How Dan Churchill Fuels For Peak Performance – The Edge
High-protein is super in right now. Is that a good thing?
It’s more important that people understand protein than just blindly consume it. When you’re consuming things you should always know the why. What does protein actually do? For one, it helps build strong muscles. But without enough iron and magnesium, your muscles won’t have enough energy to contract. So, it’s not all that matters.
On top of that, what’s a healthy range for you? That will depend on what you’re training for, how hard you’re training, and individual factors like weight. For most people, focusing on hitting 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is a good starting point, but you might want to shoot above or below that depending on your output.
Your focus is mostly on real, whole foods. How do you feel about protein powder?
Protein powder is an easy way to meet your needs, but it’s important to seek out a brand that tests everything. I’m doing BPN right now. I just started doing their whey and vegan protein powder—I really only like doing whey once a day. I do their creatine as well. I like that their products are third-party tested.
Some experts say not to put bananas in your smoothies because they have an enzyme that counteracts the polyphenols in berries. Are they overthinking it?
This is a perfect example of creating complexity where it’s not needed. Food is meant to be simple. When we really break it down, is science actually telling us not to eat fruit because it counteracts something else? No.
A banana is a wholesome fruit full of potassium and complex carbohydrates that are so good for you. Shove that in the blender with a bunch of stuff: flax seeds, chia seeds, blueberries, protein, some nut milk—after a workout, nothing hits better.
What do you think of intermittent fasting?
The first Monday through Friday of the month I’ll do an eight-hour eating window for four days. I’ve done this enough to know that it resets my system, and makes me feel good. I still manage to get a decent amount of my target (food) within that timeframe.
The key is you have to be intentional about it. If you’re going to fast, there needs to be purpose and an emphasis on getting enough quality fuel during your eating window.
Do you wear a CGM to track blood glucose?
CGMs show us that we don’t all respond to food the same—that can be valuable information for your health and especially for performance.
From wearing a CGM, I found out the way I respond to apples is actually really poor in comparison to bananas. Which is interesting because bananas typically have a higher glycemic index, but that’s just my body’s response to apples. I have to be cautious with my apple game (laughs).
Another example: I had a client, a young guy who came to me because he had become prediabetic. We ended out adjusting the way he was eating carbs based on his CGM—and of course, focused on getting more protein and fats—and he’s responded so well. But I couldn’t give that same plan to someone else because it’s all very individualized and based on him. CGMs and other wearables can be really important for dialing in some of those individual factors.
