One of the mistakes I see many vegetarian athletes make is forgetting that plant based protein may also contain substantial amounts of carbohydrate or fat.  Here is an example: 2 tablespoons of peanut butter provides 8 grams of protein – but it also has 16 grams of fat and is 190 calories.  A half cup serving of black beans has fewer calories – just 114 – but adds 20 grams of carbohydrate and only 8 grams of protein to the diet.  When an athlete needs 100 grams of protein per day, it is sometimes difficult to balance the additional carbohydrate and fat calories with total energy needs.

 A great vegetarian choice that provides a high proportion of all nine essential amino acids is the whole soybean.  In one half cup of mature yellow soybeans, there is 14 grams of protein, only 8.5 grams of carbohydrate and 9 grams of fat, and 194 calories.   Foods that contain whole soy in the diet are tofu, soy milk, canned soybeans, and edamame.

Identical twin studies can provide the control to demonstrate the effect of diet and training.  Take the case of these two brothers. They are identical genetically.  One of the brothers trained as a runner, the other, a weight lifter.  Both are lean…but guess which one is the weight lifter?

Lifting weights without providing the right diet won’t get you maximum gain.  Building muscle is a combination of nutrient timing and training. 

In order to build muscle, it takes a stimulus, like weight lifting, and some fuel.  Does that mean devouring a 10-oz T-bone steak?  Not exactly.  It only takes 7-10 grams of essential amino acids to provide enough fuel to get the muscle building machinery ramped up. To realize significantly more gain, include some carbohydrate with the protein, and eat before exercising.

What does 7 g of essential AA + carbohydrate look like on the training table? Try some of these food choices: 

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                           1 large servings or 2 small

             This is burrito is a great “emergency” meal when you have been running around like a crazy person and had no time to think about what to eat for dinner.  Keep the fish on hand in the freezer, stock Mexican flavored black beans and a jar of salsa in the cupboard and low fat soft burritos and low fat cheese in the refrigerator.  All of these items will “keep” for several weeks so have them in ready reserve at all times.

1 4-oz. individual frozen fillet of Alaska polluck  or other mild fish
¼ cup Mexican flavored black beans
(save rest of can for a vegetarian burrito, or side dish)
½ tsp olive oil
4-6 Tbsp mild salsa
1 oz low fat cheddar cheese (about 2 Tbsp)
1 low fat soft burrito (to reduce carbohydrate in meal, use 8” size instead of 10”)
Food oil spray

Toppings recommended for flavor and antioxidants:

When AARP started sending me solicitations to join their group, I was a bit put off. Looking for some inspiration, I found it helpful to read about other, much older, athletes who were still out there having fun in their 70’s and 80’s.   While flipping through a copy of Master Athlete magazine, it struck me: great bodies, but their faces!  Ouch!  Pictures with smiling, but wrinkled, sun-weathered, saggy faces.   Not exactly the look I was aspiring to achieve.  However, cosmetic problems are minor in comparison to the risk of too much UV exposure.  Skin cancer is the real enemy of outdoor athletes.  According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, accounting for more than 2 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer in 2009.

Preventing cancer and early aging is possible. 

Would paddling 1,128 miles around Lake Superior – alone – challenge you?

As soon as the snow starts melting, I watch one of my x-c ski buddies, Nancy Uschold, morph into a kayaking maniac.  Paddle replaces ski poles the moment the water is open on Lake Superior.  The frigid water, waves, and wild winds – it’s all part of the fun.

Having successfully done a solo tour of 1000-plus miles circumnavigating the shoreline of Lake Superior, Nancy’s next adventure will take her to Newfoundland.  Unlike her Lake Superior tour, this trip will be 100% gluten-free fare.

Uschold prefers instant oatmeal for breakfast when camping.  “Sometimes you want breakfast N-O-W, especially when the weather is bad, but I could only find slow-cooking oatmeal that was 100% gluten free, but .  Her solution?  Make your own.

A rich source of vitamin B1, magnesium and zinc, oats are a great carbohydrate source for energy during exercise.  Although naturally gluten-free, product selection is critical, since they are commonly contaminated during processing with gluten from wheat, rye or barley.

Would you carry your bike up a hill?
One of my clients told me he asked his brother that question, after being razzed for turning down a post ride beer and pizza stop. Having successfully dropped 20 pounds, I think he made his point.  While most of us fight weight creep as we get older,  not everyone sees the scale go up.  Why? A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that looked at the association between fiber intake and weight may provide some clues.

We’ve all heard about how good fish are for you, but let’s face it: they are not that much fun to cook.  Those omega-3’s, great fat for our hearts and brains.  Nice lean protein.  But the smell in the kitchen.  Whew!

But wait.  It can be easy if you go back to your roots.  The cupboard. Well, canned food may not exactly be your roots, but canned fish is the next best thing to the invention of the microwave.  This recipe is an oldie but goodie from the fishing experts in the Lake Superior region of the country.  Only 10 minutes to prepare, the bonus is extra patties can be slipped into a zip-lock baggy and frozen.  Next time you feel the urge for a quick burger, just dive into the freezer and have a deluxe fish burger faster than you can light a grill.

I never thought I would be writing my very first post sitting on a bag of ice, nursing a pulled hamstring.  Rather than bemoan the fact my entire running season was abruptly ended by an untimely meeting with a gnarly tree root, I decided to think like Allison Baver,  member of the U.S. Olympic speedskating team who earned a bronze medal in Vancouver.  Baver, who I interviewed while in town for a training camp at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, made a remarkable recovery from a split right tibia and ankle impacted with shattered bone seven months prior to the Olympic trials.