Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, and Cooking Q & A - 2/21/2014

Sometimes we have questions that we don't really know who to ask. I am here to help you. If you have questions about Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, or Cooking let me hear them, maybe I can help.

I have never really read nutrition labels on food before.  Are there any secrets to it, or is it just simple math?

There are a couple that I know of and probably a lot more that I don't know of. When you look at a label what you care most about is how much protein is in what you are about to eat, how many carbohydrates, and how many calories are in it. The fat is important too but not so much the amount (although some on here hate when I say that) but you want to make sure there are NO trans fats and that the saturated fats are not crazy high (as a rule of thumb I try not to eat things where the saturate fats are higher than the unsaturated fats - except coconut oil).

So the first trick I know of is that the first ingredient listed is the ingredient that exists most in the product. So if you are eating something that claims to be "high protein" or a "good source of protein" and the first ingredient is flour or some variation of a carb, you know its not a good thing to eat. But the ingredient list is listed in the order in which the amounts of the ingredient exist in the product from highest to lowest.

The second trick is carbs and this part depends on how you are counting carbs. If you decide to go with the Net Carb approach you will want to look at the total carbohydrates and you can subtract any fiber carbs (as most fiber is undigestible) and sugar alcohols (either undigestible or partially undigestible). Some people use this approach and some say when they do they get carb cravings. I would say it is best not to follow it because your weight loss and long term success will be better if you don't. 

You will also want to pay particular attention to the sugar carbs because they are the most impactful carbs on the label so if something is 10g of carbs (which arguable can be considered low carb) and 9 or 10g are sugar carbs, then its going to have an impact on your blood sugar.

Read them always and if you find something you don't understand, just ask it here. The more you read them, the better you will get at it.

Beyond that it is basically simple math.

Do you have a general rule of thumb on calorie/protein that you eat?  A recommendation I got at one of my support meetings was to not eat things w/ less than 8g protein per 100 cals...and no more than 15 sugar per serving.  I haven't run across anything w/ that much sugar but there are things that I eat that don't fit that protein model (for example, hummus).  It's interesting to me how so many people say hummus is good in protein when really it doesn't have that much.  

Yeah, lots of things claim to be good protein or good fiber and then you read 3g. Hummus is good because it is filling has fiber, has protein and the carbs in it are slow digesting.

I don't really have any hard and fast rules. I would not eat something that had 15g of sugar per serving period. But protein I would want to see at least 7 to 10g. Keep in mind that post-op most of us cannot eat a whole serving of something, so really we are probably only getting half of what it says. My only rules are protein first and I don't really eat a lot of processed foods. The most processed things I eat are Quest Protein bars and Light & Fit Greek Yogurt. Outside of that mostly whole foods.

Yeah, we've been a whole foods household for years.   Healthy food has never been my problem...volume has!  It's very easy for me to avoid processed foods but I sure was disappointed when I entered my hummus into MFP.  Your points on it are very good and I'll eat it again someday but right now I guess it's just not enough protein for me to use the tummy space for it.  I agree, 15 g sugar is too many, but that was a guideline mentioned.  With so much focus on protein I'm really not running into much that has sugar right now, anyway.

I'm still having a hard time getting protein in w/o shakes.  I guess they'll be a part of my life for a while longer but even these are too processed for my liking.  They have a very chemically taste to them. 

So, I'm trying to decide how to react to what the scale in telling me this week...

I've bascially lost 2 pounds in the last week, and since my scale provides BF% it says 90% of that came from loss of lean mass.  I'm pretty good at maintaining proper weigh-in discipline, so even if the number isn't accurate, I believe it's directionally correct.  Prior to this week, everything was right on schedule with zero loss of lean mass.

My best guess is this ramped up by my training for a 10k in March which pushed my exercise towards more cardio out of necessity.  Overall, I'm probably 80%/20% on cardio/weight training right now.  Since I'm half way through the training, I am running (80-90%) more than walking (10-20%) and doing longer distances.  Otherwise, my cardio isn't crazy and I do take rest days.  I don't feel like I can adjust the cardio side of what I'm doing right now and still be successfull with my 10k goal (which is to run the entire 6.21 miles with no walking).

As far as the diet goes, most days I'm around 1,200 calories with 90-100g protein, 65g fat, and 60 carb.  Almost all of my food consists of natural stuff (fish, eggs, nuts, etc.), and I don't get any calories from liquids.  I also take in around 150 ounces of water throughout the day.

So my dilemma is how to stop any loss of lean mass given the formula above.  Prior to this week's results, I only lost weight directly related to decreasing BF and helf my lean mass steady across many weeks (months even).

I'm hopeful this is just a temporary adjustment, and that everything will auto-correct within a few more measurements, but wanted to see if you had any ideas.

Thx

Don't let the BF% worry you too much, those scales can be inaccurate within a couple percentage points just based on your hydration levels. The good news is you lost 2 lbs.

To answer your question, up your protein a bit and be strategic about it, before and after your workouts. The increased cardio will reduce muscle gains for sure but don't sweat it too much. You can easily get it back. Consider taking some BCAA's they help reduce any muscle loss like that. Also start eating some slow digesting protein like casein right before you go to bed, especially during cardio periods like this. When you sleep your body will get whatever protein it needs for healing and muscle repair from your muscles if you do not have a steady stream of dietary protein. Casein digests slowly where as whey digests quickly. Whey is good for normal consumption when you are eating every couple of hours and good for pre/post workout but terrible for night time. Casein digests over 5 to 7 hours and will provide a steady stream of protein for recover while you sleep. I like to blend mine with some almond milk and some frozen berries and make an almost ice cream out of it.

Thanks again!

Hi Keith - 

I have a couple of questions.  

1st: I have been exercising a lot, and it is making me feel great.  I'm wondering at 2.5 months out am I going a little overboard?  I'm spinning about twice a week, running / lifting about twice a week, doing yoga 1-2 / week and playing hockey 1-2 / week.  I feel great after exercise, but the past couple days I have felt really run down, so I took them off.  I am finding exercise is a great stress relief and kind of replacing what food did for me.  What are your thoughts?  

2nd: This is kind of in line with my exercise, but I am wondering if I am eating the right amount.  I am staying below 800 calories / day and probably averaging 750 w/ ~80+ grams of protein.  I am pretty consistently strong w/ my water (64 - 80+ oz /day).  I am 5'10 and 32 years old.  My nutritionist is not giving me much guidance on the amount of calories.  Logically, I think I should be slowly increasing as I get further away from surgery and closer to goal, but I'm not sure.  What do you think?

Thank you!