One of my first blog posts was on using low-fat chocolate milk as a recovery drink. Looks like the research is continuing to show it as a great recovery meal. This blog/newsletter was written by my latest intern Nicole Impero. Thanks Nicole! She graduates from the University of Houston Dietetic Internship today. Good luck Nicole!

The advertisements for sports drinks like Gatorade make a convincing case that you need the additional nutrients included. However, a recent University of Texas study suggests that for post-workout recovery, chocolate milk may be your best choice. This study, conducted by UT kinesiology and health education expert Dr. John Ivy, argues that low-fat chocolate milk provides a superior balance of carbohydrates, fat, and protein as compared to sports drinks. According to Ivy, these benefits included an increase in oxygen uptake, an increase in muscle mass and reduction in fat, and increase in power and speed in their exercise routines. Best of all, the benefits were seen by amateurs as well as professional cyclists. The research participants followed a regimen of 90 minutes of moderate cycling interspersed with 10 minutes of high-intensity cycling, and then recovered for 30 minutes before drinking 8 oz of the low-fat beverage, which is pretty intense for most of us. However, these results are convincing. Why not think about a glass of chocolate milk for your post-workout recovery instead of more sports drinks?

References:

Randall, Kay. (2011, June 22.) “Chocolate milk gives athletes leg-up after exercise, says University of Texas Austin study.” Retrieved from < http://www.utexas.edu/news/2011/06/22/milk_studies/ >

Does it seem like just when you get your good habits rolling and into a routine, something happens and the bottom falls out? Everything goes off track. This happened to me a couple of weeks ago when my father was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. We went in for a normal doctor appointment that resulted in him being admitted to the hospital for a couple of weeks. He lives away from me. I had gone to the appointment with my purse and cell phone (hence the lack of blog post and newsletter for the past couple of weeks). I ended up staying with him for a week, came home for a weekend then back for another week. This experience taught me a lot and was significantly different from prior times I have been with him when he was in the hospital (for planned reasons).  What I learned (or learned to practice) is that even though a lot was outside of my control, there were still BIG things I coI still had a lot of control and could use it to help my father, my family, and me to get through the past couple of weeks.

The biggest thing I learned is to focus on the areas I can control. One of these is, not surprisingly, food. Whenever the bottom falls out food tends to be one of the first things that becomes hard to control. However, we still do have control – at least some – over our food choices. Since all I had with me was my purse and its contents, I had to go shopping for clothes, toiletires, and food. I found a Super Target and was able to cover a lot of the bases. One thing I picked up was nuts in individual serving size packages. Nuts can be a great snack between meals. And, the single serving size packages can help keep you from eating too much compared to eating nuts out of a bag or can. They don’t require refrigeration, and I could keep them in the hospital room. I discovered my dad also likes nuts, and we ended up sharing a few of the bags.

I also ended up at the grocery store and picked up some cherries. Cherries are one of my favorite foods, and really qualify as a comfort food for me. I discovered that, in addition to nuts, my dad also likes cherries. I ended up back at the grocery story every day or every other day buying more cherries. With the nuts, the cherries gave me a couple of great snacks to keep in the hospital room so I didn’t have to rely on the vending machines. The other food choices were what I ate for meals. At each meal, I learned to make the best choice possible. I found that if I didn’t fuel myself right with my meals, I was not alert enough to be a good advocate for my dad.

The second major thing I could control was sleep. I did get a hotel room each week. I don’t know why hotels have to use these huge pillows. After the first nigh, I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck and one shoulder. Back to Target I went to get a pillow and pillow case that would work for me. This allowed me to sleep better, and again be a better advocate for my dad. I also learned when to tell him I needed to go at night and when the doctors made rounds so I could be there in the morning.

Now that he is out of the hospital and I am back home, I’m focusing on the things I can control again. I’m getting caught up at work and on sleep, as well as getting back in touch with everyone (including my blog and newsletter readers).

When the bottom falls out for you remember to look for those things that you can control and that will help you get through until you can get your feet back on solid ground. Food and sleep are usually two of the things that can seem very hard to control in these kinds of situations. However, look for ways to make it easier. Find a grocery store and stock up on foods you feel good about eating and that help fuel you. Look for ways to get better sleep. And remember, you can handle anything that comes your way (you have so far). You just handle it until you can get back into your routine, or establish a new one, and get your feet back on solid ground.