The Two Most Important Nutrition Concepts???

Today I want to discuss two nutrition concepts that I believe are under-discussed and often forgotten.  I also think that these two concepts should be at the forefront of your mind when eating for fat-loss, health, or even performance.  While I obviously believe in a paleo/primal template, I think that these two concepts go beyond paleo/primal and should be adhered to even if you’re not adhering to a paleo/primal template.  In short I think these may be the two most important nutrition concepts!

So, what are these two overarching concepts you ask???  They are: Nutrient Density, and Caloric Density.  I’ll discuss each in kind and then tie them together at the end…

The Concept of Nutrient Density

Nutrient density is pretty much exactly what it sounds like…  How many nutrients, or how much nutrition are you getting per unit eaten.  We’ve all heard the term (and understand the term?) “empty calories”.  Well, nutrient dense foods are pretty much the opposite of empty calories.  For illustration purposes let’s look at potato choices… 

	Potassium	Fiber	Calcium	Vit. C	Vit. B-6	Magnesium	Vit. A
White Potato	421mg	2.2g	1% RDA	32% RDA	15% RDA	0% RDA	0% RDA
Sweet Potato	337mg	3g	3% RDA	4% RDA	10% RDA	6% RDA	283% RDA
Yam	816mg	4.1g	1% RDA	28% RDA	15% RDA	5% RDA	2% RDA
Russet	417mg	1.3g	1% RDA	9% RDA	15% RDA	5% RDA	0% RDA
Instant Potato	240mg	1g	0% RDA	27% RDA	0% RDA	0% RDA	0% RDA

The chart above represents the nutrition information per 100g serving of each kind of potato.   I’ve removed the “noise” and narrowed it down to only applicable beneficial nutrients, ignoring other nutrition high points like calories and macronutrients.  I’ve noted the high values in a column with a red font, and the low values with a green font.  When I look at this chart it looks pretty obvious to me that Yam’s and Sweet Potatoes contain the most nutrition per 100g serving, with White Potato and Russet Potato close behind.  It’s also VERY obvious to me that instant potatoes have the least nutrition per 100g serving.  As a side note the instant potatoes are also more than 4 times higher in calories for the 100g serving!  More to come on that soon…

Here’s one more chart for illustration purposes:

	Potassium	Fiber	Calcium	Vit. C	Vit. A
360 Calories of Ho Ho’s	0mg	1g	2%	0%	0%
360 Calories of Broccoli	229mg	36g	42%	1163%	332%

I believe it’s pretty hard to argue with the idea that we should put nutritious foods in our body.  Whether you buy into a paleo template, prefer a vegan diet, or believe in some other way of eating, I think we can all get behind this idea.  When considering what to put into your body, consider which food is most nutrient dense.  You may not know off the top of your head whether broccoli is more nutrient dense than kale, but I bet you know whether asparagus is more nutrient dense than Kraft macaroni and cheese.  It feels like I’m stating the obvious here, but I feel this concept is missed by many…

You’re trying to not only power your body, but feed it the nutrition in needs to thrive.  We can easily accomplish this if we keep the concept of nutrient density in mind.  Avoiding empty calories is a great start, but always considering the nutrient density of what you’re about to consume is taking it to the next level.  Keep nutrient density at the forefront of your mind as you make choices about what goes in your mouth.

The Concept of Caloric Density

This concept is also pretty straight forward but often overlooked.  Caloric density is about how many calories a food brings you per unit consumed.  Intrinsically we know that a Reeses peanut butter cup is more calorically dense than say broccoli, but again let’s take it a step further…

Let’s go back to the foods we looked at above:

	Calories
White Potato	69
Sweet Potato	86
Yam	118
Russet	79
Instant Potato	365

Looking at the difference between the processed packaged food and the whole foods, it’s pretty easy to imagine how eating a lot of these calorically dense foods might be a problem.  This may seem pretty obvious when vilifying something like instant mashed potato, but let’s look at a couple other scenarios…

	Calories
2-slices Daves Killer Bread Good Seed Light	150
2-Leaves Romaine Lettuce	15
2-Slices Paleo Bread (Julien Baking Co.)	120
1-serving Spinach Fettuccini (Z Pasta Co.)	200
1-cup Spaghetti Squash	42

The point here is that even if we’re looking at seemingly “healthy” options like Dave’s Killer Bread, Paleo Bread, or Spinach Fettuccini, we’re still looking at calorically dense items, and these items won’t help you be the healthiest version of yourself.  If you’re looking to make a sandwhich, your best option will always be lettuce instead of bread no matter what the bread is.  Likewise, if you’re looking to have a pasta dinner, your best option will always be a veggie substitute for pasta (spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, etc), no matter what the pasta is.

Putting it Together

Taking these two concepts on their own merit is good, but putting them together you end up with a foundation for making nutritional choices no matter what your eating framework (Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan, etc.) is.  If the question is what should I drink with dinner, your best option will almost always be the least calorically dense (water, tea, etc); unless you have an option that if relatively nutritionally dense for the number of calories it brings (IE- low sugar Kombucha).  Taking into account nutrient density and caloric density almost always leads you to the least processed food, which is exactly where most of us should be headed. 

Are there exceptions to this policy?  Well, yes… But not many.  A couple that come to mind off the top of my head are post-workout nutrition for athletes, and people eating a ketogenic diet.  Athletes MAY want to pursue quick digesting carbs and protein in the post-workout window, and these foods tend to be less nutrient dense and more calorically dense.  Someone trying to maintain nutritional ketosis will often want to choose foods that are very high in fat, which are very calorically dense.  That said, aside from a few small exceptions this policy works for almost all people almost all of the time…

As you go out into the world to make nutritional choices today, consider using nutrient density and caloric density to guide your decision making!

Looking Back, and Looking Forward

So, I was going to write an article this week about how you might want to give yourself a break this holiday season… Eat more, sleep more, and train less.  Then I ran across this article and it covered almost exactly what I wanted to say.  The only thing I’d want to add to this article is the thought that a cheat with gluten is always a bigger deal than a cheat with alcohol or sugar.  This is an even bigger issue if you have been strictly GF for a while.  Cheating with sugar or alcohol may have a negative effect on your metabolism in the short term (hours), but cheating with gluten can have a negative effect on gut-health for days.  Consider that as you navigate this holiday season…

Since Tommy Wood already wrote my article, I will change it up a little and write about goal-setting.  Now, I’m not one for making New Year’s Resolutions, but I do believe that goal-setting should be at the heart of self-improvement efforts.  Setting new goals can be done any time, but the end of the year offers us a great opportunity to look back at what we’ve done this year, and think about where we’re going next year.  Below are my thoughts on that process…

The first step in the end-of-year goal setting process should be reflection, and in fact even if you don’t end up setting any goals I would encourage you to do this piece of the process.  Take some time to sit down and honestly consider what you’ve done this year for your health.  Jot down some notes, and if you’re working with a coach (of any kind) consider reviewing these notes with your coach.  You certainly had successes and failures this year, so make notes on each of them.  This is a great opportunity to again (hopefully again!) celebrate the successes of 2013.  If there’s one entry in the success column, you need to pat yourself on the back.  Don’t dwell on the failures of the past year, but don’t gloss over them either.  Celebrate success, and learn from failure!  That’s how we become a better version of our self.

Now that you’ve taken some time to reflect, you need to consider where you’re headed next.  This is a great time to involve a coach if you have one.  At this point in the process I recommend to think about this conceptually (big picture), instead of getting bogged down in the details.  Consider what’s motivating you, and what you’re actually after.  As I alluded to in my last blog, we should be looking for motivation that’s deeper than “I hate my body right now”, or “I really want a flat tummy”.  Consider the “5 Why’s” game if you’re still having problems finding deeper meaning in your pursuit of health.  The “5 Why’s” game might go something like this:

• I really want to get a flat tummy before my trip to Mexico

1. Why do you want to get a flat tummy before your trip?
• So I can be comfortable on the beach.
2. Why do you need a flat tummy to be comfortable on the beach?
• Because I want to feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit.
3. Why does your tummy need to be flat for you to feel comfortable in a swimsuit?
• Because I’m too embarrassed to wear a swimsuit looking this way
4. Why are you embarrassed to wear a swimsuit looking this way?
• Because I look gross.  I hate my body!
5. Why do you hate your body?

I’d rather see the game going something like this:

• I really want to lose some weight next year

1. Why do you want to lose weight?
• So I can get closer to a healthier weight
2. Why do you want to be at a healthier weight?
• So that I can feel better and live longer.
3. Why do you want to feel better and live longer?
• Because I deserve to have a long healthy life!

I don’t normally like aesthetic goals, but in this case I think it’s at least coming from a deeper place.  If you’re still having conversations like the first one, then you need to do some more work on finding that deeper meaning.

With that deeper meaning fresh in your mind it’s time to think about some goals that drive you towards that deeper meaning.  Now we’re going to begin moving towards the details, but we’re going to work our way there with the big picture at the forefront of our mind.  All of your goals should be “contained” underneath the umbrella created by the deeper meaning.  That is to say that you should easily be able to see how each and every goal gets your closer to your deeper meaning.  Writing a goal that doesn’t connect to the bigger picture is just spinning your wheels.  The logic goes like this:

Specific Goal>Desired Outcome>Deeper Meaning

Your specific goal should drive towards a desired outcome the directly moves you closer to your deeper meaning.  Maybe something like this:

Lose 20 pounds>Improved Blood-work>Long Healthy Life

As you move forward into the details of goals setting, try to write goals that are S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).  I think the last three pieces of the acronym are pretty self-explanatory, but just doing the first two (specific, and measurable) can make a world of difference in goal setting.  Writing goals that are specific and measureable means you actually know if you achieve them!  Also, consider writing some smaller goals and some you can knock off early in the year, as well as some that are bigger and/or might take most (or all) of the year.  Having some successes early in the year can help you build momentum towards reaching those bigger goals later on.

Lastly, consider writing a performance based goal if you haven’t before.  Moving beyond aesthetic goals can be one of the most liberating things you can do for yourself.  Say you want to get healthy and strong so you’ll age better, and have the energy to be a part of your grandchildren’s lives when that time comes.  Well, maybe you set a goal to deadlift your bodyweight, and do one chin-up.  Both of those are very specific and measurable, and combine together they are an excellent way to measure total body strength.  Working back towards your umbrella (healthy and strong to age better), we can obviously see how improving our total body strength connects to our deeper meaning.  What may be less obvious is that to achieve this goal you’re going to have to improve your strength to bodyweight ratio, which means that you may need to lose some weight to make it happen, and to do that you’re going to have to make better choices about what you eat.  So, instead of writing a goal of losing weight or to eat healthier, you wrote a goal that accomplishes both things while driving towards your deeper meaning and giving you something specific and measurable to work towards.  This is an example of how chasing performance goals often helps you achieve the aesthetic goals almost on accident.

So, your homework is to take some time before the end of the year to reflect on 2013, and establish your umbrella (deeper meaning).  Once that’s done, it’s time to sit down and write some goals for 2014.  When you’re done with your homework, drop me a note and let me know how it went.  I don’t want to know your goals, but I’d love to hear how the process went for you.

Personal Daemons and Finding Meaning

This week I wanted to write about a topic that may be timely for many of us as we traverse the holiday season, and begin a new year…  The topic of finding meaning in nutrition, lifestyle, and exercise.  This time of year there’s plenty of opportunities to over-indulge in any number of well… indulgences…  Dessert, alcohol, skipping your workout…  Schedules are often crazy this time of year, and there seem to always be parties or goodies around every corner.  So, driving the decisions you’re making on a daily basis?  What are the reasons you allow yourself to indulge, or skip a workout?  What are the reasons you don’t?

On a recent Robb Wolf podcast he was interviewing John Durant, the author of The Paleo Manifesto.  John mentioned the concept that he was often working with people to develop meaning in their nutrition and exercise plan.  This concept really struck me, and made me want to write a blog post on the topic.

Earlier this year I competed in a powerlifting meet for the first time in many years, and I made the decision to train for, and compete in that event because I wanted something to train for.  I have felt for a long time that it’s much easier for me to stick to a workout program, and watch what I eat if I am training for something.  So I did a 12 week training plan, and diet to prepare for the meet, and never missed a workout over that time.

So, what’s driving you to make healthy choices?

Not everybody needs to, or should compete in a sport.  For most people, meaning has to come from somewhere else.  I’ll admit it, I watch the Biggest Loser sometimes, even though I don’t condone let alone endorse the techniques they use to help people lose weight.  On that show they often take people into the Dr. on the first episode for a physical, and there’s always that scene where the Dr. tells the person how they are almost dead while dramatic music plays in the background.  As I see it, that’s their way of giving these people meaning, course what the contestants don’t know is that it’s pretty hard to determine whether or not they will be made more healthy by what they’re about to do on the show.  But that’s a whole different story…

So, where do you find meaning?

When you’re training for a competition, or have a Dr. tell you you’re almost dead it may be easier to find meaning, but that doesn’t apply to most of us.  I want to encourage you to have some honest conversation with yourself about what it is that makes you want to get healthy.  If the first thing that comes to mind is that you want to finally like your body, we’ve got a problem.  Loving our body is something we all need to be able to do no matter what it looks like on the outside.  Yes, I understand this is easier said than done for most of us.  I have struggled my entire life with body image issues, so I get it.  My point is that if your meaning is that you want to finally like your body, you’re going to have a problem.  Liking (loving?) your body is a mental issue not a physical issue and no amount of weight loss is going to fix that issue.  This really is a topic for a different blog (or maybe just check out the stuff that Jason Seib has written on the topic), but for now I just want to suggest that when we’re looking for meaning we should look elsewhere.

Chasing performance goals can be a great way to find meaning in your nutrition and exercise.  This isn’t too different from training for a competition, but simply setting a goal to accomplish something difficult can be a great way to find meaning in the short term.  As the new year begins it’s a great time to write some goals for yourself for the next year.  Maybe you want to get your first strict pullup, or deadlift or squat your bodyweight.  Chasing a goal or two like this is a great way to get, and stay on track.

In the longer term however, I would suggest that we need to find a deeper meaning.  I would suggest that often that deeper meaning might be derived from loving ourselves wholly.  I know that everyday there’s an obese, diabetic person who’s told by their Dr. that they are killing themselves and need to make a change, and yet many of those folks don’t make that change.  For some people being told that they’re nearly dead is the wake up call, but for others it doesn’t bring about a change.  I would also suggest that for most of those people it’s not because they don’t know what to do; it’s simply that their own personal demons hold them back.  Not until someone comes to terms with those daemons and begins to love themselves unconditionally, can they truly change.  If you’ve yo-yo dieted much of your life, maybe you know what I’m talking about.

Finding that deeper meaning is going to come from a process of self-discovery, and facing the daemons inside each one of us.  Only after we’ve done that process can we truly find the deeper meaning that leads us to make those healthy lifestyle choices.  Look at it this way…  When you make that choice to splurge on a dessert for the second time in a week in which you’ve not made it to the gym (have you had that happen??), deep down somewhere you’re choosing the momentary joy of eating cake over the long term joy of feeling great and being healthy.  You’re choosing to be happy in the moment, instead of happy for a lifetime.  I’m not suggesting that we all live like monks and never splurge, but if we’re honest we all know when we’ve splurged too much.  Right!?!?  So, maybe you’re choosing the now, because you simply don’t love yourself and your body enough to think that you deserve the forever?  You’re running up the credit card cause you don’t really care about the bill or your credit rating.  I’ve been there… I’ve lived that way…  The splurges are always great for a moment, but then you find yourself even more down after that momentary happiness wears off.  You live like a junky looking for your next “happiness high”, instead of seeking happiness that lasts a lifetime.

Alright… I went way down the woo-woo path with this blog, but I hope you get my point.  I encourage you to have a conversation with yourself about where the meaning is in your life.  Are you trying to get healthy because you hate your body, or because you love yourself enough to know that you deserve a healthy body forever?  Are you seeking health because your kids need you, or because you want to be in and experience their lives as long as you can?  Ask yourself some tough questions, and answer them honestly.  Then set about finding that meaning in your life by throat-punching the hell out of your daemons, and finally moving on.  It can be done!  People do it every day, and I think today is your day!