed, number of training sessions per week, physical requirements of the chosen sport’s weight requirements. Is the athlete training for strength, power, speed, endurance, a combination? Are they male, female, old, young? All of these things and more must be factored in when a sports dietician calculates an athlete's diet. One of the biggest differences you'll notice is that an athlete's meal plan will undoubtedly include a greater amount of protein. Protein, specifically the amino acids it contains, are the essential building blocks of muscle. Growth and repair of muscle tissue is a constant, ongoing and absolutely vital process for an athlete. If the minute amino acids, particularly essential amino acids, reach a level below what the body needs, muscle growth and recovery come to a screeching halt and performance (strength, speed, size) suffers tremendously. So, right off the bat, the most assured goal of athlete nutrition is consuming more quality proteins. Many athletes supplement their protein requirements with with high quality protein powders (https://gasparinutrition.com/collections/protein-powder) from whey, egg, casine, and vegan sources to insure they have the building blocks on board that their bodies need to perform at 100%. The next nutritional goal the sports nutritionist must consider is the predominant fuel source the athlete is going to consume in his meal plan. Complex carbohydrates and good fats provide the energy the athlete will need to exact maximum performance. To make a long story short, in its most simplified explanation, carbs burn faster than fats. Thus, the energy fats provide are sought for sports requiring more endurance, while athletes requiring explosive energy will typically need more carbohydrates in their meal plan. At the end of the day, nutrition for athletes boils down to assembling a meal plan geared to good health and increased performance, with the emphasis on good health. That being the case, it's hard to argue that sports nutrition and general nutrition would not seek the same ultimate goal.

“If you stay ready you don't have to get ready” - Suga Free People always ask me how l get so lean? My answer is simple, l stay lean. If I stay lean I don' t have to get lean. Right? I mean, that's pretty simple. Ah, but is it? A casual stroll through the domestic terminal of your basic international airport, in any city (my de facto example of the most diverse cross section of America), and you will find an extraordinary number of people who don't pay attention to Suga Free, cuz, they ain't ready. Well, maybe for a pie eating contest, but nothing remotely espousing a healthy body fat level, let alone anything to the extreme that we expect from a bodybuilder. So, stay lean?  Yes, if you want to be lean, stay lean. I was an obese kid and I've stayed lean for over 40 years.  If there's anyone who doesn't have the genetics to be lean, it's me. If I can do it anyone can do it. If that was a cliche, here come the rest of them: “yeah, easier said than done.” “Easy for you to say, you workout all the time.” “I can't diet.” “I have bad genetics.” Blah, blah, blah......  All you're doing by saying and falling for that crap is affirming a negative. Our sport is full of people who have overcome the most incredible adversity and accomplish the most amazing things, including getting shredded. Most of us have no adversity to overcome, except that which we create for ourselves, and can't seem to uncover any part of a six pack, let alone the whole thing. Staying lean is not rocket science. It merely requires that you stay, with the exception of the odd cheat meal once or twice, a week, on a diet. Period. All the time. By diet, I don't mean eating like a bodybuilder. I mean eating like a dieting bodybuilder. “Oh, but that's hard.” So is buying a Ferrari, unless you have the money. Dieting is easy, if you have the discipline. And, discipline – or willpower -  is a matter of one thing – a decision. A very simple decision: Do I stay on my diet or not? The problem is that your brain gets in the way. Let me give you an example.  Let's say you climb into bed after a long hard day. You're dead tired. You could fall asleep the second your head hits the pillow – which, you've fluffed and arranged just exactly how you like it. Your head sinks languidly into it, you wriggle your body one last time into that amazingly comfortable position you and the sandman love, you've maybe even tucked another pillow between your knees. You're an inch from dreamland. Then, you look up and realize you left on the bathroom light. What do you do? What few of you will do is just get up and turn off the light (you guys are probably pretty lean too). Most of you will hem and haw and needlessly complicate the issue, and procrastinate because you just don't want to get up out of bed, especially if it's cold. Some will actually just leave it on! It's a simple decision though, just get up and turn off the light! Like the saying Nike made famous, just do it. Dieting to stay lean is no different. Most of you reading this know that and know damn well what it takes to stay lean. You now there's no magic pill, no magic drug, no magic method, nothing secret. The matter is doing what it takes -  doing what's hard, doing what's uncomfortable. Problem is, humans like to be comfortable and do what's easy. You can't have it both ways. You want to stay lean? Then you know what to do. It's a simple choice – just like getting up out of bed and turning off the light. Unfortunately, temptation rears it's ugly head and then, the next thing you know, you're just another squishy American strolling through the airport. You know that in order to stay lean you have to eat good, clean, healthy food, in a favorable macro ratio, and burn more than you take in, so that the body will liberate stored fat to make up the difference. Simple. The only problem is just doing it. So, what do we do? Come up with excuses of course. And some are pretty good: “I have kids and the junk they eat is always in the house” (why do you buy it for them?), “Diet food is too expensive” (duh), “No time to prep the food,” “I have no energy on a diet,” “I get too hungry,” “I get hypoglycemic,” “I crave pizza.....” Blah, blah, blah. It's all meaningless bullshit. Suck it up buttercup. Everything desirable has a price. If you want to stay lean, quit complaining and just do it. It's either that or stay fat. Simple equation: Diet = lean. No diet = fat. (remember the bathroom light). Now, here's where the big debate that has raged for decades comes in. One camp says “calories in calories out.” This basically means that if you eat fewer calories than your base metabolic rate indicates, you'll lose weight. It doesn't matter what you eat, so long as you create a calorie deficit. The problem here is “weight” is an ambiguous term. You can hack off an arm and get back on the scale and it will read less. You get the desired intent, but the effect is not too good. What you want to lose is not “weight” but rather, body fat. Which brings us to the other camp. They say that if you eat only “clean” food – lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats, you can eat all you want and, with adequate exercise, you'll lose body fat. The only problem with either camp is that they're both only partly right.  If you want to become, and stay, lean what you need to do is eat a balance of high protein, moderate good quality fats and few complex carbohydrates, spaced out over five to six small meals a day with a total calorie count somewhat less than your base metabolic requirement.  It's important that you keep a nice even flow of nutrients coming in so that your body does not perceive starvation and slow down your metabolic rate. This will not only stymie fat loss, but also muscle growth. So, just how much below your base metabolic rate should you eat when you consider your activity level? Too low and your body will strive to hang on to those reserves you have on board, too high and you wont lose fat. Unfortunately, there's no specific formula for this, it's a matter of trial and error. If you use an accurate measure of your body fat each week, you'll want to lose between 0.5 – 1.0% of body fat per week. Slow and steady. Once you arrive at your desired body fat level, gradually increase the size of your meals until you level out where you feel and look lean. Then stay lean.  A little help from high quality supplements? Absolutely. But, they're NOT the answer. Of course they can help and I can swear they make a big difference. But, the work and the sacrifice is going to be 85% of the deal. Luckily, modern silence has given us supplements that can help the fat burning process. Not only fat burners, but also low calorie protein powders offering complete protein with few calories or added fats, and quality vitamins and minerals to make up what a calorie restricted diet may leave out.  At the end of the day, it's going to be exercise, a well constructed, low calorie meal plan, combined with state of the art supplements, dedication, consistency and discipline that is going to deliver incredible results that can last and last and keep you lean. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.

For some reason, many bodybuilders believe they have to turn themselves into a giant pumpkin during the off season in order to build any muscle. They believe, “you can't grow muscle when you're dieting.” Oh my God..... To find a greater pile of bullshit than that you'd have to visit a cattle ranch. That is such utter nonsense. It's true that you could not eat enough on a diet and not gain muscle, but it's not necessary to gain fat in order to gain muscle. All my clients gain muscle leading up to a bodybuilding show while losing body fat. All of them, men and women, doesn't matter. I always crack up at the big puffy bodybuilder who gains 50 pounds during the off season and then diets off 48 of it by show time. Why gain 50 pounds for a net gain of two? Why not gain five pounds and have all of it be muscle? What you need to understand is that the body signals the building of muscle as part of its survival mechanism. It doesn't grow muscle because you want a killer double biceps pose. It grows muscle, and only grows muscle, in response to progressively greater gravitational stress. The greater the stress your body endures the greater the adaptation. This was actually proven 2700 years ago by the world's first bodybuilder, Milo of Croton, who roamed the hills of southern Italy with a bull over his shoulder.  Milo was perhaps the best wrestler in world at the time, having won ancient Greece's triple crown of wrestling a staggering seven times and the Olympic games five times. The secret to his incredible strength was the bull. Not the kind of bull you get from the broscientists online these days, but an actual cow. Milo picked up the critter shortly after it was born, slung it over his shoulders and walked the hills behind his farm until he couldn't carry it any longer. He did this every day. As the calf grew, so too did Milo. And so was born the progressive resistance principle.  What Milo proved is that in order to grow muscle the body must be subjected, repeatedly, to an ever increasing work load it cannot accomplish with the stock muscle allotment. In order to survive that stress, it builds muscle  to become stronger and adapt.  And, that is IT. Other than some kind of rouge genetic factor, there is absolutely no other reason whatsoever your body will build muscle. In fact, the body will strive to get rid of muscle it's not using. If you doubt me, stick your arm in a cast for six weeks and see what you haver left after you cut it off.  It will only build muscle if it needs it. And, if the stress is grave enough, it will build that muscle no matter what, even if calories are restricted. You have to remember that a pound of fat has 3500 calories. If you weigh 200 pounds and you're at a fairly moderate 10% body fat, that means you have 20 pounds of fat on your body, that equates to 70,000 calories worth of potential energy on board, in addition to what you eat. So, unless you have zero body fat, your diet can consist of very few calories and you'll still have plenty of energy calories on board to keep you going. It might not feel very good, but you're not going to starve. And, if you're taking in the right nutrients, you're not going to lose muscle, in fact, with proper nutrients and stimulation in the gym, you'll grow muscle, even if calories are restricted. As far as proper nutrients go, protein is going to be king. Building muscle requires protein, particularly the essential proteins, also known as essential amino acids, particularly the branch chain amino acids. These nutrients are termed “essential” because the body does not produce them, or does not produce them in adequate amounts, requiring you get them either from your diet, or high quality nutritional supplements.  Building muscle requires building blocks. The more you have on board the better your chances of building muscle. But, you also need to keep the machine well oiled. So, in addition to the amino acid element, you will also benefit from complete protein powders, vitamins and minerals and  joint care supplements.  Growing muscle without getting fat is as possible as it is tedious. You have to work at it – hard. But, with consistency and attention to detail, you'll build it without having to battle pounds and pounds of unnecessary body fat.

Many a hard training athlete has taken part in the debate, either for or against, as to whether or not the naked egg can stand up against a slab of beef steak, as far as protein sources go, or do the egg macros in that plate of scrambled eggs fall short? It's an age old question really. Athletes are hell bent on finding the best protein sources and the comparison is inevitable. And, that's just as far as food goes. When it comes to supplemental protein, egg macros are always held in high regard – even higher than whey in some cases, with athletes continually debating the best egg white protein powder, or what goes into making the best egg protein shake. It wasn't always like that though. Back in the day, even the best egg white protein powders made horrible tasting, lumpy, egg protein shakes. Modern technology has revitalized the egg protein powder market with great tasting, easy mixing products that make it easy, not to mention enjoyable, to get the nutrients out of eggs. But, are eggs as good a source of protein as a beef steak, or other animal source proteins? Dietary protein is made up of chains of amino acids. The proteins from animals - poultry, fish, beef, pork, lamb, game meats and eggs are considered “complete proteins” because they contain all of the amino acids that your body needs – including the nine essential amino acids that your body doesn't produce. To further highlight the importance of complete proteins is the fact that the body can only benefit from complete proteins. Incomplete protein is pretty much useless as far as muscle growth and recovery are concerned. Gram per gram however, meat is heavier in protein content than eggs. Eggs on the other hand, can be a healthier and more versatile alternative to meat. A gram of whole egg contains about 1/8th of a gram of complete protein. Conversely, a gram of meat (flesh of any animal) has about a 1/5th of a gram of complete protein. So, as you can see, in a gram-to-gram comparison, meat contains more protein than eggs.   I emphasized “whole egg” above because most of you are obsessed with not eating egg yolks. So, you have to remember that a large whole egg contains about six grams of protein, just a little over half of which come from the white. You throw out the rest with the yolk along with other beneficial nutrients. Just to get the same protein as a whole egg, you have to eat two egg whites. It's not unusual to see athletes throwing down 10 – 12, or more, egg whites at a sitting. Another thing to keep in mind is that, compared to meat, what eggs lack in protein they make up for in cholesterol. One large egg has about 3.5 grams of fat and 140 milligrams of cholesterol. A 3 ounce serving of animal flesh ranges between 1.5 to 5 grams of fat and 50 to 60 milligrams of cholesterol. What's interesting though, is that while saturated fats are known to increase cholesterol, the egg macros, while higher in cholesterol than meat, eggs reflect fewer saturated fats. The only other food I know of that contains high cholesterol, but is low in saturated fat is shrimp and other shellfish. It's kind of an odd dichotomy, but nevertheless prudent, that people with high cholesterol should avoid both egg yolks (the obvious) and shrimp (the not so obvious). However, those people with normal cholesterol, can not only eat shrimp, but should also not be tossing all the yolks because they think they're high in saturated (bad) fat – because they're not. And, because the nutrients in eggs are contained in the yolk, including all the valuable vitamins and minerals you get from the egg. So, it boils down to calories. Many athletes go by the “four whites and a yellow” ratio when they construct their egg meal. This gives them all the complete protein contained in the egg whites, a bit more from the yolk, and all the vitamins and minerals, with less fat. But, a lot of lifters don't want to worry about how many calories are in one scrambled egg and they just go online and look for the best egg protein powder. (https://gasparinutrition.com/products/proven-egg?variant=33802534584451) At the end of the day though, a complete protein is a complete protein. It doesn't matter if it comes from a cow, a fish, an egg or a 3LB plastic tub. So, are eggs as good a source of protein as beef steak as far as protein quality goes? The answer is yes.

Sports nutrition is basically pretty much like it sounds - nutrition for athletes. The essence of the concept being that a sports dietician, or the athlete himself, constructs a specific athlete meal plan that will spell out precisely what the athlete's diet should consist of, based on the specific nutritional needs the pursuit of his sport presents. There can't be enough stress put on the fact that, first and foremost, it's the athlete's meal plan that sets the stage for how well his performance will be affected.  There can't be enough stress put on the fact that, first and foremost, it's the athlete's meal plan that sets the stage for how well his performance will be affected. Depending on the sport, an athlete's nutritional needs will differ. For example, a strength athlete will need a higher protein appropriation in his meal plan; an endurance athlete will  need more quality fats; while athletes who require explosive bouts of energy – such as sprinters – will need more complex carbohydrates. And, of course, for many athletic pursuits, it's not so cut and dry and a variety of factors have to be considered when you calculate what an athlete's diet should consist of. Optimum sports nutrition insures that the body has the nutritional building blocks on board it needs to both fuel performance and aid recovery. Generally, sports dietitians agree that the overall goal of sports nutrition is to satisfy two important areas where an athlete's nutritional needs differ from non athletes. These are distinct because one cause the other: performance and the recovery from it. Optimum sports nutrition ensures that the body has the nutritional  building blocks on board  it needs to both fuel performance and aid recovery.  Complex carbohydrates from natural sources such as whole grains, potatoes, yams, fruit, etc. are converted by digestion into glucose. The  conversion of these particular carb sources is slow and sustained, which results in stable blood glucose levels. This not only supports the immediate performance requirements, but also replenishes glycogen stores in muscle, the liver, and the brain.  Dietary protein from fresh eggs, poultry, fish and lean meats deliver vital amino acids that aid in performance and recovery of muscle. While the body can manufacture most of the amino acids it needs, there are several which the body must have have but does not produce, or produce in sufficient amounts and must find them in the diet. Ironically, it's these very essential amino acids that are the most depleted through athletic training and competition. Clearly then, an athlete's meal plan must contain adequate complete protein choices, preferably from animal sources, to maintain the increased amino acid requirements of athletes. Vegan athletes bring a whole other element of complexity to the equation when it comes to deriving sufficient complete proteins, without suffering from a mountain of excess calories carbohydrate combining brings. But, that's an entirely separate topic for another day. For the purpose of this discussion, natural, complete, protein sources  - from animals – is what will be considered in an athlete's meal plan to deliver all the amino acids the body needs for optimum athletic performance and recovery.  Finally, dietary fats, from unsaturated “good” sources are vital for energy production and metabolism maintenance, not to mention the fact that, just like we have essential amino acids, there are essential fats the body must have, but does not produce, that must be derived from dietary sources. Long considered the enemy of a healthy diet, because they were just termed “fat” and lumped in with all the bad saturated fats that are the scourge of the American diet, good fats from unsaturated sources, such as cold pressed oils, nuts, seeds, and the essential omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) from fish, are vital for energy production, tissue repair, nervous system and brain function, joint maintenance, reducing  inflammation, and supporting immune function. All of which represent an elevated level of importance in an athlete's meal plan. Vegan athletes are also going to be confronted here with another reality of sports nutrition when it comes to getting enough ALA from plant sources - that must be converted into adequate quantities of  DHA and EPA (the only omega-3 the body uses) to support athlete nutrition. But, again, that's another level of complexity when it comes to determining what an athlete's diet should consist of and is a topic for another discussion.  There is no argument against specialized, balanced, nutrition for athletes, and is an essential element of effective, sensible sports nutrition. Ultimately, caloric requirements to effect maximum performance, while maintaining acceptable body composition will be regulated  with the athlete's meal plan. This usually requires some trial and error and attention paid to cause and effect. But, there is no argument against specialized, balanced, nutrition for athletes, and is an essential element of effective, sensible sports nutrition.

For those wanting to drop a few pounds, you might be impatient and want to do it quickly. But is that a safe method? Many experts believe that you need to lose weight gradually. From limited diets to rigorous workout plans, you need to find the healthiest way to shed weight off your body. Here…

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Have you ever seen those colorful charts depicting the body mass index? The body mass index (BMI) is the most widely used method for determining whether you’re overweight, underweight, or at a healthy level. This method of measurement takes your weight and height to index your body fat level. BMI charts have been in use…

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Some fats are good for your body, and you should think about adding them to your diet. One such fat is known as lecithin. This healthy fat occurs naturally, and it has a wide range of benefits for your body. If you have ever wondered about lecithin and where to get your fill of it,…

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high-powered machine cannot run without the right kind of fuel. This fact is just as true for the human body, which is basically a bio-machine. When you are trying to maintain optimal health and peak performance (something that all athletes want), diet and exercise are known as the two main tools. Unfortunately, many people start…

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Most weightlifters and bodybuilders are aware that protein is essential for building muscle, but surprisingly few understand what protein is and why it is crucial to evaluate the amino acid composition of a food or supplement in addition to considering its overall protein content. What is a protein? A protein is a chain of amino…

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Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diets are all the rage with those wanting an effective weight loss plan. With these plans, dieters will get a high percentage of their calorie intake from protein and fats. If you are interested in starting an LCHF diet, there are a few things that you should know. What is a Low-Carbohydrate,…

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When it comes to the nutritional value of eggs, people have many differing opinions. Some people will try to tell you that eggs are a bad choice because of their high cholesterol content. Others will tell you that eggs are the most healthy food in the world. So, where does the answer lie? In this…

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Like many work out techniques, people have differing opinions about exercising on an empty stomach. Some exercise enthusiasts insist that you should eat something before a heavy workout. On the other hand, other gym warriors believe you need nothing before getting down with your routine. With these opposite opinions, what should you believe? Let’s take…

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