Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category
By Derek Howes on Jan 25th, 2010 in Articles, Dieting, Health, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
I think it’s safe to say everyone at some point has complained about trying to lose weight, how they can’t lose weight, or that they just don’t know how to lose it. We’ve all heard about the latest and greatest diets popping up every other month that claim to do what most people have trouble doing…losing that unwanted weight. Well the thing with all these “latest and greatest” diets is that (and I’m not saying they are all bad) 99% of the time it’s a waste of money and/or extremely unhealthy. Losing weight is only as hard as you make it. Really, if you want to lose weight, it’s not even as close to as hard as most people think it is. Use the K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) way of thinking when it comes to weight loss. I will try and make you understand how simple it is to lose weight. If you do not somewhat understand how to lose weight after reading this article, I will do my best to create a time machine and refund your time.
There are two parts to losing weight (diet and exercise). The first and most important part of losing weight is diet. You can live in the gym, but if you’re diet is not in check you aren’t going to make much progress. This is by far the hardest part of losing weight, and by hard, I mean easy. The concept is simple: Continue reading…
By Derek Howes on Jan 24th, 2010 in Articles, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
While protein is one of the most important parts of our diets, you may be confused as to all the different types of protein/products out there. There are advantages and disadvantages of every kind. I will try my best to keep everything as simplified as possible. Lets start with:
Whey Protein (Powder)
- What it is: A natural byproduct of the cheese-making process (from milk). Around 20% of the protein that is in milk is whey protein.
- The benefits: Fast absorption, low in fat/possibly fat free, increases protein synthesis, rich in branched-chain amino acids, lactose, minerals, and vitamins.
- The disadvantages: It can get expensive. The cheaper alternatives are usually filled with unhealthy ingredients and loaded with tons of sugar.
- My recommendation: Due to its fast absorption rate, this is the type of protein you want to have pre, during, or post-workout.
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By Derek Howes on Jan 23rd, 2010 in Articles, Health, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
1. Avocados - besides having a variety of benefits for your health (including helping people with problems in the bedroom). Avocados are great source of healthy fats and fiber.
2. Sweet Potatoes – one of the best vegetables you can eat. Loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. A great source of carbohydrates.
3. Blueberries – a low-calorie source of fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients. They are also known to help short-term memory and reduce cell damage that comes with aging.
4. Lean Ground Turkey – usually lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol while being higher in protein than beef. Tastes like a burger while having more health benefits.
5. Olive Oil – a wide variety of health benefits and a great source of healthy fat.
By Derek Howes on Nov 5th, 2009 in Articles, Nutrition | Permalink | Leave a comment
I’m sure you’ve all read the article I put up yesterday regarding why and when to eat before you exercise. Now we’ll get to post-workout eating. We will call this “recovery nutrition”. This is the most important meal of the day by far. It may seem confusing to most, but it is really very simple once you understand how the body works. The number one thing you need to understand is that after working out, you want your muscles to recover. Recovering requires you to replenish muscle glycogen. To keep it simple, muscle glycogen is basically carbohydrates that have been stored in the body to use for fuel.
After working out your muscles become more receptive to producing new glycogen. This usually lasts a few hours. During this time muscle cells will “eat” up glucose as if it were it’s last meal because blood flow to the muscles is much greater. Another thing that happens at this time is muscle cells become more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Insulin promotes glycogen synthesis.
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By Derek Howes on Nov 4th, 2009 in Articles, Nutrition | Permalink | 3 comments
One thing I find a lot of people get confused about, is when to eat. Specifically when to eat before and after the gym. The science behind it is pretty simple so I will do my best to help you understand both when you should eat and why.
We’ll go ahead and start with when you should eat before the gym. Many people wonder “is it a good idea to eat before the gym?“. Absolutely. As to what you should eat, how much, and how soon, that all depends a lot on what you are trying to do. In a mass building phase you will want to eat more before the gym. My recommendation is 40-50 grams (160-200 calories) of carbohydrates and 20-30 grams (80-120 calories) of protein 90-120 minutes before the gym. In a cutting phase I usually opt for about half of that, 25 grams (100 calories) of carbohydrates and 15 grams (60 calories) of protein. Obviously depending on your individual needs or what your diet calls for, you may want to intake more or less. This is just the base I go by and what I usually follow (what has worked well for me). Working out for longer than ~90 minutes, doing lots of cardio, and high intensity training are examples in which you may want to add more calories to your pre-workout meal.
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