Today, I want to discuss something just as important as the training in preparation for my 3700 mile bike ride. Nutrition is an important aspect of health in general but is very important when fueling workouts and recovering from up to 15 hours of training a week. Daily meals, nutrition during longer or intense workouts, and supplements all play a role in keeping your body ahead in regards to performance. Nutrition is also an area I constantly research and would be happy to expand upon anything I mention during this post to support why I eat like I do and what changes I'm working on.
Today I'm going to focus on my daily meal plan. Daily meals is the 1st thing to focus on when developing a nutrition plan. If this is not consistent then your workouts and nutrition during workouts will also be inconsistent. I also believe taking supplements when your daily nutrition is not up to par is a waste of money and ineffective in improving overall health. I try to follow a higher fat diet, full of saturated fats, consisting of foods such as eggs, whole fat yogurt, avocados, nuts, butter, olives, fish, and coconut milk. I believe the leading cause of a lot of chronic illnesses and obesity is due to the over consumption of carbohydrates causing increased inflammation in our gut and blood vessels, the constant fluctuation of our blood sugar, and the rapid conversion of carbs to body fat. A lot of people think that it is just the sugars in sweets, sodas, and "junk food" that cause the previous problems but more evidence shows that foods full of gluten also have these negative effects on the body. In contrast, once adapted to a higher healthy fat diet your body begins to have prolong, constant energy without the crashes from sugary foods. I definitely do not follow this as strictly as I should and know most people believe "in moderation" is key to nutrition. However, I believe the food industry today embraces this thought and is able to use our habits to making us addicted to foods that are becoming more and more toxic to our body every year.
Here is my daily meal plan when I am really keyed into nutrition. A full day of this plan happens only a couple times a week but I am able to keep most of it consistent with only 1-2 exceptions a day. I start out each day with a greens supplement drink that I take on an empty stomach. This is jammed packed of dozens of vegetables, full of vitamins. I take this in place of a manufactured multivitamin, knowing I will get more absorption from natural sources and get some hard to find nutrients from sources such as chlorella and spirulena. Then 30 mins later I have breakfast, which is always 3 eggs, whole fat yogurt with LIVE and ACTIVE cultures, along with berries mixed in. I try to do all organic for breakfast which decreases the toxic load on your body from pesticides, harmful manufacturing practices, growth hormones, and traces of antibiotics. Whole eggs provide lots of the healthy fats and protein to give you the sustained energy to last throughout the day. Eggs also contain tons of vitamins such as Vitamin B12, selenium, riboflavin, and phosphorous. I prefer mine hard boiled or scrambled with organic butter and coconut milk (even more healthy FATS!). The less the egg is cooked the more nutrition it will retain for your benefit! My plain yogurt with the cream top adds even more fats along with the probiotics from live and active cultures. Check the ingredient label to ensure your yogurt has these. This addition is proven to prevent gastrointestinal infections, boost your immune system, prevent certain types of cancer and osteoporosis. People that are lactose intolerant can usually even tolerate organic yogurt with these added cultures. Now this yogurt is pretty bland so the addition of berries add a sweetness and are full of antioxidants that will protect your body from the daily damage you put it through. I also don't do much sugary drinks but when I need a boost in the morning I add cinnamon and coconut milk to my coffee mug and fill the rest up with coffee. The cinnamon sweetens the drink and aids in leveling out blood sugar levels.
Lunch is generally eaten in the hospital's cafeteria and more days then not it is a large fresh salad full of spinach, peppers, onions, olives, cucumbers, broccoli, you get the point.... anything and everything on the salad bar really. I try to use oils as dressings but several places do not have this option so I cheat and use whatever is available. Vinager and pure olive oil, not extra virgin, is the best bet when topping off your salad. I'll also place chicken on top or add whatever meat is offered for the day to the side of my salad. Have you noticed my lack of gluten, and any carbs at all up to this point with exception to the berries? Even without this "instant" energy I feel great throughout the day. Then there is dinner. My favorite, ideal dinner is a a piece of fish, usually salmon, with a sweet potato covered with more butter and cinnamon, and another salad with avocado mixed in. The fish should be wild, not farmed, and supply lots of omega 3 fatty acids that helps normalize several blood levels. My workouts are usually right before or after dinner so the starches from the sweet potato really helps me out. When eating out quick I try to pick one of the burrito restaurants, ordering it naked with most of the toppings. These places usually have fresh produce along with their meats being from farms that practice good farming habits. My dinner can vary widely though with dinner plans always being inconsistent from dinner at home, to eating out, inviting friends over, and going to a gathering at another friends house. My main weakness is definitely giving in to the carb loaded dishes, especially Italian. The instant energy it provides often tempts and overcomes my self control due to all the energy I use on workouts.
Snacks are important of course! I enjoy a handful of nuts a couple times a day to curb my appetite These are my go to, either almonds or walnuts. I also enjoy avocados, hummus, and homemade guac (I'm currently eating guac and carrots as I type this). and My new favorite dessert that I can't get enough of is whipping up a bowl of cream and throwing in berries and nuts. It's definitely a lot tastier than the popular Fro-Yo.
And there is my general daily meal plan. The only other nutritional trick I employ is a fast on the weekends if I can wait till later in the day to do my workout. After dinner on Friday and Saturday I'll shut off the gut for the night and wait till later the next morning to eat my breakfast. This incorporates anywhere from a 12 to 16 hour fast a couple of days a week which boosts metabolism and fat utilization. I'll talk about my workout and race nutrition in a follow up post as this was starting to get quite long. If you have any questions about anything in this I would love to answer them so please share.
Also I am still in need of donations for my ride. The deadline is a month from now and I am in need of quite a bit of help still. Please considering donating by contacting myself or clicking here.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
It's More Than A Bike Ride
So you all know by now I'm biking 3,700 miles form San Diego to Washington D.C., but there is way more that I'm doing than pretending to be a jock and logging miles on my bike day in and day out. Some people not interested or passionate about individual, domestic, and international health might not enjoy this post but for those of you who are interested, this post shares my passion and work to improve global health care. I might have gotten in a little over my head but I am very excited to be a part of the 8th annual Ride for World Health, especially since this is the 1st year they will be including Oklahoma in the route. Myself and one other fellow Oklahoman are participating in the entire ride this year and as proud citizens of this amazing state we have taken it upon ourselves to ensure the best part of the ride is in our home state. This includes mapping out a route, finding activities and places to host us at then end of each day, and planning 2 big event days in Norman and Tulsa. This is on top of the bike training, fundraising for 2 amazing international health organizations, 20+ hours of Global Health modules from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), writing a 10 page research paper, and creating lectures to use while on the ride.
Planning our time in Oklahoma has been my favorite part of this experience so far. We started by creating a route that I encourage anyone to join us on anywhere across the nation. We are still accepting portion riders to ride with us for any extent. I've also been working on host sites consisting of YMCA's, churches, personal houses, camp sites, etc to provide us with warm showers, food, and places to rest at the end of each day. That's not all, after riding every day I'm booking places were we are stopping in to help with after school programs as well as meeting with youth groups, college students, bike shops, and professionals to share our vision and goals for international and domestic health care. Finally, our 2 BIG EVENT DAYS in Norman on April 10th and Tulsa on April 13th has taken a lot of planning but I know it will pay off. The support we have and will receive from these 2 communities will place Oklahoma as the best state on the route and become a staple in the route for years to come. These days' main event will be a community bike ride that I hope any of you can join in on to show your support. I've been extremely busy creating routes, finding local, corporate sponsors, and places to host the pre and post ride festivities. More details on these events in the next month as we finalize the details.
My work doesn't stop there. Most of the riders are in medical school and in order to receive credit we have quite a list of activities to complete. Currently I spend an hour or more a day completing certificate programs discussing global health systems and how we as a nation are helping spread quality health care throughout the world. I promise you, you should be proud of the work and look into supporting organizations that are promoting and taking action in this regard. I'm also narrowing done my list for my research paper and presentations for the ride. I'm looking into practical applications that we can do everyday that many people don't thing about. I'm wanting to focus on all the benefits that can be received through a few simple adjustments and especially the research behind it that companies might hide because most of the changes are inexpensive, easy, and eliminates all the "Fad" money making diets. More to come on this as I finish my work over the next 2 months.
Finally, the individual fundraising is a critical part to making this ride a success. We are raising money for 2 organizations I referred to earlier as game changers in the international health world, Empower and Advance and Village Health Network. Individually we each have a goal to raise $2,700 and combine our individual and corporate sponsors to total $150,000, the highest amount set in the past 8 years. Now if you have read this entire post I know you must really like me or the more likely alternative, you really care about the cause of this ride as much as I do. I know this is a dry post, but I wanted to show you what all I am putting into this and that it isn't just a fun-filled, easy going, mark it off the bucket list type of adventure. I am extremely passionate about health and even more so passionate about sharing what I know with others. (Feel free to ask me questions anytime and I will tell you what I know or research it to find out.)With all that said, I am in need of help, as I am still lacking a good portion of my individual goal with just over 1 month left. Please consider donating not only to myself but to these world health changing organizations by clicking here or contacting myself. We all would be beyond grateful for your partnership. Finally, if anything else in this blog interested you, you have any other resources that could benefit the ride, or want to help in anyway setting up host spots, helping with the event days, becoming a portion rider, or wanting us to visit your local business or group along the route please contact me! Thank you for reading and I promise there will be more interesting blogs you can apply to your life coming soon.
Planning our time in Oklahoma has been my favorite part of this experience so far. We started by creating a route that I encourage anyone to join us on anywhere across the nation. We are still accepting portion riders to ride with us for any extent. I've also been working on host sites consisting of YMCA's, churches, personal houses, camp sites, etc to provide us with warm showers, food, and places to rest at the end of each day. That's not all, after riding every day I'm booking places were we are stopping in to help with after school programs as well as meeting with youth groups, college students, bike shops, and professionals to share our vision and goals for international and domestic health care. Finally, our 2 BIG EVENT DAYS in Norman on April 10th and Tulsa on April 13th has taken a lot of planning but I know it will pay off. The support we have and will receive from these 2 communities will place Oklahoma as the best state on the route and become a staple in the route for years to come. These days' main event will be a community bike ride that I hope any of you can join in on to show your support. I've been extremely busy creating routes, finding local, corporate sponsors, and places to host the pre and post ride festivities. More details on these events in the next month as we finalize the details.
My work doesn't stop there. Most of the riders are in medical school and in order to receive credit we have quite a list of activities to complete. Currently I spend an hour or more a day completing certificate programs discussing global health systems and how we as a nation are helping spread quality health care throughout the world. I promise you, you should be proud of the work and look into supporting organizations that are promoting and taking action in this regard. I'm also narrowing done my list for my research paper and presentations for the ride. I'm looking into practical applications that we can do everyday that many people don't thing about. I'm wanting to focus on all the benefits that can be received through a few simple adjustments and especially the research behind it that companies might hide because most of the changes are inexpensive, easy, and eliminates all the "Fad" money making diets. More to come on this as I finish my work over the next 2 months.
Finally, the individual fundraising is a critical part to making this ride a success. We are raising money for 2 organizations I referred to earlier as game changers in the international health world, Empower and Advance and Village Health Network. Individually we each have a goal to raise $2,700 and combine our individual and corporate sponsors to total $150,000, the highest amount set in the past 8 years. Now if you have read this entire post I know you must really like me or the more likely alternative, you really care about the cause of this ride as much as I do. I know this is a dry post, but I wanted to show you what all I am putting into this and that it isn't just a fun-filled, easy going, mark it off the bucket list type of adventure. I am extremely passionate about health and even more so passionate about sharing what I know with others. (Feel free to ask me questions anytime and I will tell you what I know or research it to find out.)With all that said, I am in need of help, as I am still lacking a good portion of my individual goal with just over 1 month left. Please consider donating not only to myself but to these world health changing organizations by clicking here or contacting myself. We all would be beyond grateful for your partnership. Finally, if anything else in this blog interested you, you have any other resources that could benefit the ride, or want to help in anyway setting up host spots, helping with the event days, becoming a portion rider, or wanting us to visit your local business or group along the route please contact me! Thank you for reading and I promise there will be more interesting blogs you can apply to your life coming soon.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
How do you train for a 3700 mile bike ride!?
Hello everyone! Thanks for coming back and reading my post for this week. I've been sharing with many of you how excited I am on being selected to complete an upcoming ride from San Diego to Washington D.C. by bicycle in March and April. The overwhelming response is "that is crazy", "you're excited about that!?", "that sounds more like a punishment!?", and "how do you begin to prepare for that?" Well today I'm going to discuss how I am preparing for the ride from a training perspective and in a couple weeks I'll discuss more of the nutrition that goes into the preparation.
I have been biking for the past 3 and a half years now and running for the past 4 years and a half pretty much non-stop throughout each year which has allowed myself to build a decent base for my current training. Last year I logged nearly 3000 miles on the bike and over 1000 miles on foot running. I am expecting both to grow this year especially my biking miles which will easily be doubled. Now, when it comes to specifically training for my upcoming ride I am "officially" in week 13 of 22 of my buildup. I am taking a multi-disciplinary approach to preparing, primarily consisting of biking (of course), but I am also cross training with running and weights.
My cycling schedule is the most rigid and what I make sure of I complete every week. During this 22 week buildup I will log at least 1700 miles on my bike getting in 3-4 quality rides a week. The individual rides range from 20 to 90 miles and add up anywhere from 60 to 130+ miles per week. Most of these are steady, even paced rides with a few intervals mixed in, however most of my high intensity work comes from my running and weight training. Right now a lot of my miles are being logged indoors, attaching my bike to a trainer and pushing through miles while watching movies, football, or Thunder basketball with occasional rides outside when weather permits or there is actually sunlight still available when I leave the hospital. These outdoor rides will increase as the days lengthen, weather improves, and the ride gets closer.
My running regiment is a little more relaxed as it supplements my cycling. I run about 3 times a week with the goal of around 20 miles but only when feeling good on my feet. I do more high intensity and lots of intervals but hold back and skip or shorten some runs when needing to recover from longer rides. I love running and definitely need this to in my week to feel balanced. I signed up for 3 shorter races in the next month, a 5K that I ran today, and also a 8K and 10K I'll complete next month. I'll post a race report for the 5K on another blog I'm starting soon if you are interested in running and want a few of my tips.
Finally, my weight room workout is comprised of CrossFit that I complete 5-6 days a week. These are all short but intense workouts that range from 5-40 mins and still leave me sore daily. These workouts are really helping me build up strength in my legs and core which will aid tremendously with the mountain climbs on the ride that are difficult to simulate here in Oklahoma.
And that's pretty much it. It may look like a lot but I average only about 12-14 hours a week training or less than 2 hours a day. I post most of my workouts onto Daily Mile if you are interested in seeing more details about individual workouts. Also, I am still looking for more individual sponsors, if you would like to donate please visit my fundraising page or ask me for further instructions. Finally if you would like to know more of the basics about my ride, why I am participating, and what it's all about please ready my 1st blog from last week. Let me know if you have any questions about my ride or this post and leave any comments about anything you may want to learn about from myself in the upcoming weeks.
I have been biking for the past 3 and a half years now and running for the past 4 years and a half pretty much non-stop throughout each year which has allowed myself to build a decent base for my current training. Last year I logged nearly 3000 miles on the bike and over 1000 miles on foot running. I am expecting both to grow this year especially my biking miles which will easily be doubled. Now, when it comes to specifically training for my upcoming ride I am "officially" in week 13 of 22 of my buildup. I am taking a multi-disciplinary approach to preparing, primarily consisting of biking (of course), but I am also cross training with running and weights.
My cycling schedule is the most rigid and what I make sure of I complete every week. During this 22 week buildup I will log at least 1700 miles on my bike getting in 3-4 quality rides a week. The individual rides range from 20 to 90 miles and add up anywhere from 60 to 130+ miles per week. Most of these are steady, even paced rides with a few intervals mixed in, however most of my high intensity work comes from my running and weight training. Right now a lot of my miles are being logged indoors, attaching my bike to a trainer and pushing through miles while watching movies, football, or Thunder basketball with occasional rides outside when weather permits or there is actually sunlight still available when I leave the hospital. These outdoor rides will increase as the days lengthen, weather improves, and the ride gets closer.
My running regiment is a little more relaxed as it supplements my cycling. I run about 3 times a week with the goal of around 20 miles but only when feeling good on my feet. I do more high intensity and lots of intervals but hold back and skip or shorten some runs when needing to recover from longer rides. I love running and definitely need this to in my week to feel balanced. I signed up for 3 shorter races in the next month, a 5K that I ran today, and also a 8K and 10K I'll complete next month. I'll post a race report for the 5K on another blog I'm starting soon if you are interested in running and want a few of my tips.
Finally, my weight room workout is comprised of CrossFit that I complete 5-6 days a week. These are all short but intense workouts that range from 5-40 mins and still leave me sore daily. These workouts are really helping me build up strength in my legs and core which will aid tremendously with the mountain climbs on the ride that are difficult to simulate here in Oklahoma.
And that's pretty much it. It may look like a lot but I average only about 12-14 hours a week training or less than 2 hours a day. I post most of my workouts onto Daily Mile if you are interested in seeing more details about individual workouts. Also, I am still looking for more individual sponsors, if you would like to donate please visit my fundraising page or ask me for further instructions. Finally if you would like to know more of the basics about my ride, why I am participating, and what it's all about please ready my 1st blog from last week. Let me know if you have any questions about my ride or this post and leave any comments about anything you may want to learn about from myself in the upcoming weeks.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Ride For World Health: My 2013 Adventure
Happy 2013 friends! This is my 1st ever blog in anticipation of my best year yet. Here I will mainly be talking about my biggest adventure so far, a 2700 mile bicycle ride across the United Stated that will take place from March to May, but I will also be sharing other bits of my life here or in a separate blog containing my other athletic adventures, marriage, finishing medical school in May, and beginning a new step in life with the start of residency in July! In the next 12 weeks leading up to the beginning of the ride I will share more about R4WH, the beneficiaries, how I am training for it through exercise and nutrition, my part in this group, and anything else YOU may be interested in knowing. Once the ride starts March 19th, expect awesome pictures, videos, and stories form the ride, life changing stories about people we encounter, and the impact we are continuing to make across the world. Bear with me these 1st few months as I am definitely not the most tech savoy person you know but I hope to get it all figured out soon.
So about this crazy idea to spend 2 months this year riding from San Diego to Washington D.C. Well, it all started when I was selected by The Ohio State University Medical School to participate in their 8th annual "Ride For World Health" (R4WH).
So what is the R4WH? Ride For World Health is a non-profit organization composed of medical students dedicated to raising awareness for domestic and worldwide health issues as well as raising funds for a couple of amazing organizations that are doing great things when it comes to helping out the neediest in terms of health care. During our 3700 mile journey we will be stopping at major medical centers, universities, elementary and high schools, senior citizen centers, rotary clubs, etc. to discuss issues related to healthcare. More of my views on several healthcare topics are to come in later posts! All of the riders I have met so far are passionate about creating change in the current healthcare landscape and I expect huge things to come from this year's ride. Before the ride begins and during we are raising funds for Empower and Advance, as they are currently creating and teaching innovative curriculum to train secondary school graduates in Haiti to become Emergency Community Healthcare Workers, and Village Health Works, an organization that delivers medical care and local development initiatives in all of Burundi.
Why did I decide to sign up for this crazy adventure!? Mainly because this ride combines my 2 greatest areas of enjoyment, learning about and educating others in regards to health issues along with living out and promoting a physically active lifestyle. From reading and dissecting several blogs, talking to any available ear about my personal health views, to medical school, and my work in Mexico and local health clinics, I am passionate about gaining and spreading knowledge about health. Also, I try to live out what I preach through activities from 5K runs to marathons, and triathlons, including a full Ironman in 2011. I honestly think WE can begin to change the world and our country's health starting here. If you agree there are several ways you can help us:
Prayers are always needed and appreciated, keeping up with this blog and issues I discuss, and any donations by clicking Here, which directs you to Paypal for easy giving. All donations are completely tax deductible and there is also an address you can send checks to if you prefer. Contact me for more info about our route, itinerary, donating, and other ways you can participate. Also check out the Ride For World Health website, along with our beneficiaries sites above, and my personal profile.
Thanks for reading and expect posts with more entertaining and helpful advice soon!
So about this crazy idea to spend 2 months this year riding from San Diego to Washington D.C. Well, it all started when I was selected by The Ohio State University Medical School to participate in their 8th annual "Ride For World Health" (R4WH).
So what is the R4WH? Ride For World Health is a non-profit organization composed of medical students dedicated to raising awareness for domestic and worldwide health issues as well as raising funds for a couple of amazing organizations that are doing great things when it comes to helping out the neediest in terms of health care. During our 3700 mile journey we will be stopping at major medical centers, universities, elementary and high schools, senior citizen centers, rotary clubs, etc. to discuss issues related to healthcare. More of my views on several healthcare topics are to come in later posts! All of the riders I have met so far are passionate about creating change in the current healthcare landscape and I expect huge things to come from this year's ride. Before the ride begins and during we are raising funds for Empower and Advance, as they are currently creating and teaching innovative curriculum to train secondary school graduates in Haiti to become Emergency Community Healthcare Workers, and Village Health Works, an organization that delivers medical care and local development initiatives in all of Burundi.
Why did I decide to sign up for this crazy adventure!? Mainly because this ride combines my 2 greatest areas of enjoyment, learning about and educating others in regards to health issues along with living out and promoting a physically active lifestyle. From reading and dissecting several blogs, talking to any available ear about my personal health views, to medical school, and my work in Mexico and local health clinics, I am passionate about gaining and spreading knowledge about health. Also, I try to live out what I preach through activities from 5K runs to marathons, and triathlons, including a full Ironman in 2011. I honestly think WE can begin to change the world and our country's health starting here. If you agree there are several ways you can help us:
Prayers are always needed and appreciated, keeping up with this blog and issues I discuss, and any donations by clicking Here, which directs you to Paypal for easy giving. All donations are completely tax deductible and there is also an address you can send checks to if you prefer. Contact me for more info about our route, itinerary, donating, and other ways you can participate. Also check out the Ride For World Health website, along with our beneficiaries sites above, and my personal profile.
Thanks for reading and expect posts with more entertaining and helpful advice soon!
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