The Dish

Thanks for your question, this site is meant for more general questions. Your question requires an in-depth nutrition assessment and unfortunately I don’t offer individual nutrition counselling appointments any more. That being said, I can share a general resource for athletes and weight loss by SportMedBC: 12 tips to maintain your energy and lose weight safely. I highly recommend their Performance Nutrition articles. I’m also glad you are working on this well in advance, aim to lose no more than 1.5lbs per week, this should work with your goal and timeline.  You can also speak with a dietitian for free by calling 8-1-1, HealthLinkBC’s Dietitian Services.

YES! Muscle building requires adequate calories from carbohydrate, fat and protein. Many protein shakes use whey protein which is derived from milk; you can make your own smoothie that is rich in protein and way cheaper (See Banana Berry Smoothie Recipe). Strength training athletes require slightly more protein than the average person but these needs can be met through food alone. Remind yourself of how much protein is recommended by looking at Canada’s Food Guide. Canada’s Food Guide is based on an inactive individual, so if you are working out quite often make sure you increase your servings from all the 4 food groups – not just meat and alternates. Grains and milk and dairy products contain protein too.

Caffeine is not involved in protein absorption or synthesis. I am not aware of any adverse effects of adding whey protein powder into black coffee however; I do not usually recommend protein supplements. You can easily meet your protein needs from food choices alone.

Check out this resource by Dietitians of Canada which gives you the Scoop on Supplements.

Along with another 51 000 people, I did the Sun Run yesterday. The run was great but I could not help but notice all the Red Bull® cans tossed to the side of the starting area or the numerous people having a Rockstar® energy drink before the run. I wanted to remind readers that energy drinks are not recommended for exercise, water is best for hydration and sometimes sports drinks. Check out my previous post, Think Before You Drink for more information as well as a Energy Drinks resource from HealthLinkBC.

In today’s weight obsessed society you may wonder why SFU’s Health Promotion team would request such an item. The focus of active living and wellness programming at SFU is targeted using a “Health at Any Size” approach. Becoming more health conscious or adapting new health behaviours does not equate to calorie counting. In fact, counting calories (whether those eaten or burned) can lead individuals towards disordered eating patterns as well as excessive exercising. Active living has numerous health benefits (improved sleep, reduced stress, reduced risk of chronic disease) that can be achieved regardless of weight loss or calories burned. In addition, a focus on calories is linked to dieting and 99% of diets don’t work. Healthy living is not a trend or fad diet it is a lifestyle. In partnership with Core Health Technologies, SFU Health Promotion has brought the 7 Weeks to Wellness program to the SFU community since 2007.  Weight loss trackers and similar challenges have been excluded from the program to maintain a health focus rather than weight focus. The newest feature of the program, to be launched in Spring 2011, is a USB pedometer that does not include a calorie counter. These pedometers don’t currently exist on the market but are being manufactured particularly for SFU and demonstrate progress towards changing the campus culture and celebrating our natural sizes.

This is a common question I get when I am in the fitness centre, there is a similar question here. The best foods to eat are what work for you, everyone’s tolerance is different. Also try to stick to an eating pattern of every 3-4 hours. But for some great suggestions and more specific information check out the resources below from Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

Post-Workout Nutrition

Well I am glad to hear that these shakes are not replacing meals. I don’t often recommend protein supplements so I can’t recommend one brand over the other. The health concerns come with if you are having too much protein overall. High-protein diets may damage the kidney as well as potentially lead to osteoporosis.

The average person needs 0.86 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Strength training or endurance athletes can require additional protein from 1.2- 1.7 g/kg but this can be met through diet alone – without the use of supplements. It sounds like you are a recreational athlete, so I wouldn’t exceed 1g/kg per day.

Did you know that whey protein is actually isolated from milk? You can make your own smoothie at home adding skim milk powder or even tofu for extra protein. Look for a banana berry smoothie recipe to be posted soon.

I having been working out a lot lately and drink some protein shake (weight gainer) and, I also increase the amount of food I eat and the amount of time I sleep. However, nothing seems working yet, I am pretty frustrated because I spent time and money on my weight gain plan but get no result. I don’t do cardio because I don’t want to lose my calories and result in losing weight. Am I doing the right thing to gain muscle mass? Or do I need to do more? Please help. Thank you!

Alright, so first off I have to ask you why being a skinny guy is a problem? I talk a lot about women struggling with their bodies and wanting to be extremely thin but for males the ideal body is very muscular and this is just not realistic for everyone. Your genetic make up has a lot to do with your size and shape and it is a huge contributing factor to how much muscle or size you can gain. Why not shift your focus and celebrate your natural size?

That being said, additional protein (along with your strength training regime) can help with increasing muscle mass. Here is what one of my references has to say: There is strong evidence that among recreationally active adults, ingestion of protein (egg, milk, casein or whey) during recovery from resistance exercise enhances muscle protein synthesis in the first few hours after exercise.

So make sure you are having a balanced meal after your workouts. I can understand your frustration after spending a lot of money. Keep in mind whey protein is actually isolated from milk. You can make your own home made protein shake with milk, banana, any other fruit (such as berries) and add skim milk powder for extra protein. This will be more economical.

And lastly, I want to remind you about the benefits of exercising (including cardio) such as improved sleep, managing stress and preventing numerous chronic diseases. And remember good health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not body size.

Glad to hear about your plans for the Sun Run, be sure to join SFU’s team (through SFU Recreation). The key for your training diet is to make sure you get enough energy, to fuel your body while running and also to help your muscles recover. Each individual’s tolerance for different foods varies. For example, I feel best when running after a light breakfast (peanut butter on whole grain toast with a glass of milk) where as others might go on just a piece of fruit or small glass of fruit juice. Hydration is also key. Listen to your body and start slow when training. If you feel like you have “hit the wall” while running, you probably haven’t eaten enough.  Before you do the race, stick to a meal your body is used to. Do not try anything new on the race day. For more detailed information see the articles below from SportMedBC.

Fuel Up

Pre-Exercise Nutrition

Nutrition Tips for Beginner Runners

There is also another similar question on the blog with additional links, click here.

It is possible to get your nutrient needs met through food choices alone, no need for supplements. When training for a marathon be sure you are getting enough energy or calories. As a vegetarian pay special attention to the milk and alternatives food group, for calcium and vitamin D, as well as protein rich foods such as beans and nuts. You of course need to have enough carbohydrate as well as this is your primary fuel source. Stick to the guidelines in Canada’s Food Guide or you can create your own version of the food guide at www.myfoodguide.ca and keep in mind the amount of food recommended is actually for sedentary individuals so if you are very active you will need to increase the number of servings from each of the 4 food groups.
Also see the following resource, Eating Well for Vegetarian Athletes.