JUNE 2021 | ISSUE 31

#QUOTEOFTHEMONTH

A message from Founder and Owner, Coach Tristan Mitchell:

Intermittent fasting is something I get asked about often. It’s something that I have been doing in some form for years now and feel like it’s had many benefits for me. I actually like to think of daily “fasting” more as time restricted feeding vs fasting. Dr. Peter Attia says a true fast doesn’t begin until you’ve hit at least 24 hours of no eating and I tend to agree with that. Time restricted feeding (TRF) is more about creating some ground rules around when one is going to eat and the potential health benefits of giving the body a break from food. 

I find one of the largest issues a lot of people (myself included!) deal with when it comes to food is overconsumption. TRF certainly doesn’t make it impossible to over consume but it can help you not. Snacking can often be a function of boredom, routine, or just availability - when you’ve got a bowl of nuts sitting on the counter it’s hard to not constantly snack on them. One solution would be to not have them on the counter. Another other would be to have a defined “eating window” established, if you’re not in your window of eating then whether or not the nuts are on the counter, you don’t eat them. This may seem like unnecessary torture to some but an eating window can help prevent needless snacking at 10pm if your eating window ended at 8pm. This structure can really assist us in being more mindful about food consumption - ideally we would pair this with mindfulness around food selection as well. 

Another big consideration is what constant eating does to our metabolic health. Our ancestors certainly did not live in the environment of abundance that we do today and because of that they evolved metabolic flexibility that allowed them to go lengthy periods of time without food and not be miserable. Many of us lack metabolic flexibility today because we rarely go any considerable length of time without food. Metabolic flexibility in a nutshell means that we are efficient at utilizing the stored energy (fat) within your body. When we go without food over an extended period our cells build the metabolic machinery to use our stored fat more effectively. Our bodies can also use ketones, another source of energy that ramps us when we’ve gone without food for a while. Between fat and ketones we have sustained, lasting energy sources. 

TRF may have numerous other health benefits. Studies have shown that restricting your eating window may be a way to improve insulin sensitivity, lower the likelihood of obesity and chronic disease, and increase longevity. The New England Journal of Medicine has a review on all things TRF if you are interested in taking a deep dive.

There are many considerations to take into account if you are interested in starting TRF and it may not be for everyone depending on numerous factors. Your specific health/fitness goals, sex, age (I would only recommend TRF for adults), and more all factor into whether or not TRF is right for you. That being said, I think there are benefits to be had for many of us and it’s worth your investment of time to further look into for yourself. If you have questions or want to learn more about TRF contact us today, we are here to help.

LINDSEY’S #FitTip

How many of you get so tired of wasting food week after week? 🙋‍♀️ You try.. I mean.. you REALLY try to shop for groceries so you can eat better or maybe even just prevent yourself from spending so much money on eating out during the week but you always end up throwing food away at the end of the week because you either forgot to eat it or it started to go to waste.

I wanted to talk about this because I have clearly struggled with it myself. So with a little bit of research and with some strategies I've implemented on my own.. I came up with this list (in no particular order) of ways to decrease your food waste so you can confidently shop for groceries you know you will eat and increase the quality of your food!



1. Declutter your refrigerator! This isn't always fun to do, especially if it hasn't been done in a long time but I'm telling you.. a clean and clutter-free fridge is a happy fridge and a happier you! When we have lot of condiments, leftovers & junk piled up in our fridge, it makes it really hard for us to focus in on the food we planned to eat. This actually brings me to tip number 2...



2. Organize your food in containers & pre-chop any fruits/vegetables you plan to eat. Once again, organization might not "be your thing" but doing this early in the week can make the rest of your week a whole lot easier when you get busy and you're too tired to prepare a meal. I can't tell you how many times I've had good intentions to eat at home during the week but Wednesday or Thursday rolls around and I'm too lazy to prepare anything. If I had food ready to throw in a pan I might have been more likely to cook it.



3. Store food correctly! Once again.. I've wasted a ton of food because it spoiled before I had the chance to eat it and it was because I didn't know the correct storage for it.



For instance, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers and onions should never be refrigerated. These items should be kept at room temperature. Separating foods that produce more ethylene gas from those that don’t is another great way to reduce food spoilage. Ethylene promotes ripening in foods and could lead to spoilage.



Foods that produce ethylene gas while ripening include:

• Bananas

• Avocados

• Tomatoes

• Cantaloupes

• Peaches

• Pears

• Green onions

Keep these foods away from ethylene-sensitive produce like potatoes, apples, leafy greens, berries and peppers to avoid premature spoilage.



4. Shop with a plan! This one seems obvious but shopping with a plan is much smarter than going to the grocery store and winging it (oh, especially if you're hungry - don't do that). Sit down with your family or your spouse and figure out what you might want to eat that upcoming week. Be sure to pick meals or recipes that use similar ingredients so you can maximize what you get.

For example, maybe one night you have homemade Chipotle bowls for dinner so you buy cilantro and lime for the rice. You might not use all of the cilantro or limes that you buy for that one meal so the next night you have cilantro lime chicken with veggies on the side. This is a great way to make sure you don't waste food and you keep the variety!



5. Eat leftovers! I'm not going to lie.. this one is hard for me. I'm not the biggest fan of leftovers. However, if you make a big dinner on Monday (on purpose) then you can potentially save extra for lunch to eat on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just be mindful of what Monday's dinner is and make it something you will enjoy eating the rest of the week for an easy lunch. Here are some of my favorite things to eat leftover:

• Roasted veggies (tastes great the next day with a fried egg and feta)

• Steak

• Soup

Hopefully this can encourage you to eat at home more often and allow you to feel confident that you won't waste food in the process! At the end of the day, it takes practice and it takes finding the things that work for you.

If you need guidance around what a healthy trip to the grocery store looks like, don't hesitate to reach out to us! We'd love to help guide you.

#LIONSDENSMPRUNCLUB

Why I Recommend Altra Running Shoes by: Coach Tristan

Running shoes are a hotly debated subject and many shoe companies sell people on the idea that their shoe will help fix or improve mechanical inefficiencies and/or help mitigate injuries. I would argue that what we need to prioritize is improving our mechanics independent of what shoe we are in while also working on movement efficiency, strength, and training intelligently to increase performance and minimize injury risk. Once these things are accomplished then we want to be running in a shoe that provides the best environment possible to for our physiology to best express itself.

Our feet should be functional - allowed to splay out, absorb and move, then create strong rigidity and power with each foot strike. They are highly capable sensors that speak to the brain to help communicate and coordinate motor recruitment up chain. Our feet should be able to feel the ground and move but unfortunately most modern running shoes do the opposite – they constrict the foot into a narrow cast. They provide way too much cushioning which blunts the foots ability to act effectively as a sensor. They create an unnecessary artificial heel to toe drop which can contribute to poor mechanics, as well as calf muscles and Achilles that can be weak and stiff.

I have been running marathons for 16 years and have been in my fair share of shoes and like most runners I have made numerous changes over those years as I looked for the perfect shoe. What I have learned in the last handful of years is that what I really need is a shoe that best allows my feet to do what they are designed to be; functional. I need a wide toe box (or foot shaped), to feel the ground (no excessive cushion), flexibility so my foot can properly move, and no unnecessary differential from heel to toe.

This is what sets me up to run and train at my best and the only shoe company that I know of that fits the bill is Altra – that is why I run in them and why I recommend that if you are new to running then build your mechanics in a shoe that allows you to do that best. If you are an experienced runner, take the time to challenge your assumptions around your running shoes and consider giving Altra (particularity the Escalante) a try. I don’t think you will look back!

#MOBILITY

Psoas Bench Smash by: Coach Joel

What’s up Lions? It's time to talk trunk musculature health. Your trunk works extra hard to stabilize your spine, flex your hip and power body rotation. Trunk stiffness can contribute to problems such as breathing dysfunctions, lower back pain and dreadful movement patterns. Various forms of exercise can play a role, another and more likely culprit to cause these issues is extended periods sitting. It can shorten hip flexors and makes it easier for the hip and shoulder engines to turn off. This results in extra work demands on your psoas to keep your spine stable. Frequent movement breaks throughout the day will help battle this and there are great mobilizations as well. Enter: the psoas smash. This will help restore suppleness and function to this part of the trunk musculature.

One of my favorite variations of this smash requires a bench and a ball. As a starting point, lie on a bench placing the ball approximately one inch to the side of your belly button below the ribs and above the inside of the hip bone, with both hips flexed.

Be mindful of your intestines, they can generally handle the smashing especially with a ball. However, remember if it feels sketchy it probably is. Breath work helps immensely here to assess intensity, capture control of your nervous system and in turn releasing a tight psoas. As with any mobilization, test then retest both the squat and hinge to determine the effectiveness of this mobilization. The best time to utilize this mobilization is post workouts that incorporate squats or hinge movements and/or prior to bedtime to help facilitate a good night of sleep.

Extended periods of sitting whether active or not can lead to a tight psoas. Battle it with frequent movement snacks that include exposing your hip to full extension. If you find periods of sitting are unavoidable (i.e. long car rides) giving your spine added stability with some form of lumbar support can be beneficial in keeping your spine more neutral. The psoas complex is often an under maintained area so feed it some love in the form of this smash. If you have questions, other issues, or would like to dive deeper into creating a more supple body, please feel free to reach out. Let's schedule a personalized private 30 minute session with your friendly neighborhood mobility nerd. Stay Mobile My Friends!

#PODCAST OF THE MONTH

The Doctor’s Farmacy with Mark Hymand M.D. | EP 48: The Secret Power of Fasting for Longevity and Healing with Valter Longo