Training Advice Part 2

Training Advice is never completed without understanding Ur diet. I am writing a mail in continuation of my first mail on training advice… Here are some basic facts on diets.

The measurement of food intake is in calorie. Calorie (cal) refers to the amount of energy need to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1c. 1 kilocalories (kcals) will raise the temperature of one litre of water by one degree C, equal to 4.2 kilojoules.

The amount of food one should eat daily is very much dependent on the body mass and physical activity level. For a rough gauge within 24 hours period, for

1. Very sedentary people (restricted movement, such as patient confine to a house), 13 kcals is expended for every pound of body weight.

2. Sedentary people (Office Job with little exercise), 14 kcals is expended for every pound of body weight.

3. Moderate Activities (Students doing regular exercise), 15 kcals is expended for every pound of body weight.

4. Very physical active (vigorous activity at least 3-4 times a week), 16 kcals is expended for every pound of body weight.

5. Competitive athlete (daily activity in high energy sports), 17 to 18 kcals is expended for every pound of body weight.

For example, a 70kg soldier is considered “Very physically active”, he would need

(70kg x 2.2) pounds x 16kcals = 2464kcals of food intake daily.

We take in carbohydrates, protein and fats in our daily diet. The energy contribution components shd be as such.

60% carbohydrates (CHO), Energy contribution for CHO is at 4 kcals per gram

10% protein, Energy contribution for protein is at 4 kcals per gram

30% or less fats (Ideally less than 10% Saturated fats or fats remain solid at room temperature aka animal fats and 20% Unsaturated fats or oil that is in liquid form at room temperature aka plant fats), Energy contribution for fats are at 9 kcals per gram

The implication? For the 70kg soldier,

1478.4kcals or 369.6 grams of food should be CHO

246.4kcals or 61.6 grams of food should be protein

739.2kcals or 82.2 grams of food should be fats

After a conversion in term of food mass intake…

72% or more should be CHO

12% or more should be protein

16% or less should be fats (5.3% animal fats and 10.7% plant fats)

Therefore it is always safer to less fatty food since fats are present even in plants like peanut and corns.

However, fats are needed in our daily diet for absorption of Vitamin A, D, E and K. It is the primary source of energy for body at rest. Fat is the primary fuel and acts as insulation between skin and vital body organs during cold weather. Now U understand why fat people are less afraid of cold weather? Haha…

Nobody can live without taking fats.

There is something interesting about the carbohydrate (CHO) we take. We always hear whole-meal bread is healthier than white bread, and brown rice is better than white rice. Why is this so???

Low fiber processed starches (White bread, White rice, Pasta) and simple sugars digest quickly. This lead to

1. Glucose entering the blood at a rapid rate

2. Increase of blood glucose and insulin (VERY BAD for diabetic patients)

3. Increase glucose conversion to fat by the liver

Rate of digestion and entrance into the blood is governed by another measurement call “Glycemic Index” or GI. Glucose is the only free form of food that can be digested immediately by body without much processing. It is of 100 GI and used as a gauge for GI.

Glycemic level (GI) of some of the food are as follows…

Glucose 100
Carrot 92
Corn Flake 80
White Rice / White Bread 72
Brown Rice 66
Rasins 64
Banana 62
Potato Chips 51
Orange 40
Peanut 13

For exercise – Avoid high GI food 15 to 45 min prior to exercise. As high GI food may lead to early fatigue. That is probably why Rasins bread is preferred over white bread before exercising. After exercising, blood glucose decrease and food of higher GI would be prefer for rapid recovery.

Carbohydrate loading is a method used by sportsmen for races. There are a couple of methods for loading. Personally, I have tried one of the methods during my last year marathon. It is achieved by proper planning a week before the race day (Sunday).

I take low CHO food from Mon to Wed with my normal exercise regime. This depicts the CHO in my body. I took high CHO food with little training from Thu to Sat . My body stores more CHO than it normally does and it does not want to fall short of CHO again. Thus, I benefited with higher CHO storage on my race day on Sunday.

Protein is a primarily used for repairing of body. It is also expended when the CHO level in body is too low.

Apart from Fats, Carbohydrate, and Protein, our body needs Water, Vitamin, Minerals (E.g. Calcium, Iron, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride) and many other components to maintain the system.

Vitamin can be found in most fruits and vegetables (except Vitamin D which is rich is sunlight). Vitamins degrading start when the fruit or vegetable is picked. The process can be reduced by chilling. Degradation of vitamin can be reduced by

1. Avoid cutting and trimmed of fruits and vegetables. It is because oxygen will break down Vitamin, increase exposed surface area equal to faster break down. It is therefore important to cut the vegetable only when you want to cook it.

2. Microwave cooking, steaming or shallow frying with very little amount of water and a tight-fitting lid.

3. Minimise the reheating of food.

Iron is needed for endurance training. There is about 3-5g of iron in the body. Iron is important for formation of hemoglobin in Red Blood Cells. Ladies need slightly more iron than men since they have important dates to keep track every month.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body (about 40% of total minerals). Most of them at stored in bones. We only absorbed 20-40% of calcium in the food we ingested. Calcium is the key participant for muscle contraction. Low Calcium will lead to low bone mass, thus increase the chances of fracture.

Having a balance diet is very important, never binge if U want to reduce your body mass. It is unhealthy to lose more than 1kg a week. Watching Ur diet and exercising will ensure Ur healthy… A friend of mine just wrote in her MSN recently, there is no sure thing as dieting; only changing of life style. I think that is probably the most truthful statement.

Stay healthy and never stop exploring!

Kia-Ora!

Chee Meng

6th March 2005