Made it to the Pool for 30'

Not too hot, sort of hazy. Nice to have a chance to let my hair down.

CrossFit workout - "Tabata" (20 sec hard/10 sec rest) 8 rounds of each exercise: airsquats (last round did 16), pullups (7), pushups (5), situps (8).

Nutrition for the Athlete

Adapted from the Health & Lifestyle lecture I have been providing at Joint Base Balad, Iraq during my deployment with the 332d Expeditionary Medical Group.


The first priority for athletes is meeting energy requirements. Energy balance is key to maintaining lean tissue mass, immune and reproductive function, and optimum athletic performance.

To have calories in = calories out means you will have a balance effect on the scale. If you have more energy coming in then going out then your weight will start increasing. If you have less energy coming in and more energy going out then you will have a wt loss.

With limited energy intake the body will then use fat and lean body tissue for fuel. Not maintaining enough energy for fuel compromises the benefits of training.

You will most likely not achieve your best physical performance while restricting calories. (Keep in mind that it is certainly possible for an over-fat, way out of shape individual to both lose weight and improve their physical performance at the same time) However, for a normal weight, relatively “in-shape” individual…caloric restriction will be detrimental to performance.

Low-energy intakes can result in loss of muscle mass, menstrual dysfunction, loss or failure to gain bone density, and increased risk of fatigue, injury, and illness.

To help optimize training and prevent illness, athletes should consume a daily diet rich in nutrient-dense carbohydrates and high-quality protein in order to provide adequate energy for muscular activity and maintenance of optimal immune system functions.

Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. The body converts Carbs you eat into glucose. Glycogen is the main storage form of glucose and it is stored primarily in muscle and liver.

Continuous exercise uses up the body’s glycogen stores. It is important to ensure adequate Carb intake pre, during, and post intense physical activity. Repetitive training/competition reduces glycogen storage leading to impaired performance.
Athletes (and very active military members) need adequate Carb intake to keep glycogen stores high, therefore allowing for optimal physical performance.

Approximate protein intake guidelines are based on the type of athlete. Requirements include the need to repair exercise-induced microdamage to muscle fibers, use of small amounts of protein as an energy source during exercise, and the need for additional protein to support gains in lean tissue mass. However, repeated research has shown that protein intake in excess of 2 g/kg simply results in the excess amino acids being converted to fat and stored appropriately.

Turns out that most Americans (even non-athletes) easily achieve these protein intakes as part of their regular diet, therefore it is rare that an athlete would need to deliberately add a protein supplement to their diet. Except when people are limiting their total caloric intake for weight loss.

For optimal benefit, spread protein evenly throughout the day.

Fat is important in the diets of athletes as it provides energy, fat-soluble vitamins, and essential fatty acids. Additionally, there is no scientific basis on which to recommend high-fat diets to athletes. There are no ergogenic effects from fat intake (i.e. eating more will not improve athletic performance, but not eating enought total calories may hurt your progress). Be sure to limit saturated fats since that is the type of fat that can raise blood cholesterol.



How much energy do you need? Even when you are trying to lose weight, there is a minimal amount of calories you need to prevent loss of muscle mass. You need to support your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).



Once you calculate what your body needs to support stable weight at your activity level, you can reduce the intake, increase the activity, or best - combination of both, to help promote weight loss. But never eat less than your RMR if you want to keep your metabolically active muscles - see "Maximizing Metabolism" Lecture (coming soon).

Want to gain weight (muscle)? You have to support the proper exercise (higher resistence, fewer repetitions to fatigue) with adequate rest for repair and building. And you need enough extra CALORIES (not extra protein). Remember the protein needs even when in anabolic mode (muscle building) are maximum 2 g/kg (or ~1 g/lb body weight).

Look at your hands; your two hands are a good representation of the total amount of protein you can use in a day for support of muscle building. Magazines advertising protein powders and bars and supplements are owned by the companies selling these products. High protein diets tend to increase blood acidity, phosphorus load (thus pulling calcium out of your bones and then it is lost in your urine), and nitrogen released when protein is used for energy (fortunately healthy kidneys can remove the excess nitrogen from our blood).

To get extra calories between meals try dried fruit & nuts, peanut butter sandwich, high fiber snack bars.




Hydration (Fluid) is very important. And being deployed in the desert (Iraq) makes it a prime concern even if you are not exercising. Water is the best rehydration for most people. Electrolyte-replacement Sport drinks (i.e. Gatorde or Powerade) are useful when your workout is over 60 min or you are drinking a lot of water and not eating (don't want to dilute the sodium in your blood).

Water helps cool your body. When you are active your body heats up. Sweating brings water to the surface of your skin where evaporation pulls this heat away from your body. If you don't have enough water to sweat, or you cover up all your skin so you sweat but it cannot evaporate, you will overheat. If your body temperature gets too hot, you are "cooking" yourself into a severe illness.

Some ways to tell if you are drinking enough. Weigh yourself before and after your workout. Drink at least 2 cups of water for every pound lost. Check your urine; if it's darker than pale yellow straw you need to be drinking more. Here in Iraq I've been drinking about 4L per day.



For more information:
sportsmedicine.about.com/Sports_Nutrition.htm
www.dietitian.com/sportnut.html
Food and Nutrition Information Center (USDA)
Nancy Clark, MS RD “Sports Nutrition Guidebook”

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Dust Dust Go Away!! And "Can You Really Wear a Two Piece in Iraq?"

Ack! The dust is coming back! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

I had this all planned. Patient rounds in the morning (check). Meal ordering and inpatient education (check). Morning CrossFit class (check), eat lunch (check), and then do a swim workout this afternoon (hence moving my CF class to morning). But now it's getting dusty again. Sigh.

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Some people have asked about wearing a "two piece" at the pool. Didn't know that it was now legal (for civilians and for Air Force).

In the Air Force the rule is that men wear baggy shorts/swim wear (no speedo suits) and women can wear one or two piece *conservative* suit (i.e. no thong or itty bitty bikinis). But the Army rules say "one piece" only.

Joint Base Balad is just that, "Joint", and when AFCENT (Air Force Central Command) took over the base, one concession was to the Army swim suit standards. The other claim about the "one piece" rule is that it is part of our respect for the host nation (that doesn't fly with me since women in our host nation would not be seen at a co-ed swimming pool in ANY suit that didn't cover up arms & legs). And that is why when I arrived the rule was "one piece" at the pool.

When you are working out, it makes perfect sense to wear a one piece. But the outdoor pool opened in April and has plenty of deck chairs for tanning. Brigader General Bishop, as one of his last policies prior to his change of command, changed the swim suit policy at the pool - allowing for a conservative two piece. Heck, no one was really enforcing the one piece policy for the civilians anyway (pool employees weren't allowed to, only military supervisors). And don't get me started on the definition of "conservative".

Interestingly enough, one hour after the 332 AEW Change of Command, the JBB Command Sergeant Major of the Army (highest ranking enlisted) sent out a "new MNF-I Uniform Policy" to all AEW folks. While it focused on Army uniform policies it also included Air Force & "all military" in many portions - including the "one piece" at the pool (along with mandatory reflector belts with PT gear which would be redundant for Air Force since our PT gear has reflection built into both the shirts & shorts; we don't have to wear a belt). That same afternoon we were emailed by AEW Headquarters that any change in uniform policy would come from AFCENT, and we should carry on with our previous instructions at this time.

Man, gotta love politics - especially when it comes out into the open like this.

The End of the Sand Storm

Finally a break in the dust and sand. And by this afternoon there was blue skies and the air was heating up again.

With the improved visibility the planes are flying. Jets are taking off again. The mail arrived. The shelves at the BX started filling back up. We had lettuce & tomatoes at dinner. And our redeploying hospital folks have started leaving. Just waiting for our replacements to leave the states and move closer to Iraq.

Maybe I'll finally get back to the pool this weekend - one last opportunity to get a photo in a two piece suit before leaving the desert.

Today's CrossFit workout: 12 one arm pushpress R arm (20#), 12 one arm deadlift L arm (50#), run 1/2 mile. Do it again with L arm/R arm and run another 1/2 mile. Repeat both. for time - 21:48 (got the treadmill up to 7 mph - fastest yet). 5 pullups at the end.

4th of July in Balad

Started with the "4th of July 5K" (ran on Friday July 3rd). PR 27:50 in the dusty early morning - preclude to more dust and crappy weather all weekend.

CrossFit workout kicked ass. The first time I did this workout (6 weeks ago ) I used jumping pullups, lighter weights and a shorter box. This time I finished 2 min faster.
The "300":
25 pullups (used the orange band)
50 single arm kettlebell press (25 ea arm) - 8 kg weight
50 box jump - 20" bench
50 floor sweeps - holding a 75# barbell over my chest, sweep straight legs from one end, down to the floor and back up to the other end of the barbell (25 to each side)
50 pushups
50 deadlifts - 95#
25 pullups (used the orange band)
24 min 20 seconds. Not bad for an old lady.

Still dusty and low visibility. No wifi at night (can't reach the satellite).

332d Air Expeditionary Wing Change of Command - 0632 hrs (332 Zulu)



I was the narrator so I had one of the best seats in the house for the show.














DFAC was set up for the holiday and we served BBQ ribs, chicken, fried scallops, crab legs, special soups, mac & cheese, green beans with mushrooms, corn on the cob, spring vegetables, baked beans (some at lunch, some of these at dinner). Oh, and the cake & ice cream at lunch.

Oh What a Morning

It was quiet and I wanted to capture the memory.

Giving Platelets - 8 Units Later

I started my donations in March. I got infiltrated once (the return blood wasn't going into the vein), and I was delayed once (my hemoglobin level was too low, so I started on iron supplement). Eight donations and you earn the coin. Just in time for the end of my deployment.



My first donation we took a picture. That same photo is now being used on a flyer distributed around the base looking for volunteers. I thought it would be fitting to take a last donation picture as well.