Film. "Losing It"

"Losing It" is one of the first short films Ken and I created, so how fitting is it that it has a nutrition theme!

About: It's a story that hits a little close to home about a girl who is obsessed about what she eats and how much she exercises. It's that obsessiveness that leads to highs and lows and a yearning to achieve balance in life again.




Nutrition Takeaway: The character's fatal flaw is that she fails to see that it's the sudden changes of extreme highs and lows in her diet that will send the body into a reactionary mode of storing fat.

On the other hand, moderate changes in diet and exercise, will lead the body to a stage were it is able to successfully lose body fat gradually as time goes on. Also, it will make it a lot easier to maintain the changes for longer until they become a habit.

Moderation is key here, so go ahead and have that ice cream, but make that a child's scoop.

Lose 10 pounds this Summer

Not looking forward to making your first bikini appearance this year? How about wearing that tight spandex cycling jersey and shorts? Summer is here and with that, I have a lot of people asking me how they can lose those annoying and very stubborn 10 pounds of fat. I first tell them, if they calorie count, they will see the pounds fly off, but really, who has the time to keep track of every morsel that goes into their mouth? Instead, I have come up with some simple tips for you to follow this summer and you'll be well on your skinny way:

1) Maintaining an optimum percentage of carbohydrate, fat and protein.
The next time you sit down for a meal, think of how much real estate each of these groups take. At last half of your plate should consist of vegetables or fruit. Also, eating healthy fat in moderation will actually help you lose fat, so make sure you do not omit that group at each meal. The following breakout is recommended:
• 50-60% Carbs. Mostly fruits and vegetables. Whole grains at certain times.
• 25-30% Fat. Consist of healthy oils such as olive oil, avocado and nuts.
• 20-25% Protein. Consist of lean proteins such as fish and chicken.

2) Eating carbohydrates at times when it benefits the body most.
Eat whole grains such as pastas and breads when your body needs them most. This is before, during and after a workout to fuel and aid in recovery. If you eat these at a sedentary part of the day, such as eating pasta before bed, the body doesn’t need this fuel and will store it as fat. Also, other than before, during or after workouts, get your carbs mainly from vegetables and fruit since they are not as easily converted to fat. Plus, you get the added benefit all the vitamins these foods offer.

3) Building muscle.
Muscle aids the body in burning fat, so weight train at least 3 times a week for 45-60min. If you get bored in the gym lifting weights (me!), try 24 Hour Fitness' LIFT or STET weight lifting classes. In one hour, you push yourself a lot harder than you would on your own.

Spandex here we come!

Tahoe Century Race: Nutrition Report

I did it! My first century. I came through the finish line in 6 hours and 2 minutes, but had to do a few extra laps around the parking lot just to get the 100 miles mark on my Cateye. I averaged 17.5 mph overall and throughout the course, formed pelatons that pushed me to keep 21mph on the flats. There were points were I thought to myself that there was just no way I could hold this pace any longer and thought about how easy it would be to fall back. But, then I'd think how much harder I'd have to cycle through the wind if I was by myself, so I just pushed on to stay behind the pack. I knew I was not going to be as fast as the peleton on the hills, so I paced myself trying to not lose them by too much, and when the descent came (finally!), I would get in an tuck position, wouldn't brake and end up catching up with them. This strategy seemed to work well on this century because there were not too many long climbs.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the century was the view. There were times where I would turn around a bend and the snow covered mountains and crystal blue water was just so mesmerizing that I thought this is what it must be like to cycle in the Swiss Alps. The elevation was not really a problem, neither were the cars that steered clear out of our way. There were people stationed along the way to make sure we stopped at intersections, but some of those intersections really did not warrant a stop. If I just stopped pedaling, that equals a "stop", right?

In terms of nutrition, I felt like I ate the right amount during the race. I came in around 1700 calories, which is just about the recommended 2 calories per pound per pound of body weight. I felt light and had a lot of energy at the end of the ride. A lot of people have been asking me what I ate before, during and after the race so I thought I'd provide a little report of that below.

Night Before:
Whole Wheat pasta, Ravioli and Salad

Breakfast at 5:30am:
1.5 cups of Oatmeal with 1 banana, pecans, honey and milk mixed in
Approx. Breakfast Calories: 530 calories

Pre-race at 6:20am:
1/2 Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar
8oz of water
Approx. Calories: 250 calories

During Race 6:30am-12:30:
Miles 1-20:
1/2 Peanut Butter Clif Bar

Rest Stop #2:
1/4 bagel with Peanut Butter
1/2 banana & cantalope
1 Fig newton

Rest Stop #3/ Lunch Break:
1/2 veggie sandwich
handful of pretzels & chips

Mile 85:
1 Double Espresso GU to give me a boost to finish the last 15 miles quickly

Throughout Race:
4 Bottles of Water
3 scoops of Clif Shot Electrolyte Replacement Powder: Calories: 160
4 scoop of Carbo-Pro Pure Carbohydrate Powder: Calories: 440
6 pieces of Cran-Razz Clif Shot Bloks

Approx. Calories consumed during race: 1700
Approx. Calories expended during the race: 6388 (per heart rate monitor)

After our last rider had come in, we all decided to do a ride through the finish line together. Here we are, with big smiles after finishing our first century ride of the season.

Curb Post Workout Feasts

I'm in the height of my training for a 129 mile bike race called the Death Ride. I'm cycling up to 200 miles per week and cross training with weights and swimming. So, you'd think I'd be losing weight, right? Most annoyingly, the answer is NO! I've actually gained 5 pounds since I started training at this level. The reason being, my body craves all types of foods, healthy and unhealthy, and lots of it. It's extremely hard for me to limit portions, especially in fats, when I workout so much. I have this endless craving for peanut butter, sweets and any heavy carb dishes--favorites after a workout are Indian food, vegetarian burritos and salty tortilla chips.

In an effort to stop these after workout feasts, I did research on how athletes properly fuel themselves during and after a long workout. I've summarized this into 3 simple steps you can follow during and after your long workouts:
1) Eat more during the ride. You need approx. 2 calories per hour per pound of body weight which you can get through a carb & electrolyte drink, Clif bars, and other energy foods. If it is a long ride and is going through lunch, it is recommended you eat "real" foods such as a sandwich and a banana.
2) Have a snack ready to eat within 30min after a ride. It should contain both carbs and protein. Suggestions are a peanut butter banana sandwich, banana peanut butter smoothie with milk, or whole wheat pasta withParmesan cheese and an egg for protein.
3) Eat a healthy meal within 1-2 hours after a ride. Complex carbs and lean proteins should be the main players in this meal. Brown rice, potatoes/yams, steamed vegetables, grilled chicken, fish, lean steak and whole wheat pasta with olive oil, fresh rosemary and garlic are all favorite food choices among Pro Cyclists.

I will be sticking to this workout eating plan over the course of the next month leading up the the Death Ride and will hopefully report back that I'm not carrying those 5 lbs of burrito fat up the Death Ride hills.

Birth of a Nutrition/Film Blog

As I researched the hundreds of nutrition blogs, I thought how I could add value to what already exists. Finally, while eating my favorite dark mint chocolate and watching one of the films I created this past year, it hit me! How many people have both a passion for nutrition and for film making? And really, what better way is there to get people more interested & informed about the foods they eat than to create engaging films about it? So, this blog will contain videos, both fiction and nonfiction, with a nutrition/exercise theme as well as postings about sports nutrition, non-profit community nutrition programs, and any interesting topics on nutrition I think you'll be fascinated by. May we all enjoy healthy, great tasting foods and live long active lives.