Nutrition in it self is a complex science. More so when it comes to exercising. Here are a few tips on what you can do nutritionally to optimize your health and workouts.

In general you should try to eat 5-6 smaller meals per day (including snacks) to keep your metabolism going. This way you will store less fat and burn it more efficiently. The ratio of carbohydrates to protein should be 2:1. Don’t make the mistake of starving yourself in order to loose weight (in general or after your workouts). You will just achieve the opposite.
Drink water during and after your workouts. Do not make the mistake to indulge in sport drinks. They are packed with sugar, especially fructose, which is very bad for your health and ruins the beneficial results of your workouts. Unless you are a professional, competitive athlete drinks like Gatorade make no sense. By the way, the original Gatorade tasted a lot different than the one Pepsi put on the market after acquiring the company. Skip your coffee and drink green tea. Studies show that coffee promotes weight gain around the waist by increasing cortisol levels and causing hypoglycemia. Green tea will give you the same energy boost. In addition it stabilizes your blood sugar, slightly curbs appetite and sweet cravings, helps with weight loss, promotes healthy sleep (in moderate amounts), and is good for your teeth. Just don’t put sugar into it.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, exercising before breakfast is not only healthier but also burns significantly more fat. Although the suggestions below are based on workouts performed on empty stomach they also apply to exercising in a fed state.

Cardio-Days: Wait up for 45-60 minutes after your cardio workout before you eat to maximize fat burning. Usually that is enough time to shower, get dressed and to get back home from the gym. Your post-workout meal should consist of protein from whole foods (e.g. chicken, eggs) and carbohydrates from fibrous vegetables. But do not load up on carbs. Studies found that eating a low-carbohydrate meal after aerobic exercise enhances your insulin sensitivity. And this is good for overall health and to prevent diabetes type II.

Weight-Training-Days: Have your meal 15-30 minutes afterward because you have about an hour window after your workout to get all the necessary nutrients into your muscles for them to be repaired and to grow. A good post-workout meal here would be based on protein and more readily available carbohydrates (e.g. banana, yams). Whey protein would be good (20-30g) because it is predigested and readily available.

On non-workout days stick to my general suggestions and avoid fructose except from fruit. Also reduce processed foods and refined carbohydrates as much as possible. Best is to get most of your carbohydrate But be aware that some fruits are also loaded with fructose. For example grapes are very high in fructose and low in fiber which makes them nutritionally very inferior. In general go for less fructose and high fiber content.

In a new study 28 healthy young men were subjected to a very high-caloric, high-fat breakfast for six weeks. The men were divided into three groups. Group A did not exercise at all during the six week period, group B was exposed to a very high intensity workout four times per week after their breakfast, and group C performed the same workout before their breakfast. Group B drank a sports drink during their workouts where group C only drank water.

Study outcomes showed that subjects in group A gained an average of 6 lbs within six weeks, group B 3 lbs, and group C did not experience weight gain at all. Where group A and B both developed insulin resistance, a precursor of Diabetes II, group C did not show any sign of it. Subjects in group C also seemed to burn ingested fat far more efficiently.

The authors concluded that:

“This study for the first time shows that fasted training is more potent than fed training to facilitate adaptations in muscle and to improve whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity during hyper-caloric fat-rich diet.”

Although many people feel very light, energetic, and efficient exercising this way some might experience dizziness or discomfort. In this case one should certainly eat before exercising. But not to loose the fat burning efficacy of the exercise, one should ingest about 20g of whey protein before and after. It is very important to only drink water during exercise and to avoid sugary beverages and meals for up to two hours after the workout to not ruin the fruits of your effort.

The researchers don’t know whether exercise at a more leisurely pace and for less time will have the same benefits. Therefore I personally suggest interval cardio exercises two to three times per week plus one long regular cardio workout (e.g. a long run), and an additional one or two workouts of high intensity resistance exercises to build muscle and strength. Interval cardio exercises are a quick and very efficient way to strengthen your endurance, loose excess weight, and gain maximum health benefits. If you want to build more muscle mass to refine your physique you should increase the number of high intensity resistance exercises to three times per week. But for an overall health program with additional weight loss this is not necessary.

Research shows that repetitive, traditional aerobic cardio workouts show very little long-term benefits as the body adapts to the same type of exercise very rapidly. So you have to mix it up. Henceforth the intervals. But also within the interval training I suggest to alternate between running, cycling, and the elliptical trainer, for example, so your body has no chance to adapt and you reap the most possible benefits. You can also switch the type of intervals you are using. Although I personally like 30 second high intensity followed by 90 seconds moderate intensity with 8-10 repetitions and a 4 minute warm-up there are different sequences of interval workouts.

Whatever type of exercise you are performing, never forget stretching. Not stretching will minimize your benefits significantly and will set you up for injuries.

In case you took a break from exercising you should consult with a health care practitioner who is familiar with sports medicine and exercise therapy before you start in order to avoid injuries.

The type of diet and time you ingest it is also very important after your workouts. For more information please read here.

Although I always encourage people to avoid artificial sweeteners, I want to stress the importance of avoiding a natural sweetener that, in some aspects, might even be worse. All of the following information is based on the work of Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism. For anyone who is interested in a more detailed report please watch his lecture here.

Fructose is one of the most commonly used sweeteners in the United States and has found its way into most of our foods. Used as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in sodas, juices, and sport drinks, or grape juice extract, agaves sweetener, honey, or other fruit sweeteners in almost everything on our tables, fructose poses a major threat to our health. Child and infant obesity is an epidemic and Americans in general weigh 25 lbs more than 30 years ago. Associated diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes all significantly increased despite the successful implementation of a low-fat diet since 1982 to battle obesity and heart disease. Much of this is a result of significant amounts of fructose added to our diets.

The average sugar consumption in the US has reached its peak at 141 lbs per person per year, with 63 lbs of that coming from fructose. The type of sugar our bodies utilize best is called glucose. It is our primary source of fuel and is used by every single cell in our bodies. Although over consumption of glucose certainly causes weight gain, obesity, and associated diseases, fructose is by far worse. And here is why:

• Fructose is a toxin that can only be metabolized by the liver and causes harmful effects to the body in this process. I order to metabolize it your liver produces VLDL (damaging form of cholesterol), triglycerides, and free fatty acids, which get stored as fat. It is interesting to note that the production of the damaging form of cholesterol (VLDL) is actually triggered by carbohydrates (e.g. fructose) and not by fat (triggers non-damaging form of cholesterol)
• Fructose increases uric acid levels which cause high blood pressure and gout. If your blood tests show elevated uric acid levels this might be why
• Fructose is converted into fat much more rapidly than glucose. When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Consuming fructose is like consuming fat
• Fructose causes us to eat more because it blocks the two hormones ghrelin and leptin which regulate our appetite and satiety, and it has a bad effect on our insulin regulation. Compared to 20 years ago, teen boys eat 275 kcal more per day, adult males 187 kcal, and adult females 335 kcal per day. Most of these calories (95%) come from carbohydrates not from fat (5%). We do not have more food available than 20 years ago. Our appetite regulating mechanisms just don’t work anymore.* And it’s primarily because of fructose
• Chronic fructose exposure leads to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and increased belly fat
• It depletes important vitamins and minerals your body needs
• The more fructose you eat the more you will crave it
• Fructose and sucrose behave identically

You might ask why is there so much more fructose in our diets compared to 30 years ago? For this please watch the lecture by Dr. Lustig, MD.

*One more fact I found worth mentioning: Dr. Lustig points out repeatedly that, when it comes to weight gain and associated illness from fructose, it is not essentially about the calories but the biochemical processes fructose triggers in our bodies. While this is true it is important to understand why fructose makes us eat more.

Because our appetite and hunger regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin do not respond to fructose, ingesting calories from fructose will not make you feel less hungry or more satisfied and your brain will not even recognize that you have eaten. Therefore, if a person needs to ingest 2,500 kcal per day to function and 10% of those are from fructose they will essentially eat 250 calories more than they need. And if you consume one 12 oz can of soda (150 kcal) beyond what your daily caloric requirement is (every day, for one year) you will gain 15,6 lbs of fat per year. According to Dr. Lustig this makes the obese the victim, especially when it comes to child obesity. I have to agree.

So remember, it’s not in the fats! If you want to be healthy, avoid those types of sweeteners. The best is to avoid sugar in general. If have seen many people who lost excess weight very fast  simply by cutting out processed foods, sugar and breads and by consuming a diet of mostly based on vegetables and lean protein.

A recent study found that Bisphenol-A, a common component in plastic articles (recycle codes 03 & 07) and used to line metal food and beverage cans, reduced the percentage of normally fertilized eggs by 50% during in vitro fertilization. Although further investigation is necessary this study shows that BPA can negatively impact reproductive health in women.

Click here to read more.

According to a recent article published in the German magazine Natur (June 2010 issue) plastics with the recycle codes 02, 04, and 05 are currently still considered safe although studies are underway that might show some of those substances impacting the human organism negatively as well.  Recycle codes 01, 03, 06, and 07 should be avoided.