Clean Eats, Sweet Potato-Apple Waffles

by Kris Pitcher

Last week I made a big decision. Those of you who know me, know that on Saturday's I lock the doors, draw the shades and indulge in a homemade pizza. I don't brag about many things...but I make a really good pizza.

I make the dough by hand, kneading it for 8 full minutes - after my arm workout day...with sore triceps. I'm committed to this pizza.

This meal is my weekly "cheat" meal or re-feed meal. But last week after enjoying my most delicious pizza I looked in the mirror on Sunday and came to my decision. No more wheat.

The time has come in my prep to re-feed with the fuel that I will load with come contest time. Thus the decision to switch my meal. Don't worry though, I will still lock the doors and pull the shades.

This week (insert big reveal) we're having waffles! And here's what I'm fixing tonight:

Sweet Potato-Apple Waffles
1 C rice flour
1 C rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 C sweet potato (previously baked)
3 egg whites
1/2 C applesauce (unsweetened, natural, nothing added)

Mix it all up (add water to make appropriate consistency if it's too thick) and pour onto heated waffle iron. No, I'm not going to figure out the nutritional information for you...it's a cheat meal. A clean cheat meal. I made up the recipe and I'm going to enjoy the crap out of it tonight.

I will be putting some (not a lot) peanut butter on top, and probably some sugar free syrup (although it will give me gas...). Is it night time yet? Enjoy your waffles anytime!

Benefits of Cocoa

by Kris Pitcher

Cocoa isn't just for steaming hot mugs of yumminess on winter days. Cocoa has many benefits and contains the much sought after compounds, flavanols.

Flavonols are antioxidants. Antioxidants are important to fighting free radicals which damage cells by causing oxidative stress. Flavonols interrupt the free radicals. Nice.

Cocoa comes from a bean. It's not the stuff with marshmallows in the Swiss Miss packets. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and has cardiovascular benefits including decreasing blood pressure. The antioxidants in cocoa helps us increase our HDL cholesterol (the good kind).

HDL helps the body metabolize fats in the bloodstream, lowering LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and preventing heart attack and stroke. So, what can you do with this powder?

Eating it in powder form is your best bet. You don't need the sugar and fat found in dark chocolate (with a high cocoa content). Add a tablespoon of dry cocoa to your morning cup of coffee or throw it in the blender with your shake. You'll be adding 12 calories, 1gm fat, 2 gm dietary fiber, 1 gm protein.

Raw cocoa is bitter, but if you add it to your yogurt or coffee it's actually a great taste. It tastes rich and...chocolatey. Redirecting your taste buds to this natural flavor will give you the benefits without the sugar and fat. Enjoy! 

Performance Pressure

by Kris Pitcher

We feel the pressure to perform whether we are competing as athletes, in the workplace, or trying to be the best parent we can be. The pressures come from external sources, and they come from within as well.

The external pressures are tough to manage. But it's really the way we internalize those, or the way we assign them to ourselves. We see many role models we'd like to emulate. We're bombarded with images really, of the way we should perform.

We can assign those to ourselves, deciding we have to live up to - perform up to - them. Or not. It's sort of like keeping up with the Jones'.

Do you really have to become the CEO? Would it be perfectly acceptable to excel in your field at the level you're currently at?

Likewise, do we have to compete with our eye on national, then professional level? Or can we just compete at a local level working to do better than we did against ourselves the year before? There is no right or wrong answer.

The pressure to perform is simply about what we want. It's OK to want it all, or just your little piece. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to perform it might be something to have a thoughtful conversation with yourself about.

Being accountable to what you've said you are going to do is a little different. Sure, there's pressure there. That kind of positive stress is good for us. It makes us work harder, train more and do better. Just remember why you've decided to do something. Is it for you, or is it for someone else?

The internal pressures we put on ourselves can put us in a spin too. It's about maintaining perspective and taking things one at a time. It's about managing your time and not overloading your schedule. Does everything have to be absolutely perfect in your home, work and personal life? Maybe, and maybe not.

Maybe there are areas where you can give a little, let the pressure off yourself until your big performance. The point is, you control that. You drive that. The pressure is coming from you. Manage it. It's your choice.

Regardless of where the pressure is coming from, internal or external, you've got to balance and juggle it all. We all feel it, we just manage differently. As you work toward your next big goal, keep in mind you are in control. You are doing it for you...and you've got this!

Baking Soda Loading

by Kris Pitcher

Sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, loading is an interesting topic. It's something that explosive athletes, like track athletes have had interest in for some time.

We naturally produce sodium bicarbonate, which acts as an antacid. It acts to buffer, or counter acid production in the body. Athletes have been loading with it to: delay muscle fatigue, reduce the concentration of lactic acid, increase the power output and training volume, and ultimately improve high intensity interval performance.

When we are doing high intensity exercise we're creating an acidic environment as a result of the metabolic process. Our blood has to deal with the metabolic waste including lactic acid and hydrogen ions which are byproducts of the metabolic activity happening.

As these byproducts increase in our blood, we feel muscle fatigue. When you do a wall sit for 90 seconds and you feel like your legs are on fire...you're feeling the byproducts of the metabolic process. Science. Cool.

By supplementing, or loading, with baking soda an athlete would be able to create a less acidic blood environment. They could essentially fell less burn doing high intensity exercises. Typically, it's been used for exercises greater than 60 seconds in duration and not longer than 15 minutes. We are talking about explosive, sprinting types of high intensity work.

It's generally accepted that a load would be 0.3g/kg of body weight. The biggest issues for people are gastrointestinal issues ranging from bloating to severe diarrhea. Talk about explosive!

Protocols range from acute loading prior to your event. This would typically be done 1-2 hours pre-competition putting the baking soda in 1-2 L of water. Multi-day loading either prior to the event, or prior to training is also done.

Not exactly a mainstream protocol for running your weekend 5K. Remember 60 seconds to 15 minutes. Some people do add it to their water without gastrointestinal distress for enhanced performance. Me? I'm not likely to sprint anywhere.

Kettlebells, In the Swing!

by Kris Pitcher

You've certainly seen these spherical weights in the gym. They have handles and come in a variety of sizes and weights. People are swinging them all around...but what's the kettlebell craze all about?

Kettlebells have developed from the Russian military who have used a similar cannon ball technique for years. One of the biggest benefits is combining muscular endurance with cardiovascular training making for an all in one for the time crunched.

Poor form?

The exercises are based on a multi planar method meaning they incorporate multiple joints moving together to increase coordination and muscular endurance. Working in this way, we are required to utilize our core as well as pull in opposing muscle groups. It's a whole body workout swinging these things around.

In so doing, you're working balance, coordination, muscular strength and endurance and your heart rate is up there as well. The proponents really like the whole body approach the kettlebell workout offers.

Depending on your personal joint issues, and your specific goals, the kettlebell may or may not have a place in your program. Any kettlebell workout should be done with a certified instructor, and specifically with someone who understands your joint issues.

Take the photo for example. Her squat position is decent, although her chest could be more upright. As she moves to her upright position her shoulders are impinged, her trapezius is doing all the work, and her quads are disengaged. Her shoulder joint is in a compromised position.

These tools can be used individually, or in a group setting. Like anything, it's not something to become competitive with in terms of how much weight you can swing around. Each of us has our own abilities and limitations.

Is it for everyone? Not in my opinion. This is something which has been developed for athletes, for law enforcement and for elite populations. It wasn't developed for general population use, and most people I know will tell you about their latest shoulder injury at the drop of a hat.

Can it be used safely. Sure, under strict guidance from someone who is trained and knows what they are doing. You can incorporate it within a certain range of motion for your ability, under supervision.

Like anything, it is a tool to add variety. But I do cringe most times I see someone pick one up and swing it around. Then I duck and take cover!

Magic Bullet Or Creative Marketing, On Fat Burning Ingredients

by Kris Pitcher

We would all love to boost our fat metabolism. Amen! There is of course some very creative marketing around this topic. Don't fool yourselves, this is a multi-billion dollar industry, and everyone wants to cash in on our desire to burn more fat.

Anecdotal claims aside, I mean I really don't care what your neighbor swears by, there is some valid science behind some of the supplementation out there. One of the most simple, and possibly least sexy, ways we can boost our metabolism is with caffeine.

Caffeine works to enhance the sympathetic nervous system activity releasing fatty acids from adipose and intramuscular tissue storage. Now, that is sexy.

One of the key findings here is that its effects seem to acutely enhance metabolism at rest and during low-intensity exercise but less during moderate and high-intensity exercise. (Jeukendrup & Randell 2011)

Now, this is me thinking out loud here (using my logic and all)...but since we are utilizing fatty acids at a larger rate during rest and low-intensity exercise to begin with due to the energy system we are using, it makes sense we are enhancing metabolism of that activity (during the energy system it's most active - low-intensity) with this supplement. Whew, that was a long winded thought. In short, the supplement works the best during the energy system were we are already releasing the most fatty acids.

Another big one in the supplement arena is L-carnitine. It's marketed to increase muscle mass, improve fat metabolism and enhance fat loss. Yes! Sign me up for that! So, does it work?

The science isn't sure. L-carnitine is present in large quantities in meat and has been of interest in the industry for over 20 years. That's a long time to study a supplement. What it does for us is transport long-chain fatty acids across the membrane of our muscle cell's mitochondrion. It takes the fatty acid to the place where it needs to go for further breakdown.

So, if we can increase the transport, we should be able to increase the amount of fat metabolism. But again, the science isn't conclusive. While this one isn't conclusively out, it's not conclusively in either. Twenty years of interest however, has my interest peaked.

There's the skinny on two commonly marketed fat burning ingredients. Read your labels, and know how these things interact with the rest of your plan. You can decide if you need a fancy fat burning complex. Or, if you might just need a quick cup of coffee before your cardio? It's up to you, now that you know.

Quiet Diet

by Kris Pitcher

Sometimes when we're doing something we think is really super great we stand on the roof-tops and shout it out. It's no wonder, I mean we are excited, motivated and ready to go!

Then we look around from up there...and no one else seems to be as excited about it as we are. This is where the "quiet diet" concept comes in handy. It might seem strange not to share what you're doing. Yet, in a way you're just dieting on the down-low.

When we are making lifestyle changes we can do a couple of things to help ourselves be more successful. We can start by knowing our changes will be lifelong rather than for a short period. With this in mind, the quiet approach makes sense.

If we are going to do things on a long-term basis, a big loud party certainly doesn't make sense. Getting everyone all riled up for years of change sort of seems like it might be lost on them. And it is.

It can also be scary for those around us to think about us making changes. The quiet approach of making small changes, or dieting on the down-low, is helpful here as well. When people feel threatened by our new lifestyle they often feel left behind.

This isn't any good for our relationships, for our family. But if we are quietly making small changes, it's easier to adapt. Before you know it, everyone wants to join you after dinner to go on a walk in the neighborhood if you just do it vs. making a huge production out of it.

So while the changes you are making seem big to you, and the commitment to that change is HUGE for you...it's not a big enough deal to shout it from the roof-tops and expect a parade. Keeping things quiet, on the down-low, might help you embrace that inner power as you enact these changes for yourself.

As you do, you might be better equipped to field those questions when the people around you begin to ask you if you're slimming down, feeling more refreshed, or why all of a sudden you seem full of life. You'll know just why!