Coach Justin
Doing something you’ve never done before: that’s not easy. Not as an adult. As kids, we’re used to trying new things. As adults, we find safety in our knowledge and our accomplishments.
Learning? Admitting you’re brand new at something? Trying something you’ve always wanted to do, somewhere deep inside but you were too scared to ever really admit it? That’s rough stuff. You have to be tough to throw yourself into that mix.
But you need to.
Or you might end up among those legions of folks who go through life and realize later, way later, that they should have grabbed that opportunity, should have laid themselves out there, should have taken that overseas job, should have visited their mom that last time, should have kissed that girl.
Safe in everything is nice, but it’s boring. Follow your heart, as scary as that might be. Go kick up into that handstand, go try that Skin the Cat, go open your own CrossFit affiliate.
Do what tightens your throat and drops your heart into your stomach: it’s the only way to find out what you’ve really got.
“Life is always either a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.” – Edith Wharton
Coach Justin
Turkey and tomato on wheat. Whole-grain pasta. Healthy, right? Maybe. But more and more people believe these foods are parts of a potentially disastrous trap. They claim that sluggishness and weight gain can be blamed on an insidious substance hiding in wheat and many other common grains: gluten.
Avoiding gluten has become big business. Sales of gluten-free products grew about 30 percent a year from 2006 to 2010, and will hit $3.9 billion by next year, according to the market research company Packaged Facts. Supermarket shelves are filled with gluten-free breads, soups, and cake mixes—even gluten-free ketchup and soy sauce. According to market research firm Mintel, 10 percent of new foods launched in 2010 featured a "gluten-free" claim, up from only 2 percent 5 years earlier.
NFL quarterback Drew Brees won a Super Bowl while on a gluten-free diet. Cyclist Tom Danielson, a record-breaking member of the Garmin-Transitions team, says his training and racing have improved since he and his teammates went gluten-free over a year ago.
Have most common whole grains been acting as insidious nutritional double agents all these years? Or are they essential components of a healthy diet? Let's separate the wheat from the chaff.
What is gluten, anyway? How does it affect the body?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as well as in many common food additives. It's what gives dough its elasticity and baked goods their satisfying chewiness. But for people with celiac disease—a type of autoimmune disorder—eating foods that contain gluten can lead to a cascade of nasty reactions, including damage to the small intestine, poor nutrient absorption, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, anemia, and fatigue. Celiac disease is surprisingly common, affecting about one in every 133 people, according to an often-cited 2003 study from the University of Maryland center for celiac research. There is no cure for celiac disease and no drugs that can treat it; you can only manage the condition, by sticking to a gluten-free diet for the rest of your life.
Even if you don't have celiac disease, gluten may still be bad for you, says Lara Field, M.S., R.D., a dietitian at the University of Chicago's celiac disease center. A rising percentage of people in the United States consider themselves "gluten-sensitive." "These people may have a food intolerance or experience many celiac-type symptoms after consuming foods that contain gluten," says Field. Some may have a form of wheat allergy. If you think you may have symptoms of a gluten intolerance, ask your doctor about scheduling a blood test to find out for sure.
I need to drop pounds. Is a gluten-free diet worth a shot?
A gluten-free diet can work, but dealing with the diet's restrictions can be daunting. "You have to commit to a true lifestyle change, and that can be tough," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., a professor emeritus at California State University at Chico and the author of Emotional Eating. "Men might be able to follow gluten-free for a short time," he says, "but without a real medical need, they might have a rough time sticking to it."
But the notion of a panacea for excess weight remains seductive, and that may be part of the appeal of the gluten-free movement, says Michael R. Lowe, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Drexel University who specializes in nutritional approaches to weight loss. It sounds simple: If I do this one thing, then I will see the results I'm after. "That's the driving appeal of elimination diets," Lowe says.
Ironically, the boom in gluten-free products isn't necessarily helpful to those looking to lose weight. "You can buy gluten-free versions of practically every type of wheat-based food— pizza, pasta, cookies, you name it," Thompson says. But here's the catch: Healthy-sounding gluten-free items often contain just as many calories as the originals. People might overindulge in gluten-free options because they seem like "safe" foods, says Field. "People see 'gluten- free' and think they can down an entire box of gluten-free cookies with no repercussions."
So even if you stick to a gluten-free diet, it can actually lead to weight gain. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology followed 188 people with celiac disease (half of whom were overweight or obese) on a gluten-free diet for 2 years and discovered that 81 percent of them gained weight.
If you do give up gluten, use your new eating plan as a lens to reexamine your diet—and your life. Cyclist Danielson says, "I don't know if it was directly tied to the food, but I found that by having to pay more attention to my daily diet, I became more focused on my cycling."
Avoiding gluten takes constant monitoring— the same attention to detail you need to excel in your workouts. "I became more dedicated and took a more professional approach to my training when I went gluten-free," Danielson says. "I couldn't get lazy and down whole pizzas and bowls of pasta. I had to focus on putting better food in my body, and this made me realize how much my eating habits off the bike affected my performance on it." Mindful eating is key. After all, "you don't need to go gluten-free to avoid refined processed carbs," says Thompson.
Coach Justin
Well…at least P90X is better than nothing! How nice it is of them to not only offer world-class coaching and nutrition, but a stellar built-in support system and the delivery of “functional” movement patterns that will not only sustain you throughout life…even as you enter your “golden years”… but make your current, everyday life exponentially easier and more enjoyable as well. Wait! Sorry. We’re still talking about P90X huh? I take all of that back.
I apologize for the sarcasm, but as an avid strength and conditioning coach and performance enhancement enthusiast I cannot fundamentally condone the use of P90X. Will it help you lose weight and “tone”?…probably, because it does contain an adequate level of intensity. Will it put you in posturally compromised positions and movement patterns that will inevitably cause injury further down the line…most definitely. The term “functional” shouldn’t and doesn’t apply to P90X. If you want to look good then it may possibly suffice, but if that’s all that is important to you then there is some education or re-edumacation that needs to take place. Just because you look good doesn’t mean you’re healthy.
Coach Justin
DIABETES IN THE U.S. AND SIX OTHER COUNTRIES INEFFECTIVELY TREATED
HEALTH-WASHING: IS "HEALTHY" FAST FOOD FOR REAL?
Coach Justin
Soft abs and glutes lead to poor, overextended alignment at the top of the swing.
Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness.blogspot.com
ARE CARBS MORE ADDICTIVE THAN COCAINE?
Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com
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