Along with his brother, sister and parents, CBC-TV's Power & Politics host Evan Solomon, now 42, always so enjoyed swimming, water skiing, jogging, playing tennis and hockey that their home was affectionately called Camp Solomon. Despite completing the Ottawa Marathon in May, and having even fitter friends, the author and Gemini Award-winning broadcaster tells The Globe and Mail that fitness nutrition is news to him.
My goal:
"To enjoy my fitness, and I have some marathon time goals."
My workout:
"When I moved to Ottawa to do Power & Politics, I finally got my weekends free and I was keen to run a marathon. What I did was run five times a week for the last nine months up until the marathon. I've cut back and I get up at 6:15 a.m. to run with the guys for 10K, and do 25 push-ups, 25 sit-ups; we do it three times a week.
"I have a trainer at the Y in Ottawa, and another guy at CBC said to check out CrossFit and I was doing that two times a week with him. I'm marathon fit, but the first time I went, within 20 minutes I was humiliated. I was so humbled and I had to say to the guy, 'You gotta give me an incentive to come back!' He said you will learn to love this pain. I've had three weeks away [on summer holiday] but I'll get back to doing three runs and two CrossFit workouts a week."
My lifestyle:
"I have a full breakfast: Fresh juice with banana, fruits and yogurt, cold cereal, and a cup of coffee - we never miss that; then get the kids off by 8:30. I'm at work by 10 o'clock. Lunch is a sandwich or salad. My wife's a vegetarian, so a late dinner after work is lentils or pasta. Try eating pasta late at night! I'm wolfing it down, and when you've got two kids, I'm 'the dad vacuum cleaner.' I eat all the leftovers."
My motivation:
"Exercising makes me so happy and I'm so pumped on endorphins and it's completely tied into my high level of happiness."
My anthem:
"Doing CrossFit, all I hear is a white noise of pain. I wish there were music! If I'm doing solo runs, there's a portion of the run when I listen to Beautiful Day by U2 - I totally love that song - and Reconstruction Site by The Weakerthans."
My challenge:
"I get off my live show at 7 p.m. and by the time I get home, get the kids into bed at 8:30, I haven't eaten. I'm really hungry, my adrenaline's pumped, but I don't want to be eating at 9 p.m. Eating late is killing my fitness."
The critique:
According to Trionne Moore, lead nutritionist for the Canadian Sport Centre, Ontario, and the Sports Medicine Specialists in Toronto, Mr. Solomon needs to tune in to his fitness nutrition:
Drink up
Based on her experience working with national and provincial athletes, Ms. Moore believes Mr. Solomon needs to learn about daily maintenance hydration.
"If he's chronically dehydrated, he will not get caught up when he's training," Ms. Moore says. "He needs to start off hydrated and hydrate on top of that during exercise because even one- to two-per-cent loss in body-weight dehydration will decrease his performance between 15 and 30 per cent."
To right this, Ms. Moore recommends that Mr. Solomon follow basic fitness hydration: Drink 500 ml of water within the hour, and 500 ml to one litre of fluids per hour of activity, and 500 ml again after exercising. This nutrition strategy will reduce the negative effects of dehydration on his body, including fatigue, and enhance his muscles' ability to absorb nutrients, Ms. Moore says.
Snack between meals
Ms. Moore observes that Mr. Solomon eats a diet similar to that consumed by sedentary individuals, but follows an endurance-training program. So, he needs to eat every two to four hours by adding a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. "Eating every two to four hours allows Evan to better utilize a steady supply of total daily nutrients necessary to repair his body tissues and replenish energy stores" compared with his semi-starvation strategy.
She explains: "After he works out, his body is in a catabolic state. That's when the body is primed to get fast and strong by repairing immediately; it's what we call the metabolic window of opportunity. If he eats well after [his workout]within 30 minutes, as he does at breakfast, his body goes immediately into anabolic state. That means his body takes that fuel and goes to work repairing and "supercompensating." So if he skips afternoon meals, his body continues to break down, but if Evan incorporates meal timing now, he can maximize his recovery, get stronger, feel better and improve energy in a week."
Eat good fats
Last, Ms. Moore says Mr. Solomon needs snacks optimal for exercise, including good fats. Not only will good fats ensure that the metabolic machinery of his body works best, but they also reduce inflammation, assist cell membranes and hormone production, as well as help to absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, so fats are supportive of many athletes.
She suggests Mr. Solomon pack his snacks when he makes his children's lunches. "On-the-go snacks include raw almonds and Brazil nuts with flax, hemp and pumpkin seeds, high in protein, zinc, Omega 3s and 6. He can also try Greek yogurt with muesli and berries, or avocado, which he can add to his sandwich instead of mayo. Crunchy snacks are raw veggies and baby carrots dipped in hummus, or a rice cake with almond butter. These snacks are easy to eat at his desk as he continues to work.
"Better nutrition will close the gap between exercise and recovery and tweaking it will help him cross the finish line sooner."