nutrition

September 21, 2010

Break up with coffee, for green tea. Yeah, that’s a good one!

Some people know about my ‘adoration’ for the delectably delicious roasted nectar of the coffee bean… I’ve written about it before – it’s more than the luxuriously rich, nutty, earthy flavour and aroma, admittedly, it’s also about the jolt! There are days, especially on the weekends, when the thought of a perfectly brewed triple americano (canadese, as it’s sometimes called here in Canada) is the reason I spring out of bed. And that first sip, what can I say – it’s, well, nothing short of magical!

So, what happens when a buddy of mine, a health guru of sorts, challenges me to give up my morning cup of black gold, for a tepid cup of pale green tea?

– Read More –

July 6, 2010

Make your own powerbars

The last time Smart was up for the Deadgoat Summer Solstice we got to talking about riding (surprisingly), but more specifically nutrition on the bike.

Smart was lamenting that a lot of the bars and energy products on the market don’t really feel like they’re very good for you. Granted, they’re built to “fill a gap,” but most of them are full of chemicals, waxes and acids and rather than ingredients a normal person can recognize.

I continued to think about the situation, and decided to do something about it. After some internet scouring, I narrowed things down to two recipes. One from natural food blogger Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks, and one from nutritionist Pam Vagnieres from an interview with the Daily Camera. – Read More –

January 22, 2010

Fat vs. Carbs – The Fuel Battle

So, this week I met with my new coach, a Mr. Mike Sarnecki. He’s going to see me through the following months, as I get ready for my second race season. Though I haven’t seen my new training schedule yet, I’m guessing my volumes are about to increase here right away. I have some big goals this year though so I’m ready to put in some solid time. In prep for this, I’m going to need to be a bit more diligent about my diet – specifically, my caloric intake. I’m happy to report, I’ve dumped all the weight I gained over the Christmas Holidays (some 9 lbs) and I’m back to a reasonable fighting weight. This is good news but, I’ll need to be sure I’m fueling my body properly moving forward, or risk dropping more weight, which I don’t want to do. More than that though, this year I want to make sure I’m fueling my body with the ‘right’ stuff, so as part of that, I started to dig into the Fat vs. Carbs debate. – Read More –

October 19, 2009

Dietary Alchemy

How much do we really know about diet? Are we still basing it off our grade school memory of the Canada Food Guide? For the most part, that’s where my mind goes to when I think about a healthy diet. I remember the four major food groups: Fruits and Vegetables are one, Proteins are another, then Dairy, and then Grains and Cereals. Eat three balanced meals throughout your day based on these groups and we should be good to go – I won’t argue that. BUT, is there more to it? Is there a smarter way to construct your diet?

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September 21, 2009

Coffee – An Athlete’s Edge

Who doesn’t like to wake up to a mornin’ cup’a joe?

For lots of us it’s a ritual, and for people like me it can be the reason I get out of bed, period. It’ll be 8:30am on a Saturday and I’ll be rolling over for another half hour of sleep when I’ll think, “Oooo… I could get up and have coffee!” The next thing I know, I’ll be up.

For a long time coffee had a bum wrap – it was simply considered bad for you and that was the end of it. Recently though, a lot more research has been done (notably on people who don’t also smoke) and suddenly that nasty cup of mud water has almost become a health drink. If you do a quick Google, articles pop up on how it reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, type 2 Diabetes, Cirrhosis of the liver, Arthritis and even certain types of cancers, liver cancer being one. That’s a pretty impressive resume for a beverage that used to be ‘bad’ for you. Coffee has also recently been cited as a proven performance enhancer for athletes. – Read More –

December 8, 2008

Staying on track through the holidays

One of the things Sheldon and I have been talking about a lot as we roll into December is how we’re planning on hitting our training targets this month. I can’t imagine we’re alone in thinking that it’s tough to stay on top of everything in the middle of winter, between Christmas, family commitments, and travel. Life seems to get in the way of training at the best of times, but during the ‘holiday’ season training is that much more difficult.

Here’s a few strategies that I employ (and plan on employing) this season: – Read More –