Skinny Girl's Quest for Muscle

I've been experimenting with a new juicer. It's an Omega VERT--advertised as a juicer that does not heat up the produce therefore retaining more vitamins and minerals, and creating a juice that stays fresh much longer. Plus, it's just plain simple to use and to clean (vital in my book).

This morning I made juice using the large-holed filter (the orange colored one for those who are familiar with this juicer) with these ingredients:

1 apple (including peel)
1 orange (without peel)
1/2 cucumber (with peel)
1 small wedge purple cabbage
1 carrot
1 small bit of ginger root
about 10 long sprigs of parsley

Result: about 16 ounces of drinkable, but not super tasty, pulpy, moss-green juice. And, about 1 cup of pulp for my dog. She loves that stuff.

Talk about a big boost of energy. I feel more energetic than had I downed 2 cups of coffee, but without the jittery/shaking nonsense that tends to hit me a little harder than the average coffee drinker.

Perhaps this is why. Here is the nutritional analysis:

Calories| 246.0 kcal 14%
Protein | 4.8 g 4%
Carbs | 61.7 g 29%
Fiber | 12.8 g 37%
Starch | 2.4 g
Sugars | 41.3 g
Fat | 1.2 g 2%
Water | 577.9 g 16%
Ash | 3.0 g

Vitamins (39%)
Vitamin A | 14437.5 IU 619%
Retinol | 0.0 µg
Alpha-carotene | 2535.5 µg
Beta-carotene | 7283.9 µg
Beta-cryptoxanthin | 222.7 µg
Lycopene | 18.5 µg
Lutein+Zeaxanthin | 1302.5 µg
Folate | 85.3 µg 21%
B1 (Thiamine) | 0.3 mg 30%
B2 (Riboflavin) | 0.3 mg 24%
B3 (Niacin) | 2.1 mg 15%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)| 1.2 mg 25%
B6 (Pyridoxine) | 0.5 mg 39%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) | 0.0 µg 0%
Vitamin C | 144.5 mg 193%
Vitamin D | 0.0 IU 0%
Vitamin E | 1.3 mg 9%
Beta Tocopherol | 0.0 mg
Delta Tocopherol | 0.0 mg
Gamma Tocopherol | 0.1 mg
Vitamin K | 236.2 µg 262%
Biotin | 0.0 µg 0%
Choline | 51.0 mg 12%

Minerals (21%)
Calcium | 173.9 mg 17%
Chromium | 0.0 µg 0%
Copper | 0.2 mg 26%
Fluoride | 10.3 µg 0%
Iron | 2.3 mg 13%
Magnesium | 72.4 mg 23%
Manganese | 0.6 mg 31%
Phosphorus | 132.1 mg 19%
Potassium | 1172.9 mg 59%
Selenium | 1.8 µg 3%
Sodium | 84.7 mg 6%
Zinc | 1.0 mg 12%

Amino Acids (27%)
ALA | 0.3 g
ARG | 0.3 g
ASP | 0.6 g
CYS | 0.1 g 12%
GLU | 1.0 g
GLY | 0.2 g
HIS | 0.1 g 22%
HYP | 0.0 g
ILE | 0.2 g 30%
LEU | 0.2 g 29%
LYS | 0.3 g 38%
MET | 0.1 g 9%
PHE | 0.2 g 21%
PRO | 0.2 g
SER | 0.2 g
THR | 0.2 g 62%
TRP | 0.0 g 22%
TYR | 0.1 g 12%
VAL | 0.2 g 37%

Lipids (3%)
Saturated | 0.2 g 1%
Monounsaturated | 0.1 g 1%
Polyunsaturated | 0.4 g 2%
Omega-3 | 0.1 g 6%
Omega-6 | 0.3 g 10%
Trans-Fats | 0.0 g 0%
Cholesterol | 0.0 mg 0%
Phytosterol | 44.0 mg

Dr. Weston Price was a dentist who became famous after writing Nutritional and Physical Degeneration, a book narrating his travels around the world to study the diversity in the dietary nutrition of remote, non-industrialized settlements ranging from locations in the Swiss Alps, to Eskimo and African villages. Dr. Price attempted to determine why these populations, who had no modern dental or medical technology available, appeared to have much better dental health, and overall health, than Westerners.

In 1945, Dr. Price published a new chapter as part of his second edition of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. In this groundbreaking new chapter, he suggested that a substance that he labeled as "Activator X" was the tie between the diverse diets of the remote populations. He found Activator X to be a fat soluble substance that assisted vitamins A and D with their useful functions in the body. Food sources containing Activator X identified were: milk, dark yellow butters and hard cheeses made from cattle that grazed on spring grasses.

Fast forward 60 years to today. The newly formed paradigm suggests that Activator X is actually vitamin K2. Haven't heard of it? You are not alone. Although vitamin K was discovered nearly a century ago, the role of vitamin k2, a substance that is found in fractional amounts in the diet, was overlooked until just recently. Modern research has not only created a link between the benefits that Dr. Price found from Activator X in the diet and those of what we understand of vitamin k2's role in nutrition, it has taken it a step further suggesting a link between k2 and cancer prevention. In April of 2008, research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested an inverse correlation between vitamin k2 in the diet and prostate cancer (3). K2 has also been indicated for possible prevention of liver cancer (4) and heart disease (5).

So this is all great news, but what does it means for me?

Interestingly, although Dr. Price did not find many individual macro nutrient or food-specific commonalities between the diets of the remote people that he studied, the one commonality that did tie the groups together, the mysterious "Activator X" was found to naturally occur in fatty foods such as the whole milk hard cheeses and butters products consumed by the Swiss and the miscellaneous organ meats eaten by the other groups--organ meats that are not found in a typical Western diet as they are deemed inferior to lean muscle meats, and are rather considered byproducts appropriate for use in pet feeds, but not the human diet. Activator X, or vitamin k2 as we now assume, is also found in egg yolks, goose liver, and Natto--a gummy fermented soy-based food eaten in Japan. Vitamin k2 was on its way to being displaced in the typical Western diet by other foods, leaner muscle meats, skimmed and non-fatted milks and dairy, margarine, processed cheese foods, etc.(6) Additionally, Western butter, produced from cattle fed a grain-based diet has lower k2 content than the butters found in the European markets made from cattle fed a grass-based diet(6).

It wasn't until 2006 that the USDA even began reporting vitamin k values in foods(6). Today, it's still difficult to find a separation of vitamin k1 and k2 values for various foods. Vitamin k1 occurs mainly in plant foods where vitamin k2 can be found in animal products. Beyond the occurrence of the vitamin in food sources, it's important to note that vitamin k2 is a fat soluble substance meaning it requires dietary fat to be utilized properly in the body. Putting this into practice, would suggest eating fatty dairy instead of non-fat or de-fatted dairy products to get the full benefit from vitamins A and D, and calcium.

So, why Edam?

In a recent dissertation paper, a graduate candidate found that Edam cheese contained the largest concentration of k2 out of all cheeses in the study(7).



References:
1) Dr. Weston Price, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
2) http://www.westonaprice.org/On-the-Trail-of-the-Elusive-X-Factor-A-Sixty-Two-Year-Old-Mystery-Finally-Solved.html#60
(3) Katharina Nimptsch, Sabine Rohrmann and Jakob Linseisen, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 4, 985-992, April 2008
(4) Daiki Habu, MD, PhD; Susumu Shiomi, MD, PhD; Akihiro Tamori, MD, PhD; Tadashi Takeda, MD, PhD; Takashi Tanaka, MD, PhD; Shoji Kubo, MD, PhD; Shuhei Nishiguchi, MD, PhD, Role of Vitamin K₂ in the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Women With Viral Cirrhosis of the Liver , JAMA. 2004;292:358-361.
(5) [insert reference]
(6) http://www.westonaprice.org/On-the-Trail-of-the-Elusive-X-Factor-A-Sixty-Two-Year-Old-Mystery-Finally-Solved.html#fig4
(7) Koivu-Tikkanen, T. 2000. Determination of phylloquinone and menaquinones in foods by HPLC (dissertation). EKT-series 1216. University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, 82 pp.

Uh oh, didn't eat enough today.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast:
1 whole milk latte (12 oz)
1 banana

Snacks:
1 Soy milk latte (12 oz)
1 cup cottage cheese (4% milkfat)
1 banana

Lunch:
Leftover Vegetable Soup:
- broth
- green beans
- zucchini
- carrots
- broccoli
- diced tomatoes
Water

Afternoon Snacks:
2 tangerines

Dinner:
white potato
winter squash
garlic
carrots
3 oz rockfish
1 tsp coconut oil
herbs/spices
1 cup spinach, raw
1 cup romaine, raw
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tsp dressing
water


Exercise:

Shoulders/Back
Core


Supplements:

FloraVital (1/2 recommended serving)
Creatine (3 grams)
HMB (1/2 recommended serving)
Beta Alanine (3-4 grams)
Triple Flex (Glucosamine Blend) (3/4 recommended serving)

Today was a very good day. I ended up with a good nutrition profile even with the noontime restaurant outing where someone ordered dessert, and was able to work in a great exercise routine.


Today's Menu:

Breakfast:
1 cup whole milk
1 scoop whey protein powder

Snacks:
2 cups tea
1 cup plain, low fat, organic yogurt
1 cup blueberries
1 medium banana
water

Lunch:
caesar salad with:
- romaine lettuce
- dressing
- asiago cheese
- about 8 ounces of perfectly cooked salmon (it was delicious!)
a ton of ice water
1 bite of spice cake with rum sauce (someone else ordered dessert)

Afternoon Snacks:
whole milk mocha (8 ounce size)
3 macadamia nuts
water

Dinner:
mostly homemade vegetable soup with:
- broccoli
- green beans
- zucchini
- carrots
- diced tomatoes
- organic vegetable broth (boxed)
water


Exercise:

Cross Fit:
18 minute routine (4 sets/15 reps)
- squats with dumbbell press-up
- single-leg hamstring curls
- push-ups
- bench dips

Sprint Intervals:
warm-up (3 minutes of jogging)
x7 intervals (sprinting/running)


Supplements:

FloraVital (recommended serving)
Creatine (3 grams)
HMB (1/2 recommended serving)
Beta Alanine (3-4 grams)
Triple Flex (Glucosamine Blend) (3/4 recommended serving)

Did not get my workout in today. Am very disappointed about that. However, I did pretty good with my menu except that I did get in some refined sugar (see the Ben & Jerry's). It was leftover from the holidays and needed to be eaten :)

Today's Menu:

Breakfast:
12 ounces skim milk
1 scoop whey protein powder

Snacks:
1/2 cup cottage cheese, 4% milkfat
1 medium banana
3 small clementines
20 ounces water

Lunch:
(leftovers from last night)
3 ounces salmon
about 1/2 white potato, baked with olive oil, salt, homemade paprika
about 1/2 sweet potato, baked with olive oil, salt, homemade paprika
1/2 cup green beans (fresh, boiled lightly in salted water)
1/2 cucumber with skin
water

Afternoon Snacks:
1 scoop egg white protein powder
8 ounces milk
1 small apple
1.5 ounces walnuts
1 small piece chocolate
water

Dinner:
mostly homemade vegetable soup with:
- broccoli
- celery
- zucchini
- carrots
- shrimp
- mirin
- habanero
- organic vegetable broth (boxed)

Dessert (in place of pre-bedtime protein):
1 cup Ben & Jerry's low fat frozen yogurt


Supplements:

FloraVital (recommended serving)
Creatine (3 grams)
HMB (1/2 recommended serving)
Beta Alanine (3-4 grams)
Triple Flex (Glucosamine Blend) (3/4 recommended serving)

Kick off day!

Today's Menu:

Breakfast:
12 ounce latte with 2% (because whole milk* was not available)
1 medium banana

Snack:
1 cup yogurt (nonfat, 9 grams protein)
1 cup blueberries

Lunch:
Cucumber & Tuna Salad with Balsamic Dressing
1 tangerine
1 apple
1 glass of water

Afternoon Snacks:
1 scoop protein powder
16 ounces water
0.8 ounce cheese stick
2 tangerines
7 walnut halves

Dinner:
4 ounces Salmon
1 medium sweet potato with skin
1/3 medium white potato with skin
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
olive oil, salt, herbs and spices
water

Bedtime:
1 scoop Jay Robb egg white protein powder (Strawberry) in water


Supplements:

FloraVital (recommended serving)
Creatine (3 grams)
HMB (1/2 recommended serving)
Beta Alanine (3-4 grams)
Triple Flex (Glucosamine Blend) (3/4 recommended serving)


Exercises:

HIIT Sprints:
5 minutes warm up (jogging)
15 minutes HIIT (sprints and walking)
5 minutes cool down (jogging)

Core:
20 minutes core strengthening**

Walk:
20-40 minutes walking the dogs


*why whole milk? upcoming post planned to discuss
**core strengthening routine to be detailed in upcoming post

I let myself take a break for the holidays. From about Mid-October through December, I allowed any food I wanted into my diet and did not follow a regular, scheduled exercise routine. So, it was a nice break. Guess what? Break's over--time to get back to it. The unfortunate part is that this is also the same time of year that everyone starts back up with the newly formed goal of "Oh hey, I'm going to get fit this year. yeah, that's it. It'll be my resolution for [insert year]". The gym will be crowded for certain.

Another unfortunate incident of the New Year's timing is the lack of farmer's market produce. All of the produce that I purchase will have to come from the supermarket. At least the options in the organic product section are growing and prices are coming down and are more in-line with non-organic offerings.

Finally, the limited availability of daylight, and the cold outdoor temps will make exercise lackluster. No wonder all those New Year's resolutions fall short. Who wants to try to build a diet around dismal produce availability and exercise in the cold and the dark?

Even though I took a break physically (and nutrition-wise) over the last couple of months, I did not take a break from reading the latest books, journal articles, and trends in nutrition and fitness. My goals for the beginning of 2010 include some of the ideas and theories that I was most attracted to in my readings and research. One major theme is 'sources of carbohydrates'. In the coming weeks, I'll be getting the carbohydrates in my diet from vegetable and fruit sources, and not from grains, rice, and processed sugars.

Another idea that I'll implement is that of less activity, but more efficient activity. This will include regular sessions of hiit (high intensity interval training), Tabata, and short weight lifting routines (in place of typical 60 minute lifting routines).

The outcome of both reducing the dense carbs from my diet at the same time as working at only highly efficient exercise will hopefully *crossing fingers* bring about changes of 1) reduced body fat and 2) increased lean mass. Gee, that sounds familiar: less fat, more muscle.

Now of course, this wouldn't work for everyone. Not everyone is a hardgainer like I am. For those that find adding muscle easy, certainly eating grains would probably not be a bad idea. For those needing to lose a large amount of body fat, more aggressive routines at the gym may be in order. However, in my case, I can only eat so much so why not make it foods geared towards getting the correct amount of calories with a big dose of vitamins, minerals and fiber, to pair with a exercise routine geared toward limiting calories burned at the same time as building muscle. Certainly highly dense carbs don't build muscle--why eat em?

So there you have it, the two part plan for 2010.

But wait, I still have a blog to take care of. No worries, there's a plan for this blog as well. As I eat, exercise, and record measurements, I'll be noting them here to track and share my progress.

That's it for now. Until next time, go do something athletic!