Blog

There are a lot of “buzz words” out there and diet trends that constantly claim to be the best method for losing weight, gaining muscle, getting leaner, etc. One such “trend” that’s been circulating the health world is the phrase ‘intermittent fasting’. The idea of fasting has been around hundreds of years, but the idea of ‘intermittent fasting’ first burst on the scene in 2012 with the TV documentary Eat Fast, Live Longer and has subsequently grown in popularity in the years that followed. 

Fast-forward to the present, and intermittent fasting has become a staple in the CrossFit community. In fact, one of the most famous CrossFit athletes of all time, THE Rich Froning himself, has found great success with intermittent fasting. So, if it’s a method of eating adopted by the greats, is it something that you should be doing as well? Let’s look at the basic facts and then you can determine if intermittent fasting is right for you. 

First of all, it’s important to note that intermittent fasting differs from other dieting methods because the focus isn’t so much on what to eat, but when to eat. A very simple definition of intermittent fasting is that it is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. Therefore, the focus isn’t so much on what types of foods to eat or avoid, but the timing of meals throughout the day. 

There are actually several different types of intermittent fasting, but the following three methods have become the most popular:

• The 16/8 Method: this is also known as the Leangains protocol and involves skipping breakfast and keeping your daily eating period to 8 hours (such as between 1-9pm). Then you fast for the next 16 hours until your next eating period.
• Eat-Stop-Eat: This method involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. An example of this would be to not eat from dinner one night to dinner the next day. 
• The 5:2 Diet: For this method, 5 days of the week follow a normal eating schedule and on the other two days, you only consume 500-600 calories (however, these should be two non-consecutive days). 

All of these methods do involve reducing your caloric intake (whether it be by purposely eating less calories on a couple days a week or restricting the time you take in meals) which should cause weight loss as long as you don’t compensate by over-eating during the eating periods. The 16/8 method is the most commonly used because it is the simplest and often fits into peoples’ lives the best. 

Finally, it is important to note that there are several health benefits to intermittent fasting. For starters, intermittent fasting can reduce blood pressure, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, and risk of cancer. It can also increase cellular turnover and repair, fat burning, growth-hormone release, and metabolic rate. It also improves appetite control, blood-sugar control, cardiovascular function, and neurogenesis and neuronal plasticity. 

Sources:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide#what-it-is 

https://journal.crossfit.com/article/my-experiments-with-intermittent-fasting-2 

If you are an avid gym-goer, you’ve probably been asked the question “What kind of protein powder do you use?” This is a common question among most exercisers because of the common knowledge that protein is an important part of one’s diet. But sometimes it can be difficult to find healthy ways to get enough protein in order to keep up with your ever-increasing gains. Protein bars and shakes can be a good option to help increase protein intake, but oftentimes these also contain large amounts of sugar and other ingredients that our bodies could do without. Before we talk about some ingenious ways to get more protein without relying on unnecessary supplements, shakes, or bars, let’s quickly discuss why protein is so important for your body.

Protein is one of the three main macronutrients (carbohydrates and fat are the other two). Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks for almost everything in our bodies. They can be broken down and re-assembled in many different ways. However, our body does not store extra amino acids so the protein that we intake is always getting used and recycled. Therefore, if we don’t get enough protein, our body will start taking it from other parts that we actually need (like our muscles) so it’s important that we replenish lost protein by eating enough of it. 

Most people know that they need protein every day, but they’re unsure of just how much. The answer to this question can be a bit complicated and depends on several different factors. A good to place to start is the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), which can be calculated using the following formula: 0.8 g/kg (0.36 g/lbs). For example, a 150-lb person (68kg) would need 150 x 0.36 (or 68 x 0.8) or approximately 54g of protein per day. This generally works out to be about 10% of an individual’s daily caloric intake. However, the RDA is a very broad recommendation and doesn’t take into account many important factors, such as one’s carbohydrate intake, biological sex, age, when protein is eaten, what kind of activities are done, etc. For a more accurate protein recommendation, a nutrition professional can calculate the correct macro breakdown based on an individual’s weight, activity level, age, fitness goals, etc. 

Once you have a more accurate macro number for how much protein is needed daily, trying to actually meet that number can become difficult. Oftentimes, athletes have no issue getting enough fat, and can usually get enough carbohydrates as well, but usually struggle to find ways to eat enough protein. Here are several ingenious ways to add more protein to your diet:

• Add Greek yogurt to your eggs – seriously. If you like to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast, add a serving of Greek yogurt for some extra protein. Added bonus: it will make your eggs more fluffy!
• Use Greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute!
• Eat more beans! That’s right…black beans, lentils, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, etc. can be added to a salad, soups, a burrito bowl, or even a veggie scramble. 
• Snack on hummus. This is great to dip vegetables and/or pita chips in. 

Sources:

https://www.americansportandfitness.com/blogs/fitness-blog/the-importance-of-protein-for-athletes

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/will-a-high-protein-diet-harm-your-health 

https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/how-to-eat-more-protein/

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 212 kcal

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 T. garam masala
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 can (14 ounces) full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup plain greek
• 2 T. butter
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• steamed rice and naan, for serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Add the turkey, egg, bread crumbs, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to a bowl. Coat your hands with a bit of olive oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs), placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, and 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine, bring the sauce to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the yogurt and butter. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan. Enjoy!

Source: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/30-minute-butter-chicken-meatballs/