Week #8 - How much protein do I need?

**There are a LOT of incorrect “rules of thumb” regarding protein.  I am including references to studies done by real scientists (not some dude who goes to your gym) as support for my conclusions.  Your special situation may require more/less prottein - talk to a professional** 
 

What is protein?

You might know that your body needs protein to function.  Next to water, you need protein more than anything else.  Protein is made of 20 amino acids.  You may not know that all but 8 of them can be made by your body.  These 8 amino acids are called essential amino acids because it is essential you get these proteins from your diet.  When you’ve got the needed essential and non-essential amino acids… BAM!  Your body can whip up some proteins and form lustrous hair, etc.

Ok.  More than you wanted to know, right?  Protein takes more energy to digest than carbs and fats and encourages the sensation of feeling “full”.  Keeping protein levels up during dieting also helps to prevent muscle loss.  That's why you should care.

What if I don’t eat enough protein?

If your protein intake is too low, you have a lot to look forward to:

Delayed wound healing, Depression/Anxiety, Fatigue, Gallstones, Diarrhea, Muscle cramps and Mental sluggishness.  There are other worse symptoms if a person gets REALLY deficient, but that is not likely to happen to someone in a developed nation.   

Can I eat too much protein?

First of all protein is calories.  If you knock back too much protein you will get just as fat as eating pizza (Mmmmm.....).   Second, excess protein may contribute to osteoporosis due to various boring reasons.  However, weight lifting counteracts osteoporosis so the risk is probably minor.

I don’t want diarrhea or osteoporosis; how much protein should I eat?

Some people say that we all get enough protein in our diet.  What they mean is that people get the Recommended Daily Allowance of protein.  The problem is that the RDA requirement is based on a sedentary couch potato, which may not describe your lifestyle (let's hope it doesn't).   Who needs more protein than a couch potato?  You guessed it: basically everyone.

Sports and exercise involve breaking down muscle during the activity and repairing it afterward. So the protein needs of active people are higher.   Plenty of studies have been done that show the RDA is not enough for active people.
 
The National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends around .8 to 1 gram per pound of body weight.  Does anyone agree with them?  Yes.  How about:  the American Dietetic Association, the Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine (link), the Journal of Applied Physiology, the International Journal of Sports Medicine).  I did find one contradicting study, but the consensus of appears to be about .8-1 grams per pound per day for active people.

Calculating Protein needs 
1.  Take your body weight in pounds
2. Multiply your weight by something between .8 and 1 depending on how active you are.  That is the amount of daily protein you should be shooting for.

Eat the best proteins

Lean protein is the best way to get what you need.  I like to use skinless chicken, cottage cheese/yogurt, fish and turkey.  You could also try edamame, nuts, tofu, and quinoa.   I would try to avoid processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, SPAM and some lunch meats cuz they are loaded with salt and fat.  On the other hand, rice and beans are super cheap, so eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. 

 Conclusion:

It's important that you eat enough protein.   If you are already tracking your calories, the same software is probably tracking your protein already.  Tracking your calories is more work but it also requires education.  You don't necessarily need to track your food for the rest of your life, but you need to track it long enough to get a feel for how much you should be eating and if you are getting enough of the right macro-nutrients.

Campbell B, Kreider RB, Ziegenfuss T, La Bounty P, Roberts M, Burke D, Landis J, Lopez H, Antonio J. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 26,4:8. 2007.

Cribb PJ, Williams AD, Stathis CG, Carey MF, Hayes A: Effects of whey isolate, creatine, and resistance training on muscle hypertrophy. Medicineand Science in Sports and Exercise, 39(2):298 – 307. 2007.

Friedman JE and Lemon PW. Effect of chronic endurance exercise on retention of dietary protein. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 10(2):118 – 123. 1989.

Lemon PW, Tarnopolsky MA, MacDougall JD, Atkinson SA: Protein requirements and muscle mass/strength changes during intensive training in novice bodybuilders. Journal of Applied Physiology, 73(2):767 – 775. 1992.

Gaffney-Stomberg E, Insogna KL, Rodriguez NR, Kerstetter JE. Increasing dietary protein requirements in elderly people for optimal muscle and bone health. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Jun;57(6):1073-9.

Millward et al., Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 53: 223-40, 1994; Blomstrand & Saltin, Journal of Physiology 514: 293-302, 1999

Week # 7 - Sleep!

It may be far and few between for some of us during this time of year, but getting a good dose of beauty sleep can do more than turn you into Brad Pitt’s lookalike. Several studies link sleep habits with long-term health benefits and consequences. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle and can improve your heart, weight, mind and more.

Did you know that you will spend about one-third of your life sleeping? But why exactly do we need sleep, how much sleep do we need and what happens to our bodies while we are catching ZZZs? 

Our bodies go through several stages of sleep, moving from one stage or type of sleep to another in cycles that can last up to 90 minutes each.

·       Stage one- During this stage, you sleep lightly and drift in and out of sleep and you are easily awakened. Your muscles begin to slow down and your eyes move very slowly.

·       Stage two- In stage two, your muscles relax. Your brain waves slow down, though occasionally you have bursts of brain activity.

·       Stages three and four- Deep sleep sets in. Your brain waves become large and slow. Your breathing becomes rhythmic, and your muscles remain relaxed. At this point your body begins releasing repairative hormones. Stages one through four are referred to as non-rapid eye movement (NREM).

·       Rapid Eye Movement (REM)- During REM sleep your muscles stop moving completely. Your breathing and heart rate become rapid and irregular, your blood pressure is more variable, and your eyes move rapidly in bursts of activity. Your brain waves show a pattern similar to wakefulness. Scientists believe this indicates that your brain is using this time to sort and organize your memories. Dreaming takes place during this stage. If you're awakened during REM sleep, you may recall vivid dreams.

Sufficient sleep helps recharge our mental and physical batteries but chronically losing sleep can lead to serious consequences. Research from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School linked deficient sleep with serious medical conditions. Many of their studies have shown people who get less than six hours of sleep per night are more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), are prone to developing diabetes, and can lead to depression or other mood disorders.  

During sleep, our bodies secrete hormones that help to control appetite, energy metabolism, and glucose processing. Obtaining too little sleep upsets the balance of these and other hormones. For example, poor sleep leads to an increase in the production of cortisol, often referred to as the "stress hormone." Poor sleep is also associated with increases in the secretion of insulin following a meal. Insulin is a hormone that regulates glucose processing and promotes fat storage; higher levels of insulin are associated with weight gain, a risk factor for diabetes. Insufficient sleep is also associated with lower levels of leptin, a hormone that alerts the brain that it has enough food, as well as higher levels of ghrelin, a chemical that stimulates appetite. As a result, poor sleep may result in food cravings even after we have eaten an adequate number of calories. We may also be more likely to eat foods such as sweets that satisfy the craving for a quick energy boost. In addition, insufficient sleep may leave us too tired to burn off these extra calories with exercise.   

A sleepless night can cause even a saint to be irritable and moody the next day. Chronic sleeplessness has been correlated with depression, anxiety and mental distress. In one study from the Division of Sleep Medicine, subjects who slept 5 hours or less a night showed declining levels of optimism and sociability and greater feelings of stress, sadness, anger and mental exhaustion.

Considering the many potential adverse health effects of insufficient sleep, it is not surprising that poor sleep is associated with lower life expectancy. It sounds so easy in theory though, right? Get eight hours of sleep a night (by the way the daily recommended amount is between 7 ½ and 9) and live healthily ever after. But with all of those reality shows on and Starcraft games to be played each night, before you know it it’s midnight and your alarm is set to go off in 5 hours.  Here are some tips from the Mayo Clinic on how to get better sleep and more of it:

1.      Stick to a sleep schedule- Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

2.      Pay attention to what you eat and drink- don’t go to bed too hungry or too full. 

3.      Create a bedtime ritual- Do the same things each night to tell your body it's time to wind down. This might include reading a book, listening to soothing music, or practicing relaxation techniques.

4.       Get comfortable- Create a room that is ideal for sleeping: some place cool, quiet and dark.

5.      Include physical activity in your daily routine- This should be a given…since you are participating the wellness challenge and all…right?

6.      Manage stress- When you have too much on your plate your sleep can suffer. To restore peace in your life, consider healthy ways to manage stress.

Happy Sleeping!

Week #6 Meditation and Stress Reduction

Imagine you went on a river rafting trip and dropped your wallet in the river.  It's got $2,000 in it, so you are pretty motivated to find it!  But the more you dig around and slosh through the river, the more silt you kick up and the harder it is to see your wallet.

You have a stressful job.  On top of that, you have family, community and other obligations.  You've got a lot going on! Your mind is just like a muddy river.  When you spend all day sloshing around trying to get things done, it can become difficult to see clearly.  Just like the river, if you stop stirring things up, the mind can learn to settle down.

Do you ever find yourself caught up in negative thoughts that you can't seem to let go of? Do you experience road rage, impatience when people cut in line, or feelings of being overwhelmed by life?  Do you find yourself so enthralled in your inner monologue and mental commentary that you miss parts of conversations or events? Do you spend significant time judging yourself or others?   Do you spill or knock things over because you're not quite paying attention?  Do you get preoccupied with the future or the past?

These are all signs that the mind is running around completely uncontrolled like a rockstar on tour.  In the meditation world this is called "mindlessness".  It means people spend a large portion of their lives on autopilot - letting their lives determine their actions, emotions and thoughts instead of letting emotions and thoughts determine their lives.  The cure for mindlessness is mindfulness.  Mindfulness means living our lives in the present in an open, attentive and non-judgmental way.

Why Meditate?
Abraham Lincoln once said that if he had six hours to chop down a tree, he'd spend the first four hours sharpening his axe.  As your greatest tool, your mind could use some maintenance.

Meditation is a tool that teaches us mindfulness.  Meditation helps us reduce stress by training our minds to let go of worries and stresses.  It trains the mind to focus and non-judgmentally observe life. Meditation is also time to learn about yourself.  It's about nobody but you.  Over time, meditation teaches us not just to control our thoughts, but how to stop thoughts that are unhelpful to us.  It can also reduce the impact of minor irritations in our lives and improve the mind's ability to concentrate.  This in turn helps us to be more productive, which can also decrease stress.

Since meditation can be done by anyone and is free, I recommend trying it out for a week or two.  See if it helps YOU and then decide how you feel about it.

What to do:
Meditation isn't all that exotic really.  You don't need to put on robes and shave your head or be a part of any particular belief system.  You don't need to chant anything or buy any special equipment.

Go somewhere quiet.  Sit in a comfortable position that you can maintain for 10 minutes without moving or shifting your weight.  Sitting in a chair is perfectly fine.  You don't have to fold yourself into a pretzel to meditate.  Sit with your back straight and tall and don't let it rest on anything.  Your back may get tired at first, but you'll get used to it.  Good posture never killed anyone.

Now put your hands somewhere comfortable.  They could be rested on your thighs, folded in your lap, palm up on your knees - you get to choose.  The important thing is that your posture be comfortable, natural and encourage alertness.

You should now be relaxedly sitting in a comfortable meditative position.  It may take some practice to fully relax.  Take a quick inventory of your body before you start and look for tense muscles.  Are you clenching your jaw?  Keep your head looking naturally forward.  Close your eyes and just breathe naturally.  You don't need a particular breathing pace.  Just do what is natural for you.  Now, you are ready to start meditating.

As you breathe, focus on your breath.  Feel the sensation as it rushes in through your nose.  Notice how the abdomen moves as you breathe.  Be aware of the air and how it feels in your lungs.  Choose whichever of those three aspects that you want, and focus on it.  Whatever you are focusing on (ie feelings in the nose) keep your thoughts focused on it.

BAM!  You just learned to meditate.  Seriously.  It sounds easy and possibly a little silly or pointless.  In truth, your mind will try to wander.  It may even wander for 5 minutes before you even REALIZE that your mind has wandered.  Each time, you will gently return your thoughts to your breathing.  This will training your mind to pay attention to things.  Over time you will improve your ability to notice when your mind is wandering and will teach your mind incredible powers of concentration.  You will get better at identifying and CHOOSING your emotions.  Best of all, you will find yourself living your life more consciously.

Meditation isn't for me!
If you don't want to try meditation, you can still reduce stress by incorporating some mindfulness practices into your life.  Meditation is one of the best ways to train the mind, but you can still get a lot of benefit from other methods.  Here are 10 ideas to get you started:

1. Stop filling every second of your life.  When you drive in the car...  just drive.  Whether you're working or making a sandwich, just do that one thing and nothing else.  Many people are in the bad habit of perpetually distracting themselves with music, TV, radio, podcasts, celebrity news, tweets, emails, etc.  Stop it.
2.  Spend time alone.  Have some time each day where you are by yourself in a quiet place.
3.  Start being aware of how much mental chatter is going on in your head.  All that commentary in your mind is pretty entertaining, but it is distracting you.
4.  Stop thinking about work as a distraction from your life.  Think of work as your life when you are at work, and home as your life when you are at home.
5.  Avoid gossip.  Being mindful is all about being non judgmental remember?
6.  Perform everything as if you work at nothing.  Be someone that people enjoy working with.
7. Be more observant of what you feel and why.  Be careful not to dwell on yourself too much.
8.  Accept that life isn't fair.  Really.  Accept it.  The good guy doesn't always get the girl and the villain is richer, smarter and better looking than you.
9.  When a problem comes up, stay in the moment.  Don't bring up past problems or forecast new ones.
10.  When work drama comes (and it will) consciously choose calmness and communication as your responses.

People who are learning to control their minds are like the ocean.  No matter how chaotic things appear, just below the surface they are calm.

"Happiness in comfort is not real happiness. When you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind." Huanchu Daoren

Week# 5 Staying (Getting) Motivated

Being healthy is hard work sometimes.  There are always going to be donuts in the break-room and there will always be a TV show to watch rather than working out.  There will always be a culinary genius inventing things like stuffed crust pizza and dippin dots.  With so many people trying to kill you with the death-of-a-thousand-mouthfuls, you need get on your own team and take charge of your health.

The biggest challenge that people face in making health changes is staying motivated.  Did you know that the main reason that people fail when they try to get healthy is THEY TRY TO GO TOO FAST!  Don't change your whole life all at once and start making broccoli cookies and tofu shakes.  Go SLOW and change a little thing - like stop pigging out at parties and other events.  Make a small change and make it permanent.

If your health regimen is making you feel overwhelmed, stop doing some of it.  Seriously.  You can learn all about wheat germ and pendlay rows later.  If you get overwhelmed go back to the basics.  How much are you eating, and how much should you eat?  If life is really busy right now, maybe you need to simplify your workouts, or make them shorter but more intense.

Here are some ideas for getting motivated:

1.  Track your progress in ways other than weight and body fat %.  Maybe track your moods, your energy levels or a few body measurements.  That way you can see the successes that aren't measured by the scale.
2.  Write down 5 strong reasons why YOU NEED to be healthier.  Write: "I must be healthier because if I don't then..."  fill in the blanks with stuff that will scare you into working out when you don't want to.  If can't think of anything, ask your doctor.  They are trained to scare people.  :)
3.  Take time to notice how good you feel after a strong workout.  This will help you associate the workout with the good feelings that come with it.
4.  This is a no brainer, but do something fun for exercise!  If you just can't think of anything, get an audio book or some killer music to help keep you going while you find the right workout for you.
5.  Get a workout partner, or join an online fitness group like Fitocracy.  
6.  Take pictures of yourself every week.  I'm not talking about pictures of your feet.  Take pictures of the parts of your body you'd like to work on and the parts you like.  Being honest about where you are at is a good motivator.  Plus, you might be surprised how fast you will begin looking better.
7.  Set a consistent workout schedule.  Work out at the same times so your body knows when to gear up for some sweating.
8.  Find a 5k or some other healthy goal and start working towards it.  Maybe you want to be able to do 100 pushups - find a program and make it happen.
9.  Collect some quotes that motivate you.  Read the latest @HBMWellness tweets!
10.  Get involved with health.  Find a blog, podcast, magazine or other place where you can hear about health news and fitness topics. As you hear about other people having success, you will  believe that you too can change.
11.   Get a visual.  You may find it motivating to see other people working out and getting fit.  That doesn't mean you buy binoculars and watch your neighbors.  Find a gym and workout with people who care about health - just like you! 

Here is the numero uno:
Don't let negative thoughts about your progress (or even lack of progress) sap your strength.    If you can get your mind straight, you can improve your health.Stop thinking of yourself as the fat/slow/weak person.  Think of yourself as someone who cares about being fit and living well.  When someone hands you something that is 90% lard and 10% sugar ask yourself if a healthy person would eat it.  Maybe they would!  But would they eat the whole thing?  Probably not.   Start acting like the healthy person you want to be. 

There is a Zen saying which says, "If you do not change direction, you are in danger of arriving where you are headed." 

Figure out where you are headed, and decide if that is where you should be.  Then...  get to work.