Ok Nate, let's talk nutrition!
As we both know, top athletes live and die by nutrition. They understand that what they eat (and when) is just as important as how they train. If you think about what physical training is it's just breaking down your body so that it builds itself back up even stronger. To do that it needs fuel and building blocks, which is exactly what every healing patient needs!
When I first looked at rebuilding my body, I knew my challenge was going to be how to get all of the nutrients I need when I'm restricted to liquid only (99% of my diet is liquid) so I started reading.
Understand that a calorie isn't just a calorie and there is more to nutrition then getting x amount of calories per day and trying to meet or exceed RDA's (recommended daily allowances). When your body is going through more then the average persons is on a daily basis it needs more of certain minerals and nutrients so just throw RDA's out the window in your case.
VHC is easy to be sure and popular on these forums however in my opinion is kind of spendy. It's 560 calories and mostly from carbohydrates and fat and low on protein. Protein provides the building blocks for your body (aminos) and is essential for your body when in the hypermetabolic state of healing. In my opinion, and I'm not a Dr or a nutritionist (just a guy that's built a hell of a physique on liquids), protiens and long chain triglycerides should be a solid staple in any recovery diet.
I use regular Ensure (250 calories) as the base of my meals. It's cheap at Costco (29.99 case of 30) and it mixes with anything as it's not really thick has the vitamins and minerals etc...it's low on fat (6g) high on carbs (40g) and OK on protein (9g). I "eat" six times a day, I have three meals a day that are the "big" meals where I get most of my calories and protein and three meals that are are light and quick.
The big meals consist of an Ensure, 1tblsp Olive Oil ( $19 Costco for 6 liters, 120 calories, 14g fat), 1 scoop Cytosport Whey Protein Powder ($30 Costco for a 6lb bag. 27g protien, 2g fat, 3g carbs, 140 calories per scoop) and a cup of whole milk (146 calories, 8g fat, 13g carbs, 8g protein). If we add all of that up, it's 656 calories, 30g fat, 56g carbs, 44g protein per "big" meal.
Small meals consist of 1 Cup whole milk, 2tbsp peanut butter (190 calories, 16g fat, 7g carb, 8g protein) 6oz Yoplait Yogurt ($9.53/18 6oz cups at Costco, 170 calories, 33g carbs, 1.5g fat, 5g protein). That adds up to 506 calories, 25.5g fat, 53g carbs, 21g protein.
Total Calories 3486, 166.5g fat, 327g carbs, 195g protein. Roughly 24% fat, 47% carb and 28% protein. Now keep in mind this is a "building/gaining" nutrition plan and not a "maintaining" plan which is why some numbers are so high however the ratios are still in the "Golden Ratio"(40-50% carbs, 20-30% fat, 20-30% protein). Normally for maintaining I'd be consuming 2500 calories and a target of .55-.91g protein/lb of body weight.
Now I've been playing with this diet for a while now and making adjustments etc, but this is basically what I've used to gain good weight. Weight gain and muscle is why the calories are 1000 over what I should be intaking to maintain my weight and the protein intake/lb of body weight is high along with the fat intake ratio. It's a game I play with my body, when I hit my target weight I'll lower my calories and adjust my ratios to have a 50% carb, 25% fat 25% protein that's the ratio I believe promotes optimum hormone production in my body.
Higher fat percentage helps testosterone levels and more protein helps rebuild the muscles I'm tearing down. The more you learn about this stuff the more you realize how tight the balancing act is between optimum hormone levels and the ratios of food in your diet and because everyone is different there isn't a "standard". It's not just about what you eat either, but when. Always eat first thing in the morning and then get the majority of your protein post workout, eating 5-6x per day you need to really be sucking down a shake every 2-3 hours too. If I'm thinking in patient terms facing rads, I'd say get the most protein after radiation.
Supplements play a huge part as well, especially since you are needing more of everything to build up your body. I would say the important vitamins and minerals for you would be Zinc (50mg as not to get toxic levels), Magnesium, B6 (this combo bodybuilders use to promote testosterone levels and muscle gain. Zinc is very important in healing as well), B12, Niacin, CoQ10, B5, C (2000mg+), A (as beta kerotine) will all support immune and energy. I also use Ginseng, Tumeric and Flaxseed Oil and I blend all of these into my first shake of the day(it's the only time I use a blender actually as everything else mixes very nicely in a whisk ball shaker bottle from Walgreens $8 and there are no chunks if you don't use fruit yogurt). I use other supplements as well but those I don't think would be helpful to the "healing" patient.
With anything Nate, ask your Dr and or a nutritionist before implementing anything. Sorry for the novel, I have more thoughts on this subject but the book is getting rather long at this point however I hope it was helpful.
Eric
