You'd think I'd know better than to go ahead and ride a 100-mile bike ride that's mostly up-hill in the Blue Ridge Mountains with only about 60 days of serious riding under my belt. I had an out. I could have deferred my entry to next year. But for some reason I was determined to see if I could do it. Having no real care for my overall time... I had only 2 goals. 1. Finish. 2. Climb Snake Mountain without stopping. Well, happy to report I accomplished both goals. I finished the 100-mile suffer fest in one piece and managed to climb the brutally steep Snake Mountain. When I was climbing Snake, I'd say about 75% of those around me were walking their bikes up. I thought about it a couple times... but I know I'd beat myself up constantly if I did. There were times on this long climb that I was only going under 2mph. I was standing on the pedals, pulling on the handle bars (I'm surprised they didn't bend) with all I had, forcing the crank arms to turn over. I was just about to pop when I noticed the top of the climb. There were two Paramedic vehicles at the top of the climb just to be safe. Once I saw those I knew I could make it. Once over the top... there was an epic descent down where we winded down the mountain for several miles giving us the break we needed after that horrible climb. At this point (mile 70 or so) the next goal was to make it to an area called George's Gap before the 2:30pm cut-off. We pushed hard and made the cut-off by an hour. Now there was getting up over the next hardest climb of the ride... George's Gap. Slowly, Jon and I climbed this beast that seemed to last about 3 or 4 miles. I don't know... we were pretty brain dead by this point. Once over the mountain I was hoping for a pretty easy 13 miles back the finish. All I wanted at this point was to see my family, get off my bike... and EAT! 
While revising my 2000 book "The Failure of the American Diet" for a Summer 2009 e-book re-release, I stumbled upon lots of notes and manuscripts. Among them... the following really stood out. So much of us pay to little attention on hormonal balance in the body. Especially those controlled by diet. Here's a quick rundown of the two key players in hormonal balance and how they play a major role in a beautiful, balanced physique!
Balanced, Productive Nutrition regulates the two primary hormones necessary for fat loss and muscle gain. Insulin and Glucagon. Balance must be achieved between these two hormones to maximize the physique. Insulin & Glucagon are controlled by what, when and how we eat.
Insulin: Insulin is an anabolic hormone that is produced within the pancreas and released in response to an increase in blood glucose (sugar). Insulin causes cells to absorb glucose and amino acids, for the purpose of building muscle. Unfortunately, insulin also causes fat cells to absorb glucose and fatty acids, stimulating fat storage. Insulin is a storage hormone. Whether your store sugar as glycogen in the muscle, or glucose in the fat cell (as body fat) depends on the types and amounts of the carbohydrates consumed, as well as their Glycemic Index.
Glucagon: The pancreas also produces Glucagon, like insulin. Glucagon helps to elevate and regulate blood sugar levels in the blood stream when the body needs extra energy. Glucagon is a transport hormone, and, important for you to understand, promotes the release of adipose tissue (body fat) from the fat cells and transports it into the muscle cell to be burned as heat (energy). Glucagon is secreted in the presence of a protein rich meal. So, it is logical to assume that protein is a vital nutrient in the disposal of body fat. And, since fat is burned within the muscle cell, the addition of muscle on our body is critical for fat loss to occur. Moreover, it takes amino acids (from protein) to build that muscle.
You must eat in a productive manner as well as engage in frequent weight training to build the body’s natural fat burning furnace (muscle). Every ounce of muscle you build will then require more calories to keep it active. If calories are required to support muscle, protein is required to build it, and carbohydrates are required to provide us with the necessary energy to run the body, then all these facts support the logical notion of frequent eating of balanced meals. Make sense? Kind of makes the whole dieting mentality seem a little flawed doesn't it?
There are a number of other hormones that help to regulate metabolism. For example, human growth hormone, cotisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and thyroxine and others, but the balance desired between insulin and glucagon is directly controlled by diet alone. A balance we have control over depending on how we choose to eat, as well as how often we eat.
So eat every 4 hours, lifts weights... and get that cardio in. Your hormones will thank you by building some muscle and taking out the trash... body fat!
Till next time... train like an athlete!
So I've been messing around with this little protein/oatmeal pancake thing. They're great because you can cook one up and eat it like a traditional pancake... or you can throw it in a zip-lock bag and carry it with you. I love one right after a workout. 
Last time we spoke about eating like a bodybuilder. Before I continue let's make a few more logical points about this. Inevitably there will be some women out there who just can't get past the frequent eating part. They've been trained that food is the enemy, that calories are pure evil, and getting lean is simply about "calories in, calories out". First, know that all of this thinking is pure garbage. Women have been dieting in this country since the early 70's and we're more obese as a country today then ever in our history. In fact, we're the most obese civilized country on Earth. A message to the terrorist... Sit back... relax... no need to kill us... we'll likely just eat ourselves to death or all die of Heart Attack soon enough. Seriously, the diet roller coaster filled with boxed up diet meals, Slim Fast bars, yogurt cups, and fast food salads will NEVER be the path to being lean. The road to physique bliss is long and narrow... and few will find it. My clients, and those others who have found the path to enlightenment, follow the principle I stated in the title; Eat Like a Bodybuilder. Then, they "Train Like an Athlete."
... want to have a lean, sexy, shapely, FEMININE, body? Eat like a bodybuilder! Yep. I know you're already thinking of closing down your browser and running to the freezer for a Lean Cuisine and a yogurt... but STOP! I'm serious. First understand. My goal is not to make you look like a man. That's just silly. In my nearly 16 years training clients... nearly 90% have been women. I assure you I want all my female clients to look like women. Not chiseled veiny over muscled she-beasts! What I'm saying is to be lean, tone, and sexy you must rid yourself of unwanted bodyfat and reveal the shapely, sexy muscle you should be building in the gym. To do this, we need to think logically about our food. First, I tell my female clients to put away the "diet" food. The foods that are marketed as a low calorie, low fat "diet" food. Those companies who make this stuff want you to believe that their foods are a substitute for real food. That's just crazy. There is no better muscle building, fat burning property on earth that rivals good old fashioned FOOD! Okay, back to that logical thing again. Let's put your goals in their most simple form. You want to burn body fat and reveal lean sexy attractive muscle in order to have a beautiful feminine body. You want to be able to walk into any clothing store and try on anything on any rack and be thrilled with the outcome. You want bikini shopping this year to NOT be a nightmare scenario. You want to walk down the beach with total confidence. You never want to try on another outfit and ask your husband/boyfriend; "Does this make me look fat?" You want to pull out, and dust off the slinky black strappy cocktail dress... let it literally fall onto your body without anything protruding where it shouldn't. I'm I right? See I get it. (See what I've learned working with all these women over the years?)
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