Check out this article at a fantastic blog I just found, Evidence-Based Fitness, written by Bryan Chung.  It’s about chocolate milk as an after workout drink.

I think we would all like to believe the pre, intra and post-workout nutrition are very important. We’ve seen one example of how pre-workout protein probably doesn’t really make any difference large enough to warrant the extra cost of consuming it. While there have been studies supporting the idea that post-workout nutrition is important and results in better recovery (a fairly vaguely defined term) and better results (an even more vaguely defined term), the debate around WHAT to consume after a workout takes most of us down a path of debate that I believe counts as pure, unadulterated intellectual masturbatory minutiae.

But, don’t let my opinion count for much of anything.

Let us assume for the purposes of this review, that post-workout nutrition DOES matter. And furthermore, let us assume that post-workout nutrition matters for the non-elite typical gym go-fer.

What do we know about chocolate milk? We know it contains both protein and carbohydrate. We know that in head-to-head comparisons, it tends to do just as well, or better than carbohydrate drinks alone. However, we’re not sure whether the fact that in previous comparisons, the drinks weren’t calorie controlled might explain why it did so well or whether it actually does affect recovery insofar as we can measure it.

Since most of my readers are not the typical “non-elite typical gym go-fer” and are (I’m sure) training the way I advice on this blog – that is, like an athlete – then post workout nutrition DOES apply to you.  If you’re training up to 6 times a week, and hard, then anything you can do to up your recovery is mandatory, even if it isn’t great (though, I’m still of the mind that post workout recovery makes a large difference, not a small one, and that that difference grows (at least linearly) as your workout intensity and volume grow).

He goes on:

Results

The average age of the players in this study was 19 years (SD 0.3 years)

Overall, there weren’t any notable differences between the carb-only drink and chocolate milk. Creatine kinase levels rose (predictably) with both drinks, although it did not tend to rise as much when the players had chocolate milk instead. The players tended to perform just as well whether they had a carb-only drink or chocolate milk.

What I find important here is that chocolate milk performed AS WELL as the carb drink.  Why this matters is that so many athletes will spend a fortune on stupid supplements for post-workout nutrition when they might do just as well by drinking cheap-as-dirt chocolate milk.

So what can we take away from all of this?

I think there are a few points that most readers of this blog can take away:

1) Unless you’re a 19 year old Division I soccer player, this study shouldn’t be the reason why you choose to drink anything after your workouts.

2) Any study that excludes subjects after having already analyzed the data should be under high suspicion of biased information. In this case, it probably didn’t matter, but we’ll never _really_ know.

3) I suspect that it doesn’t really matter what you drink after your workouts, if anything at all. If there are any applicable links between this study and you, the numbers suggest that you can pretty much do what you want and you’ll still play and test about the same.

So in the end, there isn’t anything magical about chocolate milk. If you’re drinking it anyways, good for you. If you’re not, there’s no reason for you to rush out and get any. Just do what you’re doing. Simplfy what you can, and rest assured that you’re not missing out.

His approach to the article was from the standpoint that chocolate milk is getting too much positive press, and that it isn’t a big deal – it only did as well as a carb drink of similar calories, and probably won’t do much of anything for the casual person in the gym.

I’m coming at it from a different angle.  As I mentioned above, athletes are suckers for supplement advertising and I regularly have to convince them that chocolate milk is just as good as the $75/bottle BS they’re buying. 

Second, I don’t train the average joe in the gym who only does average workouts.  I train athletes who are tearing it up and need anything and everything they can get their hands on to recover well.  My people DO train as hard as division 1 soccer players, yet many don’t have luxury of youth to mask bad eating habits.

As an aside: while I love chocolate milk as a recovery drink, I think it is better as a base for a more substantial recovery drink.  I think the most important factor is simply getting in enough calories after your workout.  Since most of my lifters pack more into a 1-1/2 to 2 hour workout than most people put into a week, they need a LOT of calories.  Just 20 oz of Choco ain’t gonna cut it. 

Here’s a suggestion if you train like I want you to:

Chocolate Milk – 16 oz

Protein powder – 50g worth (I don’t care what kind, go cheap – don’t believe the hype!)

Ice Cream – 1/2 to 1 cup

1 frozen banana

Blend it up, and there you go.  Calories, carbs, protein – mmm …

(Please, if you DON’T train like a maniac in the gym, then don’t do this!  That’ll likely be your entire days worth of calories.  This is only for athletes who NEED those calories badly).

One of my lifters, Roy, has an ice-cream maker and likes to make ice-cream with protein powder in it.  It turns out pretty awesome, but it requires an ice-cream maker.

Here’s a recipe that another one of my lifters, Brandy, sent me that is basically a “quick recipe” for a protein ice-cream that uses some Xanthan gum and guar gum.  You can buy some here. 

The recipe is from the Heather Eats Almond Butter blog.  And here’s the video she made explaining how she does it.

I haven’t tried this yet, but as soon as I get my hands on some of that gum, I’m going for it!

You’ve heard it before, and maybe you’ve even tried it.  Carbs and Fat should be kept apart in each meal.

Well … too bad that isn’t backed up by science.  Here’s an article by Alan Aragon going over the issue:

More proof that having fat with carbs won’t hinder fat loss

A relatively recent
trial examined the effects of 3 diets consisting of roughly 1400 kcals
each for 8 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of maintenance [3]. The diets had
the following macronutrient proportions: a) very low fat  (70% carb,
10% fat, 20% protein), b) high unsaturated fat (50% carb, 30% fat, 20%
protein), and c) very low carb (4% carb, 61% fat, 35% protein). Since
none of the groups were told to separate their fat and carb intake, the
high unsaturated fat group should have lost the least amount of fat
because of all that dreadful mixing, right? On the contrary, no
significant differences were seen in total weight loss, or loss of
bodyfat percent. And here’s the kicker: this lack of difference in
bodyfat reduction was seen despite the distinctly different effects
each diet had on fasting insulin levels.

Another recent trial compared
two 1500 calorie diets, a non-ketogenic diet and a ketogenic one [4].
Insulin sensitivity was equally improved between the groups. No
inhibition of fat loss was seen in the non-ketogenic diet despite the
fact that it was moderate in both fat (30%) and carbs (40%). In fact,
the non-keto group lost more bodyweight and bodyfat than the keto
group, although neither of these effects was statistically significant.
It appears that any threat of fat/carb combining slowing fat loss is
imagination-based.

Nails in the coffin, anyone?

The current body of research
focuses on obese, deconditioned, or untrained subjects. And still, the
moderate-carb/fat-combining fails to show a fat loss disadvantage over
carb-restricted or carb-separated conditions. Putting athletic subjects
through the same conditions would show even LESS of a difference. Since
fit folks have far better glucose and insulin metabolisms than the
unconditioned obese, nit-picky combination or separation would be a
nonfactor for fat loss.

The bottom line is that as
long as you’re aware of your macronutrient targets for the day, go
ahead and sludge that peanut butter into your oatmeal if your little
heart desires it. Leave the neurotic eating behaviors for those with a
lot of faith in fairy tales.

OK, the title of this post is a bit misleading.  But, it seems as though many people believe that “Diet vs Exercise” is a valid question with an obvious answer: Diet. 

They may not believe it consciously.  But, in their actions this is what happens.  In truth, of course, there is not an exclusive “or” separating diet and exercise – you need both.  If you want to change your body composition; if you want to increase performance; if you want to live healthier; then you have to pay attention to both.

That said, there is an ordering of the two. 

I can sum up my entire fitness-philosophy with two phrases:

1. Exercise before Diet.
2. Weightlifting before Cardio

These two phrases imply an ordering of the list {diet, weightlifting, cardio}.  My ordering is

1. Weightlifting
2. Cardio
3. Diet

What is amazing is that my ordering is precisely to opposite of the order in which most people go about getting “in shape”.  When someone first decides they want to make a change, the first thing they do is go on a diet.  After they’ve gotten that down, they add in some cardio.  And if by some miracle they haven’t given up yet, they finally throw in some half-ass weightlifting. 

I’m here to tell you to do the opposite. 

If you want to get any benefit at all related to fitness (fat loss, muscle gain, strength gain, etc) then you must begin with weightlifting.  Slowly add in cardio (but not the kind most people think).  And finally get a diet plan that makes sense.

Why? You ask.

Dieting by itself doesn’t work long term.  If you’re goal has anything to do with performance or muscle gaining, then you know this. But, people looking to lose fat seem to delude themselves into thinking that they can solve their physical problems with a “magic” diet.   I’m not even talking strictly of “fad” diets.  Even a well-designed diet is worthless in the long run without exercise.

When you go an a calorie restricted diet you put your body in a catabolic state.  This lowers many of your bodies “good” hormones, and increases many of the “bad” ones like cortisol. (OK, strictly speaking there are no good or bad hormones, but some are better for your fitness goals than others.)  The negative hormones will decrease muscle mass, lower metabolism, and make it harder for you to lose fat. (Ironic, ain’t it!)

This hormone change is a negative byproduct of dieting that you have to deal with. However you need to mitigate it.  Exercise increases the positive hormones and decreases the negative ones.  It helps preserve muscle mass, and increases both metabolism and fat loss. 

Yes, if you want to make fitness progress you have to have a diet in place. But, you can’t rely on it by itself.

OK, so exercise first, diet second. Got it. But, why not start with cardio?  There are 2 reasons.

One, even when we’re talking about interval training (like sprinting) we’re only hitting part of your body. 

Let’s be honest, however.  When most people start their programs with cardio, they are not doing hard sprints (or metabolic circuits which involve weights), they are using steady-state cardio (jogging and its ilk).  Steady-state forms of cardio just don’t confer the same metabolic effects that interval training or weight training do.  While both intervals and weight training (done with intensity) raise your metabolism for up to 36 hours after exercise (called the EPOC effect), steady-state doesn’t.

In addition, steady-state cardio will cause your body to become more efficient at fat burning.  While that may sound good, it is very bad.  A more efficient car uses less gas to go the same distance.  You want your body to be a gas-hog.  You want it to burn tons of fat with little time – not tiny amounts of fat with massive time!  Weightlifting makes you the Hummer of fat-loss.

Two, starting with cardio can increase injury rates.  Weight training is very controlled.  You only lift the amount of weight you can safely in a controlled pattern of movement.  Cardio is not as controlled – even on a treadmill or other machine.  Think about how many “repetitions” your legs do every time you go jogging, or when on on the stair stepper.  It’s in the hundreds to thousands.  That is a lot of potential damage.  Each impact is worth many multiples of your bodyweight, slamming down on your joints. 

Conclusion

When you start with weightlifting, you increase the positive hormones you body needs to reach its goals, you increase metabolism, you lose fat, you gain muscle, and you decrease injury rates.  No other one thing can do all of that.

Once you are comfortable in your weight training routine, you can add in some cardio work.  I strongly suggest some kind of intervals over steady-state (the only exceptions are distance athletes – like marathon runners, tri-athletes – and strength athletes, as odd as that sounds).

And finally, when you have a solid weightlifting routine and a cardio routine, THEN you can start worrying about your diet. 

Most of you know how much I love milk.  In fact, I should have a milk-mustache sponsorship!  But, that said, I’d be hesitant to tell someone to jump on the “drink a gallon of milk a day” bandwagon just because they were skinny and trying to gain weight. 

JC, from JCD Fitness, has a post on exactly this topic.  Is the gallon-a-day of milk weight-gain plan really all it is cracked up to be?  Read here to find out.

I try to steer clear of negative “rant” style posts on this blog.  Just doesn’t fit with my Zen philosophy on life.  But, the fact is, T-Muscle makes it ever so hard not to get into the act and start bashing away at their … advice.

Thankfully, I don’t have to, since Alan Aragon is plenty happy to take on the role.  In this one he’s hammering an interview by Nate Green of Dr. Lonnie Lowery.  All I have to say is,”Anaconda …”

In my daily stroll through the internetz, I stumbled upon this article by fitness journalist/dating expert Nate Green who interviews fellow staff writer Dr. Lonnie Lowery. Before I get into this, let me first thank the good fellas at Tmuscle for providing a relentless source
of entertainment. Not to mention, they always come through with great
pics & vids of super-enhanced fleshiness. Nate’s article embodies
so much of the Tmuscle ideals in a single swoop, that it deserves a
little shine here on my Super Secret Blog™.

By the way, if you haven’t already read it, and want to see Alan get medieval on the ass of T-nation, you need to read his article on the use of chocolate milk over Biotest’s Surge.  I personally dug it because I was using chocolate milk regardless.  It tasks good, and surge tastes like … well … ass.

This is a hilarious “mock-commercial”.

Mothering magazine published a story about the dangers of Soy consumption that has royal pissed off a number of high profile vegans and vegetarians.  Most notably John Robbins who wrote a letter to the editor bashing what he considered a misleading approach to the topic.

From the Article:

How Much Soy Do Asians Really Eat?
Those who dare to question the benefits of soy tend to receive one stock answer: Soy foods couldn’t possibly have a downside because Asians eat large quantities of soy every day and consequently remain free of most western diseases. In fact, the people of China, Japan, and other countries in Asia eat very little soy. The soy industry’s own figures show that soy consumption in China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan ranges from 9.3 to 36 grams per day.1 That’s grams of soy food, not grams of soy protein alone. Compare this with a cup of tofu (252 grams) or soy milk (240 grams).2 Many Americans today think nothing of consuming a cup of tofu, a couple glasses of soy milk, handfuls of soy nuts, soy “energy bars,” and veggie burgers. Infants on soy formula receive the most of all, both in quantity and in proportion to body weight.

In short, there is no historical precedent for eating the large amounts of soy food now being consumed by infants fed soy formula and vegetarians who favor soy as their main source of protein, or for the large amounts of soy being recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Christiane Northrup, and many other popular health experts.

What’s more, the rural poor in China have never seen-let alone feasted on-soy sausages, chili made with Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), tofu cheesecake, packaged soy milk, soy “energy bars,” or other newfangled soy products that have infiltrated the American marketplace.

Here’s an excerpt of Robbins’ response.

The article’s author, Kaayla Daniel, repeatedly says that people of China, Japan and other countries in Asia eat very little soy, so there is no historical precedent for eating the amounts being recommended by people like Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Christiane Northrup. This is a misleading half truth. It is true that in parts of Asia, most notably China, soy consumption has been low. But Asia is a very large area with several billion people.

What’s important is not the average soy consumption for the whole of Asia, but the soy consumption in those parts of Asia which demonstrate the highest levels of human health. And there is no question about where that is. The elder population of Okinawa (a prefecture of Japan) have the best health and greatest longevity on the planet.

This is important because the highest soy consumption in the world is in Okinawa.

He goes on the talk about the benefits of having soy in your diet.   Unfortunately in the end Robbins goes on his own diatribe against cows milk in which he makes some hideously misleading statements of his own, including:

-Cow’s milk provides more than nine times as much saturated fat as soy beverages, so is far more likely to contribute to heart disease.

-Soy beverages are cholesterol-free, while cow’s milk contains 34 mg of cholesterol per cup, which again means that cow’s milk is far worse for your heart and cardiovascular system.

-Soy beverages lower both total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, while cow’s milk raises both total and LDL cholesterol levels, providing yet more reasons soymilk is better for your health.

Now I’ve heard it all.  A woman was diagnosed with lachanophobia, or a fear of vegetables.  I didn’t say that she doesn’t like them … I mean she is flat out afraid of them.

“Every time I would see vegetables not just on my plate, but anywhere I would get feelings of panic, start sweating and my heart rate would shoot up.

“People might think it is a bit of a laughable affliction but I have a genuine fear of greens it’s not just that I dislike the taste of sprouts or broccoli, but the actual sight of them fills me with dread and I could never touch them.”

Hat tip: Bradley Simpson at Kitchenpt

Prince is gonna love this!

I love sweet potato pie.  I can eat a whole one by myself.  But, I’ve never had the pleasure of a purple sweet potato pie!  I’m going to have to try this recipe from AsianceMagazine.com

I can’t tell you what the calorie count is (is does have a full stick of butter), so you’ll have to do a lot of heavy squats to make up for it.

I have a long history with sweet potatoes (you can find more about my love of them here).  And with a purple pie, it’s bound to continue.