Power eating to build lean muscles

A self-empowering two-day seminar on “Power Eating” was held by Healthy Options, (a leading all-natural products store with branches nationwide) in Makati  Shangri-La and Edsa Shangri-La.  I opted to attend the one in Makati and it was one seminar that held my attention from start to finish.  The guest speaker was internationally renowned speaker and columnist Dr. Susan Kleiner, who has written many books on health and fitness, including Power Eating, which she co-authored with health and medical writer Maggie Greenwood-Robinson.  Dr. Kleiner is also one of the foremost nutrition authorities on eating for strength and her Power Eating program has reshaped the lives of thousands, including top athletes of Seattle Seahawks, Seattle SuperSonics, the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as the Repertory Project Dance Company.

For starters, Dr. Susan Kleiner looks lean, fit, and attractive, which makes her very credible in her chosen field.  It is so disconcerting to listen to a so-called “expert” on a certain topic  and the speaker looks the exact opposite of what he or she is supposedly advocating.  Not so in the case of Dr. Susan Kleiner, who seems to be the epitome of health and fitness, judging from her physical appearance. 

Dr. Kleiner offered interesting ways to train smart and eat for power, whether you are a health enthusiast, dieter, fitness enthusiast, athlete or body builder.  “Food plays a very intimate role in our lives,” she stressed.  She gave many tips on how to build lean muscles which is not entirely dependent on protein.  “Protein is extremely vital in your diet, but by itself, it is not the magic bullet for muscle gain.  Instead, protein and carbohydrate together are the magic bullets, especially in combination with the right kinds of fat.  In other words, you must put emphasis on the right kinds of protein, carbohydrate, and fat in your diet.  These nutrients work in concert to give you the edge on building body-firming muscle.”

The scoop on supplements and functional foods

We cannot get all the necessary supplements from the food we ingest, so the answer is to add certain vitamins and minerals to our nutritional arsenal.  Athletes’ performance can suffer if they are deficient in vitamins and minerals.  Caution: Be sure to buy your supplements from credible companies, make sure the supplement meets USP standards for potency, uniformity, disintegration, and dissolution to ensure that you are getting all that you expect from it.

The vitamins we must take are antioxidants beta-carotene, C, B complex, Coenzyme Q10, and E while the minerals are selenium, copper, zinc, calcium, iron, and manganese.  Antioxidants are important to fight free radicals, chemicals that are produced by the body that cause irreversible damage to the cells in your body.  Free radicals can leave your body vulnerable to advance aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and degenerative diseases such as arthritis.  Minerals found naturally in food but which we could have through supplements are particularly important to exercise enthusiasts and athletes because of their involvement in muscle contraction, normal heart rhythm, oxygen transport, transmission of nerve impulses, immune function, and bone health.  If you are deficient in minerals, it could harm your health and affect your performance as an athlete.

Functional foods are foods or food ingredients that can prevent disease or improve health.  Some examples are: calcium-fortified orange juice, fiber-enhanced cereal, Greek yogurt, green tea, berries, most vegetables.  Functional foods provide extra nutrients, vitamins, minerals, protein, phytochemicals, enzymes, and other elements that give us energy, help fight disease and aging, and for strength trainers, build muscle.  Eating functional foods and taking high quality vitamin and mineral supplements will certainly enhance your health.

As we age, you will notice that we lose muscles from different body parts like the legs and arms.  I, for one, notice that my arms and legs are losing muscle mass no matter how much I exercise.  Could it be that I don’t have enough protein in my diet since I don’t eat red meat? I have to eat other sources of protein that will replace red meat. 

Here is an example of a day’s menu on muscle building, as  found in Dr. Kleiner’s book Power Eating:

• Breakfast:  1 cup oatmeal, I cup fat-free milk, 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 3/4 cup berries for cereal, 1 whole scrambled egg, 1 tbsp. flaxseed sprinkled on cereal or oatmeal, water

• Lunch:  2 slices whole grain bread, 2 cups mixed green salad, 2 oz. or 60 gms. turkey, 1 oz.  or 30 gms. cheese, 1/8 avocado, 1 tbsp. reduced-fat salad dressing, mustard for bread, water

• Snack: 8 dried apricots, 1 cup mini carrots, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 12 almonds, green tea

• Dinner:  1 baked sweet potato, 1 cup steamed asparagus, 4 cups mixed green salad, 3 oz. or 112 gms. grilled wild salmon, 1 tsp. olive oil for salmon, 1 tsp. butter for potato, 4 tbsps. reduced-fat salad dressing, green tea or other tea.

If working out:

• Pre-workout snack: 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 small banana, water 

• Post-workout smoothie: 1-1/4 cups whole strawberries mixed with 1 cup non-fat milk, 3 tsps. honey, 14 gms. isolate whey protein

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Dr. Susan Kleiner is a registered dietician and regarded as an authority on protein utilization by world-class athletes as she has years of experience offering sound advice to top level athletes.