Day 4 Protein: Building muscle while slimming down -January 12th 2011

Boston.com

After thunder, lightning, 18 inches of snow and cancled practice, I'm left antsy with cabin fever and fiending for crunchy warm tasty sweets and GREEN ICED TEA WITH HONEY. I noticed that on days I don't have practice that I have no interest in eating meals, snacking only. RDWC has brought to my attention all of my bad eating habits. I found myself debating the worth of eating salad today. I almost convinced myself that "salad is stupid" until I ate it. Oh yeah there's something called fiber, vitamins and a well rounded diet. 

I wanted to devote today's blog to Mac Danzig. He's a UFC mixed martial arts fighter who has been strictly vegan since 2004. The first time I saw him fight he won his contract in the octagon with UFC. During his intro he spoke about being a vegan and struck me as an incredibly humble athlete with the drive to win. Sometimes in derby and in MMA fighting the attitudes or stereotypes I see from time to time are so lame. This guy is legit, he gets it. A few days ago I stumbled upon this article that he wrote about his diet and he has a few interesting things to consider.

Dairy: I was surprised to see so much dairy in the RDWC's meal plan. I've slowly becoming sensitive to dairy in a few ways. I very recently underwent a CAT scan to find out the source of my chronic sinus inflammation. I have yet to receive the results but my next step is to see an allergist. I would have never thought to consider dairy as a possible allergy until I read what Mr. Danzig had to say:

"For the record, I cut dairy completely out of my diet in 1999 (over 5 years before I ever committed to a full-Vegan diet)... This was due to an allergy that I developed in my adolescent years to dairy that effected my sinuses and everything connecting to them. For a good part of my teenage years, I suffered from severe ear infections and chronic Vertigo (which is completely miserable). It took me a few years of to finally realize that the antibiotics were only temporarily subduing a much bigger problem. I did my research and finally found the source. A lot of people don't realize how hard milk, whey, and other dairy products are on the sinuses and respiratory system, and the dairy industry would like you to believe that you need milk to get calcium. That notion is as oxymoronic as you can get. Although not everybody has as severe an allergy to dairy products as I did, I just wanted to point out that after years of battling with ear and sinus infections, eliminating dairy completely cured my problems. Anyone with similar problems may want to try it for a while."

Protein: The other night at practice my veggie friend super hero Britknee Breaker, poured this powdery substance into her Star Bucks smoothie. To my surprise it was a begetable based protein powder. I went back to Danzig's article to read more about what specific suppliments he takes when in training. Being a veggie MMA fighter you have to be on some kinda supplement right?  Doesn't protein come from meat and eggs? 

"Also, let me just say that although protein intake is important, especially for athletes, I find the usual listed "requirements" for protein are blown completely out of proportion, and the thought of consuming "1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight" during down time seems ridiculous to me... I truly feel that all the articles telling people to eat that way are written by people who copied the diets of fanatical body-builders and tried to present them to the general public. If you ingest that much protein a day, you're taxing your liver and kidneys big-time... For example, I walk at 168lbs and I usually eat between 100 and 140 grams of protein per day when I'm in grueling, peak training... When I'm taking time off, I don't pay attention to it and I'd say it's usually around 70 grams a day, give or take...

One thing I consciously try and do is eat a higher amount of Alkaline-forming foods than acid-forming foods throughout each day...  I don't have time to get into the whole "alkaline foods" discussion, but I'll just leave it out there, that there is plenty of info about it on 'teh interweb'...

Ok, first here, I'm going to list some regular foods that I eat a lot of, along with an explanation on each one. Essentially these are of some basics that really make up a large portion of my weekly caloric intake...
Afterwards, I'll list some broader ideas of diet, some supplements, then list some junk foods I eat and finally some daily examples...

Brown Rice: One of my main sources of complex carbs along with Oatmeal... I buy the 'microwave in the bag' frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's... It's pretty easy to make and can be added to almost any meal. Wild Rice (actually a grass seed) is even better if you can get a hold of it.

Portobello mushrooms: These are great. Good protein source, low calories, low sodium... Can be sauteed or stir-fried with vegetables. I eat many of these when cutting weight.

Tempeh: This is a Tofu-based food and a good source of protein and fiber... Although a little bitter when eaten plain, I find that some flavorings can really make this good...

Quinoa: This grain is sometimes a chore to cook, and if you live in the middle of nowhere, it might be hard to find, but it's a great source of not only carbs and protein, but fiber as well. This is one of the most nutritionally complete foods out there with a full, balanced set of amino acids...

Black Beans, lentils, etc: Really, many Mexican foods I find to be pretty substantial as long as there's some beans and rice in it... Lentils are great in soup and have some decent protein and fiber... My girlfriend makes some really good lentil soup as well as squash soup."

How it all works: My big debate looking down at my salad for lunch today was that its not substantial enough food source. In part I may have been right. I grew up with 'salad' meaning iceberg lettuce and waxy cucumbers. Although my salads are amped up and lost the iceberg, it is not nearly what it could be nutritionally. 

"Drinks: I drink water 99.9% of the time... Rarely do I ever feel the need for soft drinks or juices, although I might add some orange juice to a protein shake to make it taste better...I drink in excess of 1.5 gallons of H2O per day when I'm training hard and about 1 gallon per day on the regular.

Wheat: My diet is not "wheat-free" but I do my best to avoid it... It's an allergen (mild for most people) and not as easily digested you might think... Every now and then I have something that has wheat gluten in it as well... I'm not really into sandwiches, so bread is easy to avoid. I do eat pasta every once in a while and I might have some wheat tortillas, but if I had my choice of carbs, it'd be brown rice or quinoa. On a side note, they have come out with some good rice-based pastas that are identical to normal wheat pastas in every way.

Fake meat products: These are usually geared towards people making the change to vegetarianism and are made to mimic various meat products... I usually don't mess with these all that much, with the exception of "riblets" made by Gardenburger brand... Most of the stuff out there doesn't taste anything like meat to me (unless it's seitan) and I don't need my food to. Unfortunately, if you live in the midwest, or any place who's stores haven't adapted to vegetarian diets, you may find that these are the only things sold in the frozen section without meat or dairy... On the other side of this, many vegan restaurants have great fake meat products that are much more palatable than the stuff sold in the stores.

Vegetables: These are very necessary. I don't eat them as much as I should, but when I do, it's broccoli, peas, corn, green beans and spinach most of the time.   Whenever I have a salad, I do my best to use organic kale or baby spinach as the main source rather than romain or iceberg lettuce.   The leafy greens like collards, spinach and kale are extremely good for you.. Don't sleep on them.

Nuts & seeds:  I find almonds are the best for me.  Some articles have stated that they boost testosterone...  I can't say that's true or false, but I do find almonds to be superior to most of the other nuts and seeds out there...Trader Joes sells raw, sliced almond flakes that can be turned into powder (if you have a chopper) and put into a protein shake. I do eat peanuts sometimes, and natural peanut butter, but too many peanuts can be bad for you because of the naturally-occurring toxins in them.   I eat cashews in moderation, and I usually stay away from Macadamias when I'm cutting weight because of their high fat content.   I don't eat as much seeds as I probably should, but Pumpkin seeds are definitely recommended... They are high in iron, which is important, because as an athlete, iron can be lost rapidly through sweat.   Sunflower seeds are also pretty good and are a decent source of protein and vitamin E...   

Seitan: although this stuff is delicious and has the most meat-like texture, it is essentially just wheat gluten and is pretty hard to digest... I stay away from it when I'm in hard training, but during the off-season, it's fair play. Many restaurants have good meals with seitan.

Soy milk, almond milk, etc: I don't eat cereal all that much, but when I do, I prefer almond milk and rice milk over soy milk... Just a personal preference. These can be added to protein shakes too. Rice milk is a little thinner that almond and soy usually...



Sodium: Many of the foods I really enjoy have a lot of sodium in them. I have no problem eating moderately sodium-rich foods until I get close to cutting to lightweight... Sodium causes you to retain water, so it's pointless to consume if you want to drop water weight. 3 weeks before a fight, I start watching my sodium intake, and by the week of the fight, I'm down to less than 100 grams per day."

I would like to take a moment and say every time Mac gets ready to come out for a bout (and intro song is building anticipation, the crowd is cheering) I imagine him to exit looking a little something like evil ex #3. He should totally rock white trunks with a big 3 on it.  

Supplements: The biggest question I get is "can I add protein to my diet if I'm trying to lose or maintain my weight?" The answer is yes. Protein does not actually add muscle or weight gain. Protein is primarily used for recovery after work outs. The 20 minute window of time after your workout is when your muscles draw on nutrients from your body to repair themselves. Since most of us are not in a kitchen 20 minutes after our workout, a protein supplement is a portable way to deliver your body the ideal amount of nutrients it needs. The process of muscle tearing and rebuilding is called muscle hypertrophy. Protein supplements can be used as an effective meal replacement and provide the body additional energy for endurance and cardio workouts. If you are looking to build muscles or body mass and increase in carbohydrates and protein is the way to go. 
"Protein shakes vary in protein content. 'If you're a body builder, you're going to shift to the drinks that have a bit more protein'. like Worldwide Sport Nutrition says Antonio. Endurance athletes are likely to favor drinks with more carbohydrates, he says, but the most important thing is simply to drink something after your workout." -WebMD

When shopping around for a protein supplement read the label. 

Losing Weight:
low carb, low cal, low cholesterol, high protein.        

Gaining Weight:
High carb, high cal, low cholesterol, high protein.  

What Danzig has to say on his personal supplement use:

"Vega : This is awesome. It has everything I need and it's quick and easy. Although not ideal, I could really live off of this with no problems. Full nutrition. Vega makes powdered whole food meal replacements and energy bars that I eat pretty much every day. Their meal replacement uses hemp protein and pea protein as a base. When I'm taking this and/or The Ultimate Meal (see below) I find there's no reason for a multi-vitamin.

The Ultimate Meal : I swear by this stuff, it's a whole meal and has made up a huge part of my diet for 3 years now. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I truly notice myself feeling better when I use it daily. Remember to follow the directions and add the apple and banana. (This is not your normal "add powder to water" supplement)

Organic food bar : These are great for cutting weight... there is some fat but it's good fat, and there's hardly any sodium. Made of mostly almond butter and date paste.

Cliff Builders Bar : As far as protein bars go, these are the best tasting and pretty addictive... There's a decent amount of sodium and calories, so they're not ideal when you're cutting weight.

Protein powders: I stay away from soy as a powdered protein supplement, and not because of the idiotic claim that it is "bad for men because it boosts estrogen" (which is complete nonsense), but because it doesn't have a full amino acid spectrum and has less protein content percentage... Instead of soy powder, I use brown rice protein from Nutri-Biotic brand when I'm looking for plain protein supplement. Nutri-Biotic Rice protein has an 80% protein content and all the amino acids. I also find that Rice protein is digested a lot easier than soy."

Meal Plan: You can see examples of his vegan workout meal plan in his article here.

Mike Mahler guided Danzig on his vegan path to muscle meanness and you can check out his article here. 

Check out Danzig in action and his incredible sportsman like attitude. 

 

But wait, isn't this blog about how you are trying to gain muscle mass? Then why are you on a low carb, low cal, protein suppliment? For now I'm trying to build muscle in the least 'supplementy' way possible. I clearly need help and protein is a start. I once thought that I just couldn't get that much protein by eating just food without feeling sick or overly full. It really is because I don't have a balanced diet to add that much meat, eggs and fish on top of. Plus skating on a full stomach is hell and cooking that much food all the time doesn't allow for consistency in my schedule. My boyfriend had great success with this supplement while overseas. He is naturally a small guy and no matter how much GTL he doesn't get guido juice head big. When he started Syntha-6 and returned home we had to hit the Wretham Outlets to get him some mediums! No more small H&M hipster clothes. After returning to the college scene without the gym and military uniform he slowly lost the weight without the lasting effects of what weight gainer could do (stretching your body far beyond its natural shape). A high carb, high protein diet is in my future but I would like the carbs to come from my food and not a souped up supplement.  

Syntha-6 Promo with Forrest Griffin