• Home
• Contact
• Bio
• Videos
• Events
• Products
• Body Balance
• 2K ERG

• Camps & Clinics
• Client Success
• Coaching Services
• Diet & Nutrition
• Events
• Fitness Tips
• Kaehler's Korner
• Kaehler.fit
• Schedule

Subscribe

Water Guidelines for Training Recovery

Water Guidelines

Fluid replacement in and around meals:

Proper hydration is an important element of recovery from training.  Male endurance athletes can lose up to 10 liters of fluid per day, while women lose slightly less.  Daily individual losses vary depending on the training climate, as well as the length and intensity of training.  Water levels can be balanced through the water you drink, as well as the food you eat.  To optimize your recovery, you must consider when to replace your fluids, as well as how the fluids are delivered to your digestive system.  Here are some basic guidelines for fluid replacement in and around your meals.

Timing

Recovery from training is optimized when the body can devote most of its energy into rebuilding itself.  Avoid drinking liquids with meals as it requires the body to secrete additional digestive enzymes which slows digestion and reduces its efficiency.

When recovering from training, avoid drinking water 30 minutes prior to eating, and for about 2 hours after a carbohydrate meal, and up to 3 hours after a heavy protein meal.

How to rehydrate

When eating protein meals, include plenty of raw vegetables (salads) as they are made mostly of water.  With carbohydrate meals, include plenty of raw fruit as they too are mainly made of water.  The water in fruit and vegetables does not dilute digestive enzymes, so it is the most efficient delivery of water back into the body when eating.

One method of fluid replacement that I prefer is eating fresh melons as a snack in between meals.  Melons digest very quickly (about 30 minutes) and they are about 90% water.  The digestion of the melons slows the delivery of water into the bloodstream, which is easier on the kidneys.

Overall, ensure you drink enough water between meals, and increase your consumption of raw fruit and vegetables.

Proper and balanced hydration is a critical factor in optimizing your training and racing.

All About Energy Balance

What is energy balance?

“Energy balance” is the relationship between “energy in” (food calories taken into the body through food and drink) and “energy out” (calories being used in the body for our daily energy requirements). This relationship, which is defined by the laws of thermodynamics, dictates whether weight is lost, gained, or remains the same. According to these laws, energy is never really created and it’s never really destroyed. Rather, energy is transferred between entities. We convert potential energy that’s stored within our food (measured in Calories or kcals) into three major “destinations”: work, heat and storage. As the image below shows, the average number of available calories per person in the US is increasing.  In general, there is more “energy in”. When it comes to “energy out,” the body’s energy needs include the amount of energy required for maintenance at rest, physical activity and movement, and for food digestion, absorption, and transport. We can estimate our energy needs by measuring the amount of oxygen we consume. We eat, we digest, we absorb, we circulate, we store, we transfer energy, we burn the energy, and then we repeat.

Why energy balance is so important

There’s a lot more to energy balance than a change in body weight. Energy balance also has to do with what’s going on in your cells. When you’re in a positive energy balance (more in than out) and when you’re in a negative energy balance (more out than in), everything from your metabolism, to your hormonal balance, to your mood is impacted. Negative energy balance A severe negative energy balance can lead to a decline in metabolism, decreases in bone mass, reductions in thyroid hormones, reductions in testosterone levels, an inability to concentrate, and a reduction in physical performance. Yet a negative energy balance does lead to weight loss. The body detects an energy “deficit” and fat reserves are called upon to make up the difference. The body doesn’t know the difference between a strict diet monitored by a physician at a Beverly Hills spa and simply running out of food in a poor African village. The body just knows it isn’t getting enough energy, so it will begin to slow down (or shut down) all “non-survival” functions. Ask somebody who has been fasting for two weeks if they have a high sex drive. Nope. Positive energy balance Overfeeding (and/or under exercising) has its own ramifications not only in terms of weight gain but in terms of health and cellular fitness. With too much overfeeding, plaques can build up in arteries, the blood pressure and cholesterol in our body can increase, we can become insulin resistant and suffer from diabetes, we can increase our risk for certain cancers, and so on. The relationship between the amount of Calories we eat in the diet and the amount of energy we use in the body determines our body weight and overall health. The body is highly adaptable to a variety of energy intakes/outputs. It must be adaptable in order to survive. Therefore, mechanisms are in place to ensure stable energy transfer regardless of whether energy imbalances exist.

What you should know about energy balance

The standard “textbook” view of energy balance doesn’t offer consistent explanations for body composition changes. This is because calorie restriction or overconsumption without a “metabolic intervention” (such as exercise or drugs) is likely to produce equal losses in lean mass and fat mass with restriction or equal gains in lean mass and fat mass with overfeeding. People will likely end up as smaller or larger versions of the same shape. They’ll lose muscle along with fat. Both sides of the energy balance equation are complex and the interrelationships determine body composition and health outcomes. Gone are the days of eating a 1500 calorie meal from McDonald’s and then “exercising” it off. Overall lifestyle habits help to properly control energy balance, and when properly controlled, excessive swings in either direction (positive or negative) are prevented and the body can either lose fat or gain lean mass in a healthy way.

Factors that affect energy in Calorie intake Energy digested and absorbed (90-99%)
Factors that affect energy out
Work Physical work (exercise and activity)	Heat Heat produced with physical work Heat produced via the thermic effect of food (TEF) Heat produced by resting metabolism Heat produced: adipose creation Heat produced: adipose thermoregulation	Storage Efficiency of work Efficiency of food metabolism Energy stored in adipose tissue

Why do people struggle to get negative or positive?

First and foremost, it’s uncomfortable. But furthermore, an interesting phenomenon has developed over the past 25 years. With our focus on specific nutrients, intense dietary counseling, repeated dieting and processed food consumption, body fat levels have also increased. While nutrition and health experts simply blame weight gain on calories, that doesn’t paint the whole picture. Blaming weight gain on calories is like blaming wars on guns. The calories from food are not the sole cause of a skewed energy balance. It’s the entire lifestyle and environment. While this may seem illogical, it demonstrates the importance of body awareness (hunger/satiety), avoidance of processed foods, regular physical activity and the persuasion of advertising. Is calorie counting the solution? Probably not Many people feel that if they just can add up calorie totals for the day, their energy imbalance problems will be solved. While it can work for some and even make others feel proud of their spreadsheet skillz, by the time we add up calories for the day and factor in visual error, variations in soil quality, variations in growing methods, changes in packaging, and assimilation by the body – do we really know how many actual calories have been consumed? I sure don’t, and I’m a dietitian. Our energy balance is regulated and monitored by a rich network of systems. There’s a complex interplay between the hypothalamus, neural connections in the body and hormone receptors. Information is received about energy repletion/depletion, the diurnal clock, physical activity level, reproductive cycle, developmental state, and acute and chronic stressors. Moreover, information about the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of sensory and internal food experiences are relayed. These signals can impact energy balance. Even the best spreadsheet skills will have trouble tracking that. As a society, the more we focus on calories and dietary restraint, the more positive our energy balance seems to get. So, what should we focus on? How about considering ingredients rather than nutrition facts labels? The nutrition facts label is pretty worthless until we know what we’re eating. 100 calories isn’t cool when it’s Chips Ahoy. So, if monitoring is your thing, then monitor food quality more that quantity. Straight up overeating Don’t kid yourself: it’s still possible to overeat “quality” food. However, this overeating takes place usually when we’re “sneaking” calories in by choosing high calorie density foods.

• For example, by using 2 tbsp of olive oil to prepare our meals 3x per day, we can “sneak in” over 90g of fat and 810 calories into our diets. Olive oil is good for us. But adding 810 calories per day probably isn’t.
• Further, if we eat 4 handfuls of mixed nuts per day, which may be an extra 300-500 calories, depending on the size of your hands. Again, raw nuts are awesome for us. However, eating too many isn’t.
• If we go with 4 whole eggs for breakfast, instead of 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg, that’s an extra 18g of fat and 162 calories.
• If we choose lean protein vs. extra lean, we may add an additional few hundred calories of fat to our menu each day without even knowing it.

As you can see from the above, in most cases, we wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference between our meals with and without the olive oil, with extra lean vs. lean, and so on. In essence, we’re sneaking the extra calories in without being any more full, and/or without changing anything else about our day. And that’s when it’s possible to over-eat on nutritious foods. So, although we discourage counting calories, grams, etc. we do suggest watching out for calorie sneaking.

How to be negative or positive

While necessary for fat loss, a negative energy balance can be uncomfortable. Being in a negative energy state can result in hunger, agitation, and even slight sleep problems. On the flip side, while necessary for muscle gain, a positive energy balance can be uncomfortable as well. Both extremes cause the body to get out of, well, balance. Accomplishing a negative energy balance can be done in different ways. Increasing the amount of weekly physical activity you participate in is one of the best options. How to create a negative energy balance

• Build muscle with weight training (about 5 hours of total exercise each week) and proper nutrition
• Create muscle damage with intense weight training
• Maximize post workout energy expenditure by using high intensity exercise
• Regular program change to force new stimuli and adaptations
• Boost non-exercise physical activity
• Increase thermic effect of feeding by increasing unprocessed food intake
• Eat at regular intervals throughout the day
• Eat lean protein at regular intervals throughout the day
• Eat vegetables and/or fruit at regular intervals
• Incorporate omega-3 fats
• Incorporate multiple exercise modes
• Stay involved with “life” outside of exercise and nutrition
• Sleep 7-9 hours each night
• Don’t engage in extreme diets for risk of long-term overcompensation
• Stay consistent with habits
• Ignore food advertising

How to create a positive energy balance

• Build muscle with weight training (at least 4 hours of intense exercise per week) and proper nutrition
• Create muscle damage with intense weight training
• Minimize other forms of exercise (other than high intensity and resistance training)
• Limit excessive non-exercise physical activity
• Try consuming more shakes and liquids with calories
• Build in energy dense foods that don’t cause rapid satiety (nut butters, nuts, trail mix, oils, etc.)
• Eat at regular intervals throughout the day
• Incorporate additional omega-3 fats
• Take advantage of peri-workout nutrition, with plenty of nutrients consumed before, during, and after exercise
• Sleep 7-9 hours per night
• Stay consistent with habits

Remember that a skewed energy balance is not something that needs to be achieved from now until the end of time. Once in “maintenance mode,” constant energy balance excursions are unnecessary.

Further resources

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/showthread.php?t=8265 A New View of Energy Balance

Extra credit

Micronutrients act as cofactors and/or coenzymes in the liberation of energy from food. A limited intake can disturb energy balance and can lead to numerous side effects. Some factors that have been associated with attaining a negative energy balance include:

• Regular nut consumption
• Meal replacement supplements/super shakes
• Green tea
• Low energy density foods (veggies, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, etc.)
• Dietary protein
• Avoidance of refined carbohydrates
• Adequate hydration
• Dietary fiber
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Regular exercise
• Adequate sleep
• Positive social support

References

Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 3^rd Edition. Groff JL, Gropper SS. 1999. Delmar Publishers, Inc. Anatomy & Physiology, 4^th Edition. Thibodeau GA, Patton KT. 1999. Mosby, Inc. Exercise Endocrinology, 2^nd Edition. Borer KT. 2003. Human Kinetics. Illustrated Principles of Exercise Physiology, 1^st Edition. Axen K, Axen KV. 2001. Prentice Hall. Food, Nutrition & Diet Therapy, 11^th Edition. Mahan LK, Escott-Stump S. 2004. Saunders. Nutrition and Diagnosis-Related Care, 5^th Edition. Escott-Stump S. 2002. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The Merck Manual, 17^th Edition. Beers MH, Berkow R. 1999. Merck Research Laboratories. Forbes GB. Body fat content influences the body composition response to nutrition and exercise. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2000;904:359. Prentice A, Jebb S. Energy intake/physical activity interactions in the homeostasis of body weight regulation. Nutr Rev 2004;62:S98. Rampone AJ, Reynolds PJ. Obesity: thermodynamic principles in perspective. Life Sci 1988;43:93. Berthoud HR. Multiple neural systems controlling food intake and body weight. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2002;26:393. Jequier E. Leptin signaling, adiposity, and energy balance. Ann NY Acad Sci 2002;967:379. Buchholz AC, Schoeller DA. Is a calorie a calorie? Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:899S. Nutrition and the Strength Athlete. Volek, J. 2001. Chapter 2. Edited by Catherine G. Ratzin Jackson. CRC Press. Essen-Gustavsson B & Tesch PA. Glycogen and triglycerides utilization in relation to muscle metabolic characteristics in men performing heavy resistance exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 1990;61:5. MacDougall JD, Ray S, McCartney N, Sale D, Lee P, Gardner S. Substrate utilization during weightlifting. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1988;20:S66. Tesch PA, Colliander EB, Kaiser P. Muscle Metabolism during intense, heavy resistance exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 1986;55:362. Cori CF. The fate of sugar in the animal body. I. The rate of absorption of hexoses and pentoses from the intestinal tract. J Biol Chem 1925;66:691. Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, 2nd Edition. Berning J & Steen S. Chapter 2. 1998. Aspen Publication. Pitkanen H, Nykanen T, Knuutinen J, Lahti K, Keinanen O, Alen M, Komi P, Mero A. Free Amino Acid pool and Muscle Protein Balance after Resistance Exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003;35:784. Ivy JL. Muscle glycogen synthesis before and after exercise. Sports Med 1977;11:6. Chandler RM, Byrne HK, Patterson JG, Ivy JL. Dietary supplements affect the anabolic hormones after weight-training exercise. J Appl Physiol 1994;76:839. Ganong WF (2001) Endocrine functions of the pancreas & regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. In: Review of Medical Physiology. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 322-343. Guyton AC, Hall JE (2000) Insulin, glucagon, and diabetes mellitus. In: Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, pp. 884-898. Jentjens R & Jeukendrup A. Determinants of Post-Exercise Glycogen Synthesis during short term recovery. Sports Med 2003;33:117. Levenhagen DK, Gresham JD, Carlson MG, Maron DJ, Borel MJ, Flakoll PJ. Postexercise nutrient intake timing in humans is critical to recovery of leg glucose and protein homeostasis. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001;280:E982. Borsheim E, Tipton KD, Wolf SE, Wolfe RR. Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2002;283:E648. Mattes RD, et al. Impact of peanuts and tree nuts on body weight and healthy weight loss in adults. J Nutr 2008;138:1741S-1745S. Berthoud HR. Multiple neural systems controlling food intake and body weight. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2002;26:393-428. Stice E, et al. Psychological and behavioral risk factors for obesity onset in adolescent girls: a prospective study. J of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2005;73:195-202. Shunk JA & Birch LL. Girls at risk for overweight at age 5 are at risk for dietary restraint, disinhibited overeating, weight concerns, and greater weight gain from 5 to 9 years. J Am Diet Assoc 2004;104:1120-1126. Tanofsky-Kraff M, et al. A prospective study of psychological predictors of body fat gain among children at high risk for adult obesity. Pediatrics 2006;117:1203-1209.

Optimum Performance and the Use of Caffeine

Do you grab a quick caffeinated beverage before racing, or chug a caffeinated sports drink during your workout?  Many athletes believe consuming a shot or two of caffeine is an ideal way to get that quick boost of energy in the quest for better performance.  However the effects of caffeine on your endurance training may not be giving you the results you are looking for.  Of course, many people use caffeine throughout their day to help stimulate them during daily activities and energize them during their workouts.  Understanding the effects that caffeine has on a body is important in deciding whether or not to use caffeine as part of your training program.

Caffeine is actually a toxic stimulant found in nature.  Although it revs the body up, it provides zero in terms of energy.  After ingesting caffeine, your body automatically begins the process of metabolizing (getting rid of) it.  This metabolic activity actually costs you energy and takes it from your storage of nutrients.  Therefore a stimulant like caffeine triggers an abnormal “speeding up” reaction to begin eliminating it.  This “speeding up” is the caffeine buzz you feel, but in actuality it is depleting your body of necessary energy and nutrients.

Not only does the process of metabolizing caffeine use up energy, it has diuretic effects (fluid loss) as the body tries to clear it from your system. This creates a negative water balance in your body, leading you to urinate more.  Coupled with the elevated heart rate usually caused by caffeine, the diuretic effect could lead to over-stimulation of your body, potentially leading to dehydration in people already pushed to their physical limits.  During this process of elimination we can be fooled into thinking that the stimulant is an energy value, when really it is an energy cost.

A recent article published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, titled “Caffeine and Endurance Performance”, by Matthew S. Ganio, et al., is a systematic review of 21 different studies which measured performance with a time-trial test.  They looked at endurance events that were at least five (5) minutes or longer, such as cycling, running, etc.  The authors of this study concluded that although the performance improvements were varied among the studies researched, they found that factors including timing, ingestion mode/vehicle, and subject habituation may have influenced study results.

One significant recommendation Ganio, et al., made from this review was that endurance athletes abstain from caffeine use at least seven (7) days before competition to maximize its ergogenic (boosting) effect. Also, it was noted by Ganio, et al. that if caffeine is used for an ergogenic effect, it should be ingested within 60 minutes or less of competition or training.  The amount of caffeine commonly shown to improve endurance performance is between 3 and 6 mg. per kg-1 body mass. The caffeine benefit was equally effective when consumed with a carbohydrate solution, gum, or water alone, however coffee was noted to not to be as effective a caffeine source.  When caffeine is used on a regular basis, the ergogenic effect is not as great, compared to using it sporadically or not at all.

Overall, chronic use of caffeine appears to have far less effective results in time-trial testing, and appears to cost the body energy and nutrients in elimination from the body on a daily basis.  However, should an athlete decide that caffeine use is beneficial, it would make sense to follow the guidelines for amounts ingested and limit use during time trials spaced seven days or more apart, prior to race day.  Determining the best use of caffeine, if any, is a personal decision best made with the advice of your physician and coach.

Before grabbing that caffeinated sports drink, consider the effects of caffeine on your body. Because of the generally negative effect that metabolizing caffeine has on a body, Coach Kaehler does not advocate the use of caffeine as a regular part of a training program.  Instead, he believes that a well balanced, specially designed training and nutrition program is much more effective for achieving the maximum performance results desired on race day.

Coach Kaehler has posted this for informational purposes only, and that the use of caffeine for performance enhancement is a personal preference.  It should be noted, however, that he does not recommend the use of caffeine for the clients he trains.

Harmful Food Oils

Any ingredient that has the word “partially” or “partially hydrogenated” in it can basically be considered toxic for healthy bodies. Often marketed as “trans-fats”, these types of oils, including partially hydrogenated palm oil and partially hydrogenated soybean oil, are usually found in many “man-made” processed foods, such as cookies, crackers, margarine, and salad dressings. These oils are chemically altered to prevent them from going rancid, thus extending their shelf life, resulting in cheaper prices for consumers and increased profits for food manufacturers. Be aware that tropical oils such as palm oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and cottonseed oil may also be hydrogenated as well, and therefore, unhealthy food choices.

According to the book, Conscious Health, by Ron Garner, the process of hydrogenation destroys the enzymes, nutrients, and vitamins present in natural oils. Hydrogenated oils have been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other serious health problems¹ by lowering the body’s good cholesterol (HDL) and increasing its bad cholesterol (LDL).

For the conscientious athlete, it is much wiser and healthier to shop where natural, unprocessed foods are readily available, in places such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, health food stores, and local farm markets. If you must shop at a conventional food store, pay close attention to the labels and look for organic or minimally processed foods without hydrogenated oils. Making healthier food choices today will benefit your healthy body tomorrow.

¹ Erasmus, Udo. Choosing the Right Fats. 2001. pp.10,11. http://alive.com

Pre-race Meal

You must complete your pre-race fueling three or more hours prior to the start because the insulin-induced blood sugar level “disruption” from a pre-race meal lasts about three hours before hormonal balance is restored.

Taking in a bagel and banana while they are okay to eat three hours prior to the race are not a good idea to eat one hour prior to the race. This meal will rapidly elevate blood sugar levels, which will create an excess of insulin released into the blood stream which leads to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This would be okay to consume right after a workout because of enzymes released from the exercise would dampen this effect, but since you are eating this meal without any pre-ceding activity this is not a good idea.

Also, this high insulin level so close to the race does inhibit lipid mobilization during aerobic exercise which will reduce fats-to fuel conversion capabilities. Since roughly 60-65% of your energy will come from fats once your 60-90 minute store of muscle glycogen is used up we need this system to be working at a maximum. The remaining 35-40% of your fuel comes from the gel packs. Another big reason to not eat so close to the race is because these high insulin levels induce a sugar influx into the muscle cells, which increases the rate of carbohydrate metabolism. What this does is deplete your muscle glycogen much quicker than if you keep your meal three hours out. It takes about three hours for your body to restore normal hormonal balance with a pre-race meal done with no exercise prior to the meal.

If you feel you absolutely must eat, consume 100 – 200 calories about five minutes before start time. By the time these calories are digested and blood sugar levels are elevated, you’ll be well into your race and glycogen depletion rates will not be negatively affected. This strategy is especially appropriate for triathletes who will hit the water first

Post run nutrition – The Oregonian – OregonLive.com

Post run nutrition The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR - 6 hours ago Endurance athletes depend on stored muscle glycogen as our primary source of energy during our training and our racing. We need to be diligent in satisfying ...

Foods and Fluids for Endurance Sports – MaxPreps

Foods and Fluids for Endurance Sports MaxPreps, CA - 19 hours ago While we often implement the proper regimen of strength training, dynamic flexibility and speed work, we may overlook the nutritional contributions to ...

Copyright © 2009,2010 Coach Kaehler · Coach Kaehler · Log in