Sugar Alternatives for Energy and Hydration

Question: I am using the homebrew sugar formulations (sometimes added to green tea).  I am also trying to wean myself off 1/2 dose adrenalean ”lip tonic delivery system” (biorhythm brand- caffeine, hoodia g, synephrine, yohimbe) capsule for energy.

My question is other than juice, can you suggest modifications in lieu of table sugar for energy and hydration.

Answer:

Both raw/organic honey or agave can work great in the homebrew (substitute in the same quantities for the sugar, or to taste), but you do have to shake well in order to make sure they don’t settle out.  Have you tried either of these?  Also, make sure to use at least the minimum amount of salt recommended in the homebrew as the temps rise, you need the sodium replacement if you’re sweating.

Sports Drink Homebrew

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

Coffee Before You Ride

Question:

I love coffee and have managed to cut back from 4 cups per day to just 1 cup every morning over the last 6 months.  If I’m going on a long ride that begins in the morning, is it still okay to drink my coffee before I go?

Kelli’s Answer:

Thanks for a caffeine question!  First, great job on cutting back on coffee (I say this from a sports nutrition perspective more than a wellness one).  The issue with being a coffee-dependent athlete is that you’ve trained your body to require a certain amount of caffeine in order to simply get to baseline.  Six months ago, you weren’t at baseline until you had 4 cups.  So, if you could only get in 1 before a ride, you started in a deficit as far as cell stimulation – this mostly effects your mental status, but it has a significant effect.

Being below your baseline can cause an increased sense of effort (when you just “feel” like you’re draggin’), headaches, and fatigue.  So now, for optimal performance, I do recommend that you consume your baseline caffeine before a long rides – 1 cup of medium strength coffee has about 80-120 mg caffeine (depending on your definition of medium strength).

If it doesn’t cause stomach or GI issues for you, you can go ahead and get this through coffee before a ride – but, on a personal level, you may find that coffee and riding equals an emergency potty break, and I’m not talking about the kind you can drip-dry.  If this is the case for you, you may have to find alternative caffeine sources (you can try cold coffee, 5 hour energy, dark-brewed tea, or gels w/ 2x caffeine (15 minutes before starting).  Or, wean yourself to not being dependent on it for your baseline.

There are studies that show benefit to consuming caffeine.  However, the benefit comes from amounts over baseline or in those who don’t routinely ingest it.

Of note, I do also use caffeine personally and with clients as “during training” nutrition, on really long events, when I know I may hit a wall and need more of a boost.  For example, it can help if you know you have a long climb or push towards the end of a ride, and you may need both physical and mental stimulation.  If you want to use it, know that it takes ~15 minutes to hit your blood stream.   And, if you still have a long way to go, you’ll likely have to continue to consume it in regular ~30-45 minute intervals in order to not “crash.”

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

We get a lot of questions about coconut oil and why we recommend it in so many of our Loving the BITE recipes.  Well, Kelli explains it all in this video for all of you:

If you have any more question on Coconut Oil or how to use it, just let us know.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“.  Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition.  For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

Cycling Fuel for Lactose Intolerant Cyclists

Jeff asks:

“I am extremely lactose intolerant, and many of the commercial bars and supplements have whey as a major ingredient.  I have a hard time finding fuel for my rides.  Help.”

Non-Sugar Nutrition for Cyclists

Rick Asks:

Because of my recent gastric bypass surgery, sugar is a huge issue with me.  Eating anything with more than 8 grams of sugar causes me to have major intestinal issues.  I have to be extremely careful, especially while riding.  On long rides I will take Gu packages and take small peanut butter and fruit spread (no sugar added jam) on wasa toast with me.  The only over the counter bar that I have found to take is the Think Thin bars, but the chocolate coatings on them make them messy and useless while riding.

Prior to riding, usually in the mornings, I eat a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and an egg.  During longer rides I use Nuun.  Post ride I will sometimes make protein shakes with fresh or frozen berries or Whole wheat or Sourdough toast with cream cheese.

If you have any ideas for  pre ride, on the bike and post ride nutrition I would truly appreciate it.

Kelli’s Answer:

Here are some ideas for you:

Pre-ride before long rides:  Your current choice of toast, pb, and an egg is fine.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you can also add organic coconut oil before riding as it will provide an efficient energy source similar to carbs/sugar, without any carbs/sugar.  Also, any addition of whey protein may help as again it’s an efficient and fast-acting  nutrient source, without the carbs.  Other options before include a smoothie such as our Pre-training Smoothie.  If you require just small amounts at a time, this can be consumed in 3 portions every 30 minutes from @ 90 min, 60 min, and 30 min out.  Since it is liquid, it is usually easy to digest and doesn’t set in the stomach too much.  You can reduce the sugar by reducing the honey and berries to an acceptable amount, and then increasing oats, organic coconut oil, adding ½ scoop whey, and/or adding cooked rice (assuming these starchy carb foods work better for you than sugars from fruit/honey or other sources).  Lastly, I’m not sure if you’ve tried Chia Seeds yet?  They are a high fiber, high fat seed that is known for long lasting energy, without sugar and generally without digestional issues.  You can try them added into your peanut butter, adding into a smoothie, or added into oatmeal such as in our Overnight Chia Oats (again, adjust honey as needed).

Along the same lines, during a ride you can rely more on carbs from starches and starchy vegetables rather than sugars.  The wasa cracker plus peanut butter and sugar-free jelly is a good option.  In addition, for rides shorter between 90 minutes and 3 hours, try these very easy to make Lemon Bars, reducing dates and honey by half (this will leave you with more nuts than sugar) and experimenting with adding chia seeds, whey powder, and coconut oil (you just food process to chop up and then mash together to form bars or balls). Another option is squeezable baby food sweet potatoes…I know if may sound weird, but many, many low-sugar athletes use these. I’ve also posted recipes for homemade mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, and potato cakes that may work well.  KIND bars with added protein tend to be relatively low in sugar, and may be a good option (this one has only 8 grams of sugar).  Another commercial option includes Power Bar Reduced Sugar.  For longer rides when your body can use more real foods and protein, try these rice burritos.

NUUN or other low-carb electrolyte drinks are good choices for you.  If you can tolerate maltodextrin or cornstarch based drinks, you may do well with drinks like HEED or UCAN for the longer rides when your body can usually use carbs from both foods and drinks well.

Lastly, to recover after hard rides try to consume about 20-40 grams of carbs and 20 grams protein from any source you tolerate well.  Sweet potatoes, oats, and brown rice work well.  Make sure to add protein such as eggs, meats, tuna, or dairy (if tolerated).  Or, if a smoothie works for you, whey or dairy + berries + sweet potato, cooked oats or rice (to get just a bit more carbs without sugar) + 1 Tbsp organic coconut oil can work well.  The bread and cream cheese is a little too low in protein, so maybe add in an egg?  After easier rides simply “time” a regular meal or snack afterwards, and if able, add in the coconut oil (into the meal or taken by spoon like a supplement).  To aide recovery and reduce soreness, 5 grams l-glutamine before and after hard rides can help AND it’s great for the digestive tract.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

Ratio of Fats/Carbs/Proteins

William’s Question:
For a healthy adult male masters racer, spending 8-15 hours per week on the bike. When looking at daily nutrition and training nutrition combined, what would be your recommended ratio of fats/carbs/proteins, to a person who is not trying to lose weight, but just get the most from his training, and perform his best in races?
Would your answer depend on the age of the person?

Kelli’s Response:

Thanks for your question!  I actually don’t really work with ratios or percentages for nutrients for 3 reasons (although I realize that many other nutritionists do use this method).  First, they depend on the total calories being correct and adequate.  For example, if I told you to aim for 50% of your calories from carbs, and 30% from protein, but you only eat 1500 calories per day and not the 2500 you need (hypothetically), your intake of these important nutrients would be deficient.  This can negatively affect your training. However, if I told you to eat 200 grams of carbs and 100 grams of protein, because your body needs these based on my calculations, you could hit your mark regardless of your total intake.  Secondly, your intake should vary on days you train vs. days you don’t.  When you train, you need a lot more carbs due to need before, during, and after training (these should all be carb-based, with added protein for recovery).  So, the ratio would be a lot higher on a training day than a non-training day.  And, since your training fuel largely depends on the duration and intensity of training, there are differences within training days, with a much higher percentage of carbs for long training as I recommend training fuel per hour.  Third, most clients find it too inflexible to stick to ratio in the long-term…sounds good on paper, but is difficult with real life.

My philosophy, then, is to first separate Daily and Training Nutrition.  Then, I help clients consume goal amounts of protein and carbs each day from whole foods for Daily nutrition, and add the Training Fuel needed on days they train.   In addition to daily carb and protein goals, endurance athletes need healthy fats, so the remainder of calories comes from healthy fats.  My recommendations for daily amounts of carbs vary from client to client as some people gain weight easily from too many carbs, some want a vegetarian diet (which usually ends up being higher in carbs), and some have found they have great energy with a higher protein and fat, and lower carb diet (such as Paleo).  Daily nutrition is all about promoting steady energy and health, so there is room for flexibility as long as it’s based on healthy, whole foods.  For most clients who are not trying to lose weight, it works well to have 1-2 whole food carb sources (such as a whole fruits, intact or whole grains, milk/yogurt, or starchy vegetables such as yams) at meals and 1 source at snacks (usually comes out to ~200-250 grams of carbs for most).  Then, make sure to add a protein source either vegetarian or animal source at every meal and snack.  I recommend that endurance athletes shoot for 75+ grams (women) and 100+ grams (men) of protein each day (this is increased with recovery fuel).  Then, lastly, each meal is rounded out with a healthy fat (very important for lasting energy and hormone balance) such as avocados, organic coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, nut butters, etc.  Very loosely, this might come out to 40% carb, 20% protein, 40% fat diet for Daily Nutrition when no weight loss is needed, and closer to 30%, 30%, 40% for fat loss, excluding any needed Training Nutrition…but again, this is variable and if I do provide percentages is individual-based and formulated after working with a client for a while.

I can more easily give specific recommendations for training nutrition.  Most athletes need carbs before any long training (120+ minutes).  Depending on the amount of time you have, try an easy to digest meal with carbs (45-60 grams) and protein (10-15 grams) 3 hours out, a smoothie 1-2 hours out, or a fast-digesting fuel (such as an energy bar or organic honey) 15 minutes out.   Then during intense training >90 minutes, it’s 200-300 calories per hour, 60+ grams carbs per hour, 16-24 oz. fluid per hour, and adequate lytes per hour.  After intense training, 40+ grams of carbs and ~20 grams of protein will make for a good recovery.  Then, as needed for intense training, add extra protein to your dinner meal and a muscle sparing protein shake before bed (your body continues to burn calories and muscles for many hours after intense training).

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go towww.apexnutritionllc.com.

Question: I’ve been training hard and have lost a few pounds since the summer season.  I don’t want to slow down my momentum.  Do you have any tips to avoid piling on “Holiday Pounds?”

Kelli’s Answer: Yes, here are my Top 6 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Pounds:

1. The “Holidays” are really only a few days.  Enjoy food, friends, and family on these days, but do not allow it as an excuse to overeat for the entire 2-Month-Season.  It’s usually not the actual Holiday feasts that do the most damage.  It’s 2 months-worth of parties and cookies at the office.  Treat the non-Holiday days the way you would any other day…make good choices and only allow 1 small “treat” per day.
2. During an actual Holiday meal, load on the vegetables.  Go out of your way to bring a vegetable dish.  Then, only take your favorites of the non-vegetable items.  If you think mashed potatoes are okay, but not something you really love, skip it.  Stick to what you really want.  If you feel like you have to take a specific item in order to be nice to the person who made it, keep the portion small.  And, to get more vegetables, use vegetables in place of traditional “starchy” dishes such as Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Butternut Squash in place of grains.
3. Eat S-L-O-W.  Put your fork down in between bites. Enjoy the company.  Polish off a full glass of water before digging in for seconds.  Allow your body time to determine if you are still actually hungry.  You’ll feel awesome leaving the table comfortable, and not stuffed.
4. Don’t waste a bunch of calories on sugary drinks like punch or cider.  Stick to water and unsweetened tea for the most part.  If you drink alcohol, drink a glass of water between beverages to cut down on your total.  Alcohol can actually be a “triple-threat!”  First, the drink itself contains calories – a lot of calories in the case of sugary alcoholic drinks.  Second, it usually makes people more relaxed about food choices, which leads to overeating calories.  Third, in the case of binge drinking, your body may not be able to metabolize fat for up to 72 hours while your liver is dealing with the alcohol…this means that all the work you do to “burn off” the calories from the Holidays during the days that follow has a reduced impact!  So, instead of drinking too much, enjoy just a glass or two of a non-sugary drink such as beer or wine.
5. If you do over eat or indulge in too much sugar, try drinking cleansing smoothies for a day to get back on track (whole food and adequate nutrition – I recommend 3-4 servings per day).  Try The Original Green Detox Smoothie, Green Detox Smoothie #2, or the Junk Food Anti-Venom Smoothie.
6. Lastly, be as active as possible!  Even in cold-weather states, it feels great to get outside and burn off some calories.  Get the whole family involved with some football, ultimate Frisbee, bike ride…do whatever…just get up and move!

If you’d like specific recipe ideas, see our Healthy Holiday Menu collection from last year.  I’ll also post a second annual Healthy Holiday Menu before Christmas 2012.  Enjoy!

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

What are the best type of eggs to eat, and should I include them in my diet?

Kelli’s Answer:

Some eggs have a higher concentration of omega-3s than other eggs because the chickens that produced them were fed a vegetarian diet that contained omega-3s.  However, since these omega-3s are from flax and vegetarian sources, and not fish, there isn’t sufficient evidence to support their cardiovascular and health benefits (these benefits have been shown in research with fish oils).  Yet, since our bodies convert small amounts of these omega-3s into the same ones found in fish, there definitely could be some benefit.

These fats, along with healthy fat-soluble vitamins, are found in the yolks.  Therefore, when you buy a product like Egg-Beaters, you will only get the protein from the egg and not the healthy (and unhealthy) fats.  For those with high cholesterol, regular eggs + egg whites can still be a good choice, just keep it to 1-2 yolks or less per day. And, always buy cage-free, organic eggs when possible – this will cut down your risk of salmonella significantly.

What to buy: Omega-3 eggs if found at a reasonable price ($2.00 or less for me), Any cage-free, organic eggs.

What to leave: More than 2 egg yolks per day if you have high-cholesterol, high-priced omega-3 eggs with 300 mg Omega-3s or less.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition.  For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

Is it possible to have an entire years meals planned based on an athlete’s particular training program?

Kelli’s Answer:

Although its sounds perfect to have a meal plan that correlates well with a training program, all laid out for a year, in my experience, it simply doesn’t work well (sorry).  This is why I don’t use this approach:

1)      Unlike Training Nutrition, your Daily Nutrition meals do not need to reflect your training program.  They should be based on health and wellness.  Foods and meals to provide nutrients that support good, consistent energy flow, a healthy metabolism, disease prevention, and overall health.  They should be whole-food, slow-digesting foods with a lot of vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, healthy proteins, and fiber.  They are appropriate for athletes and non-athletes alike, year round.

2)      Training Nutrition, on the other hand, which is made up of easy-to-digest foods and drinks to be consumed immediately before, during, and immediately after training, should reflect your training program.  They should be somewhat opposite of healthy Daily Nutrition in that they are quick-digesting, low-fiber foods that promote immediate and ongoing energy, adequate fluids, and adequate electrolytes, without risk of digestion issues.  These should be based on the duration and intensity of your training, and if you’re training once or multiple times in a day.

3)      For Training Nutrition, while it’s okay to have some variety within your choices, you want to stick with foods and drinks that work well for you.  You simply don’t want to “mix it up” on yourself too much – this is more about effectiveness and efficiency of the foods, and not variety.  If Hammer Heed works best for you, keep using it.  If you like your carbs in gels, and fluid/lytes in water and NUUN caps, stick with it.  If a mini Clif bar works well for you, or a smoothie before a ride, use it in training so you’ll have confidence using it before a competition.  Plan the ride, and ride the plan, right?

4)      For a year-long Daily Nutrition Plan, I’ve learned it doesn’t work well for most people – it simply doesn’t allow enough flexibility to work out.  In my practice, I used to plan out full month’s of meals for clients, based on their needs, likes/dislike, etc, and even include a shopping list.  What’s I found was that a) my time into it simply demanded too high a price, b) most clients didn’t want or need a different meal option for breakfast, lunches, and snacks each day (variety is good for dinner, though), c) since it had a shopping list it didn’t have the flexibility needed for everyday life, schedule changes, food dislike/like changes, and diet changes.

My solution:

What I’ve found is using a mix-and-match format, where I suggest 8-12 different recommendations for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, and then 15-20 different ones with ongoing planning for dinner, works well.  It gives clients the details they want and need, with the flexibility to work in real life.  And, since every meal meet my standards for health and wellness, any of them are fine to use day to day.  Then, for training nutrition, I provide ~5-10 suggestions for pre-training, during training, and recovery fuel that you can experiment with until you find your right mix.  I also give you recommendations on when to use each type of training fuel (pre-, during, recovery), and how much based on duration and intensity.

There may be the type of service you’re looking for out there, but I don’t know of any that take this all into account.  And, just based on my experience with it, I don’t know how to make it work for long-term planning like you want.  In the next month, I am launching a weekly meal planning service that provides all the recipes, shopping list, and menu you need for dinners each week, to compliment the mix-and-match meal planning.  This may be a compromise between the two.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

Boosting Muscle Energy Stores

Dear Kelly,

I am a competitive cyclist up in Canada and I have been struggling the last year or so with my diet when it comes to nutrition off the bike.  I am 23 years old
and have extreme hyperthyroidism (graves disease ) as well as being a vegetarian.  Are there any techniques for endurance athletes that are vegetarian to boost muscle energy stores, or to help recover well after a long ride out?

Kelly’s Answer:

First, it is absolutely crucial to include a recovery snack/meal as soon as possible after training.  It should contain at least 45+ grams of carbs and 10+ grams of protein (a Clif Bar, for example).  Of course, you also need fluid and lytes.  You have a time frame of ~30 minutes immediately following a tough training session, when you’ve wiped out all the glycogen in your muscles, when your body’s glycogen-storing enzymes are in overdrive and will store any carbs you give them.  I recommend a recovery snack after all but the easiest of training sessions – even short, intense ones.  Then, in general, you do need to be proactive with getting enough protein in your everyday diet.  As a vegetarian, it can come from a variety of sources including beans, legumes, nuts, hemp, soy, peas, etc.

Second, if you’re willing to eat dairy and or eggs, you’ll have some advantages of animal-source proteins that you may not get in non-animal-source ones.  Whey protein, for example, from dairy, has been specifically shown to reduce muscle wasting in both athletes and individuals who have muscle-wasting medical conditions.  If you choose to use it, I recommend using undenatured whey protein so that you get even more antioxidant and immune benefits from the proteins that have not been altered and are closer to their raw form.  A smoothie with fruit, undenatured whey, organic coconut oil and honey is a great recovery snack.

Third, it sounds like you have incredibly high total calorie needs in general.  Many times, athletes significantly underestimate their needs, or overestimate their intake.  And, since a vegetarian diet can be high in bulk and low in calories, it may be hard for you to get all the calories you need day after day.  I recommend utilizing healthy fats to get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of calories.  At each meal of the day, I recommend that you try to add ~200 calories of healthy fats, such as ¼ cup nuts, 2 Tbsp olive oil or organic coconut oil, or ½ avocado.  These should be added to meals that already have adequate protein, carbs, and fat.  Additionally, make sure to eat snacks between your meals.  Protein’s important, but it’s total calories day after day, will make or break your energy stores.

Lastly, make sure you are supplementing well.  You have high nutrient needs, and your body simply cannot use the protein and calories you give it if it doesn’t have adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals.  I recommend a good multivitamin (my choice is Rainbow’s Light men’s), an extra B-complex, an additional 1000 IU of Vitamin D (I prefer D-3, but D-2 will also provide some benefit – D3 is not vegan), and omega-3s from fish oil or algae.

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.