It doesn’t matter where I am in the world … if I’m talking nutrition, people always ask how much protein they should be eating.

And it happened again.  I’m in Singapore teaching and I was once again asked how much protein a person should be eating daily. 

I’ve been guilty as the next guy to get boxed into an answer to that question.  But, to be honest, it’s almost an impossible question to answer and you’ll never box me in again!

Because there are so many variables.

Here are my questions back to you.

What is your total calorie intake?

How about your carb intake? 

Are you training?  How often?  What type of training.  Are you new to training or have you been at it for awhile. 

What type of protein are you eating?

And the list can go on.

But you know what single factor, in my opinion, is more important than any of these questions above?

How frequently are you eating protein?  Protein timing completely trumps total protein intake.

Let’s say, for example, my answer for “how much protein per day” was 100 grams for simple math.  Considering research suggests most people eat 80% of their protein at dinner, with just 10% at breakfast and 10% at lunch, that means 80 grams of that example are coming at night, yet very little throughout the day.

We can’t store protein, though, like we can carbs and fat.  We store carbs in our muscles and liver.  We store fat, well, unfortunately everywhere.  But protein isn’t stored.  So when it’s eaten in a bolus at dinner like it is with most people, it can’t be used as effectively as we’d all like.  Instead, protein is  broken down into individual amino acids and then we use those amino acids as we need them and excrete the excess.

While there’s no ‘set’ number of grams that can be digested each meal, most research suggests we should instead eat a fairly equal amount of protein each meal and snack.

Back to the 100 grams example above, what if instead that was distributed over 3 meals — 25 grams at breakfast, lunch and dinner and 10 or 15 grams for snacks?

Your muscles would appreciate the consistent doses of amino acids…

Your energy levels would appreciate it since protein helps slow digestion of food …

And so would your afternoon hunger pangs because you’d be more full than if you simply loaded up with carbs.

The question then turns from how much protein should I eat to “what should I eat if trying to get protein throughout the day?  It’s easy at night, but harder for earlier meals.”

It’s a mindset shift for a lot of people. 

Ready?

Your plain bagel for breakfast is gone.  Your bag of chips or piece of fruit for a snack is too.  And that frozen meal for lunch that’s basically all carbs, little protein?  Yup, toss that one as well. 

Instead, replace breakfast with some hardboiled eggs and fruit.  According to research at the University of Connecticut, swapping a bagel with eggs for breakfast helps you eat less later in the day.  Remember, protein helps fill you.

Snacks?  Try a SOYJOY bar that provides a combination of protein and carbohydrates.  Maybe have that with a little cottage cheese and fruit.  Carbs, protein, fiber among that trio of snacks … voila!  Or try a Greek yogurt.  Higher protein.  Half the sugar of normal yogurt.  Top it with berries and some nuts.  Perfecto.

For lunch try some canned salmon or a packet of salmon if it’s not convenient to open and drain a can.  Add this to a salad, mix it with some avocado to make “salmon salad” and have that on a sprouted grain wrap, or maybe if you’re in a pinch, make your own smoothie with a scoop of whey protein, some fruit, even a handful of spinach for added veggies!

The key to consistency and eating protein throughout the day vs. a protein bomb all at once is planning ahead.  Plan some of the meals I talked about.  Pack them the night before. 

And you can then eat a high quality, consistent dose of protein throughout the day vs. waiting to eat it all at once in the evening.

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Gluten is certainly all the rage.

From the ever so popular Paleo Diets, to Miley Cyrus who recently tweeted how going gluten free was her secret to weight loss success. 

The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck has also touted the benefits (through a couple books) of eliminating gluten from her diet.

The list can go on … from fitness pros to celebrities, diet docs to soccer moms.  In fact, it’s so popular we saw a "Gluten Free" stand when we went to the KY Derby the other day!  Yes, amidst the horses, bourbon, mint juleps and a sea full of hats … a gluten free stand inside Churchill Downs.

So what is gluten anyhow? Why does it get such a bad wrap? And is it deserved or hyped up "diet secret" of the stars?

As an aside, I’m knawing on a free sample bag of a gluten free cereal that came in the mail (a perk of doing what we do — lots of free samples).  Unfortunately, this one tastes like stale cardboard.

I digress.

Gluten is a protein found in many carbohydrates, such as wheat, barley, and rye, among others.  Basically, most cereals, pastas, breads, and the like contain gluten.  Of course there are some gluten free alternatives to these products as well.

Let’s take a step back for a minute.  There is a specific autoimmune disorder where people don’t digest gluten — this is called Celiac disease — and it affects 5-10% of the population. 

I used to work at a diabetes summer camp for kids and it was somewhat common there; celiac disease and diabetes often go hand in hand.

But outside of those with Celiac, gluten still gets a bad wrap.  Here are some of the reasons people have told me or cite for eliminating gluten:

1. It’s not digested properly
2. It bloats them
3. It causes weight gain
4. It hurts recovery from training
5. It causes joint pain
6. Our ancestors didn’t eat grains, so why should they?

Outside of the last one, 1-5 are all symptoms of a person who may have  celiac.  So the first thing a person should do is to get tested to see if they truly have gluten sensitivity. Even if the test does come back negative, however, there is still a possibility of non celiac gluten sensitivity. 

Having worked with people who have celiac in the past, when I worked at the diabetes camp, I know how challenging a true gluten insensitivity can be.  There are cases where you have you use different cooking utensils as the tiny bit of cross contamination from one pot to another or toaster to another, for example, could cause a reaction.

But those who try to eliminate gluten — without a true diagnosis or sensitivity — surely wouldn’t have that same concern.

What I often tell people when it comes to gluten is that foods with gluten are not inherently "bad."  On the flip side, the foods that often do contain gluten may not be the best.

Eating loads of refined carbohydrates — bread, cereal, pasta, muffins, pastries, etc — certainly isn’t great.  Please do drastically reduce these in the diet.  It’s not a knock on gluten itself, but the sugar, food colorings, and other junky ingredients that are added to these (Froot Loops anyone?).

Also, what people often don’t think about, is just how many foods may actually have some form of gluten in them … from soy sauce to hot dogs, ketchup, beer and deli meats.  I can remember walking the aisles of a grocery store with one kid with Celiac looking or a particular brand of hot dogs that was gluten free for our cookout at summer camp.  We found them, but it was a challenge.

And beer … who wants to give up beer?  Interestingly, I’ve had many beers with many people who say they are not eating gluten, yet beer often has gluten (because of the barley/malt).

At the end of the day, here’s our take:

1. Gluten itself is not bad (or you don’t need to give it up) — unless you have a true gluten sensitivity (like celiac). 
2. Many of the common foods that have gluten are junky — processed, overly sugared garbage — so toss those
3. Gluten free doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.  I’ve seen and eaten gluten free cookies, hot dogs and many other similar foods.
4. If you think you are sensitive, focus on naturally occurring gluten free grains.  These are high in fiber and loaded with great nutrients.  Here’s a short list of some solid choices:
   • Amaranth
   • Buckwheat
   • Nut flours (like almond flour)
   • Coconut flour
   • Chickpea flour
   • Quinoa

Don’t necessarily throw gluten under the bus.  It’s currently "trendy" to do so, but simply make smarter choices, focus on high fiber grains vs. refined junky carbs, and you’ll be doing a great job in terms of making strides to reach your physical goals.

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Most "diets" tell you everything you shouldn’t eat.

We think that’s useless.

Who wants to think of deprivation?  Starvation?  Your goal isn’t to just burn belly fat, but it’s to burn belly fat FOREVER!

Who wants a quick fix diet that doesn’t last forever?

At Mohr Results, we focus on everything you SHOULD eat and include when trying to lose belly fat … and even when just trying to be the BEST physically and mentally.

So today we’re talking about 3 nutrients you’re not eating enough of and just how you can eat more, through real foods, since no one thinks in terms of "eating nutrients."

Vitamin D

I recently talked with one of the leading vitamin D experts in the entire world…and it solidified my belief in vitamin D more than ever!!!

Why all the recent "noise" about this vitamin?  It’s been shown to help:

    * muscle strength
    * improve bone health
    * potentially play a role in reducing type 1 and 2 diabetes
    * slash fat loss
    * cancer prevention
    * Alzheimer’s
    * arthritis
    * decreasing falls with elderly
    * decrease inflammatory issues
    * And much, much more.

Our bodies make vitamin D from sunlight, but most people don’t get out enough … or when we do, we slather our bodies in suntan lotion so sun has no chance to hit our skin (I’m not saying don’t use sunblock, by the way).  
 
Believe it or not, Vitamin D deficiency is starting to resurface.  This expert I spoke with, Dr. Robert Heaney, said his data suggest 60-98% of teenage girls are deficient…

The problem is it is difficult to get from foods — milk is fortified, canned and wild salmon are good options, sardines, anchovies, egg yolks, liver, and only a few other foods provide decent quantities.  Unfortunately you’re probably not licking your lips thinking of sardines, washed down with a nice glass of milk, are you?  Me neither.

So what should we do?  

First, next time you go to your doctor, have them measure blood levels of Vitamin D — experts seem to suggest that levels should be at least 40 ng/dL for optimal health.  At Mohr Results, our goal is not to simply eat enough to prevent malnutrition, but rather aim to optimize health.
 
And this is one nutrient it might be wise to add as a supplement (1000 IU’s/day, unless your health care provider tells you differently).  Of course do try to include some of those foods, too, because you get other powerful nutrients in addition to D when eating whole foods.  A favorite product of ours is Nordic Naturals Ultimate-Omega with D (high concentration of omega-3′s + 1000 IU’s of vitamin D).  A true win win.  Of course this is in conjunction with a great variety of foods that provide loads of other nutrients too.

Omega-3 Fats

This one probably won’t surprise you.  It all started when scientists realized Eskimo’s had an incredibly low rate of heart disease, yet ate a diet that was about 70% fat.  When they realized where the fat came from (primarily seal, which are high in omega 3′s), the wheels started turning.

Now, over 15,000 scientific studies later, voila!  We’ve got a winner on our hands!

The American Heart Association suggests eating at 12 oz of fatty fish per week (such as salmon, tuna, sea bass, etc).  Fish is the best source of omega-3 fats, but without getting into technical details, you can also get omega-3′s from other foods, such as walnuts, almonds, and flax seed/oil.  They’re not exactly the same, even though they’re all under the "omega-3 umbrella."  But all are a healthy part of the diet and you should be eating more of them!  If you’re allergic, well, then stick with vegetarian sources of omega-3′s. 

Why should you care?

Some of the benefits of omega-3′s are similar to those listed above for Vitamin D.

    * potentially burn belly fat
    * improves skin
    * cancer risk reduction
    * reduce the risk or progression of Alzheimer’s
    * slow progression of arthritis
    * decrease inflammatory issues
    * Decrease the risk of heart disease

Now if all those benefits above don’t impress you, nothing will.

Eat more vitamin D.  Eat more omega-3′s.  Notice salmon is a good source of both.  So are sardines and anchovies, but I bet you’re more likely to eat the salmon.  

Fiber

Most American’s eat an average of 10 grams of fiber each day.

It’s recommended that we get 20-35 grams.

There’s obviously a disconnect.

Here’s how to do it.

Replace all junk carbs — you know, the ones that increase belly fat FAST — with fiber filled carbs.  Fruits.  Veggies.  Grains.  If a carbohdyrate DOESN’T have 3 or more grams of fiber PER SERVING — toss it.  If it has more than 10 grams of sugar.  Toss it.  Deal?  In an ideal world, you’d get MOST of your carb intake from fruits and veggies, each day.  Trust me, you’ll feel like a new person. 

And why should you care?

    * keeps blood sugar stable — this helps with energy and storage of body fat
    * Controls appetite
    * Keeps you regular

All those sound good to me!  Just as an aside, add fiber slowly … otherwise your spouse, co workers, and friends may no longer want you around.

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We recently wrote a blog called the 10 Commandments of Fat Loss — and it got a lot of attention …

It was reposted to the millions of Livestrong.com newsletter subscribers, posted on MensHealth.com and a writer from a popular fitness magazine emailed to ask if they could use that in an upcoming issue.

And I wondered — why?  I’m honored that such a simple, yet important post can get that much attention.  But I asked one of the editors.  Why THIS post in particular?

His answer?  "When most people, including our magazine, talk about fat loss — it’s always about deprivation.  Your blog post was actually 10 things you SHOULD do, though, when trying to change your body."

Interesting.

Almost like the placebo effect, when you give someone something (even if there’s zero active ingredients) they get better.  It’s all in the mind.  Amazingly, there are even data where people go under the knife … yet the surgeons do NOTHING outside of a faux surgery, yet the people report being better after the fact and one study I’m thinking about had people with arthritis hopping around and not feeling a bit of pain 2 years after their "faux" surgery. 

In their mind, a positive change happened and they got better.  Apply that to nutrition now.  Positive changes in the diet — or even the idea of being told to ADD things to the diet vs. decrease — will have a positive result on the final outcome. 

That being said, incorporate some or most of these 51 foods more consistently and you’ll be better off.  Even better, for every great food you add from this list, replace a junky alternative. 

51 Foods You SHOULD Be Eating

1. Spinach
2. Wild salmon (fresh and/or canned)
3. Blueberries
4. Raspberries
5. Swiss chard
6. Quinoa
7. Rolled oats
8. Pistachios
9. Barramundi (often called "the sustainable sea bass") can be found in the frozen section of Whole Foods & has half the calories, yet equal omega 3′s to coho salmon)
10. Plain Greek yogurt
11. Apples
12. Red bell peppers
13. Yellow bell peppers
14. Orange bell peppers
15. Lean red meat (we prefer grass fed beef)
16. Whole eggs
17. Blackberries
18. Almonds
19. Sardines
20. Carrots
21. Black tea
22. Green tea
23. Pink grapefruit
24. Turmeric
25. Kale
26. Cauliflower
27. Red grapes
28. Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc)
29. Coconut (either fresh, where you crack the shell or unsweetened, shredded)
30. Strawberries
31. Avocados
32. Tomatoes (raw and cooked as both have unique benefits)
33. Pumpkin (we often add canned, unsweetened 100% pure pumpkin to our smoothies)
34. Unsweetened, raw cocoa powder or cocoa nibs (we also often add to smoothies or Greek yogurt)
35. Pineapple
36. Sweet potatoes or yams (technically not the same, yet they’re often used interchangeably)
37. Beans (black, kidney, chick peas, red beans, etc)
38. Lentils
39. Garlic
40. Broccoli
41. Red and green cabbage
42. Onions
43. Dark Cherries
44. Cinnamon
45. Oat bran
46. Beets
47. Barley
48. Mushrooms (all types)
49. Canola and olive oils (replace other less healthy fats with these, don’t simply add these to the diet)
50. Farro (a whole grain that’s super high in fiber)
51. Coffee (without sugar, cream and everything else)

Wow, there you have it – 51 of our favorite foods (and beverages).  Is this comprehensive of every single food that’s amazing for you?  Of course not.  But it is a pretty solid list of fantastic foods.  Variety is the key and quality is the key.  Aim for 1 ingredients foods when you eat (vs. processed options with many ingredients you can’t pronounce) and you’ll be much better off.

Did we forget any of your favorites?

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We’ve talked about the importance of sleep in the weight loss/weight maintenance puzzle.  It’s one of those pieces to the puzzle that’s often overlooked.  However, this is a big mistake as more and more science continues to mound that supports the sleep/weight gain theory.

So here’s the simple message — sleep more, weigh less … with most research suggesting the 8 hour mark being ideal for losing and maintaining your body weight.

But just when you think the "chapter" in this story is closed, another interesting study comes out …

… showing that as little as 80 minutes of less sleep per day adds up in terms of the calories you eat.

Check this out:

The study was recently presented at a conference.  The two groups of participants were divided — one group slept their usual time, while the other slept approximately 80 minutes (just 1 hour, 20 minutes) less per night.  This went on for eight nights.  The following days, subjects were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.

The other piece to the puzzle – the group who slept less didn’t burn any more calories, so they weren’t waking up 1 hour and 20 minutes early to go out to Mohr Results Boot Camp or do any other type of workout.

And boy did they – this small amount of sleep "deprivation" — just 1 hour, 20 minutes, resulted in the subjects overeating 594 calories extra (the equivalent of nearly 7 cans of soda!).  All else being equal, this amount of calories would lead to over a 1 lb weight gain each week! 

Wow.

All for a little shut eye.  Now the exact reason this happens is still being determined.  There are some data that suggest specific hunger hormones, namely ghrelin, are affected.  Or maybe it’s as simple as when you don’t get enough sleep, you have to eat more to boost your energy the following day to stay awake.  Maybe since you’re awake for longer, you’re eating more.  Regardless, this weight gain/sleep connection has been shown time and time again.

Here’s a similar study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that compared 2 levels of sleep — 4 hours vs. 8 hours — and measured food intake the following day.

They learned after just a single night of getting just 4 hours of sleep (sleep deprivation) the subjects at 22% (an average of 559 calories) more the following day compared to the group who got just 8 hours of sleep!

While this short term study was small, it definitely opens the door for more research on this topic to see if continued sleep deprivation (defined as 4 hours in this study) and subsequent overeating could be a major cause of obesity.

Bottom Line:

Burning the candle at both ends and thinking just "1 night of lack of sleep won’t hurt me" is false.  Sleep is an easy part of the equation to control — even aiming for just 1 more hour each night will help.  Every little bit of additional sleep helps!

Now go lay down!