Hi Everyone,
As I’m heading to Asia it seemed like a good enough reason to discuss some vegetarian protein issues this week. And, as I’m headed to the Olympics with Beachbody, I figured a few questions about training intensity would fit the bill also. In China, I’ll be blogging when I can. You’ll find my reports here:
http://steve-edwards.blogspot.com/This week’s newsletter had a rather major typo in it. Since I’ve gotten close to 100 emails about it, I’m answering it every place possible. Typos are usually easy to distinguish. This one, however, made the sentence a double negative and quite confusing. Here’s the answer, sent to us from Emily:
“There is a typo in this article that is pretty important to correct. Instead of "avoiding large amounts of these foods, especially raw, isn't a good idea" it should read that it is a good idea to avoid large amounts of these foods.”
Will get to your other questions about the thyroid next time.
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How much protein do I need in a day? I'm a fifty-eight year old
woman, 5' tall and weigh 95 lbs. Could you answer in both types of
weight as I am Canadian, too.
Judi Greenwood
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I thought Canadians used grams also. Regardless, it’ll be easier if you figure on a percentage of your diet. The percentage of protein you eat should vary between about 15% and 40% of your daily calories. If you’re active—which hopefully you are—than closer to 15% is better. 40% would be in a dieting state where you were trying to lose weight. For you, at 95 pounds, you’ll never need that much protein. A good average range is between 20% and 30% of your calories.
Essentially, daily protein and fat consumption should stay fairly constant. The percentage should change, though, because when you’re active you should eat more carbs than when you’re sedentary. Fats and proteins are “building blocks” for the body. Carbs are fuel, and thus cannot be stored (except a small amount in the blood and liver). You only want to eat as many carbs as you’ll burn. So more exercise = more carbs.
For reference, carbs and proteins are 4 calories per gram. Fats are 9 calories per gram.
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In this article (10 Great Vegetarian Sources of Protein) is it accurate that pumpkin seeds have 133 grams of fat per ounce?
Thanks for all your great articles and fitness news!
Abbi Kifer
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Whoa! Looks like another typo. This one is a little easier to decipher. 133 grams of fat is over 1,100 calories. A common sense visual should arouse some suspicion that such small volume could contain nearly a day’s worth of calories. . I would guess that should have been 13.3 grams, though my reference shows pumpkin seeds to have 11.9 grams of fat per ounce.
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Hello Steve,
A church friend sent me your newsletter, and I found it very interesting, especially the article on Soy.
I do think you should know "goitergenic" food, that is, it lowers thyroid hormone (bad!).
Check out Mary Shomon's thyroid web site and search for her Soy articles. She is a well-known thyroid expert.
Hypothyroid people should avoid eating soy on purpose -- we eat enough hidden soy as it is.
Just thought you would want to know.
Thanks,
Vicki from Texas
p.s. just like Arthritis people should avoid foods in the Nightshade family (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, nicotine) in order to feel better.
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Though this could go in the thyroid bag, I used it here to accentuate the point of our first typo. She also warns us about hidden soy, which we covered in this article.
http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/317.do#article2I’ll add that the effects of nightshades are very personal. Some people seem to be affected by them while others suffer no ill effects. But it’s certainly something to consider if you’re having an inexplicable problem that you think may be caused by your diet.
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Hi,
I first would like to say “thank you” for all the great articles on health and fitness that I receive from you guys all the time. They really are so informative and I have learned a lot!!!
My question is regarding weight training. I am a middle-aged woman, average weight for my height (134 lbs, 5’6”) and not considered heavy really but I have noticed my body becoming very soft and “mushy” ?. I still wear a size 6 or 8 dress, but now I notice bulges in my back if the dress is too clingy that were never there before. I bought an Elliptical recently and have been using it faithfully every other day. However, after reading this article, I feel I should incorporate weight training into my workout if I want to see results more quickly. I have hand weights (7 lbs) and I was using them for awhile to firm my upper arms but I got discouraged when I didn’t see any improvement. Other parts of my body I would like to tone are my front and inner thighs and my abs. What can I use at home for resistance in these areas? Would using the Elliptical on a higher (more resistance) setting suffice or should I do leg exercises with ankle weights perhaps? And how do you do weight training for your abs?
PS I would also like to lose about 10 lbs.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Lorraine
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Weight or resistance training becomes more and more essential as we age. There are many reasons. Our bodies lose lean muscle mass as we age, as well as produce fewer hormones. High intensity (anaerobic) exercise offsets this better than anything else. I recently wrote an article on the subject that explains it in more depth:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/310.doKeep in mind that you don’t necessarily need weights. Many resistance exercises can be done anywhere. Push-ups and sit-ups are just two examples. Tony’s Road Warrior workout (part of One on One) is a full resistance workout you can do using things found in every home.
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Hi Steve,
I just read one of your newsletters #293, item#1 which addresses the issue of anaerobic exercise. I’m in my forties and just can’t seem to lose weight. I was recently diagnosed with metabolic insulin dependent syndrome a precursor to diabetes and I’m on an oral glucophage. I workout almost two hours every other day to no avail. After reading this newsletter, I realized that my intensity is not high enough. My question to you is: does high intensity exercise produce excess lactic acid buildup? I was told that lactic acid build up can be dangerous for diabetics.
Thanks,
Sharon Villalobos
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“Excess” lactic acid build-up is a strange term, because you can’t really define excess as lactic acid is a natural process that happens when you’re doing something very healthy. The lactic acid build-up associated with an average resistance workout would not be “excess” in my opinion, since it’s the natural process of your body responding to exercise, which is making you fitter. Since there are a few world class athletes who are diabetic, I can’t imagine what excess could mean, since all of them produce a lot of it in their training. I would think that as long as you are careful monitoring yourself no popular workout program would be off limits. In my experience, a resistance training program is one of the best things a person in your condition can do to improve their situation. We have many examples you can find on our message boards.
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Howdy,
I was reading your article on *salt* and somewhere in those pages
I came across the word -periodizationally- and tried looking it up,
no luck.
So would you plez explain its meaning to me.
Thanks in advance,
Rabb
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You won’t find many scientific terms in a standard dictionary. Periodization is a term for a type of training that focuses on one energy system for a period of time and then transitions its focus to another. It’s been using in athletics for ages, and has more recently become popular with people just trying to get into shape and/or drop some weight. All of our training programs have some type of periodizatinal aspect. The term was coined by Dr. Tudor Bompa, who is often referred to as the founder of periodizational training.
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Hi:
Very much enjoyed your newsletter on Protein in a vegetarian diet, and soy.
I used soy as my main form of protein for many years and ended up with uterine cancer, it is true what you are saying that there are certain people who cannot tolerate the high doses of female hormone produced by the soy. I can say that it was excellent for controlling hot flushes, but with what resulted for me I would say you should stay away from it. It is nice to see an article that is giving both sides of the picture instead of insisting how good soy is for you
I feel that the people who have been eating soy for centuries were not eating the genetically modified soy that we all are now.
Keep up the good work.
Dorothy Knox
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Thanks, Dorothy. I’m not saying that soy caused your cancer, but it certainly is food for thought. Soy can be a fine part of ones diet, but it should not be your whole diet. The soy industry is a bit scary in this regard, as they seem to think it should be in everything.
Until next time, train hard, train smart, and have fun!
Steve
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