Sport Nutrition for Soccer

Sport nutrition is a key to successful performance in all sports! See here how sport nutrition plays a big role in local soccer...

Emily Edison on Soccer...

The Truth about Sports Drinks

Click on this link to see the Q13 Fox news story featuring Momentum Sports Dietitian Emily Edison...

video

Back to School Nutrition

Back to School 2009

Start the school year off with a nutritious bang by planning healthy breakfasts and snacks. This plan will be the brainpower for successful school (and work) days.

Combine at least TWO foods for snacks, using all three marco-nutrients carbohydrate, protein and fat whenever possible. Some examples of this are: peach and plain yogurt, cheese and plums, whole grain toast with peanut butter.

Check out this link to healthy and brain power filled snacks and meals:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/snacks?mbid=e090109

We often get asked "How long should I wait between meals and snacks?" Our answer is "When do you get hungry?" You will have to "tune in" to your body and listen to hear what is going on behind the scenes.

Hunger is on a scale of 0 to 5. 0 is flat out S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G. Eat the door off the fridge hungry. Where 5 is neutral, neither hungry nor full. We recommend eating around a 3. Meaning you can feel some hunger in your tummy (maybe a little grumble) but you do not have a headache, you are not grumpy, and you are not ready to eat the hair off your arm.

When we wait too long to eat, what happens? We do not make clear conscious choices about what we really want. We end up eating whatever is around (ie. MnM's on your neighbors desk, candy bars from the vending machine, handfuls of Doritos...you get the point?!), instead of what we really want. When we do not eat what we really want, we feel unsatisfied and end up eating more, reaching for satisfaction and all we end up with is FULL. Usually over the top full.

Give it a shot. Check in with your hunger levels every 2 hours or so and see where you fall on our hunger scale. You may find you need a snack at about the 2-3 hour mark. Or you may have eaten a larger meal and may not need a snack. Eating differs from day to day, this is "normal" "healthy" and "ok".

Check out www.king5.com and search for Emily Edison to hear the latest on Brain Power Breakfasts!

Eat breakfast, snack well, and enjoy!

Amino Acid Supplements versus Food

With claims of ‘enhanced endurance, increased muscle gain, and protection from over-training,’ it’s not surprising that many athletes include individual amino acids in their fitness routine. It’s best to be cautious, though.  There is a lot of misinformation out there about protein, amino acids, and muscle building. While studies generally support the idea that athletes may require a little more protein than non-athletes, there is little evidence to prove taking amino acid supplements, rather than eating high protein foods, is beneficial or even necessary.

Issues with Amino Acid Supplementation:  

• Too much protein stresses the kidneys

• Dehydration due to excess protein

• Stomach cramping and diarrhea

• Problems with absorbing and using nutrients from food (including naturally occurring amino acids!).

Did you know that it’s possible to EAT all the amino acids your body needs just by choosing the right foods?  Let’s take a look:

Arginine From Foods 

Spinach Salad with Roasted Chicken and Almonds:  3660 mg arginine

Whole Wheat Muffin:  300 mg arginine

Glass of Milk:  80 mg arginine

PLUS complete proteins, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals!

Total:  4040 mg arginine

Arginine From Supplements

Six 750 mg supplemental arginine pills:

4500 mg arginine

Total:  4500 mg arginine

BUT no other benefits!

Do your best to get your amino acids from food, rather than supplements, because you’ll also be getting important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are essential for health and optimal performance! 

 

EAT FOOD NOT SUPPLEMENTS!

If you’re taking Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), try:

• Beef

• Chicken and turkey

• Lamb

• Fish

• Cheese

• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax, etc.)

• Nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews)

• Oats

If you’re taking arginine, try eating:

• Beef

• Chicken

• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax, etc.)

Nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.)

Fish

• Egg

• Avocado

• Cocoa

If you’re taking glutamine, try eating:

• Beef

• Chicken

• Turkey

• Fish

• Beans

• Dairy products

• Cabbage

• Beets

• Spinach

If you’re taking carnitine, try eating:

• Beef

• Chicken and turkey

• Fish

        Dairy products

        Tempeh 

• Wheat

• Avocados

These food sources can be a safe and effective way to increase your intake of amino acids – without the high cost of supplements!  

If you do choose to use supplements, be sure they are high quality. The highest quality standard you can look for is a supplement that has been “USP Verified.” This means that the company has been independently evaluated to ensure that the ingredients listed on the bottle are accurate. You can find the “USP Verified” seal on the label. The FDA does not guarantee the effectiveness of any supplement, so it’s important to do your research and find a company you can trust.

Most importantly, remember to take the time to eat (and drink) often throughout the day – three meals and two snacks is a good general rule. Regularly fueling your body with nutritious food will go a long way toward helping you achieve your athletic goals. And, of course, keep up with your training program! 

Stuff your Turkey not your Tummy

This Thanksgiving the average American will consume 2- 3 times the amount of food they typically have in a day... and that's just at Thanksgiving dinner. While this is not going to send anyone to the emergency room, it can be the impetus for making unhealthy choices that last throughout the holiday season. 

Here are a few tips for a sensible Thanksgiving that provides momentum for healthy eating throughout the holidays. 

1) Stuff your Turkey, not your Tummy. Choose smaller, more reasonable portions of those high caloric foods like stuffing (1/2 cup) and gravy (2 tablespoons). Eat them slowly. 

2) Enjoy and savor; don't gobble. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to recognize signals of satiety (comfortable fullness) from your stomach. The slower you eat, the less you need, and the more satiated you feel. 

3) It's not the Last Supper; Jesus' last meal was not Thanksgiving dinner. Don't skip meals because you're "saving up" for Thanksgiving dinner. Eat a good breakfast and something for lunch to maintain a healthy metabolism and prevent overeating. 

4) Make the holidays less about food and more about family, friends, and helping those in need. Thanksgiving is a great time to plan that afternoon backyard football game. Just be sure to remind Grandpa Joe to warm up and stretch. Everyone should spend at least 5 minutes warming up before playing. Light jogging or tossing the football back and forth is a great way to increase blood flow to muscles and prevent injury. 

5) Don't punish yourself if you overdo it. Take the morality and judgement out of eating by reserving feelings of disgust for true injustice in the world. Eating too much pumpkin pie does not make someone a bad person. So often, people feel guilty about their "mistakes" with food and punish themselves accordingly, sometimes in the form of restricting. This will only set a person up for overdoing it again. If you eat a little too much, forgive yourself and move on... to 3 healthy meals and 2-3 snacks along with some physical activity... a sure way to success. 

Have a healthy Thanksgiving from Momentum Nutrition and Fitness! 

Contributed by Monica Van Winkle 

Momentum and Maximum Team Up

Located in Bellevue, WA, "Maximum Sports Conditioning is an elite sports training and conditioning center which provides clients and athletes with a highly competitive training environment which includes general athletic development, sports-specific training, and injury prevention training methods." (http://maxsc.net/index.htm) 

Whether a soccer player is building receive and touch skills or a volleyball player is developing joint stability and connective tissue strength to support landing, hitting, and changing directions quickly, Maximum Sports Conditioning is dedicated to helping athletes embody the skills necessary for becoming great leaders both on their teams and in their communities. They are staffed by professionals who believe that an individual's athletic and physical development is supported not only by training, but by a sound understanding of performance nutrition (provided by Momentum Nutrition and Fitness). 

Thanks Maximum Sports Conditioning for providing a top-notch educational program that helps athletes excel both on and off the field. Check them out at http://maxsc.net/ 

Contributed by Monica Van Winkle, MS, RD 

Around town...

"Whole Grains can Save your Life". Great Harvest breads had this message on their store window, reminding us that we need at least 6 servings of grain filled carbohydrates each day! If you are more active, you will need more grain filled carbohydrates to meet your active needs.

Momentum Nutrition and Fitness reminds our clients to get creative and use a variety of whole grains like wheat, corn, rice, barley, and rye to meet your energy and vitmain/mineral needs!

Have you seen signs around town you think send a positive message? Take a pic, send them in. We will post them to our blog!

emily@momentum4health.com