Written by: Pip Taylor

Professional triathlete Pip Taylor, Photo: Robert Murphy

When it comes to cooking and preparing food, no matter our good intentions, we often fall back on fast food or take-out. And now with a great many more options readily available to-go, it is often a viable option for eating well. However, it is also used too readily as an excuse, and with a few exceptions, you are better off preparing your own food and being in control of the contents of the food going into your body. With a little knowledge, a little planning and a little creativity, you should be able to quickly and easily put together a balanced meal in minutes.

Some people like to be organized, even to the extent of complex shopping lists, spreadsheets and meals planned days or weeks in advance. I admire that, but I know that I will never fit into that category. I don’t even know what’s for lunch, and that’s about an hour away. What I can do well, though, is shop strategically and stock my cupboards and fridge so that even when there is “nothing to eat in the house,” I can make not only a healthy and satisfying meal, but one that is quick and tasty too.

When shopping, read food labels. Look beyond potential label traps such as “low fat” (often high in sugar), “trans-fat free” (can be high in saturated fats), “natural” or “organic” (but not necessarily healthy) to find out what you are really eating.

Shopping is the first key. The other is to master a few basics in the kitchen. You do not need to be a gourmet chef every night, but learn some simple cooking basics to help you create meals from “nothing” in the pantry and help you take shortcuts in the kitchen. That also means that what you cook is edible.

Pantry, Freezer and Fridge Essentials

Pantry:

Pastas—thin styles will cook quickly

Gnocchi—cooks in seconds

Rice noodles

Quick-cooking rice and other grains such as couscous and quinoa—just need boiling water to be ready in minutes

Tinned legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas and black beans—a great, convenient protein source

Baked beans

Tinned tomatoes and tomato puree—think pasta sauces, soup bases, quick stews etc.

Canned fish, such as tuna, salmon and anchovies—used for anything from sandwiches to salads

Dried and tinned fruits

Oats, oatmeal and other breakfast cereals

Condiments, such as soy sauce, mustard, sweet chili sauce, chili flakes, dried herbs and spices, olive oils, assortment of vinegars (balsamic, white, red), honey, nut butters, capers—these all add essential flavor to the basics.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes and other root vegetables—keep in a cool and dark cupboard

Stock, either liquid or powdered

Garlic and onion

Sports foods/muesli bars

Fridge and Freezer:

Low fat cheese and milk, including long-life milk in the pantry

Frozen vegetables—so good for emergencies, with no compromise in nutritional content compared to the fresh version.

Yogurt

Fresh pasta/Hokkien noodles

Frozen individual portions of chicken, salmon and beef

Eggs

Fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, chives and mint—freeze well by washing and patting dry before freezing in small snap-lock bags

Frozen pizza bases and tortilla wraps

Lemons—juice can be frozen in ice cubes for small, quick servings

Sliced whole grain bread and English muffins—can be kept frozen

Salad greens, vegetables, tomatoes and fresh fruit—if you can buy these in smaller quantities so they stay fresh, you are more likely to use them. Also, buy seasonal produce as it will last longer and taste better and probably be the most economical.

Quick cooking cheats:

Stock your kitchen with some essential cooking equipment: a decent-sized pot, non-stick pans, a grill or BBQ, chopping boards and knives. This will make getting in the kitchen and preparing food not only much easier but much more pleasant.

Also invest in a couple of simple recipe books so you can get some ideas on flavor and techniques. Then experiment to find out what you can substitute or add to make the dish your own.

Consider a local grocery or market delivery service. It’s not only a time saver, but you are also more likely to buy what you need rather than get distracted by other temptations.

The microwave is not just for frozen meals; it’s a great way to steam veggies, for example. It can also be used to give roasted veggies a head start: Steam sweet potatoes until tender and then spread them out on a baking tray. Spray lightly with oil and place under a grill until they are golden chips.

Make friends with a wok, one of the quickest ways to cook up a healthy dinner. Using bags of pre-chopped veggies or frozen packs makes it even quicker.

Salad greens can be bought pre-washed and meats trimmed and sliced. It may be a bit more expensive, but it’s another great time saver.

Eggs are such a great staple and can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Frittatas and omelettes are versatile, but there is nothing wrong with a simple egg on toast for dinner. Or baked beans on toast. Or cheese on toast, especially with a side of some steamed veggies.

If you do get more time on a weekend or cook more than you are going to eat, consider freezing individual portions or just eating leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner.

Eat breakfast for dinner. When truly stuck with nothing, some breakfast cereals are actually an acceptable (nutritionally speaking) option. Add some yogurt and fruit and get to the shops soon.

Some quick cheat pantry meals, quicker than ordering take-out:

Couscous salad: Pour hot stock or boiling water over couscous, cover and leave to stand a few minutes until tender. Meanwhile, steam fresh or frozen broccoli florets and green peas, drain tinned chickpeas and chop some cherry tomatoes in half. Combine with couscous, drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh parsley if you have that on hand. Season to taste and top with some toasted pine nuts. Instead of using couscous, you could also make a pasta salad or even a lentil salad using drained, tinned lentils.

Tuna pasta: To cooked pasta or gnocchi, add drained tinned tuna, chopped tinned tomatoes, capers, chopped basil and season to taste. Top with crumbled feta.

Frittata: Sauté a chopped onion in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add steamed vegetables and mix. Pour over lightly whisked eggs and gently stir. When the edges start to set, top with some low-fat cheese and place under a hot grill until browned and bubbly.

Fried rice: Prepare some par-cooked quick rice (the partially cooked packets cook quickly in the microwave). Let cool and set aside. In a wok heat a small amount of oil, add an onion, garlic and some chopped ham (optional) and stir quickly until onion is cooked. Add vegetables (use either drained tinned corn, greens peas or some frozen mixed vegetables) and stir until hot. Push to the side of the pan and add an egg, stirring quickly to scramble. Then add rice plus some soy sauce and sweet chili sauce to taste and stir until hot throughout. Top with some coriander.

Chicken and noodle miso soup: Combine some miso paste or miso soup mix with a dash of soy sauce and water and bring to a boil. Add thinly sliced chicken pieces, a handful of asian greens or other thinly sliced vegetables (either fresh or frozen) as well as some fresh Hokkien noodles. Cook 2-3 minutes until tender.

Get to the store and get cooking!

But what is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other carbohydrates, and is often used as a food additive. For those suffering from Celiac disease, a wheat allergy, they must follow a gluten-free diet. The University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center defines Celiac as “an inherited autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who has celiac disease consumes gluten, the individual’s immune system responds by attacking the small intestine and inhibiting the absorption of important nutrients into the body.” Wheat allergies affect, on average, one in 133 healthy people in the U.S.

Heather Wurtele has had success this year, including a win at this weekend's Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon. Photo: Larry Rosa/Ironman

Professional triathlete Heather Wurtele is one of those of people. Wurtele used to have chronic, low-level GI issues that detracted from her overall quality of life. It was especially hard because she was an athlete. “Given that our bodies are working hard to repair from training, it makes sense to avoid added digestive stress,” she says. Wurtele found that only when she removed gluten from her diet did her digestion and overall energy levels improve.

Due to gluten-free diets receiving so much attention, it’s high on people’s awareness. “It’s in the media a lot so people want to try it. But way more people follow it than actually need it,” says Tara Coleman, a San Diego-based clinical nutritionist. Coleman also states that maintaining a gluten-free diet can be tricky and very expensive. In other words, if you don’t have to be on it, it probably isn’t worth the extra effort (and extra cash).

But for Wurtele, the benefits are tremendous. “A lot of people harp on gluten free as just being another fad and having little scientific evidence to support it. Quantitative measures can be tricky, but qualitatively, if you remove gluten from your diet and feel a heck of a lot better, that’s good enough for me.”

So for those suffering GI stress, it might be worth following a gluten-free diet to see if it makes a difference. And the good news, Coleman states, “There aren’t many negative repercussions to being on this diet. You aren’t cutting out an entire food group.”

To successfully follow a gluten-free diet:
Coleman recommends doing your homework. Start simple and don’t go buy all products labeled gluten free. Plenty of food items are intrinsically gluten free, such as beans, lentils, fruit, eggs, quinoa and seeds.

Wurtele has found that the Gluten Free Living page on the Team First Endurance website is helpful. Seeking advice from a high performance sports nutritionist is also worthwhile. Plus, she reads labels. “There are lots of great brown rice, corn and quinoa pastas available. Buy corn instead of wheat tortillas. Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise is my favorite gluten-free breakfast cereal,” she says.

Written by Tim Mickleborough

Photo: Robert Murphy

Caffeine has proven ergogenic effects, and its use in competition is legal as long as concentrations in the urine do not exceed a predetermined limit. Caffeine should not be considered synonymous with coffee. Caffeine is only one of more than 100 chemicals found in coffee, which is only 2 percent caffeine. Caffeine is found in many beverages, such as soft drinks (e.g., Surge, Mountain Dew) and “energy” drinks (e.g. Red Bull). Other sources of caffeine include teas and over-the-counter headache and anti-drowsiness remedies.

Despite decades of research, exercise scientists and sports medicine professionals are still uncertain of some of caffeine’s effects. We still lack good dose-response data for caffeine, and there has been a failure to distinguish between acute effects (caffeine’s effects in those who do not normally use it) from chronic effects. Caffeine’s effect on heart rate may depend on when it is ingested. Generally, caffeine increases resting heart rate in caffeine non-users. One study has found that neither resting nor exercise heart rates were affected by a large (10 mg/kg), single dose of caffeine in caffeine-naive recreational cyclists who cycled to exhaustion (1). However, other studies have found increases in heart rates during exercise following caffeine ingestion. It appears the timing of measurements and the type of subject may influence how investigators interpret caffeine’s effect on heart rate.

Caffeine is known to exert a moderate diuresis (i.e. dehydrating effect). However, while research suggests that while ingesting caffeine at rest does induce a diuretic response, ingesting caffeine during exercise does not (2). Acutely, caffeine can increase the basal metabolic rate and enhance fat oxidation during exercise. It has been shown that plasma levels of free fatty acids increase 50-100 percent following caffeine ingestion. Thus, the increased availability of free fatty acids may lead to a glycogen-sparing effect and thereby delay fatigue.

Since both caffeine and theophylline are xanthines, it is not surprising that caffeine exerts some actions similar to those of theophylline. For example, both xanthines exert protective effects in exercise-induced asthma (3). Caffeine has been found to increase vigilance and decrease motor reaction time in response to both auditory and visual stimuli. However, caffeine may be detrimental in tasks requiring fine-motor coordination.

The general consensus of research findings is that caffeine improves continuous exercise time to exhaustion. This effect appears to increase as the duration of the event exceeds 30 minutes, but caffeine has also been shown to enhance performance during incremental exercise protocols lasting eight to 22 minutes and sprints lasting less than 90 seconds (4).

Athletes may experience unpleasant side effects while taking caffeine, such as nausea and abdominal discomfort, particularly when ingesting 400-500 mg caffeine or more. Another drawback to routinely using caffeine is a withdrawal syndrome can occur after cessation of regular use.

Pros

- Increases aerobic endurance secondary to glycogen-sparing effect

- Improves voluntary reaction time

- Enhances alertness

- May prevent exercise-induced asthma

Cons

- Causes tremors and decreases hand steadiness

- May cause tolerance and withdrawal symptoms

- Intake cannot exceed acceptable urinary levels in NCAA- and USOC-sanctioned competition

- Has a diuretic effect if consumed several hours prior to exercise

According to the NCAA and USOC, caffeine is officially classified as a restricted substance and not a banned substance. Single doses of caffeine at 9 mg/kg or greater produce urine concentrations that exceed the USOC/IOC’s and NCAA’s acceptable limits, which are 12 mgc/ml (60μmol/l) and 15 mgc/ml respectively. It is important to note doses of 3-6 mg/kg, which do not produce urine concentrations that would result in disqualification, have been found to be ergogenic (5). To put these dosages into some perspective, consider the following: one cup of regular coffee contains 100 mg of caffeine and a can of Red Bull contains 115 mg of caffeine, while the equivalence in urine within two to three hours is 1.50 mgc/mL and 1.73 mgc/mL respectively.

If you choose to use caffeine as an ergogenic aid, avoid routine use. Individuals build a tolerance to many of the effects of caffeine within days. In addition, caffeine has diuretic actions and has detrimental effects on hand steadiness and possibly reaction time. As to the ethics of using caffeine to enhance performance, the IOC stipulates that taking any physiologic substance in abnormal quantity with the intention of artificially and unfairly increasing performance should be construed as doping.

References:

1. Flinn S, Gregory, J, McNaughton L R, Tristram, S. and Davies, P. (1990). Caffeine ingestion prior to incremental cycling to exhaustion in recreational cyclists. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 11: 188-193.

2. Wemple R D, Lamb D R. and Mckeever, K H. (1997). Caffeine

vs. caffeine-free sports drinks: Effects on urine production at rest during prolonged exercise. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 18: 40-146. 3. Kivity S, Ben Aharon Y, Man A. and Topilsky M. (1990). The effect of caffeine on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Chest, 97: 1083-1085.

4. Armstrong L E, Casa D J, Maresh C M. and Ganio M S. (2007). Caffeine, fluid-electrolyte balance, temperature regulation, and exercise-heat tolerance. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 35: 135-140.

5. Pasman W J, van Baak M A, Jeukendrup A E. and de Haan A. (1995). The effect of different dosages of caffeine on endurance performance time. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 16: 225-230.

Written by: Pip Taylor

Q: With the rise of gluten-free athletes, more triathletes’ carbs are coming from corn and rice. What’s your take on cutting out the wheat? —Nick

A: Gluten is a naturally occurring protein found in wheat, barley, rye and even oats that some people are unable to digest. For those with celiac disease, a gluten allergy that leads to an autoimmune response, avoidance of any gluten-containing foods is necessary. However, growing research suggests that more people would benefit from reducing their intake of gluten and/or wheat products (note that there’s a difference between gluten intolerance and wheat intolerance).

This non-celiac gluten intolerance and sensitivity is difficult to diagnose, yet 10–30 percent of people may be affected. Symptoms can include all the unpleasant gastrointestinal and other effects but without the immune antibody markings needed for diagnosis of celiac disease. As this condition gains recognition within the medical profession and the wider public, the marketing of gluten-free foods is on the rise. And athletes are attracted to dietary movements or newly recognized conditions as much as any other population.

A gluten-free diet can be as healthy—or unhealthy—as any other diet. Unless you have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity, it makes little sense to avoid gluten or wheat products just to replace them with gluten-free yet highly processed products. Replacements should be based around whole, real foods. Do not fall into the marketers’ trap of believing that because something is “free” from a particular ingredient that it’s automatically healthy. (The same applies to terms such as trans fat-free, cholesterol-free, etc.) Explore such claims by reading the ingredient list to determine what you are and aren’t eating.

Anyone whose diet relies heavily on one food source is setting him or herself up for problems. If your average day starts with toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner, that’s a lot of one food group in 12 or so hours. And whether that food is wheat, corn or rice is less relevant than the fact that you have excluded other nutritious foods. And any diet that includes a lot of packaged food includes vast quantities of corn (read the label).

Individuals with gluten sensitivity might have to avoid significant quantities and should also be wary of eating around times of stress, such as hard training and racing. For true gluten intolerances and celiacs it is important to be diligent. Unpleasant symptoms are really only the tip of the iceberg; irreversible damage can be done to your gastrointestinal tract, setting you up for greater health complications.

Getting adequate carbohydrates is sometimes a concern for people needing or wishing to reduce their intake of grains, and particularly wheat. But there are plenty of healthy, satisfying options beyond bread and pasta—sweet potatoes and yams, quinoa and wild rice, buckwheat and millet just to start. Plus, though they contain gluten, whole-wheat products such as freekah and bulgur are great sources of antioxidants, phytonutrients, protein and fiber—and for non-celiacs, they represent a nutritious source of un- or minimally processed carbohydrates.

The key is taking responsibility for your diet. If you suspect you have a gluten intolerance, get it checked. If you feel subjectively better when you avoid wheat or gluten, then do so. But whatever dietary modifications you follow, make sure you base your intake on whole, real foods and eat a wide variety to maximize your nutrition.

Written by: Krista A. Schultz

Do you find yourself unable to eat just one cookie, one piece of chocolate or one potato chip? You’re not alone. If it’s more than just being hungry after an intense workout, you may be a food addict. Like other addictions, overeating isn’t just not having the will or discipline to stop at just one.

Chemically treated and refined sugary foods, which are readily available as fast food or prepackaged foods, can trigger a response in the brain similar to that from drugs such as cocaine and heroin. These foods cause a chain of events in the central nervous system that give us a feeling of pleasure, which then reinforces the eating behavior. Certain individuals are more sensitive to the brain’s reactions of “addictive foods” and can more easily develop a cycle of bad eating habits. In a food addict, the pattern is a compulsive need for another high after a period of withdrawal, which is very similar to the pattern of alcoholics with drinking and drug addicts with drugs.

The End of Overeating author David Kessler, M.D., says rich, sweet or fatty foods stimulate the brain to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center of the brain. Kessler believes food addicts have certain characteristics such as lack of impulse control and inability to stop once they get started. Dopamine affects brain processes that control movement, emotional response and ability to experience pleasure and pain. In other words, we can become conditioned to overeat simply by the foods we choose to eat. Other foods that trigger a food addiction include the proteins found in wheat (gluten) and milk.

A recent study in The Journal of Nature and Neuroscience tested rats consuming large amounts of high fat and calorie-dense foods. “Drugs such as cocaine, and eating too much junk food, both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain,” says co-author Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D. “Eventually the pleasure centers ‘crash,’ and achieving the same pleasure—or even just feeling normal—requires increasing amounts of the drug or food.” This effect is seen not just in rats but humans as well.

Triathletes may be especially susceptible to eating addictive foods since they are regularly depleting their glycogen stores during workouts. Eating processed and sugary foods such as candy bars, gummy bears or cookies or drinking a Coke does provide fast replenishment during or after workouts while improving blood glucose or blood sugar. However, if you become programmed to always eat these foods after a workout versus more nutritious carbohydrates, you may become susceptible to eating more addictive foods on a regular basis.

If the cycle of choosing bad foods and overeating is impacting your ability to reach your health and fitness goals, you may be on the edge of a downward spiral. Because food is socially acceptable and a necessary part of everyday life, this addiction can be hard to acknowledge and break. Food addiction and overeating certain foods do not always mean that the individual is overweight or visibly unwell. Don’t forget that you can be thin or fit-looking and yet still be lacking nutrient-wise—a good diet is the basis of health as well as performance.

Krista A. Schultz (Kristaschultz.com) is a triathlete, coach and exercise physiologist with her own metabolic testing business (Enduranceworks.net).

Q: I am a triathlete and soon-to-be coach. Like you, I have a passion for food and nutrition and I want to further my education in nutrition science. Do you have any suggestions on the best way to give nutrition advice?

A: As a coach, you need to have a good understanding of nutrition for optimal training and race performance, but some particulars are best left to the experts. The challenge of being a good coach is to know your limitations and know when to seek outside help.

You will find that some athletes view nutritional guidance as an integral part of their coach/athleterelationship, while others will perceive their physical training and nutrition as separate entities. They might, at least at first, find it unnecessary or inappropriate to approach their coach for nutritional advice.

With more than 20 years from the athlete’s point of view, along with my experience as a nutritionist, I have formed some opinions on coaching styles, methods and approaches. However, I’ve never been on the other side of the fence, so I asked coaches Matt Dixon and Barb Lindquist for some tips. Both have extensive experience with elite and age-group athletes, and the added perspective of having been professional athletes themselves.

Although both coaches have their own unique coaching philosophies, they agree that nutrition is essential to performance and optimal health. Dixon stresses that a strong knowledge and understanding of the “four main pillars of performance”—the core sports (swim, bike, run), functional strength, recovery and nutrition—is needed by any coach. Lindquist shares these sentiments in regard to sports nutrition knowledge: “Inadequate fueling for training sessions, not to mention races, can completely undermine the perfect training program a coach creates.”

In triathlon, where performance is linked with body weight, issues can become complex. “A coach needs to be able to educate, guide and assist, but also has a responsibility to know his or her limits,” Dixon says. “I would never try to intervene on an eating disorder or specific disease-based nutrition issues—that’s for the trained specialists.” Lindquist also cautions coaches to tread carefully: “Addressing weight issues is always an uncomfortable discussion to have. If the topic is raised, it has to be discussed with love, and also needs to be discussed analytically in its relation to race success and overall general health, not self-worth.”

Another key consideration is the level of the athletes with whom you are working, and their particular goals. Lindquist believes in talking to new athletes about nutrition in the first conversation. “I make sure that their fundamental knowledge of nutrition, as it relates to athletics and life, is solid.”

For a professional or top-level age-grouper, nutritional needs may revolve around small changes to optimize performance. He or she may be looking at modifying race nutrition or manipulating body composition for different parts of the season, or making decisions based on weather or a specific race. For pros, these small tweaks might make a big difference in their paychecks. However, for the majority of age-group athletes who have entered the sport to get (or stay) fit, basic nutrition is the complement to their exercise.

Leading by example through your own eating habits is the best way to display integrity and instill confidence. Healthy eating in general should always come before eating for sports performance. After all, without the first you cannot have the platform for the latter.

This seminar features Cristina Rivera. Rivera talks about nutrition products like bars, gels and supplements, and helps you decide which ones are worth your time.

Note: Because nutrition is such a personal thing due to stomach sensitivity and taste preference, I’ll remind you to do what works for you.

I had some in-office testers try out the latest GU Roctane flavor Chocolate Raspberry during their workouts. There are some differences between GU and GU Roctane that you can read on your own, but one important one is that, compared to original GU, Roctane boasts almost 3 times more sodium and 20 more mg of potassium, two major electrolytes lost through sweat. It also has 35 mg of caffeine—15 more mg than regular GU.

Some of the taste test responses:

“Chocolate Raspberry GU: A Haiku

Just before mile 9
Ripped off the top, slammed the GU
Chocolate/Raspberry—yum

Think I like this GU
Not too sweet, a new fav flav?
Thanks, GU with caffeine, held pace”

“I have been mixing berry with chocolate gels for a while now. Great to see GU doing the work for me. Not too sweet and not too chocolaty, great consistency. It’s a gel I would actually look forward to eating.”

“It’s like your boyfriend bought you fancy chocolates, except more thoughtful because you can take GU on a long ride without getting chocolate on your jersey.”

“It’s definitely going to satisfy my chocolate cravings, even when I’m not training. Who needs fro-yo when you can have Chocolate Raspberry GU?”

“I may have just eaten one at my desk as an afternoon pick-me-up snack. Is that weird?”

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

Dietary variety is one of the core principles of nutrition. Most nutrition experts would agree that diversity is among the two or three most important qualities a diet can have. You’d be hard pressed to find a nutrition expert who believes that dietary variety is not all that important. I myself have often preached the importance of dietary variety in my writing.

For example, in Maximum Strength, I wrote: Different foods offer different nutrition profiles. No food provides every nutrient your body needs, and many natural foods provide nutrients that few or no other foods provide. This is especially true of plant foods, which contain dozens of useful “phytonutrients” that help the body in many ways. So, the best way to ensure that your body gets enough of each nutrient is to consistently eat a wide variety of foods.

I’m not talking about merely hitting all of the basic food groups each day. I’m talking about getting as much variety as possible within each food group. Your animal protein should not always come from beef. Romaine lettuce should not be your only green vegetable. You get the idea.

I stand behind these words. However, I can’t say that I practice this principle as zealously as I’ve preached it. My diet contains a decent amount of variety, but not as much as it might have. I eat more or less the same breakfast (cereal and milk, orange juice, and coffee) and the same lunch (turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, yogurt, a “green superfood” smoothie, and a bit of dark chocolate) every day. My dinners are all over the place, but only because my wife prepares them. If I cooked my own dinners I would probably have a three-recipe rotation.

The thing is, while my diet is somewhat monotonous, it’s pretty healthy. And I know a lot of other athletes whose diets are monotonously healthy, too. I don’t seem to suffer any consequences of eating many of the same foods day after day. So is lack of variety really such a bad thing?

I’ve put a lot of thought into this question lately, and I’ve come to the conclusion that a repetitive diet of healthy foods is better than a highly varied diet containing many unhealthy foods. This viewpoint is research-based. For example, one British study of dietary variety involving a large pool of subjects found that those who ate the widest variety of healthy foods were in fact the healthiest, while those who ate the widest variety of unhealthy foods had the worst health. These findings are not the least bit surprising, of course, but they make a fundamental point that you never hear: dietary variety is not inherently beneficial.

Meanwhile, there may be some benefit to limiting the variety in one’s diet. The obvious advantage-and the reason my own dietary variety is limited-is convenience. When you eat some of the same foods more or less every day you don’t have to put a lot of thought and time into shopping for and preparing food. A second advantage of food monotony is that it encourages healthy weight management. Several studies have found that people eat more when they eat a wider variety of foods, apparently because satiety results in part from tiring of the taste of food, which obviously happens faster when you’re eating just one thing. Even more compelling is a National Weight Control Registry study which found that men and women who had successfully maintained a large amount of weight loss for a long period of time had a less varied diet than dieters who regained lost weight. The authors of this study speculated that limiting the variety of foods in the diet might help people to better manage their total caloric intake.

On the other hand, there is also solid scientific evidence that dietary variety specifically in fruits and vegetables is beneficial for health. For example, in one study researchers from the University of Colorado divided 106 women into two groups and placed them on different diets. Both groups consumed eight to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, but one group ate 18 different varieties of fruits and vegetables while the other ate only five varieties. Blood tests taken after two weeks revealed that while both groups showed a reduction in lipid peroxidation (due to increased antioxidant intake), only the wide-variety group exhibited a reduction of DNA damage caused by free radicals.

Another study, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association, showed a 30 percent lower death rate over five and a half years within a population of 42,000 women among those whose healthy food variety in the diet was higher. Such findings are not surprising. The human genome is designed to benefit from dietary variety. Perhaps the most characteristic feature of the human diet as compared to the diets of other species is the sheer variety of foods we eat. When our ancestors diverged from chimpanzees more than four million years ago, the key trend in the evolution of our diet, which paralleled our genetic evolution, was a trend toward incorporating more and more foods. Paleolithic humans (living between 10,000 and 8,000 B.C.) are believed to have consumed anywhere from 100 to 200 different plant foods annually.

The agricultural revolution and other historical events sharply reduced the variety in the human diet. Today the average person gets two-thirds of his daily calories from just four species: corn, soybeans, wheat and rice. That can’t be optimal.

So, just how much variety should we try to get in our diet? Based on the information given above, I think it’s best to focus first on the quality of the food you eat. There’s no point in trying to increase the variety of food in your diet if you’re eating a lot of crap. Getting rid of the crap is your top priority. Once your diet is basically healthy, then you can turn toward diversification. I don’t see anything wrong with a lot of repetition in your proteins, grains and dairy foods. Where variety matters is in your fruits and vegetables. Try to mix these up as much as conveniently possible. Eating mostly fruits and vegetables that are in season is a great way to get started.

Lucky for me, my wife likes to cook with a lot of different vegetables. You’ll have to find your own solution!

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “A calorie is a calorie.” It means that carbohydrate, fat and protein calories are equal in terms of their effect on body weight. This point is most often made in the context of debates between low-carb and low-fat diet advocates.

Those who say “A calorie is a calorie” in this context mean to suggest that macronutrient proportions are irrelevant to weight management (as long as one is getting enough of each to meet one’s basic health needs). All that matters is the total number of calories consumed, regardless of whether the plurality comes from fat or carbohydrate.

Weight management is a simple game of math, these folks argue. To maintain your current weight, you need to consume the same number of calories your body burns each day. To lose a pound, you need to create a caloric deficit of approximately 3,500 calories. Whether you create that deficit by eating less fat, less carbohydrate, less protein or a little less of everything is immaterial.

It sounds sensible, but it’s actually not true. A calorie is not a calorie, in more than one sense. Carbohydrate, fat and protein calories are indeed equal by definition in terms of their energy content, but the body processes each in a distinct way, and these differences have real implications for weight management. In addition, food calories of all types may have very different effects on the body depending on when they are eaten and what they are eaten with. Following are five specific reasons why all calories are not equal.

1. The energy cost to metabolize fat, carbs and protein is different

The body must use energy to digest, absorb and metabolize the energy in food. And it so happens that the body uses different amounts of energy to process different energy-containing nutrients. Generally, more energy is required to process protein than carbs, and more energy is required to process carbs than fat. What this means effectively is that a 2,500-calories-a-day high-protein diet adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-carb diet, which in turn adds fewer calories to the body than a 2,500-calories-a-day high-fat diet.

Admittedly, the differences are small. They do not in themselves constitute a rationale to consume a high-protein, low-fat diet for weight management.

2. Calorie restriction slows metabolism

The biggest problem with using linear calorie equations for fat loss is that the fewer calories you consume, the fewer calories your body burns. Thus, if, based on the 3,500-calorie rule cited above, you decide to cut your daily energy intake by 500 calories in hopes of losing a pound a week (500 calories/day x 7 days = 3,500 calories), you will probably find that you do indeed lose a pound in the first week but less in each subsequent week. This phenomenon is believed to represent a metabolic adaptation to prevent starvation. Your body literally runs cooler to conserve the reduced number of calories you’re eating, thereby effectively increasing the value of each calorie.

A 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that volunteers who maintained a very low-calorie diet for six months exhibited a significantly greater reduction in metabolic rate than could be explain by weight loss alone. A longer-term study on monkeys revealed that monkeys whose food intake was reduced by 30 percent for 11 years exhibited a 13-percent lower metabolic rate than weight loss alone could account for.

More relevant for our concerns as athletes is evidence that even small calorie deficits within a single day may alter our metabolism in ways that have negative effects on our body composition. A study involving elite female gymnasts and distance runners found a strong inverse relationship between the number and size of energy deficits throughout the day (that is, periods when the body’s calorie needs exceed the calorie supply from foods) and body fat percentage. In other words, the athletes who did the best job of matching their calorie intake with their calorie needs throughout the day were leaner than those who tended to fall behind.

What’s important to note about this study is that the effect of mini calorie deficits was independent of total caloric intake for the day. This means that a woman athlete who requires and consumes X calories a day is likely to have less muscle and more body fat if she does not time her eating well than if she takes in the same total number of calories but distributes them more evenly throughout the day.

3. Protein reduces appetite

Protein generally reduces appetite more per calorie than fat and carbohydrate. Therefore a person who increases his daily protein intake without making any conscious attempt to eat less is likely to eat less anyway due to reduced appetite. This is another important sense in which protein, carbohydrate and fat calories are not equal.

In a recent study from the University of Washington School of Medicine, 19 subjects were fed each of three diets sequentially. For two weeks they followed a weight-maintenance diet comprising 15 percent protein, 35 percent fat, and 50 percent carbohydrate. For the next two weeks they followed a high-protein diet of equal calories. The macronutrient breakdown of this diet was 30 percent protein, 20 percent fat, and 50 percent carbohydrate. Finally, the subjects switched to a high-protein diet with the same macronutrient breakdown but no calorie restriction-subjects were allowed to eat as much or as little as they pleased (or “ad libitum”). They stayed on this last diet for 12 weeks.

The authors of the study reported that when subjects switched from the low-protein weight maintenance diet to the high-protein weight maintenance diet, they started feeling much fuller despite the fact that they were consuming the same number of calories. Even more significant, during the unrestricted high-protein diet phase, the subjects voluntarily reduced their daily eating by 441 calories per day and lost almost 11 pounds, including more than eight pounds of body fat, on average.

4. Fiber reduces calorie absorption

Fiber is a form of carbohydrate that contributes to satiety without contributing calories, because it is not absorbed into the body. Consequently, a 100-calorie high-fiber food will reduce appetite and subsequent eating more than a 100-calorie low-fiber food. Likewise, a person who increases his daily fiber consumption without making any conscious effort to eat less will wind up eating less anyway due to reduced appetite. Thus, a calorie inside a high-fiber food is not equal to a calorie inside a low-calorie food-yet a fourth way in which “a calorie is not a calorie.”

5. Timing of eating affects calorie processing

Thermic effect of food (TEF) is a fancy name for the energy used up as a result of digesting and absorbing a meal. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that TEF is higher in the morning than in the evening. Volunteers were given an identical 544-calorie meal at one of three times. In subjects fed at 9 am, TEF increased by 16 percent; in those fed at 5 pm, TEF increased by 13.5 percent; and in those fed at 1 am, TEF increased by only 11 percent. So it’s clear that we burn more calories in the morning. The effect of calories on body composition is also influenced by the size and frequency of meals. For example, a Japanese study found that boxers placed on a six-meals-a-day weight-control diet lowered their body fat percentage significantly more than boxers who ate exactly the same number of calories in just two meals. Generally speaking, food calories are more likely to be stored as fat and less likely to be used immediately for energy, stored as glycogen, or used to synthesize new muscle proteins when they are consumed in excess of short-term needs. This is why six small meals totaling 2,500 calories are not equal to two large meals totaling 2,500 calories.

On the flipside, food calories are more likely to be used immediately for energy or stored as glycogen or used to synthesize muscle proteins when they are consumed at times of energy deficit, such as first thing in the morning after the overnight fast. Another such time is after exercise. Numerous studies have shown that people build more muscle and gain less body fat (or shed more body fat) when they consume adequate calories within two hours after exercise than when they do not, despite consuming the same total number of calories over the course of the day.

To be sure, counting calories has some value. However, for the reasons cited above, you can’t count on calories from any source to affect your body equally in all circumstances.

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