1. Keep busy! This is my personal favorite. I always have things that can keep me busy from morning till evening. The moment I wake up, I make my Health Shake for the day and drink it while checking up on current events over the internet. I do my daily workouts after that, check up on some of my projects, create an article or two for my blog, and play video games if I want to get off the net for a while. The point is to always keep yourself occupied so that your mind never wanders to junk food. And if it does …
2. Keep them away from the house! That’s right. Just don’t buy junk food at all and most of all, don’t bring them home! Simple, huh? So why isn’t this at the top of my list? Well, I live with my family and I can’t always control what they buy for themselves, so we always have a stash of junk somewhere in the house. So, unfortunately, this great tip doesn’t really apply to me. 3. Plan your meals! This is especially important if you go out a lot. Sure you can keep the junk out of the house, but it’s harder to stop munching on it when you’re bombarded by marketing, smells, and taste tests outdoors. To counteract this, just know what you’re going to eat in advance and stick to your plans no matter what. No additions, no extra weight.
4. Drink plenty of water! Most of the time, those cravings we feel are actually signals from our brain to remind us that we’re thirsty, but we’re so entrenched in the junk food marketing that we consciously perceive it in different ways. So, instead of reaching for that water bottle, we reach for that chocolate bar. Just remember to do the opposite next time and always keep properly hydrated. I personally drink at least a whole gallon of water a day.
5. Eat breakfast! That’s right, you’ve heard and seen it time and time again, and now it’s here again. Not only does eating breakfast keep your energy levels up throughout the day, but it can prevent massive hunger attacks later on because, well, you’re not starving yourself. Eat right first thing in the morning and you’ll most likely do so the rest of the day.
This is the third in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the first, which is the introduction to the series and gives an overview of the conference, here, and the second, which talks about longevity, here.
The second talk in the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 was titled “the role of hydration in optimum performance” by Prof. Luz Felicidad Callanta, RND, who currently teaches at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Continuing off of Dr. Varona’s train of thought, Prof. Callanta affirms that the body indeed only absorbs 30% of supplements consumed, and the rest is removed, usually by urination. One can check this by noticing the color of one’s urine after taking a supplement and after not taking a supplement. Urine is typically a light yellow color, but after consuming a multivitamin supplement, the yellow tint will be noticeably brighter and more pronounced, indicating that most of the nutrients were indeed, ejected instead of absorbed, by the body. In this respect, Prof. Callanta does indeed recommend the “food first” mantra and advises everyone else to do the same.
One of the primary reasons to stay hydrated is to allow the body to properly regulate its own temperature. The human body loses heat, and therefore stays cooler, through five methods:
1. Radiation – Heat is transferred from the surface of one object to the surface of another without actual contact; radiation is the primary way the body loses heat. 2. Conduction – Heat is transferred from the surface of one object to the surface of another through direct contact; heat loss through radiation can be 25 times greater in cold air than in cold water. 3. Convection – Cold air in immediate contact with the skin is warmed by the skin; heated molecules move away, cooler ones take their place, and the cycle repeats itself. 4. Evaporation – Body heat causes perspiration, which is lost from the body surface when it is changed to vapor; two – thirds of evaporative loss is through perspiration. 5. Respiration – Body heat lost through breathing; one – third of evaporative loss is through respiration.
Our focus, of course, is on evaporation, which is how our body stays cool when we perspire. There is a danger, of course, of too much sweating, since the body may lose too much of its fluids, resulting in dehydration, which may prove fatal. Dehydration can be classified as the loss of one percent or more of body weight through the perspiration. Aside from constant, monitored water breaks, another way that coaches and trainers can prevent dehydration is by weighing the athletes before and after training sessions and events. This can aid them plan out future sessions more properly if they discover that the athletes may be losing too much body weight due to perspiration.
Speaking of coaches and trainers, Prof. Callanta urges all those in the profession to not use dehydration as a form of punishment. Punishing athletes during training by preventing water breaks then expecting them to immediately perform better is incredibly stupid and dangerous. Athletes, of course, will only continue to perform worse the more dehydrated they become, as the body will naturally become weaker and weaker. Expecting them to perform contrary to that is downright ludicrous and may cause the athlete to collapse or even suffer a heart attack due to stress. This is something coaches normally would not want on their resumes.
During training, athletes should consume mostly water, and sometimes sports drinks, if the training session or event is particularly grueling. Homemade, natural fruit juices or shakes are actually more beneficial than sports drinks, as they provide the same benefits, but are much more healthful and do not contain any chemicals. Unfortunately, natural, homemade fruit juices and shakes are not nearly as convenient as the typical sports drink, which, neatly preserved, can be bought at almost any corner store, so athletes tend to favor them instead of the more natural and healthful alternative.
There is also the matter of people reacting differently to sports drinks. There have been noted cases over the years that some brands fail to properly hydrate some athletes, causing decreases in performance over time, while others have been known to cause adverse effects within the digestive system if consumed over a long period of time. These reactions are different for literally everyone for every brand of sports drink out there, so if the athlete has to consume a sports drink, he or she should properly experiment and find the best brand for his or her body during training. Discovering that one has an adverse effect to a particular sports drink brand during an event would be very bad, indeed.
As a general rule, one should drink 150 – 350 ml of water every 15 – 20 minutes during exercise, and even more if the training session is very intense and the temperature is high. If the training session or event continues for more than 90 minutes, then sports drinks, or even better, natural fruit juices or shakes should be consumed every 15 – 30 minutes (or more frequently if the temperature is particularly high) in order to not only prevent dehydration, but to properly counteract the body’s continued loss of nutrients.
Sports drinks are normally composed of carbohydrates and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium. These need to be chemically balanced in order for the electrolyte ratio to be just right. Again, natural fruit juices and shakes do the same thing and are much healthier, plus you don’t need to worry about the electrolyte balance. Studies have shown that, among the existing brands today, Gatorade drinks seem to have the most balanced electrolyte ratios, so they’re generally the best choice.
There are three types of sports drinks:
1. Hypotonic – where the fluid content is less than concentrated than the electrolyte content. These are generally not recommended because they have been known to hamper performance and produce adverse effects. 2. Isotonic – where the fluid content has the same concentration as the electrolyte content. These types are more efficient when taken during training sessions. 3. Hypertonic – where the fluid content is more than the electrolyte content. These are best taken after training session.
Fortunately, most sports drinks are labeled properly and show what their proper ratios are. Pick the ones most applicable to you and stay away from the ones that aren’t recommended. If the brand doesn’t properly label their drinks, then stay away and pick those that do.
Consumed liquid stays within the body for approximately 30 minutes before it needs to be excreted from the body. One good trick that scientific studies have discovered is to drink at least two full glasses of water 30 minutes or slightly more before your bedtime. This will allow the body to stay properly hydrated during sleep while allowing the body enough room to process the liquid and urinate it before shuteye, thus preventing any late night bathroom breaks that may disturb one’s sleep cycle. Upon waking, drink the same amount of water to immediately hydrate your system once again. The body becomes dehydrated during the standard eight hour sleep cycle, so one has to immediately counteract this. Studies have proven that this trick can aid in the body’s longevity by promoting better circulation, thus allowing the heart to function more efficiently and even lower blood pressure.
Urination should normally occur within one to two hours. If it occurs much less than this, then it could be a sign of dehydration. Another way to tell is by its color. I the urine is light yellow, then your fluid levels are normal. If it is dark yellow, then it is a sure sign of dehydration. Being completely clear and transparent, on the other hand, means overhydration.
Overhydration, or hyponatremia, can be defined as an electrolyte imbalance within the body that can prove dangerous and sometimes fatal. Have you ever tasted your own sweat? It doesn’t taste exactly like the water you just drank does it? It has a slight salty taste, right? Well, that’s because certain nutrients in the body, including sodium are naturally excreted from the body during perspiration and urination. Hyponatremia is a very low amount of sodium, causing the body’s functions to become imbalanced. Sports drinks or fruit juices and shakes can easily counteract this but overhydration, or consuming too much water, has also been known to cause this.
Fortunately, accidentally overhydrating oneself is extremely rare and does not normally occur, so athletes should not fear consuming too much water and having hyponatremia. The body naturally expels too much liquid in the body through urination or perspiration, and the body normally replaces the sodium it’s lost (unless, again, there is an extreme amount of sweating, in which case, reach for those sports drinks or fruit juices) so there’s nothing to worry about. Instead, the athlete should fear having an electrolyte imbalance because of perspiring too much and having too little liquid in his or her body.
Workouts aside, though, how much water should one consume in a day? An average, sedentary individual usually has around a 2000 calorie energy expenditure during the day, which would require 8 – 10 full glasses of water on a daily basis. So, yes, the “drink eight glasses of water a day” has a false side to it in that it’s usually not enough for most individuals, unless you lie in bed all day. If you’re more active, and definitely consume more than 2000 calories a day (because you walk around during work, walk on the way to commute, walk around the malls during the weekend, etc) then you should definitely drink more than 10 glasses of water a day.
A key trick here is to listen to your body. So, you know that you should drink at least ten glasses a day, but what’s the optimum amount? You probably don’t need a hundred glasses, but you’re body will set you straight. It will naturally signal you when you’re thirsty. This is usually a sign that you’re already dehydrated, so listen to your body and drink some water, stat! Just follow your body and if you notice that you’re drinking more than ten glasses a day, then that’s fine.
Of course, then there are athletes who expend upwards of 10,000 calories a day due to intense, all – day training sessions. In this case, and following the generalization previously stated, they would need 40 – 50 glasses a day, which isn’t really unheard of, since many top athletes are known to consume gallons and gallons of fluids in order to stay properly hydrated.
So, in short:
1. The body naturally excretes 70% of supplements taken, so one should follow the “food first” mantra instead. 2. Athletes should stay properly hydrated during training sessions and events by taking constant water breaks. 3. Coaches and trainers should not punish their athletes by preventing water breaks. 4. Sports drinks are good for maintaining the electrolyte balance in athletes during hard training sessions and long events, but natural, homemade fruit juices or shakes are even better. 5. Drink at least two glasses thirty minutes or slightly more before going to bed, then drink the same amount immediately upon waking. 6. Overhydration is nothing to be afraid of since the body has natural functions to counteract it. Fear dehydration instead. 7. One should urinate every one to two hours. Urinating less can be a sign of dehydration. 8. Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day and listen to your body to discover the optimum amount.
This is the second in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the first, which is the introduction to the series and gives an overview of the conference, here, and the third, which talks about proper hydration, here.
The first talk during the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 was about “energy and strength boosting nutrition by Dr. Blecenda Varona, RND, Dr. PH. She opens up, first of all, by saying that her expertise deals primarily with aiding sick, and average, yet sedentary individuals. Applications of her methods to expertly – trained individuals should first be reviewed and personalized by a professional nutritionist working closely with the athletes’ coaches.
Alright, first things first, is to simply do what our parents told us when we were little: “eat your fruits and vegetables!” This is basically the core concept surrounding Dr. Varona’s talk. There is such a large variety of these foods, especially in the Philippines, and all of them are incredibly healthy and nutritious, with the right combination giving us more than any overpriced multivitamin in the market today.
Speaking of pills, the good doctor also does not recommend them. At all. She follows the “food “first” mantra, wherein we should all get all of our daily nutritional needs through the right combinations of foods instead of some supplement. Many doctors and nutritionists around the world actually adhere to and recommend this method, yet are all easily shut down by the power of mass marketing. Studies have also shown that only 30% of supplements (in pill or powder form) are absorbed by the body. The rest is simply removed, usually by urination (which is also touched upon by a later talk by Prof. Luz Callanta on hydration).
Dr. Varona continues her talk by stating the importance of properly chewing our food, which, studies have shown, aids in the digestion process, and thus, in the efficiency of our cells to absorb the nutrients for optimum nutrition.
And no nutrition lecture is complete without the condemning of junk food. Any sort of junk food, fast food or the like should be completely removed from one’s diet if one plans to live a long and healthy lifestyle. This is because junk can contribute almost nothing to the body aside from sicknesses such as heart diseases and obesity, while natural foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains can cure almost any ailment the body can succumb to.
She, of course, continues by bluntly stating that “all diseases are reversible through healthy lifestyle conversions”. Now, I don’t know if she also means things like cancer and the AIDS virus (which, now that I think about it, is quite surprising that no one asked her about it), but she mainly talks about sicknesses related to things like heart diseases and obesity. She notes several studies about the matter, but her favorites concern one Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, who has a book called “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”. Dr. Varona has attended Dr. Esselstyn’s talks, has read his book and studies, and has met him in person. She’s a very outspoken admirer of him and even wants to bring him to the Philippines to further spread his message. Consider purchasing his book here:
In any case, the point is that Dr. Varona mostly talks about heart disease, and to her knowledge, literally all forms of heart disease currently known by man is completely reversible by a healthy lifestyle conversion. So, yes, again, she preaches to completely dump eating habits akin to what one may call the “Standard American Diet (SAD)”, which is chockfull of junk food and fast food, and is the primary reason for the blowout of obesity problems in that country (and is also admittedly a very nasty problem here in the Philippines, as well), and convert to a diet composed predominantly of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Dr. Varona states that there is no need to eat most animal products, though states that properly prepared eggs, some fish, and milk can prove beneficial. This is because that meat is mostly composed of fat, no matter how lean it is. Beef, for example, contains only around 30% protein, with the rest being mostly fat. Fish has the highest percentage, with around 80%, depending on the type. Animal meat also contains cholesterol because of their fat content, which is, of course, entirely undesirable in our body in large amounts.
“But what about the protein?” Yes, the question will come sooner or later to people who preach what is widely known as a lacto – ovo vegetarian diet. One word: beans. Beans contain a significant amount of protein, and one does not need to consume a horrendous amount to reach what a pound of beef would give you. That, plus none of the fat and cholesterol, and instead, a whole lot of vitamins and minerals.
She then begins to apply her talk to sports and exercise, since, after all, that’s what the conference is all about. So, beans are an excellent protein source, fine. That takes care of the post – workout food for muscle recovery, growth, and so on. But what about pre – workout when trainers would usually recommend a higher amount of carbohydrates in order for the body to have an efficient fuel source during the physical activities? Well, fruits and vegetables can completely cover that, but the doctor singles out another type of food that is excellent for athletes who wish to carbo – load before a particular intense training session: the sweet potato. She praises the sweet potato and says that Filipinos are quite lucky to have a very large variety of the food. She says that all form and colors of the sweet are incredibly rich in carbohydrates and are quite good and healthful for the body.
She closes her talk by once again stating that having a diet that circles mostly around her recommendations will not only help one live longer, but will also increase one’s energy levels, decrease one’s recuperation time, and remove almost any sort of disease in the body. So, to recap, Dr. Varona’s suggestions are to:
1. Eat a diet composed mostly of fruits vegetables, beans, whole grains, and sweet potatoes 2. Remove any sort of animal product from your diet, but some fish, eggs, and milk are fine. 3. Never eat junk food, fast food or anything of the like ever again. 4. Not to take any sort of supplements unless your doctor or nutritionist highly recommends them to you for medical and recover purposes. Get your adequate doses of vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc from food. Remember: “food first”.
Dr. Varona, of course, has a book out, called “Healing Wonders of Diet: Effective guide to diet therapy”, which is available in all National Bookstore outlets. I bought a copy at the conference for Php800.00, and will also review it.
This is the first in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the second, which talks about longevity, here, and the third, which talks about proper hydration, here.
I attended the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 from April 15 to 16, 2010 at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED) Auditorium, which was apparently the first of its kind in the country. There were twelve speakers over the course of the two speaking on a total of fifteen topics. I learned a whole considering that all of the speakers were very knowledgeable in their respective fields.
In the coming days, I will therefore be writing about what I learned from this conference, condensed into several topics. I will be writing about longevity, sports nutrition, hydration, sports psychology, and sports vision. I might add a few more topics after the fact, but I plan to concentrate on just those five for now.
Okay, there’s what I promised before, a picture of what my Health Shake basically looks like.
Yeah, that greenish tint does look a tad nasty, I suppose, but it tastes great, I promise!
After reading my Diet and Nutrition Tip 2 article, a lot of you are probably wondering how I get through the day with mostly just a shake. As I previously mentioned, I usually start the day off with a solid meal composed usually of eggs and vegetables, but sometimes tuna and veggies or chicken breast and veggies. The rest of the day, I consume pretty much just the Health Shake. First of all, I designed the Health Shake to be as balanced a meal as possible, so you’ve got your good proteins, carbs, and fat in there. The protein is the soy milk, the carbs are the veggies and fruit, and the fat is the nuts. Simple as that.
I’ve been living off of this type of diet for a few weeks now and it’s felt pretty good. I have a lot of energy throughout the day, starting immediately from when I get up, and I sleep very soundly. I originally thought that there would be a dip in my energy levels at first that I’d have to get used to when I started this regimen, but the opposite actually happened: my energy levels felt like they at least doubled; very pleasantly surprising to me.
The shake also tastes pretty great. I also originally assumed that I wouldn’t like it when I added the veggies in there, since I had only been consuming shakes comprised only of soy milk and fruit at one point. The pure fruit version shakes were really sweet. The only difference the spinach seemed to add taste – wise is less sweetness. The shake still tastes sweet to me overall, but just much less so, which I actually kind of enjoy more.
Do I ever get sick of consuming just shakes? No, not yet, at least. I’ll make another article after maybe six months if my eating habits are still the same, to give more insight, but currently, no. I really like the convenience of not stopping to prepare and eat a solid meal. I can just keep working and working, even if I’m travelling, and just take a sip. I recently bought a half gallon Coleman water jug that fits my shake recipe perfectly. I add in a lot of ice so that it doesn’t spoil and I have it the entire day. As for flavor variety, the combination of strawberries and grapes I previously gave was just my personal favorite, and, I believe, the most healthful in terms of mix. There are several types of fruit that my family easily has access to, and I just randomly combine two of them in a shake depending on what’s on hand. The key is to always make different combinations daily, which results in different flavors.
These are the fruits that are usually readily available in my vicinity (I live in Quezon City). I’ll also include the prices that we usually get the fruit for. We usually just get them from trusted stalls near our house or in a mini grocery called Eunilaine which we frequent.
Grapes – Php250.00 / kg Mangoes – Php50.00 / kg Melons – Php30.00 / kg Papaya – Php30.00 / kg Pineapple – Php50.00 / pc Apples – Php15.00 / pc Bananas – Php30.00 / kg Strawberries – Php100.00 / 3 cases; each with 20 – 25 pieces Oranges – Php10.00 / pc
All right. This article directly continues from my first diet and nutrition tip. I mention that I like to start out slow in the mornings, then get serious when I begin my work. The Health Shake serves me very well for this sort of lifestyle.
I usually begin either by doing choreography or heavy lifting to keep my muscles in shape. If it’s just weight lifting for the day, then I’m totally done in usually an hour or less (unless I decide to choreograph stuff afterward), but choreography time easily takes up two to three hours. I’m always wiped after my sessions, so I take a bath then sit at my computer doing work for my blog until late in the evening.
When I start doing work, I’m in what many people call a “zone”, where I just do whatever tasks it is I’m concentrating on for however long it takes until I’m done. I therefore usually don’t want like to take breaks and give time to eat solid foods. This is especially important during my choreography work because those can be very draining, and drinking even only a bit of my shakes during that time can help a lot. It also helps that since it’s mostly in liquid form, my body can digest it easily and quickly so it won’t interfere with my physical activities.
This is the same when I’m writing for the blog. Because I consume mostly shakes during the day, I can place them anywhere. I just leave a glass by my keyboard and sip on it whenever I like. It doesn’t take nearly as long as stopping to take a bite so it not only saves space, it also saves time as well.
But that’s just me, of course. While this has worked immensely for me, I know some people who absolutely abhor most (or even some) of their food being consumed via liquid form. That’s fine, really. It’s all personal preference in the end, so what works well for me might not for you.
What shouldn’t be left to just personal preference, however, are the contents of the meals being consumed. Whether solid or liquid, most (if not all) of the meals being consumed should have a good balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and not include what is generally called junk food.
The meals that I will include in this series of articles are very healthful and have worked very well for me. When I consume meals like these on a daily basis, I am always full of energy and manage to sleep well. They also helped me bounce back from my Christmas diet disaster (which I’ll, of course, write about soon). Long story short, I lost around twenty pounds in just under four months. That’s pretty much more than a pound a week, which is pretty good for a meal plan that really doesn’t deprive me of anything. Keep in mind, though, that I only began consuming a lot of my meals as shakes only this month. Most of the foods I ate during that period were solid, which, again, I’ll write about in future articles.
Alright, with all the relevant background out of the way, here is my Health Shake:
HEALTH SHAKE
Ingredients: a. 2 cups soy milk (low fat is best, of course) b. 1 cup spinach c. 1 cup strawberries d. 1 cup grapes e. 1 tablespoon slivered almonds f. 1 tablespoon walnuts g. 1 cup ice
How to make it: a. Put the soy milk in the blender first, followed by everything else, with the ice on top. I find that placing the softest ingredient nearest the blade and the hardest farthest from it works best for at least my blender. It at least won’t struggle when you start it up, leaving all those chewy solids in the ends. b. Blend until desired consistency is achieved. Alton Brown has a great shake blending tutorial in his recent diet episode of Good Eats:
Alright, a lot of you are probably wondering why the spinach is in there. Well, it’s because I really didn’t want my shakes to be composed of mostly fruit. I wanted to keep it more balanced so I added in some veggies in there. I did a bit of research and found that a lot of people like adding spinach to their shakes not just because of its obvious health benefits but because it blends well with fruits and gives off a great added taste. And y’know what? They’re right. I actually had my friend try the shake out and he refused with all his might at first because it seems kind of weird at first glance (because of, ‘y’know, the green tint), but he eventually gave in and tasted it and loved it! Thus, he specifically asked for this article. And ask and you shall receive.
In another article I’ll write soon, I’ll put down where exactly I get my ingredients and for what prices. I apologize for the lack of pictures in this article, but I didn’t have access to my camera today. I promise I’ll put up pics in the follow up article. Until then, stay tuned!
This is the first of what I’m sure will be many tips in the realm of diet and nutrition. A friend of mine asked me to post what I usually eat these days, so to fully cover what he's requesting, instead of creating just one post today, I’m actually going to make two!
These days, I usually go for a healthy solid meal when I wake up followed by two large shakes that I divide up during the day. The reason I do this is because I’m one of those people who start out slowly in the morning. I don’t normally feel weak and listless when I get out of bed, but I usually don’t like diving into work immediately. That’s why I prefer a good solid meal to start me out, along with a large cup of tea. I watch a show while I eat, then play a video game for maybe an hour, then it’s off to work!
The Sweet Tuna Salad is actually a recipe I got from a book called Muscle Chow by Gregg Avedon. I actually get a lot of my recipes from this book. I don’t really agree with everything that’s on there, but I honestly do find that some of the recipes in it are pretty great. Buy it and check it out if you’re interested:
I actually start out my day with an egg and vegetable combo of some sort, but since my friend says that he doesn’t like eggs, I said fine, I’ll write about the tuna salad instead. So here it is:
SWEET TUNA SALAD
Ingredients: a. 1 can tuna, drained and rinsed b. 1 whole egg, chopped c. ½ pear, chopped d. 2 tablespoons fat free sour cream (optional. You can skip this if you don’t mind) e. 1 tablespoon dried cranberries or mixed berries of choice (you can also substitute raisins if you like) f. 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice g. Romaine lettuce h. 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds i. 1 apple, cut into wedges
How to make it: a. Put the tuna in a large bowl and break it apart with a fork. b. Add in the egg, pear, sour cream, berries, lemon juice, and mix well. c. Fill the bottom of another large bowl with Romaine lettuce leaves and place the tuna salad on top. d. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and garnish with the apple wedges.
It tastes really great. I wouldn’t mind having this every day, but I like my eggs and veggies just a bit more, to be honest. I'll write about those soon, of course, so just stay tuned!
