Rethinking Caffeine

Caffeine is prevalent in so many of our common indulgences like coffee, soda, energy drinks and chocolate. But it’s also a bona fide stimulant, not unlike cocaine, that affects the central nervous system. Accordingly, this addictive substance can play a role in many health maladies like heart palpitations, high blood pressure, constipation, diarrhea, ulcers, restlessness and sleeplessness. (And to the extent that you “get by” on less sleep due to your caffeine intake, you then open yourself up to all of the potential issues associated with inadequate rest, like premature aging.) Caffeine is also a known diuretic, depletes your body of iron, potassium, calcium and trace minerals, causes a quantifiably acidic reaction in the blood, and can be heavily addictive.

The addictive nature of caffeine can create a vicious cycle in and of itself because, like many other kinds of stimulants, your body will typically develop an immunity to caffeine and you will often need increased amounts to get the same pick-me-up effect that you got with considerably less. This is why the serving sizes and/or frequency of caffeinated products tend to increase over time for most caffeine consumers.

Additionally, caffeine can upset your body’s natural hormonal balance which, in turn, can lead to a number of other symptoms like irritability, anxiety, nervousness, heartburn, hypertension, headaches and various levels of fatigue. Many caffeinated beverages also have something called tannic acid in them. This is a known gastrointestinal irritant that is notorious for interfering with your body’s proper absorption of other key nutrients.

With countless cups of coffee and the over-50-million sodas sucked down in the U.S. everyday, I understand it may be a tall order to suggest eliminating one’s caffeine consumption. And yes, the ultimate dangers of caffeine are somewhat commensurate to the amount one consumes. But I still must advise: “Just say no!”

The “Occasional” Indulgence

Even in the world of Rock-Solid eating, there are a number of delicious snacks and treats available, like certain vegan ice cream and cookies, non-dairy chocolate bars, organic chips, etc. These foods are, of course, a godsend to those folks with a sweet tooth who are trying to eat healthier, and most of these goodies are pretty harmless when you enjoy them in moderation.

BUT – the question that I continually have to ask folks who come to me for dietary advice is: How often is your “occasionally”?

And the reality is, whenever I have someone document their exact eating regimen over a period of four or five days in an eating journal, we invariably find that their “occasionally” is far more often than they thought. A few vegan cookies here, a glass of chocolate soy milk there, some kind of oily vegan “chicken” patty for lunch, a handful or two of “healthy” tortilla chips an hour before dinner, and on and on it goes. Next thing you know, these second rate food sources begin to represent a tangible percentage of your total caloric intake…and now your nutrient-dense regimen is diluted.

Those Extra 15 Pounds

Another problem with these “occasional” indulgences is that the extra calories can really add up. For example, let’s say that you’ve established a consistent eating regimen where you are maintaining the same body weight, week after week. This means that you are basically taking in as many calories as you’re burning off. Now, let’s add roughly 150 calories per day to your regimen, or just over 1000 calories per week. This is not hard to do, especially when you consider that 150 calories represents a couple vegan cookies, a glass of soy milk, a serving of chips, etc. Now, 3500 calories equals a pound of fat, so if you have a surplus of 150 calories everyday for a year, and then after one year, you would’ve gained about 15 pounds! All from just the “occasional” goodies.

If you really want to know where you’re at with your indulgences, try carrying one of those 3″ X 4″ notebooks around with you for a few days and document absolutely everything you put in your body. it’s kind of a pain in the ass to do, but once you start reviewing the results, you will likely have to rethink your definition of “occasionally” and start indulging less frequently.

Step One to Superior Health

Yes, friends, it’s January. So, since many folks are motivated to get in shape for the new year, let’s take a moment to focus on one of the most important, yet often overlooked, aspects of superior health: drinking plenty of water.

Ample water intake is one of the fundamental prerequisites to superior health. Water transports nutrients to your cells and bloodstream, flushes toxins from your body, protects and cushions vital organs and joints and helps to regulate your cooling system and prevent urinary tract infections. It also moistens the lungs to assist with the “ins-and-outs” of oxygen and carbon dioxide and remains a critical component to so many other basic bodily functions. And yet, nearly 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. This can lead to nutrition, chemical and pH imbalances in the body, which can cause a myriad of problems, including headaches, constipation, joint pain, lower backache, dry skin, and even short-term “fuzzy” memory. Translation: Drink more water!

The secret to making sure you’re getting enough water is to simply always have access to top quality purified, spring or distilled water throughout the day. Establishing your own system for doing this is one of the most important habits you could ever have for lifelong health and wellness.

So if you haven’t done so well with ensuring that you get enough water, here’s a quick way to start getting enough:

Step One: Go to the store and buy a 1.5 liter jug of name-brand water.

Step Two: Start off in the morning with one of these and drink from it throughout the day. The idea is to take in steady, smaller amounts at a time, so that the jug is empty before bedtime. Of course, this will require that you keep the jug accessible throughout the day so you can continually sip from it. This might seem burdensome at first but, just like any new habit, you will soon find yourself drinking from it automatically, without even thinking about it. You will also seldom be thirsty. Using this same jug every day is the best way to keep track of exactly how much water you’re drinking.

Step Three: Establish a reliable water source so you can fill your jug up every morning. (This does not include tap water!) If you have access to a water cooler or, best of all, a purified water system, use that. If not, you might have to keep larger jugs from the store on hand, like the popular 2.5 gallon dispensers. If these aren’t available, you can use gallon jugs (with the idea being to consume the least amount of plastic that we can, and to recycle that which we do use). And again, stick with credible, name brands of water. It has been said that certain “in-house” grocery store label brands are not much better than tap water.

Advanced: If you are already in a groove of drinking a fair amount of water, then adjust the daily amount accordingly, drinking two-plus servings of these 1.5 liter jugs. (As a point of reference, I drink at least one full gallon per day, but usually more.) Your body is the ultimate authority on what it needs, so pay attention. Just make sure you’re not forcing yourself to drink.

Eventually: That is, as soon as possible, you will want to replace your store-bought plastic jug, since certain chemicals from the plastic can be leached out into your water supply. Instead, use either glass or hard plastic bottles.

Mix It Up!

Many people think of their workout routine as just that; a routine. They go to the gym and do the exact same exercises every workout; they jog the same route everyday; they do 30 minutes on the same cardio machine four times a week, etc. Consistency in training is great, but there are three compelling reasons to mix things up in your regimen:

1. Better results: The body is all about adapting to whatever you throw at it. So if you’re always doing the same routine, the body will develop a sort of “immunity” to the workout and your progress will plateau. Mixing up your routine will keep your body guessing. This means greater results, either in terms of muscle gain, weight loss or improved conditioning. For example, if you lift weights, look for creative ways to vary each workout. This could mean using a revolving door of different barbell, dumbbell or machine movements, changing around the order that you perform the exercises, or even employing some specialized intensity techniques on occasion to “shock” the muscles into growing.

2. Less injury: Doing the exact same movements every time can make you susceptible to various repetitive movement disorders and fatigue. We see this a lot with runners who constantly hammer their bodies the same way over long stretches of time. By integrating an additional training modality as seldom as once a week, your body gets a well-needed break in the action, while you still get the training benefit. Example: If you’re a jogger, try swapping out one or two of your jogging days each week for a stationary bike or treadmill workout.

3. Staying fresh: One reason why people lose interest in working out is because they get bored with their routine. Mixing things up will stimulate your mind and keep things fresh so you won’t get burnt out. In addition to simply changing your routine around, a few other ideas to consider would be:

A) If you always train indoors, come up with some kind of outdoor workout.
B) If you always do cardio in front of the tube, try listening to music instead.
C) If you always train alone, try bringing in a training partner for some or all of your workouts.

Cool? Now go train!

Eat More Often to Lose Body Fat?

The notion of eating “three square meals” a day is old school. The fundamental problem with this concept is that too much time elapses between feedings. This means that our metabolism (the rate and efficacy in which we utilize calories) is not optimized, and also that we tend to eat more than we can optimally digest at one sitting because we allow ourselves to get too hungry.

The Rock-Solid way to optimizing our food intake is to eat smaller, plant-based meals or snacks, at least five or six times day. One of the common mental barriers to this idea of eating so often lies with those folks who are either trying to lose weight or are afraid of gaining weight. This is one of the great paradoxes of weight loss.

When you go too long between eating, and/or you don’t get enough calories each day, your body can kick into a sort of trauma mode and actually hang on to your existing fat reserves. Why? Because as it recognizes that there is not an optimal amount of fuel coming in from the outside, it attempts to conserve all of the stored fuel (fat) from the inside. So not only does this multiple meals and snacks concept increase your metabolism, but it also creates a more secure environment for your body to let go of the fat, provided, of course, that your total daily caloric intake does not exceed the amount that you burn.

The AM Super Fat-Burning Secret

If you’re looking for an accelerated way to shed some extra body fat, try doing your aerobic training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. As the theory goes, by morning, you’ve exhausted the majority of your glycogen stores since so many hours have passed since you’ve eaten. So if you workout on an empty stomach, your primary fuel source right out of the gate is your stored body fat.

For the record, there are some contradicting ideas floating around the fitness world about how or if this really works. But from a pure, in the trenches, experiential perspective, I’ve never seen this practice not work in a dramatic and quantifiable way. In fact, many competitive bodybuilders employ this tactic as an extra intense way to get shredded before a contest. So I say, try it for yourself and watch the excess fat melt away.