Health
Fuel for the journey
Smart food choices before you work out help get you through your fitness routine
When my clients tell me during workouts they’re dizzy, lightheaded or nauseous, I always ask what they ate and when.
The causes of these symptoms during exercise is almost always food- and fluid-related. To get the most out of a workout you must be fueled and ready to go. But is it most effective to eat before or after a workout? The short answer is both. Knowing when the best time to eat and what types of food to eat is essential to an effective workout.
Your body is a fine-tuned machine and it needs fuel to operate and not just any type of fuel. You need the right type of gas and at the right time, otherwise you will either putter along or stall or worse, you may have to replace your transmission. And equally important to the right fuel sources are water and fluids, which are akin to your body’s radiator, regulating your core temperature and cooling abilities. Eating and fluid intake must go hand in hand with exercise. You are eating to exercise, not exercising to eat.
While most credentialed and qualified nutritionists or registered dieticians can give you a structured eating plan, this might prove to be either too complex or too time consuming for most people if it involves writing down your food.
While it’s always good to confer with your health care provider, the basic principles are simple and apply to anyone without dietary restrictions, food allergies, eating disorders or obesity.
Before you work out, eat something low fat, low in calories and foods that contain fluids. No fancy foods or food experiments here. A banana and yogurt always works well.
Avoid consuming a heavy meal at least 90 minutes before working out. Two hours is more optimal and for large meals, three is best.
Avoid eating while you are working out unless you exercise for more than 90 minutes.
Always stay hydrated and if you are thirsty, you are likely on your way to dehydration. Also, as another test you should have a light urine color. You may also weigh yourself before and after your workout and replace lost weight with two cups of fluid with each pound lost. Sports drinks can be beneficial especially in hot humid weather and I will address them in another column. You should drink about a half cup to one cup of water every 15-20 minutes during exercise.
Post workout meals should be consumed within 30 minutes of your workout and be a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates. Nuts (almonds and walnuts are the most nutritional) are recommended. Low fat string cheese, peanut butter without sugar or a light meal with meat, starch and partially cooked (not mutilated) vegetable are healthy choices. And remember your whole grains.
Other popular and often misunderstood eating strategies worth mentioning are meal replacement plans or MRPs and in particular protein shakes and of course the ever popular, but often dismissed today, carbo loading. There can be a place for these tools, but these options are usually reserved for sport specificity or long endurance events and races. For the general exercise population there seems to be a misguided allure to them, but they are not a necessity under normal exercise circumstances. Simply remember real food is your best fuel source. Any substitutions, particularly synthetic, should be secondary and many nutrition bars are disguised sugar and chemical-laden candy bars. Yeah, I know the non-regulated supplementation industry, supremely referred to as neutraceuticals are going to have my head for this statement. But I say go natural as much as possible.
Finally, if weight maintenance, loss or gain is your goal, remember to be aware of your overall caloric consumption. The basic equation is one pound equals 3,500 calories. Hence to lose a pound or gain a pound, you will need either a 3,500 expenditure/deficit or an additional 3,500 in caloric consumption. And remember to regulate your portion sizes and eat smaller incremental meals throughout they day with your meals or snacks consuming lighter quantities as the day progresses.
Health
MISTR announces it’s now prescribing DoxyPE
MISTR, the telemedicine provider that offers free online PrEP and long-term HIV care in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, announced it is now prescribing Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (DoxyPEP), an antibiotic that reduces bacterial STIs, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis. Patients can now use MISTR’s telehealth platform to receive DoxyPEP online for free, according to a release from the company.
With this launch, MISTR plans to offer patients access to post-exposure care, in addition to its existing preventive and long-term HIV treatment options, which include PrEP and antiretroviral therapy (ART). This comes at a time when the rate of STIs continue to rise. In 2022, more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were reported in the U.S; of that population, gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected, the company reported.
“Despite an ongoing STI epidemic affecting the LGBTQ+ community, there are few resources available for this underserved, vulnerable community to get the preventative medication they need,” said Tristan Schukraft, CEO and founder of MISTR. “I’m proud that MISTR is democratizing access to PrEP, HIV care, and now DoxyPEP.”
An NIH-funded study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2023 found that doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis, now known as DoxyPEP, reduced syphilis by 87%, chlamydia by 88%, and gonorrhea by 55% in individuals taking HIV PrEP, and reduced syphilis by 77%, chlamydia by 74% and gonorrhea by 57% in people living with HIV.
MISTR is a telemedicine platform offering free online access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and long-term HIV care Visit mistr.com for more information.
Health
UNAIDS to commemorate Zero Discrimination Day’s 10th anniversary
UN agency urges global action to protect human rights
As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day; UNAIDS is sounding the alarm on the increasing threats to human rights, calling for renewed efforts to protect the rights of all individuals as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for everyone.
Established by UNAIDS a decade ago, Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote equality and fairness regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or HIV status. The progress achieved over the past years is now in jeopardy, however, due to rising attacks on the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the critical link between protecting human rights and safeguarding public health.
“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health,” she said in a press release. “Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030. It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”
Despite challenges, there has been notable progress.
At the onset of the AIDS pandemic more than 40 years ago, two-thirds of countries criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. They are now decriminalized in two-thirds of countries. An additional 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, contributing to positive changes that include 50 million more girls attending school compared to 2015.
To sustain and enhance these advancements; UNAIDS urges global support for women’s rights movements, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and peace initiatives. By standing with communities advocating for their rights, the U.N. aims to reinforce the collective effort towards a more inclusive and equitable world.
Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1.
Events and activities that will take place around the world throughout the month will serve as reminders of the essential lesson and call to action: Protecting everyone’s health is synonymous with protecting everyone’s rights.
“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world — for everyone,” said Byanyima.
Health
New CDC report finds transgender women at higher risk for HIV
More than 1,600 people in seven cities surveyed
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new study report this week that revealed that restricted by employment and housing discrimination and lack of access to needed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender women increasing the risk of contracting HIV.
Researchers reviewed data from a 2019-2020 survey, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, which found that the demographics of HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally high, especially among Black and Latina trans women, who had experienced employment and housing discrimination coupled with lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare.
The Jan. 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was based on data studies of more than 1,600 trans women in seven major urban locales. Participants from Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were chosen by referrals from people and community-based organizations who knew or were part of the local population of trans women.
The study’s researchers noted: “Employment discrimination occurs at the overlapping nexus of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, health insurance, disability, food insecurity and survival sex work. These issues are interconnected.”
The study stated that trans women’s inability to access quality healthcare, including gender-affirming treatment or access to PrEP, and can expose them to potential incarceration as many turn to “survival sex work” and violence, which increases the risk of contracting HIV.
The study’s author’s pointed out: “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships. This analysis …demonstrates the importance of transgender women working and living with dignity and without fear of unfair treatment.”
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Blade Summer Kickoff Party returns to Rehoboth
Andy Cohen coming to D.C.
Want to dance for a good cause?
Calendar: May 3-9
HHS reverses Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule
4th Circuit rules gender identity is a protected characteristic
Pride season has begun
PHOTOS: Capital Pride Pageant
