Elite Physique The New Science of Building a Better Body

270 Elite Physique
Water and Electrolytes
Time to Veg Your Bets?
Of all the debates about which foods you should or shouldn’t eat, everyone seems
to agree on one thing: vegetables. All of us should be eating more plant-based foods
in general, and more vegetables specifically.
And for good reason: Vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. One
cup of broccoli and one cup of white rice might feel like the same amount of food
when you’re eating them. But the rice has 200 calories while the broccoli has just
30, along with 2.5 grams of fiber and 135 percent of the daily recommended value
of vitamin C. That cup of rice, meanwhile, has just 0.5 gram of fiber and negligible
amounts of vitamins or minerals.
To be clear, I’m not saying rice is always a poor nutrition choice. Its lack of fiber
makes it a good source of preworkout fuel if you need it, or to replenish your glycogen
afterwards. But when your goal is fat loss, cruciferous vegetables are pretty much
free food. A large bowl of steamed veggies with a bit of olive oil is an excellent way
to fill your stomach with relatively few calories.
That said, not everyone agrees on the value of a plant-heavy diet. Paul Saladino,
author of The Carnivore Code, has gone as far as saying that plants are generally
toxic. He’s not entirely wrong. If you were stranded in a forest and had to forage for
every meal, there’s a much greater chance you’d get sick, and perhaps even die,
from eating a living plant than a dead animal (as long as the animal hasn’t been
dead too long).
Plants produce a long list of toxins—phytoalexins, oxalates, and lectins, to name
just a few—to protect themselves from hungry animals. The only animals that live
long enough to reproduce are the ones that avoid poisonous plants. They in turn
teach their offspring to avoid them.
To be sure, the dose makes the poison, as the adage goes. Some plants aren’t
safe in any amount, while others are harmless no matter how much you eat. Fruits,
for example, evolved to be eaten.
The organic plants in your grocery store, the potatoes and vegetables and herbs,
are generally low in natural defense chemicals, which is why we eat them. The biggest
risk comes from eating something that upsets your GI tract. Stick to the veggies
that feel best in your gut, and avoid the ones that give you indigestion or make you
feel bloated, no matter what you read about their health benefits.
Approximately 60 percent of the human body is water, maybe a little higher
than that depending on your source. If we stick to the lower end, that means
a 200-pound (91 kg) person has about 120 pounds (54 kg) of water. This is a
very large pool for the body to pull from during exercise, during extreme heat,
or when you’re not drinking enough water. Indeed, it’s common for an athlete
to lose 6 or 8 pounds (2.7-3.6) of water when exercising in high heat. Research
indicates that losing as little as 2 percent of your body weight, or 4 pounds (1.8
kg) for a 200-pound person, causes dehydration that significantly impairs your
performance (Magee, Gallagher, and McCormack 2017). That lack of water can
also stress your kidneys (Lippi et al. 2008).
As a general rule, aim to consume at least 0.5 ounce (15 ml) of water per
pound of body weight per day (i.e., 100 ounces [3 liters] for a 200-pound person).
The majority of that water should be consumed during the fasting phase. Your
urine should always be clear. If it’s not, you need more water. You can consume
unsweetened tea or black coffee as part of any nutrition plan.