Questions addressed

Recently I have received a couple questions regarding the zone/paleo diet, and I wanted to address one of them here today. I was asked, "Why does eating large amount of veggies give me such horrible gas?"

The reason it is recommended to eat a large variety and quantity of veggies on the zone/paleo diet is because: 1) they are loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients
2) They are loaded with fiber and help keep us regular
3) They act as filler in a since (very low calorie density)
4) Fiber helps regulate blood glucose and resultantly, blood insulin levels
So this brings us back to our question, whats with the gas? Well its because of the fiber.
Fiber, termed cellulose, is rare form of carbohydrate in which the molecules that make up cellulose are arranged in such a way that we as humans can not break them down. For instance, Dextrose is whats called a dissaccaride which means its the product of two glucose molecules linked together. Now we can break dextrose down all day long, as is evidence by the spike in blood glucose we get after eating a candy bar. The reason we are able to do this is because we have enzymes in our bodies (mainly our mouthes) called amylases that can break down the ALPHA blond between the two glucose molecules in dextrose thus releasing them for available use.

On the other hand, cellulose is arranged such that two molecules are arranged in a BETA bond. They linkage can not be cleaved by amylase, but requires the enzyme cellulase. We as humans do not have very high levels of cellulase which is why being a strict vegiatarian is a terrible idea and causes a great deal of intestinal stress.

So what does this all mean? When we eat broccoli for instance, our bodies can not break it down very well and thus is passes right through us. This is how fiber works. Unfortunately while beings moderately broken down in the stomach, cellulose emitted methane gas which can lead to bloating and the eventual passing of gas.

So will I even become better at breaking down the cellulose in fruits and veggies and will I even stop producing gas? The real answer is no. Cows break down grass because in their rumen they have bacteria that secrate cellulase to help break down the cellulose. We do not have this luxury and nor do we want this. Cellulose is an excellent way to help us keep regular which is extremely important in maintain digestive health. By eating more cellulose our bodies may begin to move it through the digestive tract quicker which may result in more pooping by less gas. I have been eating broccoli for a long time and I still get gassy at times but I can directly correlate my athletic performance and digestive regularity to my consistent intake of cellulose.


The next question was about fat utilization and toxin release. I address this in my next post.

Cheers

The farming workout, take 2

Today was another excellent WOD which included the interaction with my pals Bucy and David. The WOD was not timed but it likely lasted only 12 minutes or so.
We divided ourselves into 3 stations: farmers walk (32kg), tire hits (25 ib sledge), and tire flips (~50 ib tire).
We each started at a station with the 100 m farmers walk being the rate determining step. When one of us finished the walk we switched stations. We did took three turns at each station for a total of 9 completed stations.

This workout targeted mainly the back, the forearms, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. It was fun yet painful.

Sunday WOD

Today's workout was a wonderful mix of moderately-heavy Olympic lifts and some intense met-con training.

3 rounds:
5 reps 275 ib deadlift
5 reps burpees
5 reps 115 ib thruster
5 reps pullups
5 reps 115 ib clean and jerk
All executed with a 25 ib vest on

The man-handling lasted 11:38 and was very painful. Originally I had 5 rounds planned but the weight got to me, and going another 2 rounds i would most luckily compromise my form. Also I am trying to keep this workouts under the 14 minute range, so 3 rounds seemed to work out perfectly.

I am keeping the diet plan the same as usual but I've been giving it a lot of thinking as to how I can optimize it even further.

I plan on lifting tomorrow if my body allows it. I think that this an important thing to keep in mind. We must listen to our bodies, and when we feel our best we should hit the weights hard.

Hildie

OUT OF TOWN AT NCMI

Today is the final day of the NCMI conference and I am thrilled to be heading home later this evening. It was a great experience as I met a lot of new people (possible collaborators), and learned a bunch about the new software options available for my research. I also got to present my work on the yeast V-ATPase and I believe it was well-received.

Back to training. Over the past couple weeks I have noticed a little strength in my workouts and I thought I was in the right direction in terms of putting on quality mass. Unfortunately the food at this conference has made following the zone/paleo regime almost impossible. I have adjusted and instead of getting my blocks from just anywhere (like the pizza and shit they have offered) I have stuck to zone/paleo foods while sacficing the number of zone blocks. In other words I am still zone/paleo eating but instead of 20 blocks 5x fats I have been lurking the 14 blocks 3x the fats range.

This isn't a total disaster but I will be extremely happy to get home and get back on the plan. However, this adjustment has got me thinking. Much like the METABOLIC DIET in which the nutrient rations are cycled on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, maybe it would be a good idea to play around with my protein blocks in order to optimize protein synthesis.
Here's what I've been thinking. Stick to the x5 fats, but alter the carb and protein blocks to harvest the rewards of protein sensitivity. So maybe throughout the week I would have 30 blocks of CHO, and 10 blocks of protein (note the add up to 40) with 5x fats. This would help raise glycogen levels and further fuel the intense workouts. Now on the weekend (friday through sunday) I would flip the switch and change my diet to 10 blocks of CHO, 30 blocks of protein, and 5x fats. I am hypothesizing that by having the protein levels low during the week and during the training I would increase protein sensitivity. Now on the weekend when I am resting I will flip the metabolic switch (cut the carbs and up the pro) and hopefully drive an enhanced mechanism of protein synthesis.

This may seem counterintuitive to some but I think this may be crazy enough to work. Remember the zone/paleo regime is an amazing way to fuel your body. By my hyperactive curiosity can't help but wonder if there isn't a way to further optimize this.

Please give me your feedback so maybe I can further consider some of the parameters before I impliment this regime.

I consider myself somewhat of a scientific consultant to CFEP and if there is any way I can serve the people better I will.

Cheers!

Funky weekend WODs

The past three workouts have been really hard, and looking back at them is extremely satisfying as an overwhelming sense of accomplishment washes over me. On thurday I did the heavy version of the notorious FRAN. My time was just under 9 minutes, but it was an awful experience and I wish this workout upon no one. I think I can now go out and do a sub-5 FRAN no prob.

Saturday's WOD was at the EPFD training facility and it was a ton of fun. It was short and sweet, but left me quite sore this morning.

Today I made up my own WOD which turned out to be much harder than I initially thought it was going to be. It goes like this:

(with a 25 pounds vest on)
21x 20 ib ball cleans
50 m farmers walk with 2 pood in each hand
21 pullups
50 m farmers walk back to the ball
15 ball cleans
50 m farmers walk
15 pull ups
50 m farmers walk back to the ball
9 ball cleans
50 m farmers walk
9 pull ups
50 m farmers walk
21 push ups
50 m farmers walk
21 push press (95 ib)
50 m farmers walk back to push up station
15 push ups
50 m farmers walk
15 push press
50 m farmers walk back to push up station
9 push ups
50 m farmers walk
9 push press

It was pretty awesome and it took me 18:30. The workout was a little long for what I am trying to accomplish (putting on mass) but all the farmers walking should help build up my traps and forearms.

The nutrition is still dialed in as always. I don't know any stronger or bigger but I know that I am headed in the right direction and will be putting on quality muscle in no time.

Its been a while since I put on one of my zone/paleo recipes, so here we go.

Awesome omelet and apple/pecan pie (4 blocks 5x fats)

2 whole eggs w/ 2 egg whites
2 tbsp of parmesan cheese
4 tbsp of chunky salsa

1 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbsp of lite coconut milk
1/4 cup of pecans

w/ 1 cup of 1% goats milk (sun harvest)

This is pretty much the greatest thing to eat after a tough workout.

Enjoy!

Hildie

Short and Sweet = Simple Science

How is it that a 10 minute crossfit workout can be more beneficial to one's fitness in comparison to a 90 minute workout? How is it that by working harder for a shorter duration we are able to burn more fat and build more muscle?

The answers to these questions are MITOCHONDRIA and HORMONES.

Mitochondria are responsible for energy production by way of oxygen utilization. As more oxygen becomes available at the cellular level, more substrate (fat or carbohydrate) is broken down as a result of the increased efficiency in the bioenergetic pathways. When you go through a really tough workout like FRAN that only lasts a matter of minutes, you are uptakeing an obseen amount oxygen which throws your mitochondria into overdrive resulting in the eventual breakdown of body fat. If the mitochondria are stimulated into working at high capacities (as they are in crossfit) they will most certainly become more efficient in both oxygen and fat utilization. Furthermore, brief workouts executed at high intensity can build up a OXYGEN DEBT in which once your workout is done, your mitochondria still require elevated levels of oxygen which means further fat breakdown. This debt can continue for a matter of hours meaning 5 hours after your 4 minute FRAN you'll still be burning fat!
Also, short and increase workouts tend to result in increased lactic acid levels. This decrease in cellular pH triggers a number of muscle-building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone. Also intense exercise can lead to elevated blood calcium levels resulting in improved cardiac contraction, and calcitonin secretion further resulting in increased bone density.

If your going to train, make it short and sweet; make it crossfit.

Current Status

Today, after a lovely long weekend in california, I came back to EFS to hammer out a heavy lifting WOD. 10 x 1 Backsquat, deadlift and push press was the plan and I felt pretty good about reaching some PR's today. Unfortunately I only hit 1 PR in the Deadlift, and much of my technique was less than desirable.

So far with the new training and fat-enriched diet I have noticed a loss in body weight (likely fat tissue) a relative plateau of strength, but my metabolic conditioning has improved substantially. All of this is counter intuitive in that I thought I would be lots of strength, mass, and my met con would dissipate. This is just an observation not a complaint by the way, and I know with a little bit of fine tuning and the continue linear increase in zone blocks, I will begin to start putting on some beef.
I really like the heavy lifting and movement that involve functional actions like hammering or carrying heavy objects. I think if I work of Oly. lifting technique but predominately focus on other heavy movements with a weighted vest. One thing I'd like is to build up my forearms which can be accomplished with carrying heavy things and doing heavy pullups.

For now I will rest and work on getting in all my calories and passing my fall final exam.

Cheers,

Hildie