Sports Nutrition

Have you ever had the inclination to try baby food, but couldn’t be seen eating baby food? Well check this out – it’s virtually the same ingredients, in the same container, but with a mature, sophisticated label design. I’m talking about Health Valley “On the Go” Fruit Yogurt Smoothies. You can get them in a box of four and no one will know you’re buying mashed fruit in baby food containers! I found them on sale for $2.50 per box, but I guess the typical retail price at Wal-Mart is still only $2.98 per box. These ready-to-drink smoothies are a blend of real fruit and yogurt with no added sugar, and you don’t have to refrigerate them (until after opening… but that would be like refrigerating an energy gel packet after opening.) Speaking of which, could these be a more natural alternative to an energy gel? Let’s see… Health and Nutrition Inspection Starting with the ingredients list… Ingredients: Pears, mangoes, water, yogurt (milk, nonfat dry milk, yogurt cultures), calcium citrate malate, citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), vitamin d. Seems like a healthy list – it really is fruit and yogurt. Obviously both those ingredients are naturally full of sugar, but there’s no added sugar (or worse, corn syrup.) It also looks like these have the upper hand over comparable bottled smoothies, like Yoplait or even Stonyfield Farms Organic Super Smoothies, which contain added sugar (yep, “organic sugar” is Stonyfield’s #2 ingredient.) Nutrition Facts Calories 90 Total Fat 0.5g Total Carb. 20g Dietary Fiber 2g Sugars 15g Protein 1g Running the numbers, these Health Valley smoothies contain nearly as many grams of sugar per ounce as the Stonyfield ones, but here, the sugar is from the fruit. Stonyfield’s smoothies are based on yogurt and added sugar, with fruit coming in third place. That makes these Health Valley Fruit Yogurt Smoothies a good sugary snack that could probably function as an energy gel substitute! There’s dairy in them, but they’re mostly just fruit puree, so you’d get a good shot of fructose. Taste Testing The Smoothies I purchased all three flavors, and they all taste like real fruit! Strawberry Banana: This one is “pretty good.” It tastes like real fruit; we’re not talking fresh cut fruit, but real fruit nonetheless. You can taste strawberries and bananas separately, like fruit on the bottom yogurt. Sometimes the bananas tasted like they were a little too ripe, but not bad. The strawberry half was just right. Pear Mango: OH MY GOSH! Now this is amazing! Again, it tastes like real fruit, but this time the pear and mango flavors are perfect! Perfect ripeness, completely natural and real, and they taste like fresh picked fruit!! I’ve never had a pear mango flavor combo before, but now I want to mix pear and mango all the time! These are at least as good as, but probably better than, a Naked fruit drink! (Green Machine would be the one exception.) Just wait, the next Cooking With Coach Levi segment this summer will be a pear mango protein smoothie! Apple Blueberry: This was really really good!! The blueberries taste amazing and it tastes like they’re mixed with apple butter! (That’s right, apple butter!) Right now I think I like it better than the pear mango, but they’re two completely different, complementary flavors, so you should get a box of each. One thing that was odd was that every single package, even of the same flavor, was slightly different. Some had more of one fruit than the other, and sometimes the fruit was just right, while others it was overripe (specifically the banana.) That would explain why sometimes the mango ones were awesome and sometimes lackluster. (Not unlike buying fresh mangoes – you never know if you’ll get a good one.) And a few tasted like pears, with just a hint of mango. It wasn’t a

Fat loss is a constant, ongoing battle of trying to burn more than you store. So while it’s a good idea to use supplements that can free up more fat and burn it up, you should also consider using supplements that decrease the amount of fat your body stores. CLA is a naturally occurring group of healthy omega-6 fats. Numerous research studies confirm that CLA enhances fat loss while simultaneously boosting muscle growth and strength. The main way it works is by inhibiting the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL). LPL allows fat cells to take up fat from the bloodstream and store it as body fat. By inhibiting LPL, CLA prevents the body from storing fat and instead encourages it to burn fat. Sometimes an increase in caloric burn isn’t enough to ensure that it all gets torched for good. The fat has to get to the tiny power plants, known as mitochondria, located in the body’s cells where it will be burned up as fuel. But fat isn’t allowed to pass into the mitochondria at will, it must be carried in. Fat transporters can help to maximize the amount of fat that gets in. L-carnitine is an effective supplement for increasing the transportation of fat to be burned by the cells mitochondria. The more we learn about nutrition and nutritional supplements, the more we realize that nutrients can affect our genes in some profound and surprising ways. Fat burning is one such case. Fish oil as a source of essential omega-3 fats provides both eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These omega-3 fats have recently been found to turn on genes that increase fat burning while turning off genes that allow fat storage.

Benefits of Increased Testosterone • Increased Muscle Mass • Increased Strength • Reduced Soreness and Recovery Time • Enhanced Sexual Function • Reduced Body Fat • Increased Energy Levels D-Aspartic Acid (DAA) is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the human reproductive organs, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. D-aspartic acid is formed when the enzyme aspartate racemase converts L-aspartic acid into D-aspartic acid in the testes and other glands within the body. D-aspartic acid plays a vital role in the manufacturing of sperm cells and sex hormone production. DAA is a very potent sexual performance stimulator, enhancing libido, erection quality, and heightening of orgasms and the quality of sexual activity. Human studies have shown a correlation between a significant increase in luteinizing hormone (LH), a messenger hormone which signals the testes to produce more testosterone, and higher testosterone levels in men when supplementing D-aspartic Acid. DAA also induces potent elevation of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and GABA, which are responsible for its memory enhancing, anti-depressive and neurotropic effects. The amino acid Sarcosine works synergistically with D-Aspartic Acid to greatly enhance its activity at the receptor site. The use of Sarcosine infused DAA leads to a greater elevation of testosterone peaks compared to the usage of DAA alone. Ursolic acid is derived from the skin and tissues of many edible plants and fruits. Recent scientific studies have shown Ursolic acid to be a powerful anabolic substance. Recent research has suggested Ursolic acid can be a potent muscle builder and fat burner. Ursolic acid was shown to block muscle wasting caused by undernourishment. Ursolic acid was also shown to accelerate muscle growth by as much as 15% when fed to normal mice. Interestingly, fat loss occurred simultaneously and at a rate practically inversely proportional to muscle gain. Ursolic acid’s anabolic mechanism is enhancing the expression of  IGF-1. The local production of IGF-1 in muscle initiates the key steps of satellite cell recruitment into new myonuclei and protein synthesis; new muscle signaling. Ursolic acid has been shown to shrink fat cells. It is believed that it achieves this by both enhancing lipolysis (fat burning) and blocking fatty acid synthesis. It may also affect fat stores by blocking cortisol activation. Ursolic acid is also an effective blocker of the enzyme aromatase, so it has the potential to control estrogen production while maximizing testosterone release. Tribulus contains an extract of Tribulus terrestris herb (aerial parts – leaves and stems) and contains steroidal saponins, mainly furostanol glycosides (including protodioscin and protogracillin) and small quantities of spirostanol glycosides, sterols and other compounds. The compounds in Tribulus work together not to induce the production of testosterone but rather to increase luteinizing hormone (LH) which converts free testosterone into useable anabolic hormone. Maca Root Extract contains plant sterols which can block and control the production of estrogen and boost testosterone levels. In studies, Maca increased total testosterone indirectly by increasing sex hormone binding globulin which increases free testosterone levels. Testofen is an extract of fenugreek seed containing the steroidal saponins, sapogenins and furostanol saponins, which are important precursors for the synthesis of a number of sex hormones. The extract has been suggested in human studies to raise free testosterone, the only type of testosterone to actually enter the muscle cell and cause positive results in

Joining us today is biologist Dr. Matthew Papaconstantinou. Matthew received his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and conducted postdoctoral research for 5 years in the field of blood biochemistry at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, MO. Matthew is an avid windsurfer who lives in the beautiful seaside village of Aktaio, Greece. He often goes mountain biking and hiking in the majestic Greek mountains. WeightLossTriumph.com is a blog where Matthew reviews the latest diet trends, compares clinically studied weight loss programs (such as Weight Watchers, Medifast, and Nutrisystem,) and often publishes interesting scientific findings in the fitness and nutrition fields. He has a very different approach than I do (likely due to my severe lack of scientific background,) so this will be an interesting change of pace!  Get ready to crunch some numbers! Coach Levi:  I’m always getting emails from endurance athletes wondering how many calories they’re burning during each workout.  Why is it important

In fitness and nutrition, we’re saturated with information. But though we acquire knowledge, we seem to be lacking clarity and wisdom. In today’s video, I talk about cultivating both. A few weeks back I was asked to give a keynote lecture at the annual Equinox Personal Trainer Summit in West Hollywood, California. The theme of the event was “longevity”. Instead of doing another nutrition lecture, I decided to talk about something different: the importance of actively developing wisdom, especially in the midst of a never-ending barrage of facts, ideas, and opinions. To check out the video, click the image below. (Or you can listen to the audio by clicking the “Download Audio File” link.) Want to listen to it on the go? Click here to download the audio file and listen to the presentation on your phone or mp3 player.

by Chelsea Terris (I’m pretty sure this is the first guest blog post on EatBlogEat… Bold was added by me on the parts I really liked / found interesting) Losing weight and getting fit is all about the body, right?  Wrong. Undertaking any weight loss program, be it diet, exercise, or weight loss surgery, requires a complete shift in mental perception to establish true change. Ever lost weight but still functioned like an overweight person, feeling critical of your image in the mirror or engaging in habitual lack of confidence? The great Greek essayist Plutarch stated that “What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” If this is true, then making changes to our bodies begins and ends in the mind, where seeds of success must be planted to bear hardbody fruit. Sound like a pile of motivational munbo jumbo? Let’s look at the cold, hard facts. For our bariatric surgery candidates at WeightWise Bariatric Program, the stakes are high. If they continue to behave and eat in the same self-destructive

Today’s question is about knowing when you’re ready to enter a huge race such as the Leadville 100, a 100-mile mountain bike race in Colorado that took pros Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer over 6 hours to finish… Levi, When training a race like Leadville 100 mtn. bike, how do I know I’m ready? I mean, how much training do I do to get to the point where I feel powerful enough and confident I can finish? Daily, how many miles? Thanks, Hesitant Heidi Hi Heidi, I feel this is a question everyone asks themselves before any new challenge. For me, it was always about logistics. If I was registered for a race, I was ready! (This approach did get me into trouble, though!) For challenging races like this, I think it’s more about confidence in yourself than it is about daily miles. Sure, part of that confidence is your training experience and having already completed some hard races and long rides. I probably wouldn’t consider doing Leadville unless I had at least a couple mounta

If you’re afraid of failure, you’re not alone. Most of us quake when faced with a major challenge. But the only real failure is not to try. In Part 1 and Part 2, Coach Craig Weller talked about the importance of finding your “deep reason” and how “quitting tomorrow” is the best way to stay engaged today. In the third part of this series, Coach Craig Weller shows us that humility is the greater part of valor, and the best cure for fear is to dive in. Swimming was my Achilles heel During my time in Naval Special Operations selection training, the only thing equal to my intense dislike for swimming was my monumental lack of talent for it. I was bad. Really bad. In fact, I didn’t even learn to swim until boot camp, and passed the screening test by a mere ten seconds. After that came the daily Special Programs workouts. Throughout training, these brutal pre-dawn pool workouts left me panting, exhausted, and humiliated. Time after time, I’d fall to the back of the pack. Guys passed me

When you eat slowly, you digest better. You lose or maintain weight more easily. Yet you also feel more satisfied with each meal. Conversely, if you rush your meals, your digestion suffers. Meals are stressful. And it might seem like each meal is over too soon, which often makes you want to eat more. Or you “overshoot the runway”, finishing the meal before your natural satiety signals kick in, and ending up suddenly — uncomfortably — overstuffed. It’s simple: Slow down your eating and enjoy improved health and well-being. The value of slow food We’re a rushed, distracted, and too-busy society. Most people in North America eat fast. Really fast. We rarely take the time to savor our food… or sometimes even to chew it properly. We rush our food no matter who we are. Even if you’re a nutrition coach with a Master’s degree in nutrition and many additional nutrition certifications. Like me. For years, I wanted to gain weight. Eating quickly helped me do that. Shoveling down the f

In my freezer right now there is a big ball of frozen cookie dough. It’s about the size of a baseball and I really, really want to eat it. In fact, I want to eat it so badly, I’m starting to justify why I SHOULD eat it.  And of course, my mind turns right to thinking about muscle. ‘I probably do need to eat a bit more today to gain muscle, gotta fuel the process you know….’ Of course, there is some debate about this statement, and logically I know I really don’t need to eat the cookie dough, especially since it’s 10:05 in the morning right now. However, this whole exercise does make me want to look at the arguments for ‘bulking’. From my understanding the primary argument is that you need a ‘surplus’ of calories to build muscle. And while definitions vary, my understanding is that a ‘surplus’ means consuming an amount of calories above and beyond the amount used in your day-to-day activities and above and even beyond the amount actu