Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

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43301

mkat:

The problem, for endurance athletes, is not eating a lot of carbs. They are burning carbs at fast and furious rate. The problem is the stuff that is sold to replenish carbs for endurance athletes is all sugar. Really, really bad from a nutrition standpoint and a real problem for ultra-endurance athletes because the digestive system completely falls apart after 6 to 10 hours of eating sugar.

Dr. Peter Attilia’s introduction of SuperStarch from an endurance athlete standpoint. He is a long distance swimmer (LA to Catalina Island, etc.) and a long distance cyclist.

http://eatingacademy.com/sports-and-nutrition/introduction-to-superstarch-part-i

Definitely click the link to his PowerPoint lecture. It is extremely scientific.

This is the stuff that Meb Keflezighi uses.

http://www.generationucan.com/hall_meb.html

The protein shake version is pretty much all I have consumed on hikes for over a year, sometimes accompanied by some almonds or cashews. I tried it because I found there was a limit to the amount of nuts I could choke down while hot, sweaty, and tired. I was burning way more calories than I was consuming.

I drink one scoop every two hours. 18g carbs, 8g protein, 0g fat, 0g sugar, and 130 mg calcium, 130 mg potassium. I usually start with one scoop at the beginning of the hike, one scoop every two hours, and one scoop at the end for recovery on the drive home. That’s more or less one half the recommended strength for more intense endurance sports like triathalon.

I have no way of comparing it to some other approach except that I am usually not hungry while I’m hiking. I have never at even a hint of digestive troubles and I have never had cramping or acute muscle soreness while hiking. I have had DOMS several hours later and I have cramped after two hours in the car after a hike – but both only after sustained (several hours) steep downhill stretches of eccentric loading – hikes that are at my physical limit.

I’m just happy to find a solution for endurance exercise that doesn’t require eating/drinking sugar. The Superstarch shakes and a bag of salted cashews or salted almonds as a snack seems to do the trick. I just premix the day’s supply with ice water in a stainless steel thermos with a shaker ball, so it stays cool (or not frozen in the winter) all day. In theory, it works better because it’s a steady slow release of carbs, so you tend to stay at an even keel rather than peaks and valleys of fuel. It does not trigger an insulin release, so you theoretically keep burning fat the whole time.

43302

IDad, I agree that virtually all of the energy drinks made for use while engaged in an endurance event are horrendous. You can’t consume enough to have meaningful electrolyte replenishment and the high sugar content can create gastric distress. Over the years I’ve tried a broad variety of the drinks and on long, hard, hot rides, found that there came a point during the ride that I could not tolerate or process them. For me, the best solution has been to drink water, take Enduralyte capsules for electrolytes and to eat energy bars or real food to replenish carbs. That being said, I do think that simple sugars do have a legitimate role for those participating in events lasting 2 hours or more. They provide important immediate, fast acting energy sources. Post ride, there is fast uptake to replenish glycogen. During such rides, if I’m starting to run on empty, I will eat some Cliff Bloks. Post ride, I drink my homemade shake I described in my last post which gives me a lot of simple sugars from fruit.

43303

I think a mix that has complex yet easily digestable carb balanced with a decent amount of protein makes a lot of sense. A lot of carb replenishment products are just too sweet for my tastes. When I have a morning carb craving, I use this as my new go to source of carbs:

http://www.amazon.com/Kodiak-Cakes-Power-Cake-Ounce/dp/B00LHVROIM/ref=sr_1_11?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1429555057&sr=1-11

43304

Calories in/calories out does not completely explain the overweight/obesity for people who have high fasting insulin and insulin resistance, though the cycle of hunger/insulin surge/crash/hunger does happen to them. When they eat carbohydrates, they get a big surge of insulin, which is trying to carry the glucose into the cells. The same amount of insulin required for a normal person does not get the “attention” of their cells. So the body secretes more insulin to get the job done. Over time, the cells really just quit “listening” to insulin. In the presence of high insulin and high glucose, there is only one thing which can be done: usher the glucose into the fat cells, which are happy to receive it.

People who have high fasting insulin, and who continue to make refined carbohydrates a big part of their diet, get very good at depositing fat, and in the presence of high insulin, cannot lose it. You can recognize these people, because they typically deposit a lot of their body fat in the abdominal area. They also tend to have high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and high LDL and low HDL cholesterol. This is all part of a syndrome known as “metabolic syndrome,” and it has gotten all too common these days. They eventually become diabetic. They can decrease their calories, but until they reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates they consume, their fasting insulin levels (and ultimately their fasting glucose levels), will remain high, and they will deposit fat much more readily than the folks who do not have high insulin levels, and those will be the people who claim to be reducing calories, but who don’t get great results.

Insulin drives fat, and carbohydrates drive insulin. For people who develop this glucose intolerance/insulin resistance, their only “cure” is to limit consumption of refined carbohydrates. They also need to exercise, not for the calories which are burned, but because exercise helps to improve insulin sensitivity. Some only have to limit the most obvious culprits. Some have such strong glucose metabolism dysfunction that they must be pretty strict for life. That can be really hard to do, because things like potatoes, rice, bread, anything with sugar, cereals, chips, etc., are really tasty and offered with most meals, whether in homes or at restaurants. It sucks, quite frankly.

I really wish I didn’t know so much about this…

43305

Good for you on completing your race, Deb922!

Glad your ankle is feeling much better, sabaray.

Shaking my head over all the sad PE stories. Oh, the dreaded fitness tests. The rope hang was one thing I remember doing well, though. I clearly remember hanging there and taking it second by second. Of course, I had probably just failed the one mile run, lol.

I’ve tried to stay active this weekend with bike riding, walking, and work on the landscape/pool.

My Patagonia long-sleeved SPF shirt arrived and I wore it on a 4.5 mile walk in the upper 80 degree, humid morning. First of all, the Patagonia shirt, although a medium, fits tighter (slim fit) than that from Coolibar. It is not as long in the torso, either. However, the fabric (a polyester blend) is not quite as light in weight, or as silky/flowy as the Coolibar shirt. The jury is out on which one I prefer, although I’m leaning towards the Coolibar shirt. I just wish Coolibar offered this particular shirt in white. Both the Patagonia and Coolibar long-sleeved shirts are more comfortable than the much tighter, fitted rash guard. My shoulders and arms are also thanking me for hiding them from the brutal Florida sun.

43306

Great explanation Nrdsb4!

43307

Plantmom, most all of the sports apparel companies make variations on the two shirts you’ve got. And, typically, the cheapest versions are their lightest weight. Fit varies from brand to brand. Nike. Reebok. Adidas. UnderArmour, and so on and so forth. Probably worth stopping at your local Marshalls or TJ Maxx a few times. At least in the men’s department, long sleeve tech t shirts run $15 to $20. Try a bunch of different brands and take 'em back if they don’t fit right. Personally, I have good luck with the fit of the adidas shirts. Reeboks run large. LL Bean would be another option if you don’t want slim fit. In men’s UnderArmour has what they call a LOOSE fit thats super comfortable.

All of these would be way more comfy in the heat than rash guards. I bought a fancy rash guard shirt and have almost never worn it. I don’t find super tight compression shirts to be at all comfortable. I wear it occasionally as a base layer in super cold weather in the winter. I’m sure they’d be great for surfing, but not so much for sweating on land.

43308

MKAT:

Most of the endurance athlete folk that have been recommending the Superstarch had been using fruits and nuts for fuel on distance runs, hike, bikes, etc.

I initially bought an assortment of the vanilla and chocolate flavors in packets. Both were OK, but the vanilla had less of an artificial sweetener taste, so I started buying it in tubs. Got some little plastic stacking Blender Bottle jars that hold 1 or 2 scoops for mixing the stuff up when I’m camping. Easier to deal with than the packets, although I still have a few packets I can put in my backpack.

Holabird has the best price I’ve found on the stuff:

http://www.holabirdsports.com/generation-ucan-naturally-sweetened-protein-tub-25-servings.html

They make just a plain sports drink version with no protein, but when I’m hiking, I’m usually skipping a meal, so the protein is a good thing. It’s essentially a meal replacement shake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNr2JwJ6ARE

http://generationucan.com/blog/1002013-half-ironman-on-less-than-450-calories/

43309

IDad, interesting product. Have you seen the studies comparing it to maltodextrin? The thing that raises my eyebrows with all of these sports nutrion products is the price. The Superstarch at $60/container/ 25 servings would come to $8 a ride minimum (2x24oz water bottles, 2 servings per bottle), more on longer rides where I’m going through more than 2 bottles. At 4 rides per week, yikes it gets expensive - but so do all the other products. With all this stuff, I can’t help but wonder if the outcomes are worth the cost or whether there is a superior cost/benefit analysis using plain water and real food. The sports nutrition industry has become such a revenue driven enterprise that I’ve become very cynical!

43310

Got my Fitbit Charge HR yesterday. The Garmin Vivosmart looked good too, but I prefer the watchband-style strap on the Fitbit. I’m really interested to see how this tracks activity and my HR info. Today’s agenda includes picking my law student daughter up from the airport and lots of laundry. She’ll be staying with us for a week while she starts work and then moving, so I suspect visits to her favorite local haunts will be on the agenda this week. Have to be strong and keep tracking my food. It’s finally working…slowly…but working! Weather here today is gorgeous, so hopefully there will be time for a walk.

43311

Rode in pouring rain for 30 minutes, decided it was completely NOT FUN, and called it a day. Walked in the door looking “like a soaked puppy,” according to DH, and took a nice hot shower.

It’s been raining off and on for weeks in Texas. The lake where we own a home has been down 15 feet for the last couple of years. Many people couldn’t put their boats in the water (luckily we are in deep water) as their boat houses/lifts were sitting on land. Our lake has completely filled up in just the past month, as have many area lakes that were quite low. I never would have believed it if you had told me a month ago that we would have come up 15 feet in a matter of weeks! Some lakes have come up over 20 feet.

Many places are now experiencing horrible flooding, so we’ve gone from extreme drought to totally water logged. I wish we could give a little bit of this rain to California!

43312

Nrdsb4, I hate riding in the rain! I generally will not willing subject myself to riding in the rain if I can help it. The most extreme rain riding I ever did was 3 years ago on the first Habitat for Humanity fund raising ride I did. On day 3, we had to ride from Harrisburg Pa to Strasburg Pa, about 68 miles. There was a major tropical storm sweeping the east coast. It was raining heavily the entire ride. At one point, we had to climb for over a mile and a half up an 8% hill. Coming down the flip side was horrendous. No brakes. The rain was coming down so hard that feathering the brakes to dry the rims was useless. What I would have given for a set of good road disk brakes! When we finally arrived at the motel for the night, I unscrewed the bottom bracket drain plug and litterally a 1/4 cup of water came out of the frame. I pulled my tires of and poured water out of the rims. It was a mess. Obviously, any time you get caught riding in the rain, it is critical to clean the drive drain and lube the chain and all dérailleur pivot points. The combination of water, lube and road grime result in every nook and cranny becoming grime infested and a thorough cleaning is necessary to preserve your components. On that ride, I actually stuck my bike in the shower and used dish soap and rags to clean the bike and the relubed everything.

43313

@MichaelNKat, good to know!

43314

I’ve been entertaining lots of house guests this weekend at our vacation place. Despite the bedlam of all the 20-somethings, I walked 3 miles one day and participated in a day of competitive games that the kids organized yesterday. The kids created teams–randomly selected–six teams of three people.We began with yard games (croquette, corn hole, bocce). There was a very elaborate scoring system. Ended with a 4-mile bike-riding game where you had to ride past a particular area to get the answer to a question,e.g., what color is the sculpture in the yard at XX Madaket Rd? We started at 12:30 and ended the games at 6:00. My team was third out of six teams of three! It was a long day, but I felt pretty good!
Idad or M&K–maybe you can provide an answer. Last night, my leg muscles cramped up–one of those really painful cramps. My H had just purchased a product that was billed as preventing and immediately stopping muscle cramps. H made me drink two capfuls of the stuff. It was a mixture of apple cider vinegar, garlic juice, and ginger–I’d say 90% was the acv. Cramps stopped immediately. Any scientific basis for this or was it because I was expecting it to work that it worked?

Congrats on your race, Deb. Hope your ankle is getting stronger, Sabaray. Your Mom is impressive, RunnersM! Most people her age can’t even walk!

43315

Speaking of sports drinks! http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/technology/in-busy-silicon-valley-protein-powder-is-in-demand.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0&referrer=

MNKat - do most bikes have a drain plug? How do you clean your components? I have the Teflon lube but I must admit I’ve never taken time to clean components other than an occasional hose spray.

43316

Ran a 10k today. Lots of hills, so I found myself wishing I had some of that Superstarch! There were special medals for top 3 in each age group, but I got 4th :). I was happy with my time, but if I didn’t take those water breaks…

Now I’m going to start working on a half.

43317

ohio, most bikes do. It’s the screw that holds the cable guide to the underside of the bottom bracket shell. The key to using lubricant is not to overly be and to wipe off excess so dirt is not picked up as readily. Also, when you use a hose on a bike, you force any lubricant out and must relube. A drop or two on each pivot point is all you need. Also, if you use a hose, be very careful to use just a light spray and never point the hose directly at bearing surfaces or compartments like the headset or bottom bracket. The water pressure from a hose will force it’s way in and displace or contaminate the grease.

43318

Bromfield, that sounds like a lot of fun. Fun and fitness - wish I could get my family on board with that!

Skipped running because I had Pilates this morning - I am going to be in withdrawal because my instructor is going on vacation (can you believe it! - she has a life!). I really like working with her so am not going to do sessions with another trainer - just going to work in some mat and reformer classes. I thought my legs were really strong - after working with her I realized my quad and calf muscles were really strong but not my hamstrings or hip flexors- I was very unbalanced. Today we did exercises with a foam roller, on the floor and with the Cadillac. It’s hard but I feel so good when I’m done!

PG - I had not seen the DaVinci before - that looks very cool - a whole new level of challenge. TRX is a nice complement to Pilates but this looks to be even more of one.

43319

Ohio, forgot to comment on how to clean components: Simple Green foam cleaner and a toothbrush and gear brush, Rinse gently, let dry and lube all pivot points sparingly.

43320

Yay, blankmind!!! Been there coming in 5th or 4th. :slight_smile: I once got 2nd, but I had to fly back home that evening when the awards were presented. Bummer, but I guess I now have less crap for that bag a week thread.