There鈥檚 something about being a new dad that seems to rewire the brain.听

That鈥檚 not just a figure of speech, but a hormonal reality. 听the amount of testosterone present in the blood declines after men have children鈥攂y up to 34 percent鈥攁nd听may never听bounce back to pre-baby levels. The cause: less sleep, increased stress, poorer diet, and less exercise.听But is the sharp drop in the muscle-building hormone really enough to impact athletic performance?

Not exactly.听听In fact, it can even improve鈥攊f you can manage to keep up your training, says听Lee T. Gettler is an assistant anthropology professor at the University of Notre Dame and director of the Hormones, Health, and Human Behavior Lab. He鈥檚 also the author of听听to show that fatherhood actually lowers testosterone (rather than merely proving correlation).听Gettler referred to research by his colleague in a traditional farming community in Poland. Alvarado showed that new fathers have lower testosterone levels than non-fathers of the same age, but surprisingly, are also stronger and more muscular. Gettler thinks this is due to their more physically demanding jobs, meaning training is a bigger factor than baseline testosterone levels.

鈥淚nvested dads who experience a drop in T are not necessarily going to lose muscle and strength,鈥� Gettler writes鈥攁s long as they keep training.

So what鈥檚 the best attack strategy for a new father-athlete?

Do Whatever it Takes to Sleep

First, find a way to sleep. International fitness model, training and nutrition coach, and dad of a 2.5-year old, Melih F. Cologlu, says he began taking a 20-minute power nap mid day to compensate for less sleep at night. Eventually he worked his way back to 7.5 hours.听

Eat Well

Second, take care of your diet. During the weeks after my wife gave birth, my diet switched to what I would call a French toast based model. Cologlu says that kind of pattern is common among his training clients, both during and after a pregnancy. He counsels good quality but low prep food like raw vegetables or pre-prepped healthy meals, reduced fat peanut butter and rice cakes, or spiced tilapia with steamed broccoli.

Train All the Way Up to Birth

Finally, ramp up your training a month or two before the birth. If you get mentally accustomed to a seven days-a-week training rhythm, you鈥檒l find that dropping a day or two feels like slacking without hurting your health.

鈥淚 usually don鈥檛 take off any days,鈥� Cologlu says. 鈥淸So] if I have to take a day or two that鈥檚 still five or six times a week.鈥�

Focus on Your Marriage

One surprising final tip is to put your marriage ahead of your children, if you鈥檙e married. Gettler found that married men (fathers or not) have lower cortisol levels鈥�a hormone normally produced in response to stress that can hurt your metabolism and muscle mass鈥攖han non-fathers. Cologlu says that after an initial adaptation period, he鈥檚 doing better than he was before he had kids.

鈥淚鈥檝e improved, my business has gotten better, I have some type of published work every two to three months,鈥� Cologlu says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been going great.鈥�

The post 4 Ways to Beat the Fatherhood Testosterone Plunge appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Missouri has the sixteenth highest obesity rate in the nation, according to听听research report. The state food certainly doesn’t help: St. Louis specialties include processed , 鈥�,鈥� and the , which features a fried egg foo young patty with mayonnaise on white bread.

All this indicates that a heath-food restaurant likely wouldn’t flourish in the Midwestern city. But , head chef for the St. Louis Cardinals, went ahead and opened one anyway, so far with great success.听

serves a gluten-free and Paleo-friendly menu. Lusky says his strategy of cooking with 鈥渃lean ingredients, leaner proteins, and healthy fats鈥� makes his meals ideal for peak performance. From the Buff Elvis鈥攁 popular recovery shake with banana and peanut butter鈥攖o fresh-squeezed, low glycemic听index juice combos like watermelon and pineapple, the menu is designed around the nutritional needs of his Cardinals, and the Rams and Blues who also dine at the restaurant.

鈥淚 think everything I do has a touch of something I do for them,鈥� Lusky says. 鈥淚 adopted it in my lifestyle to help me lose weight and get healthier, [and] I saw it was successful in the athlete population.鈥�

But regular Joes are frequent Athlete Eats and enjoy the healthy entr茅es, such as the pan seared Dijon dill salmon with cranberry succotash, roasted root vegetables with vegan cheese and chili oil, and farm fresh eggs with stewed Moroccan tomato sauce. In fact, demand has been so great, Lusky is opening a second location and a food truck this year. By fusing delectable dishes with good nutrition, he may have stumbled on a way to convince the average American to eat better鈥攂y eating like his athletes.

鈥淎thletes are as much foodies as other people,鈥� Lusky says. 鈥淎 lot of the guys we work with understand food and realize how important it is to them.鈥�

Bibimbap Bowl

Serves one

Pulsed cauliflower instead of rice is a Paleo staple. With 42.7 grams of protein and 4.7 grams of fiber, this simple recipe will fill you up for only 318 calories. The vegetables are loaded with vitamin A and C, along with a quarter of the daily recommended amount of iron and a third of potassium. More important, Lusky says, is the intense flavoring from the red chili sauce, cilantro, and stir fry sauce. 鈥淚t can get boring really, really quickly to just eat meat and vegetables,鈥� Lusky says. 鈥淵ou have to use a lot of different ethnic spices, and come up with unique takes.鈥�

Ingredients:

• 8 ounce scoop finely pulsed cauliflower (cauli rice)
• 2 ounce scoop edamame
• 2 ounce scoop pickled carrots
• 2 ounce scoop shiitake mushrooms
• 2 ounce scoop diced bell peppers
• 2 ounces stir fry sauce
• 4 ounces marinated pork tenderloin
• 1 ounce red chili sauce (Sambol) in ramekin
• 1 pinch scallions
• 1 pinch chopped cilantro
• 1 sunny side up egg

Stir Fry Sauce:

• 3 parts soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 1 parts sesame oil
• 1 parts fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger

Preparation:

1. Heat small pan with drizzle of olive oil, add pork once pan is hot.

2. In a separate small pan on low heat, add egg and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat up a wok.

3. Once the wok is hot, add edamame and peppers and saut茅 for 30 seconds.

4. Add cauli rice and saut茅 for another 30 seconds.

5. Add stir fry sauce and season with pinch of salt and pepper.

6. Once pork is cooked, slice up pork and return to pan. Add 1/2 oz of stir fry sauce to pork pan and add mushrooms.

7. To plate, place caulirice and veggie stir fry in a bowl, add pork and mushrooms, add pickled carrots and top with egg.

8. Sprinkle the pinch of cilantro and scallions to garnish, place red chili sauce ramekin in the bowl.

Kickin鈥� Chinese Spare Ribs (Oven Style)

Serves two

Just a few ribs can have 550 calories, but Lusky says focusing on those numbers instead of good nutrition is counterproductive. 鈥淧aleo doesn鈥檛 count calories,鈥� Lusky says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a small portion, it鈥檚 right where you need to be.鈥�

He talks in terms of nutrient density, and these low-carb, protein and fat packed ribs have plenty. They can be made on a grill, too, but this version is perfect for winter.

• Slab of local pork ribs听
• 1/2 cup liquid aminos
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 cup sorghum syrup
• 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup sriracha

Preparation:

1. Whisk together sriracha, liquid aminos, sherry, garlic, sugar, and spice powder in a large bowl.

2. Add ribs; toss to coat with marinade鈥�.

3. Set aside, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to marinate at room temperature for an hour.

4. Heat oven to 350F degrees. Arrange baking rack on top of rimmed, foil lined sheet pan.

5. Remove ribs from marinade and reserve the remaining marinade. Arrange the meat on the rack, meat (not bone) side up.

6. Place pan on middle rack of oven. Pour in enough water that it reaches halfway, making sure the water doesn’t touch the ribs.

7. Bake ribs for 35 minutes, baste ribs with reserved marinade, flip and baste again. Bake for another 35 minutes (add more water if dried up).

8. Raise the heat to 450 degrees. Flip ribs again; baste with remaining marinade. Continue baking until ribs are glazed, browned, and tender, about 20 more minutes.

Quick Cucumber Kimchi

Serves 6

This pungent cucumber dish is light, with only 28 calories per serving and no fat. It鈥檚 all about experimenting with flavors. 鈥淲e make our own pickles, kimchi, and we鈥檝e done other fermented items,鈥� Lusky says. 鈥淭he door鈥檚 open.鈥�

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cucumber
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
• 1 1/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Korean chile powder
• 2 teaspoons sorghum
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

Preparation:

1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick half moons. Place in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly with salt. Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine garlic, scallions, ginger, vinegar, chile powder, sugar and fish sauce in a medium nonreactive bowl.

3. Drain the cucumbers (discard the liquid). Stir the cucumbers into the vinegar mixture.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours before serving.

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Last year, covered in mud and wolfing down cookies and a sports drink at the finish line of the听, I started chatting with a Frenchman. At aid stations back in France, he told me, they had ham and baguettes.

Suddenly, our heavily processed spread seemed less impressive. And it made me wonder: Do runners in other countries know something we don鈥檛?

Thus began my quest to find the quirkiest, most interesting aid-station foods from around the world. The biggest surprise of my search? How dominant American-style race items like Gatorade are in every country. But each culture views comfort food through its own lens, so in addition to sugary sports drinks, there鈥檚 still a lot of funky stuff out there. I now present to you the fruits of my labor, which I vetted with help from听Lisa Dorfman鈥攁 running nutritionist, retired pro triathlete, and 30-time marathoner鈥攚ho explained the nutritional value of each item.

Ready to run through the world鈥檚 aid stations? Let鈥檚 eat.听

Onigiri (Sticky Rice Balls): Japan

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: These are the original PowerBars. Compact and full of quick-digesting carbohydrates, rice balls are particularly useful for high-altitude events, when the body prefers carbs over fat because they provide听faster energy.听
The Verdict: Eat it. Gluten-free and energy-dense, with around 180 calories and 39 grams of carbs per ball.
Buy It: Ultrarunner Scott Jurek has a recipe for onigiri in his book because it鈥檚 one of his training staples. There are also online.

Mini Smoked Sausages: Germany

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Smoked sausages are a typical Northern European comfort food, and they’re packed with energy鈥攊ncluding a lot of fat.听
The Verdict: Don’t eat it. Dorfman cautions that some runners may have stomach touble because of the preservatives often found in smoked sausage, while others may have trouble handling the large amount of saturated fat while exercising鈥攆ive links have 14 grams of fat, more than a third of which is saturated.
Buy It: If you really want sausage, go for something lighter on the fat, like听. They听have half the calories and a third of the fat of their multi-meated brethren, but 33 percent more protein (eight grams instead of six).听

Mochi Soup (Seaweed Broth with Rice Cakes): Japan

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Umami is the 鈥渇ifth taste鈥� after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It鈥檚 sometimes described as a meaty richness. We think of it in relation to steak or roasted tomatoes, but Japanese tastes lean toward rich seaweed or fish broth.
The Verdict: Eat it. This is a triple threat: water, electrolytes, and protein from the broth, quick-digesting carbohydrates from the rice cakes, and the warming effect of a bowl of soup. 鈥淚鈥檝e spent time in Japan and China,鈥� Dorfman says. 鈥淢ochi is the coolest stuff ever.鈥� (For more on the athletic benefits of broth, check out this story.)
Buy It: You can buy mochi in refrigerated section of your local Whole Foods store (expect to pay around $10 for a pack). If you want to make the full soup, try an .

Pollo Sudado (Chicken Stew): Colombia

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: A hot soup with tender chunks of chicken, onions, and potatoes, pollo sudado is supposed to be great for the ultrarunner because it combines hydration with carbohydrates and protein.
The Verdict: It depends. Ultrarunners who aren鈥檛 sensitive to onions and garlic will probably like this mild soup. But for a faster race like a road marathon it may be too heavy: try it instead as a post-run meal.
Buy It: This is one you鈥檒l have to make yourself. But 听are generally easy to follow and make plenty of servings.听

Roquefort Cheese: France

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Blue cheese is a calorie-dense food (100 calories per ounce), that’s popular in France.
The Verdict: Don鈥檛 eat it. Saturated fats can cause digestive issues, making this a poor choice for endurance athletes. While dairy products’ balance of protein and carbohydrates makes for a good recovery option, too much dairy during or before a workout can lead to nausea and cramping.
Buy It: Any grocery store should have a selection.

Umeboshi (Pickled Plums): Japan

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Tart, low-calorie, and refreshing, these serve a function similar to pickle juice at American races, which is thought to 听because its acidity allegedly improves muscle signaling.
The Verdict: Eat it. 鈥淭he sodium is off the charts,鈥� Dorfman says, which can be an advantage if you need a quick electrolyte boost鈥攖hink of it like a natural salt tablet. The acidity may very well help reduce cramping.听
Buy It: Get a jar at your local Asian grocery or Whole Foods for around $15.

Red Wine: France

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Antioxidants like resveratrol are thought to have health benefits, such as reducing inflammation and limiting the spread of cancer cells. The alcohol alone can improve circulation and reduce pain. Of course, French race organizers don’t claim to serve red wine for its health benefits鈥攊t鈥檚 all about being gourmet and classy.听
The verdict: Don鈥檛 drink it. Those health benefits are long-term only. During exercise, the alcohol in wine dehydrates you and hinders performance. Unless you鈥檙e running a beer mile, don鈥檛 drink and exercise.
Buy It: We鈥檙e not exactly sommaliers. But if you get a chance to try the 2009 Descendientes de Jose Palacios “Petalos del Bierzo” Bierzo鈥斺�攜ou should take it.听

Sweetened Green Tea with Spearmint:听Morocco

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: It鈥檚 hydrating and provides simple carbohydrates, and mint can help alleviate nausea, according to a published in the journal of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan.
The Verdict: Drink it. In addition to the physical benefits listed above, it provides mental relief. 鈥淭he only thing I feel might make the difference is that mint can be very soothing,鈥� Dorfman says. 鈥淎s you do these endurance races I think your senses鈥攖he smells, everything on a personal level鈥攁re more sensitive.鈥�
Buy It: Your local grocery store has green tea for $3.

Anko (Sweet Red Bean Paste) Sandwiches: Japan

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Sweet red bean paste sandwiched between two pancakes is thought to provide a carbo-feast to help power runners uphill.听
The Verdict: Eat it. Dorfman describes this as a 鈥渢wo-birds-with-one-stone鈥� item that combines immediate energy from the simple sugars with complex carbohydrates that will help you stay strong an hour later. One sandwich has 172 calories and 31 grams of carbs.
Buy It: Mitsuwa marketplace for under $5.

Aguapanela (Sugarcane Drink): Colombia

Race:
Why It鈥檚 There: Simple carbs. Sweet beverages are a staple at running events around the world. Aguapanela is a local favorite, and, unlike Coke, it’s carbonation-free.
The Verdict: Drink it. Elite Kenyan runners drink regular table water dissolved in tea during their intense training for quick, easy-on-the-stomach energy. In fact, that’s how they get the majority of their calories when they’re running hard.听鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any magical properties with the sugarcane drink per se,鈥� Dorfman says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of staying hydrated and just watching that.鈥�
Buy It: You can for $18.50.

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