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Eating to Sustain an Active Lifestyle
Gallatin County is a mecca for people who crave an outdoor-active lifestyle. With its easy access to backcountry trails, frontcountry urban paths, and lush waterways, Bozeman is widely recognized as one of the best cities in America to live in for people who hike, climb, ski, run, walk, wander, and love wildlife.
Here’s a quick history lesson: For time immemorial the Gallatin Valley was along the seasonal migration and hunting path for several Indigenous tribes. It was “discovered” by the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery in the early 1800s. And then Jim Bridger and John Bozeman created shortcut trails through the nearby mountain ranges, leading people west to search for gold.
The Gallatin National Forest was designated in 1899 and federal forest rangers began cutting paths to access the remote backcountry, giving “regular people” easier access to nature. And as leisure time in America increased in the 1920s and ’30s, the Civilian Conservation Corps began building permanent graded trail networks through the Gallatin and Bridger ranges.
The first ski lift in the Gallatins was built in 1935. Mountain biking arrived in the 1980s in Sourdough and Leverich canyons. Then came the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. Main Street to the Mountains, a trail network connecting downtown to the Bridgers, was developed in the ’90s. And the Gallagator Trail created easy hikes like Burke Park (Peets Hill), plus the more recent development of Story Mill Community Park.
That’s a long-winded way to say that our community thrives on outdoor adventure. We exercise outdoors. We live outdoors. We build community outdoors. And in order to fuel these experiences, we need to eat right and stay strong.
So it’s likely no surprise that Bozeman Health’s Lifestyle Medicine team frequently sees patients looking for ways to maintain peak performance during all four seasons of the year. Dr. Joseph Sofianek and his team of six board-certified practitioners make it a priority to help their patients build and maintain the active lives they want.
“We’re talking about real people—not professional athletes. And we’re actually talking about the community and Bozeman,” says Sofianek. “One of the leading questions that we get these days is, ‘How much protein do I need to build muscle and stay strong?’”
“The truth is, there’s virtually no protein deficiency in our country,” says Sofianek. “There is a fad of high-protein diets being promoted by influencers and on social media. And while protein is important, that doesn’t mean we should be protein loading and disregarding carbs and fiber and fat altogether.”
Sofianek suggests that an appropriate amount of protein for someone who is averagely active would be about 0.8 grams per kilogram of lean body weight. A daily exerciser might bump that up to 1.2 grams per kilogram of lean body weight. And then for those who are really out there and getting after it, maybe 1.8–2 grams per kilogram of lean body weight might be appropriate—but that’s for people who are really looking to build muscle and are doing a lot of tissue damage and need a lot of tissue repair.
“Just like all the other nutrients, it’s important to distribute protein throughout the day, in balance with complex carbs and good healthy fats,” says Sofianek. “And just as important as being mindful of the macros of our carbs, fat, and protein, it’s important to think about the quality of the food we eat.”
Sofianek concedes that for someone who is exercising intensely—like a professional athlete, for example—having plain sugar from a sports drink is probably OK because they’re going to deplete their sugar stores over time.
But for the regular everyday exerciser, Sofianek advises that we should be striving for sustained energy release and endurance. “It’s better to get more complex carbs from plant sources like oats, beans, and potatoes, and to get fiber from fruits like apples, pears, and berries.”
While Sofianek agrees that animal protein is an efficient way to get protein, he also warns that it comes with some potentially inflammatory things like omega-6 fatty acids. “In the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, we promote a plant-forward approach to eating in part because it tends to have anti-inflammatory effects.”
Sofianek’s parting words paraphrase Michael Pollan from his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto: “Eat real food. Mostly plants. And not too much.”
RELATED RECIPE
Post-Workout Tofu Scramble Breakfast Wrap
For more information about Bozeman Health’s Lifestyle Medicine program, visit bozemanhealth.org/services/lifestyle-medicine.
