Sneaky Brownies: Healthy Fats and Fiber Right Here!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time with lots of fabulous food and fantastic family time. My family has a tradition, it's the tradition of Pie. Every year, the main even at Thanksgiving is not the turkey (we had 3...) not the side dishes (not even the whipped-with-real-cream mashed potatoes) but it's, really, about the pies.

This year, the 23-pie selection included pumpkin, pecan, key lime, S'mores, chocolate creame coconut, a General Pie-treas (my witty brothers' pie) and numerous fruity variations. Delicious!

However, I don't like pie.

I made a Not-Pie instead. Also, being the nutrition nut that I am, I made a healthy Not-Pie and I thought I would share the recipe so this holiday, there can be some desserts that are not an insulin coma waiting to happen. Here's the link to the original recipe (I love Cara's site!), and below is my not-following-the-recipe version:

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 1/2 fairly ripe avocado

- 3 eggs

- 4 Trader Joe 100 calorie 70% dark chocolate bars, mostly melted (they were cheaper than other chocolate options...)

- About 2 Tbs of agave nectar (honey works too)

- Heaping tablespoon of Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa powder (yuuuummmm)

- 2 TBS stevia powder (or until it tastes good to you) I actually don't have sugar in my pantry, much to my tea-drinking mother's distress.

1. In a food processor, blend the eggs, beans and avocado until smooth. It will look like dark poop.

2. Pre-heat your oven to 350-ish (I always forget to to this first and since I'm relating how I made this delicious chocolaty goodness, I'm trying to stay true to my actually cooking technique.)

3. Melt the chocolate bars in the microwave (or stove if you have a double boiler) until their mostly melted. I'm impatient so I didn't wait for them to melt all the way. Add them into the black bean goopy-goop. Also add in the cocoa powder and agave nectar. Pulse until well blended.

4. Add stevia (or whatever sweetener you prefer) until it tastes good to you. Mine were not super sweet (like traditional brownies) but still maintained the bitter characteristic of dark chocolate. And sweet enough not to taste the black beans too.

5. Pour mixture into pan of choice; since I was making a Not-Pie, I used a circular pan, but I'm pretty sure that a rectangular pan will make no difference in taste. Cara suggests using an 8 x 8 pan and she's pretty smart.

6. Bake about 30-ish minutes or until you can poke the middle and the poker comes out clean. They'll be more fudge-like than cake-like.

Ta-daa!! Pretty easy huh? So, why should you make these this holiday season (and risk 5-year olds telling you they don't like your pie? (True story)). Reasons are as follows:

1. The recipe offers up a healthy dose of fiber, which we know is a good thing for our bodies and can be scarce during the holiday meals. Also, the fiber helps prevent blood sugar spikes and the ensuing insulin spikes, keeping a steady blood sugar level in the blood (and NO sugar crashes). The fiber also helps fill you up so you eat less.

2. There are healthy monosaturated fats in the avacado (the ones doctors are ga-ga about for healthy hearts). These fats are incorporated in cell walls (helping keep cells healthy, happy and young).

3. There is a good dose of protein from the beans and eggs (woefully lacking in most sweet things)

4. Avocado and black beans provide multiple beneficial compounds like luetin (prevents macular degeneration), vitamin E  and glutothione (both helps fight against disease and sickness, like colds, keeping you healthy during the festivities),  both contain multiple flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties. My favorite fact, black beans have molybdenum which is a trace element which breaks down and detoxifies the body from sulfites, compounds found in wine and salad dressing, and while only some people are sensitive to them, they can't be great to have floating around your body.

5. This is more of a personal benefit, but because they're not as sweet as most desserts, I feel less sluggish after having some.

6. The feeling of smugness knowing what is in them when people are enjoying your delightful brownies.

Fluid is Fluid? A Lesson in Hydration

The weather for the second half of this week around the DC Metro area promises to be a bear! The kind of bear that brings high humidity and high temperatures with it. Yuck-o.

In honor of it really feeling like summer, I've put together a bit of a hydration survival guide (you can take that literally, by the way) for strength and power athletes:

Hydration and Strength:

• A sweat-induced body weight loss of 2% during a training session can result in a significant performance decline. Strength, power, and overall performance will suffer.
• A sweat-induced body weight loss of 4% or more during a training session begins to cause physiologic strain resulting in increased core body temperature, heart rate, and perceived effort.
• Try to stay ahead of trouble by consuming fluids throughout a training session. Rather than simply attempting to replace lost weight via water and sports drinks after the session is over.

• Athletes involved in multiple practices or training sessions in a single day need to take their hydration seriously as a domino effect of declining performance can occur from one training session to the next.

How Much is Enough?

• Depending on training status, fitness level, body size, training intensity, and heat acclimation status, athletes tend to sweat at a rate of 0.5-2.0L per hour (that's liters! 2 liters an hour... let it sink in).
• To prepare to enter a training session well hydrated, consume at least 1L or 34 ounces of fluid the day before exercising AND/OR consume 14-20 ounces 2 hours before training session begins and continuing to ingest fluids throughout session.
• Exercise lasting less than 90-minutes really only warrants water as a sufficient source of hydration.
• Exercise beyond 90-minutes should include a carbohydrate sports beverage to provide both fluid replacement and a fuel source for the working muscles.
• The addition of electrolytes - even though marketing companies will have you believe otherwise - are unnecessary for most strength/power athletes as their diet covers this base. However, when acclimating to extremely hot/humid conditions or if you are in a negative caloric balance, electrolyte addition can be a good idea.
• Consider taking in fluids during practice/training in the same quantity and timing that you will during competition.

• During hot/humid conditions it is a good idea to take your body weight before and after exercise. Then replace each pound lost with 24 ounces of fluid.

What Counts as Fluid?

• Anything that is safe for human consumption has fluid in it and counts towards total daily fluid intake (check out the table below, all those amounts add up). Plus, things like coffee, tea, and *gasp* even soda count, too (counting as fluid is different from what is optimal to consume, by the way).
• Men should take in 128 ounces (3.8L) of fluid each day.
• Women should take in 88 ounces (2.6L) of fluid each day.
• Check out the fluid content of some common foods:

Cucumber (1 large)

10 oz

Watermelon (1 wedge)

9 oz

Asian pear (1 large)

8 oz

Chicken noodle soup (1 cup)

8 oz

Corn (1 cup)

7 oz

Salad (1.5 cups)

7 oz

Lowfat yogurt (1 cup)

6 oz

Lowfat cottage cheese (1 cup)

6 oz

Baked beans (1 cup)

6 oz

Baked potato (1 medium)

5 oz

Brown rice (1 cup)

5 oz

Grapes (1 cup)

5 oz

Apple (1 medium)

4 oz

Oatmeal (1 cup)

4 oz

Orange (1 medium)

4 oz

You'll probably have a tough time staying cool for the rest of the week, but hopefully this helps keep you well hydrated. Good luck!

Guacamole in 3 Minutes: How to Make Delicious Guacamole in a Flash

When it comes to food toppings, I don't think many can make a case for anything that's better than guacamole. It's the magic maker for all things hamburgers, vegetables, sandwiches, and don't even get me started on Chipotle. Guacamole even rivals bacon when it comes to the fairy dust of the food kingdom.

However, and I don't know about you, but despite the fact that guacamole is irresistibly delicious, and healthy for you (yes, fat is healthy), I often choose not to make it because of how tedious a process it can be. You know, dicing up all those tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, red onions, cilantro etc. into itty bitty pieces.

Not only that, but you put all that hard work into making the guac, and then the freaking stuff turns brown and disgusting (yes, even if you add lime juice....I've tried it) a mere 48 hours after storing it in the fridge. Aaaaarrrggghhhhh!

Not anymore. Enter the world's fastest way to make guacamole. I recently learned this from my older brother, and just last week I whipped up an entire batch of guacamole in a matter of three minutes. (For those of you who know how slow and meticulous I move in the kitchen, you can appreciate how revolutionary this method was for me.)

Step 1

Buy pre-made salsa in the grocery store. This is the step that saves you the eons of vegetable chopping. You'll want the kind that is pretty dry, with a consistency similar to that of pico de gallo. So, you're essentially purchasing a container of pre-chopped guacamole ingredients, sans the avocado obviously.

This is the list of ingredients in my salsa:

• Tomatillos
• Red Onions
• Green Pepper
• Lime Juice
• Jalapenos
• Cilantro
• Garlic Powder
• Salt

Yeah, it does take a bit of the "authenticity" out of the equation, but if you're like me and want to save time, do yourself a favor and just pick up a container of this salsa and save all the vegetable chopping.

Step 2

Pour the salsa into a bowl, and then add the ripened avocados. Mix, match, and stir until you've reached your desired consistency.

Place on desired food, and bask in the rays of human ecstasy as you experience the heights of food deliciousness.

Woah woah woah, can that really be IT? Yep, that's it. Guacamole in three minutes.

Enjoy, and share this with everyone!

Coke Exec Answers Questions

Everyone's heard of the ban on sugary drinks NYC Mayor Bloomberg wants to implement. But, what does a Coca-Cola executive have to say about it? The interview is quite entertaining, but here's a highlight:

Q: What sugary drink limits do you place on your kids?

A: My job as a parent is to guide them through the day to make the best choices. If my son has lacrosse practice for three hours, we go straight to McDonald's and buy a 32-ounce Powerade.

Thank goodness for McDonald's! Personally, I'd rather stop at a convenience store to pick up Powerade rather than "guide" my children to look to McDonald's for anything - even if it is just a drink.

Read the story, you'll get a chuckle.

Q&A: Pre-Competition Carbohydrate Loading

Q: I have a question, Do you know or have an opinion on whether or not carb loading the night before a sports match (in this case a crew regatta/race) is beneficial?

A: This is a great question and something I haven’t considered much lately. My opinion is that carb loading is unnecessary for 99.9% of the population and is most likely to lead to gastric distress, not faster race times.

However, I’m quick to admit when a question is treading upon territory I rarely visit and this area is not my specialty. So, I consulted a couple sources to see what the research is saying.

First up, a study regarding carbohydrate loading and resistance training (The effects of carbohydrate loading on repetitive jump squat power performance.):

…only few data are available on the effects of CHO loading on resistance exercise performance. Because of the repetitive use of high-threshold motor units, it was hypothesized that the power output (power-endurance) of multiple sets of jump squats would be enhanced following a high-CHO (6.5 g CHO kg body mass(-1)) diet compared to a moderate-CHO (4.4 g CHO kg body mass(-1)) diet. Eight healthy men (mean +/- SD: age 26.3 +/- 2.6 years; weight 73.0 +/- 6.3 kg; body fat 13.4 +/- 5.0%; height 178.2 +/- 6.1 cm) participated in 2 randomly assigned counterbalanced supplementation periods of 4 days after having their free-living habitual diet monitored. The resistance exercise test consisted of 4 sets of 12 repetitions of maximal-effort jump squats using a Plyometric Power System unit and a load of 30% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM). A 2-minute rest period was used between sets. Immediately before and after the exercise test, a blood sample was obtained to determine the serum glucose and blood lactate concentrations. No significant difference in power performance existed between the 2 diets. As expected, there was a significant (p </= 0.05) decrease in power performance between the repetitions in every set. Blood lactate concentrations were significantly higher postexercise with both the high-CHO and the moderate- or lower-CHO diet, but there were no differences between conditions. The results indicated that the power output during multiple sets of maximal jump squats was not enhanced following a higher-CHO diet compared to a moderate- or lower-CHO diet. These data show that elevated carbohydrate intake is not needed to optimize a repetitive power-endurance performance when it is done as the first exercise in a workout.

The second reference I’m using is the position of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and is looking at endurance performance:

• Part of all the ergogenic effect of carbohydrate loading recorded in most studies to date could be attributed to a placebo effect (endurance athletes are typically well educated and would expect a performance boost thus introducing a psychologic bias).

• The performance-enhancing effect of carbohydrate loading is small and in real-life competition most likely only significant in influencing the finishing order among top elite-level cyclists, not “back-of-the-pack” cyclists.

• Consuming adequate carbohydrate during prolonged exercise (at least non-steady events)may be more important that glycogen supersaturation via carbohydrate loading before exercise.

Another side to the above research worth pointing out is that the control groups are always consuming PLENTY of carbohydrates already! The first study has the controls at 4.4 g CHO/kg bodyweight while the second position from the ISSN is citing a study in which the control was at 6.0 g CHO/kg bodyweight!

This brings me to my own question: What happens if you purposely deplete glycogen stores and then try to resaturate them immediately prior to a race or competition?

Recently, I noted that the strength/conditioning coach for University of Maryland’s women’s basketball team imposed a period of carbohydrate depletion to quickly establish improved glycogen sensitivity to help power them through the ACC tournament. I can’t tell you for certain if this worked, but in theory I think it’s a great approach. It’s common practice among physique athletes (i.e., bodybuilding, figure, etc.) to deplete carbohydrate stores leading up to a competition only to really load up the day of the show. The goal being to “fill out” the muscles again. This doesn’t have anything to do with athletic performance, but worth noting.

To get back to your question: no, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to carbohydrate load the night before (or even three days before) a competition. My advice would be to moderately increase carbohydrate in the hours before a race. Begin with a carbohydrate dense meal at four-hours out, a well-tolerated and significant carbohydrate dense snack at two-hours out, and then sports drink from then on.

Hope this helps!

What Should You Eat (or Drink) Before and After a Workout?

This is a common yet important question I receive all the time, so I thought it may interest many of you readers if to briefly discuss it here on SAPTstrength. Now, this topic can get pretty geeky pretty fast, so my goal here is to KISS, give you a quick n' dirty rundown, and avoid delving into the myriad metabolic consequences of resistance training (shifts in hormonal release, the acute and chronic shifts in protein balance, up- and down-regulation of androgen and other specific membrane-bound receptors, etc.), how your pre/peri/post-training nutrition can specifically enhance/attenuate these positive/negative consequences, and related topics that I'm sure the majority of you would rather swallow nuclear waste than read about.*

I realize that most of you only care about the "Okay, so what do I actually do?" question as opposed to all the fancy schmancy science, and "whys" of the issue. (At least I think this is an accurate statement.)

I'll cut right to the chase: The supplement industry will have you believe that you need a very specific formula of proteins, carbohydrates, and [insert X superduperawesome compound necessary to become a walking science experiment and stun your peers into submission]. They tell you that if you don't take their product, then you won't maximize the results of your workout (be it muscle building, fat loss, or athletic performance) and you won't recover as quickly/optimally betwixt training sessions.

Is there any merit to consuming a beverage containing a specific carb:protein ratio (usually 3:1 or 4:1)? Yes.

Do these supplements "work"? Yes. (depending)

Have I ever taken them/recommended them to my athletes and clients? Yes. (minus the ridiculous over-the-top supplements)

Are they necessary to achieve your goals and are you a fool not to take them? NO.

Do I still take them? No. (unless you include fish oil or Vitamin D in this equation)

The bottom line is that nearly any combination of healthy proteins, carbohydrates, and fats pre- or post-training will be plenty sufficient in terms of supplying your body with the necessary nutrients to supply energy and boost recovery.

Here is what I am currently ingesting post training....

Example 1 (Homemade Shake)

• Almond Milk
• (Raw) Coconut Milk
• Protein Powder
• Banana
• Mixed Berries
• Gatorade Powder (for some extra sugar)
• Brazil Nuts (sometimes)
• Kale (sometimes, although I should include it all the time)

Example 2 (A Meal)

• Chicken or Steak (any dead animal flesh will suffice)
• Potato (sweet or baked)
• Mixed Veggies
• Strawberries (or any other fruit)

Try to get your post-workout "feeding" in you within 30-45 minutes of your training session.

As for before training, consume something that is easy on your stomach. It might be similar to the shake I provided above, or something as simple as a banana (or apple) with peanut butter.

It really doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

I'll tell you what, I used to construct my own "optimal" workout drink containing 50g dextrose (simple sugar), 20g whey protein, 5g Leucine (the golden child of amino acids), 5g Glutamine, and even some Vitamin C and E for good measure.

This was the "pefect" post-workout beverage (if there is a such thing), yet am no longer worrying about ingesting that specific of a formula. And you know what? I'm still alive. I'm still getting stronger. I'm still building muscle. My body fat is still at a healthy level. And I recover just as quickly as before. What do you know.....

What do I believe is even more important than your pre/peri/post workout beverage?

Yes, ingesting a quality meal shortly after training will do wonders for your recovery and aiding you in your goals. But you know what? I feel that some of us get so caught up in the intricacies of workout shakes that we miss the big picture.**

Instead of worrying about how many simple sugars we're receiving pre/post training, why don't we concentrate on giving it our all during a set of squats, deadlifts, or chinups?

Instead of wondering if our shake will help us recover fast enough, why don't we make a wholehearted effort to get a full night's sleep and partake in other stress-reducing activity throughout the week?

Rather than stressing over whether or not we remembered to put extra leucine in our shake, why don't we focus on consuming quality foods throughout the remaining 15 waking hours of the day?

Closing Thoughts

• Pre- and post-training nutrition is important, so do it! I don't really care what it is, just have SOMETHING.
• Water makes up roughly 70-80% of your muscle cell composition. So don't forget hydration!
• Supplements can be fantastic for convenience. For example, while traveling, it's much easier to fill a few ziplock bags with Surge Recoveryrather than bringing your blender with you.
• Yes, the "training window" is important for getting in a quality shake/meal, but it will never outshine dialing in your nutrition during the other 15 hours of the day.
• This post is geared toward the majority of the population. Yes, I realize there are outliers (bodybuilders two weeks out from a competition, for example) that will lead to exceptions for my recommendations. For the sake of brevity I omitted those here.
• Keep it simple. Ingest something with some sugar, protein, and even some healthy fats and make sure that it sits well with your stomach.
• From what I can judge from recent research, consuming fats will not significantly slow the absorption of other nutrients (thus hindering recovery) in the grand scheme of things.
• For athletes partaking in multiple training sessions a day: Yes, get in your post-training shakes, FOR THE LOVE!!
• Focus on quality training sessions, getting a full night's sleep, and reducing stress in your schedule. This will trump the potential benefits any workout shake.

*Although, for the record, I totally could. **I knew a guy that literally spent so much time and thought mixing and matching his chemicals for his bazillion shaker bottles, each and every day (while rarely focusing on his actual workouts), that we nicknamed him "Chemistry Set."