Conference turris::cooks

I would at least find out what sort of training their "nutrition expert" has.
Often clubs like this let people with little or no training, do this sort of 
work.  If you have some concerns, the better route might be talking to a 
registered dietician recommended by your doctor.  (My old HMO had one on site.)
They can provide you with anything from a highly structured diet to follow down
to a set of guidelines to incorporate in your usual diet.

    Varied healthy (low fat, low cholesterol) menus and recipes can 
    be had in a greater and greater number of cook books. I find the 
    Weight Watchers ones are pretty good (their magazine offers menus
    each month). 
    Go browsing at a large bookstore and enjoy!
    
    Monica

    Tufts University puts out an excellent monthly Newsletter on nutrition
    and diet/health issues; I've subscribed for several years now, and
    there's always something of direct interest for me in every issue. If
    you're interested, I'll post the subscription information here.
    
    Your concerns notwithstanding, Power Bars are nothing more than a
    fairly dense supply of simple and complex carbohydrates with little to
    no fat - there are no chemical boosters (i.e., steroids) involved. As
    for the variety of protein drinks available, they're 99% marketing
    hype. You're better off with water. (IMO)
    
    Tufts has also published an excellent book on general nutrition issues;
    I'll copy down the title and other information and post it here.
    
    	/Harry

    Please do post the Tufts subscription and other info here. I was
    listening to a talk show on a Manchester NH AM radio station (1370 I
    think) and this feller, David Essel (?) said something about Protein
    drinks being unnecessary, but that Carbohydrate drinks could be useful
    after a workout. Elsewhere, I read something about Vitamin B1, I
    believe, as being useful in overcoming that tired feeling.....This of
    course assumes that one is having regular, balanced meals.
    
    I appreciate the input about Power Bars...I do tend to munch sometimes
    on Granola bars (the non fat kind found in ordinary grocery stores).
    
    What I'd like to know is stuff like dark greens versus light greens in
    a salad...Or say Sweet potato versus an ordinary baked potato with say
    Promise instead of ordinary butter.
    
    I bet that there must be a large audience who has similar questions.
    So, yeah, any feedback here would be a community service.
    
    /Mo

    You might want to try the weightlifting and exercise file, "FLEX", to
    help answer some of your questions.  One of the biggest errors people
    make when they are very active is to not eat enough calories. Not fat,
    but calories.  There are lots of diets and supplement suggestions in
    that file. Once you get a handle on the amount and types of foods you
    can eat, proteins and carbs, etc, this file takes up the slack by 
    helping you find ways to make it taste good and plan menus, and
    substitute items and even where to locate those hard-to-find items.
    Both files are a "must", in my opinion!
    Sarah

You might want to NOT try the weightlifting and exercise file.  The 
bodybuilding industry is full of the worst hype and hokum regarding diet and 
nutrition.  Find a good registered nutritionist and follow their advice.

--PSW

    I haven't forgotten (well, actually, I have ;->) - I still mean to
    enter the Tufts info in here. Tonight.
    
    	/Harry

re: .4, /Mo

This is a serious question, and I'm not trying to start a debate, but -

    If you are interested in nutrition from a standpoint of general good
    health, and you already eat sensibly (in moderation, low fats, no/little
    cholesterol, limited animal protein, etc.) and choose well balanced
    meals (vegetables, carbohydrates, etc. in balance) and select a good
    variety of foods over time (sweet potatoes sometimes, regular potatoes
    other times), then is there any real significant benefit in attempting
    to micro-manage your diet down to the level of "light or dark greens
    in salad", etc.?

-Jack

    re: -.3
    
    Okay, here's the Tufts information:
    
    The monthly newsletter is called "Tufts University Diet & Nutrition
    Letter". New subscription information: P.O. Box 57857, Boulder, CO
    80322-7857. Customer Service: 1-800-274-7581; in Colorado,
    303-447-9330. Subscription: United States, $20 per year (12 issues);
    outside the U.S., $24 per year (12 issues) payable in advance in U.S.
    currency.
    
    The book I mentioned is "The Tufts University Guide to Total
    Nutrition", by Stanley Gershoff, Ph.D., Dean of the Tufts University
    School of Nutrition with Catherine Whitney and the Editorial Advisory
    Board of the 'Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter'. Published in
    1990, ISBN  0-06-015918-9.
    
    Both are excellent references for general information on nutrition and
    diet.
    
    	/Harry

    Re: -.8/Jack
    
    I agree that well balanced meals are adequate most of the time;
    however, if one is trying to build up muscle or maintain muscle, or
    trying to exercise regularly perhaps to get the gut down and for a
    general feeling of well being, then the debate goes that perhaps taking
    Beta-carotene, Vitamins E and C, and a multi-vitamin in suitable doses 
    maybe a good assist. My fear in doing so is that I have no wish to be a
    pill popper, even if its as supposedly harmless as taking vitamins.
    
    The problem in consuming and imbibing the supposedly right foods and
    drinks ("correct" quantities of carbohydrates and protein, with 0% of
    fat and cholestrol) is the doubt as to why some people can bench press
    200 lbs while others can only manage 90 for instance, given that all
    things are equal. Perhaps, these folks have hit that magical nutrition
    food formula, without any vitamin boosters. If so, I'd like to know,
    what it is.
    
    The chances are that there is no magical formula. Still, one never
    knows...Perhaps consume a banana 30 minutes before a work-out...see
    what I mean, something harmless, not involving any healthfood vitamins.
    Now, if there is someone out there who has the answers let him/her
    speak.
    /Mo 

RE: .10

All other things are NEVER equal between two individuals.  Each person is 
unique in their body structure, genetic propensity to build muscle tissue, and 
a thousand other factors.

Incidentally, if you really did consume 0% fat and cholesterol, you'd die.  
There are fatty acids that are essential for human metabolism.  A proper diet 
should be low-fat, but it must not be no-fat.

Sensible and successful bodybuilding diets seem to be a bit higher in protein 
than for a normal (sedentary) individual, and otherwise very high in calories 
(preferably in the form of complex carbohydrates).  All that energy gets burned 
off during training.  Then there's all sorts of special dietary regimens that 
competitive bodybuilders use before contests to reduce subcutaneous fat way 
below the normal healthy minimum--these consist essentially of a starvation 
diet that forces the body to burn up all its fat reserves, accompanied by a 
high level of exercise to keep the body from burning up muscle to meet its 
energy needs.

I'd stay away from all of the protein drinks, mega-vitamin supplements, and 
steroid replacements that are advertised in the bodybuilding magazines.  In my 
opinion, these are the snake oil and radium inhalers of the 1990s.

--PSW

Then there's all sorts of special dietary regimens that 
competitive bodybuilders use before contests to reduce subcutaneous fat way 
below the normal healthy minimum--these consist essentially of a starvation 
diet that forces the body to burn up all its fat reserves, accompanied by a 
high level of exercise to keep the body from burning up muscle to meet its 
energy needs.
    
    Don't forget the placebo/psychological affects of diet on athletics. 
    All of the competitive body-builders I know have a very ritualistic
    approach to food before a competition that, while based in what you say
    (NO extra body fat) help them focus on the WIN WIN attitude.  One woman
    I know had a complicated food schedule for a week or two before a meet,
    involving only eggwhites one day, and only pasta the next, or something
    like that.
    
    Psychological affects of a modified diet should not be discounted.
    
    D!