On the Run: fitness made simple

Yes, too much protein can indeed hurt. 

A general rule I learned in Nutrition is that the max intake of protein for any person is 2g of protein per kg (2g/kg). For example if you weigh 50 kg,  your max intake would be 100 g of protein.

Eating too much of protein pours more stress on your kidneys. Nitrogen is a main component of proteins, but our bodies do not use much of it. Therefore, our kidneys have to filter out the excess nitrogen as urea (pee). A build up of nitrogen in the body would have toxic effects. 

Also, if you are getting a lot of your protein from mammalian red meat, you could be increasing your risk of cancer. Glycans are carbohydrates from red meat and milk that get incorporated into human glycoproteins stimulating inflammation and raising the risk of carcinomas. 

Hi! I’m so glad you’re recovered and able to be active again! Did your doctor say its okay to start doing more intensive exercises? Great job keeping yourself in shape and not letting yourself go during your injured days!

Eating Healthy Starter-Kit

1. Clean out the fridge and pantry! Bite down your guilt and just throw away packaged foods and cereals with more than 5g of sugar per serving. Chuck all artificial drinks and junk foods! I know…it’s hard to throw stuff away. I’m Asian, I get it >.<
2. Make over one meal at a time: Start with building a better breakfast. Once you get the hang of that, move on to other meals.
3. Snacks should always be natural.
4. 5 servings of vegetables a day
5. Start finding substitutes for white, refined flours (i.e. lentils and beans with brown rice instead of white rice) 

Ready to get fit:

1. Work out upper body, lower body, and core each 2x a week. You don’t have to do them all the same day.
2. Mix in cardio like jump-roping (do you have cardio equipment like a treadmill?)
3. Good equipment to have: balance ball, 5-15 lb weights
4. Aim for 30 minutes in your home gym, 4x a week.
5. Always start with warm-up exercises.
6. Always stretch after your workouts to prevent any other injuries
7. Remember fitness is a combination of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Hit all 3 and you’re doing great!

Everyone know what Dragonboating is? It looks intense! 

• How many days are you dragonboating and/or working a day? If you’re only currently active only a couple days, you may be working out less than you were when you were running consistently.
• Are you going long hours between meals? It’s easier to overeat when you go 5+ hours between meals and fill up on the most accessible foods. Try splitting your meals in half and eating them 2-3 hours apart. 
• How are you stress levels? Do you have a lot to do during that day that you just want to go home and vegg-out? 
• Are you going out to eat more with your team and have more social events?
• A couple pounds is most likely muscle too! Since you’re building arm strength from rowing and quad/calf/hamstring muscles from running up and down stairs. These muscles don’t get worked as intensely during moderate running. 

Weight seems to creep up on us when we change our lifestyle, and but necessarily in a bad direction (i.e. if we move places, new schedule, new job or school). Meals may be harder to eat at regular intervals, time to exercise is never that convenient…but being able to adapt is what makes us stronger. By paying more attention to your diet, you can lose these 15 lbs in HALF the time it took you to gain it. 

Well this is what came to mind; hope it helps! 

This is a great time for a new start because summer is coming around! This will give us a lot of time to focus on establish better habits that will sustains us for busier times.

1. Start by remaking each meal: This week, focus on making a more nutritious breakfast. Then move to lunch, then dinner! 
2. Set a time for exercise: This is an essential part in an active lifestyle, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Block out 30 minutes a day to do something that makes you break harder. Try walk/jog, step aerobics, or cardio kickboxing for a full body workout.
3. Tight Budget, no problem! My inexpensive stables are Kashi GO Lean Original cereal, almond milk, oranges, bananas, eggs, beans, carrots, and pretty much all produce. If you don’t buy snack foods or fast foods, you’ll save A LOT of money. I’ll be a med student in the fall and will aim to spend $200 a month on food. I think that’s low-reasonable…
4. Bypass processed desserts: These are an energy and money drain. Reach for fresh or frozen fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth. 
5. Make time to have fun outdoors on weekends! It’s important to find ways to be active, but not feel like you’re working out intensely. 

Most importantly, live each day with purpose. 

Hi! Have you and your doctor determined the cause of your anemia? (For other readers: most anemia is caused by a vitamin deficiency in Vitamin B, Folic Acid, and/or Vitamin C but can be a symptom of inherited or other chronic disease). From my nutrition course, I learned that a common way to improve conditions by diet is by consuming  foods rich in iron, Vitamin C, B vitamins, and folic acid within a meal. Some foods include:

• Vitamin C: This one’s easy…oranges, grapefruit, mango, berries, tomatoes, bell peppers
• Folic Acid:  leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, mustard greens), and grains (quinoa, wheatberry), sweet potato, beans, lentils
• Vitamin B12: Red meat, whole eggs, yogurt, milk, cheese, nutritional yeast, fortified cereals, liver (I actually really love pâté de foie gras…)

Meal ideas:

• Breakfast: fortified cereal, milk, and an orange
• Lunch: Spinach or kale salad with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, almonds, egg slices, balsamic  vinegar and oil dressing
• Dinner: lean beef and string bean sautee, quinoa
• Snacks: Almonds, crudites (snap peas, bell peppers, cauliflower), whole grain toast
• Desserts: Greek yogurt with blueberries and/or strawberries.

Exercise! The good news is that cardio exercise like running helps to produce more red blood cells which can reduce anemia. Please talk to your doctor soon about what types and how much you can start out with. You want to get this done to have a fun and active summer!

Again for my other readers: People do not just develop anemia overnight; A person who eats meat has a 2-3 year supply of Vitamin B12 in their liver. Vegetarians and vegans who are not getting enough Vitamin B12 (which naturally comes from animal products) can have symptoms after  ~5 years after they have depleted their liver supply (pernicious anemia).

Helpful links: http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods  

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anemia-000009.htm

Good luck and hope you can start running soon =) You’ll accomplish your dream I know it! 

Hi! When I was following a vegetarian diet, I got a lot of recipes from Vegetarian Times and got lots of ideas from their 28 Day Veggie Boot Camp, http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegbootcamp/ . There’s a meal plan and newsletters to help your through the month. Will you be eating eggs? If so, that opens up a lot of options for filling meals. Browse recipes which incorporate:

• beans, lentils 
• wheatberry
• quinoa 
• broccoli  
• non-fat dairy
• curry sauces (tasty!)

Here’s one of my recipes for vegetarian spaghetti squash: http://surfnrunnr.tumblr.com/post/11383049917/spaghetti-squash-marinara-packed-with-protein-and 

Good luck! I hope you’ll enjoy your veggie-filled summer! 

If you’re going to be studying long hours, break your work into time blocks and eat during those breaks. Don’t nervously snack while you’re studying…you won’t be able to focus and you’ll be eating more than you know. Some things that worked for me while I studied for midterms, finals, mcat, etc. incude: 

• Setting time goals: Study for 3 hours and then break for a meal. 
• Walking around every hour.
• Drinking a lot of water to refresh your mind. 
• Stretching breaks (I looked awkward in the library but I pretty much owned that place) 
• Packing my own lunch and dinner so I wouldn’t have to eat cafeteria or fast food.
• Foods that helped me stay satisfied and energized: beans, apples, bananas, Greek yogurts, baby carrots, green tea, non-fat milk
• Food I bought during emergencies: Panda Express panda bowls with steamed veggies, Luna bars, ThinkThin bars, Muscle Milk, Subway 
• The best thing for your brain while you’re studying is…drum roll please…adequate sleep. You’ll memorize and retain information easier and have stronger mental stamina. 
• Brain foods for the long run: salmon, blueberries, avocado
• Great job keeping up with the running during this stressful time. Don’t stop! Even short cardio workouts throughout the week will keep you sharp and motivated.
• And most importantly…Don’t stress <3 

This is not what I mean by “adequate sleep”…