Yesterday in the gym, I saw a girl drinking a sugar-free Red Bull. All in the name of "energy", I bet.
But is Red Bull really an energy drink? What about coffee? Tea? Gatorade? Milk? Protein powders?
Technically, some of those are and some aren't. By definition, an 'energy' drink really should contain energy - and by that I mean, calories. So tea, coffee, sugar-free Red Bull, and diet soda are not energy drinks, by that definition.
But really, when people talk about energy levels, they are really referring to their level of mental alertness or mental arousal. (And find out how exercise can increase your alertness below...)
And when people generally think about energy drinks, they are referring to products that contain caffeine.
The problem with many energy drinks is that they contain too much sugar or too much caffeine. So while the short-term effects are huge increases in energy (i.e. feeling wired or even jittery), the longer term effects can be a crash and burn in your energy.
Everybody's suffered the "energy crash" after having too much caffeine or sugar. One minute you are bouncing around getting things done, and the next, you just want to slump into a chair and zonk out.
That's why my vote for the best energy drink goes to Green Tea. With smaller amounts of caffeine than coffee, and no sugar, Green Tea tends to give you a more sustained and less dramatic increase in mental alertness (also known as energy for our purposes).
Plus, the list of health benefits of Green Tea is getting longer every day. I have at least 3 cups of Green Tea each day. It's a great replacement for coffee, soda, and diet sodas. After all, you never know what the 'scientific study of the day' is going to say about sodas and coffee, but you always know that the Green Tea research is going to be positive.
(You can also choose decaf Green Tea, but depending on the decaffenation process, you could lose some of the health benefits).
Two other 'energy-supporting' drinks are protein shakes and good old water. Neither of these will boost your energy levels dramatically, but more importantly, they won't sap your energy levels either.
Plus, everyone should know by now the importance of getting enough protein and enough water each day.
So if you are slumping mid-morning or late in the afternoon, here's what I would use as my energy-boosting, increased productivity snack.
1 cup of Green Tea (organic if possible)
2 cups of ice-cold water (I have to have it cold!)
1 scoop of protein powder in 1.5 cups of water
1oz of almonds
That will get you through your meeting, your commute to the gym, or through the last phases of whatever project you are working on. I guarantee it, it works for me, or at least it does according to the readers...
And exercise can also give you a boost. The next time you need an instant 'pick me up', try going through a 5-minute bodyweight circuit one time instead of ordering up a coffee. I guarantee you'll be wide-eyed and ready to rock thanks to these bodyweight exercises. And you'll have a sustained energy boost without the crash and burn.
Use a healthy lifestyle to increase your energy.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
I recently spoke with 2 weight loss success stories. Both of these guys have made amazing progress, but do you know what is holding them back from losing that last 10 pounds and building their best body ever?
Nutrition.
It might even be the same problem that you have. Whether it's not enough time to prepare all your meals each day, or whether its just something you know you need to improve, nutrition can be the biggest obstacle to your fat loss goals.
But all is not lost.
While some clients struggle with diet, there are some success stories. And here are their secrets.
One of my top success stories used to drink 2 liters (that's 8 cups) of soda per day. Plus, he lived in a frat house where they once had a month long hot dog eating contest. It was no wonder he gained a little body fat during college.
But after reading John Berardi's nutrition tips, something clicked. He realized the secret was to take a little time each night to prepare tomorrow's meals, and he'd be set (in addition to eliminating the soda).
So here's what he does:
1) He buys a lot of fresh produce from the grocery store. And takes the time to go at least twice per week to the grocery store to get the fresh produce.
You have to make the effort to go out and get good produce, and then while you are on a roll, cut up a week's worth of vegetables and store them in your fridge.
2) Then he grills, bakes, or BBQ's chicken, salmon, and other lean protein sources that he then adds the protein to the gourmet salads that he prepares from his fresh vegetables and spinach leaves.
That makes his meals very nutritionally dense, low in total calories, high in appetite suppressing fiber, and full of lean protein sources to support muscle growth, a fast metabolism and a controlled appetite.
3) He snacks on almonds. Raw almonds, not the ones that are roasted in hydrogenated oils and smothered in salt. Research shows that almonds help in weight loss, help to control cholesterol, and contain healthy fats, fiber and protein.
4) He starts his day with protein (a special omellette recipe from Berardi's cookbook) and oatmeal.
5) He replaced soda with Green Tea and water.
6) He follows Berardi's 90-10 rule. If you are nutritionally perfect 90% of the time, then you won't have to worry about the 10% of the time when you have some pizza, or other foods that otherwise would get in the way of your fat loss efforts.
So take some time at the beginning of this week to do a major grocery shopping trip and then spend 30 minutes preparing some fresh produce and fat loss meals for the rest of your week.
Helping you avoid nutritional roadblocks!
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
Q: Do I HAVE to eat 6 small meals per day? How about 4? I'm concerned about the six small meals thing. If I am eating my appropriate caloric intake and following both my dietary restrictions and exercise program, isn't that enough? I'm eating only 2 big meals per day right now.
Answer:
6 meals are better than 4, and for most people, I recommend 8. You will see better results if you eat more meals. Both science and experience support that.
In your case, since you were only eating 2 big meals per day, we will only jump to 6 for now. That will give you amazing results if you can break down your food intake into 6 small meals.
NOTE: Sometimes a "meal" is just a protein shake and some almonds, so don't get overwhelmed thinking you have to cook 6 times per day.
Q: How do I modify a man's nutrition plan for a woman? Do I just do use fewer calories?
Answer:
That is correct. We just do the calculations to get the correct calorie amount for any body weight, and then plan the meals from there. That is relatively accurate for someone that has close to average body fat levels.
I also recommend that every client uses http://www.fitday.com to track their food intake, so that I can review it and make sure that they are on track. It is easy to see someone's eating mistakes when we look at their daily food intake.
Q: What Protein bar is the healthiest?
Answer:
The one with the least sugar and least amount of "fake carbohydrates". But I'm not a huge fan of protein bars. I'd rather that you have a protein shake + an apple or another fibrous fruit. Or even 1/2 ounce almonds. And ideally, the more real food sources of lean protein that you can eat, the better.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
Q: How bad are French Fries?
Answer:
I think the best description for French Fries is 'edible cancer sticks'. However, unlike the original cancer sticks (cigarettes), French Fries make you gain weight.
According to my friend Jon Herring at ETR.com, we should also stay away from potato chips, baked cereals, taco shells, crackers, cookies, etc. Each of these contains simple carbohydrates and deadly trans-fats.
Q: When you recommend eating more vegetables, what do you mean, can I have an example? Anything specifically?
Answer:
Vegetables help fill you up and reduce your appetite. They also help control your blood sugar and insulin levels. These are essential factors in helping you lose body fat and having more weight loss.
At each meal, eat 1 cup of one of these vegetables. Try to eat a variety of vegetables every day.
broccoli
cauliflower
spinach
field greens
green beans
asparagus
peas
brussel sprouts
etc.
Q: What goes into the garden salad?
Answer:
Field greens, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, onions, perhaps some strawberries, and a small amount of cheese or nuts. Make sure the added cheese and nuts fits into your recommended daily calorie plan. You can also throw in a chicken breast or salmon fillet to get your protein source this way.
Remember that we are going for a salad or serving of fibrous vegetables prior to or with each meal.
Q: How much extra virgin olive oil do you use?
Answer:
1-2 teaspoons. Just drizzle on just enough to enhance the salad. Really, the whole key here is to retrain your taste buds to appreciate REAL food again (and say goodbye to the sugar, salt, and trans-fat of the Western Lifestyle).
Fresh produce is amazing when you can get quality produce (which really shouldn't be hard). I want everyone to aim to make small improvements in their vegetable intake on a daily or weekly basis, especially if you say "Eww" to the list above.
Q: What type of protein bar should I eat, thought they were bad?
Answer:
Anything that is low-sugar and tastes good. If nothing meets these standards, then consider homemade protein bars (search for the recipes on google), or try to find nitrate-free meat sticks/meat products. Alternatively, any high protein snack will do.
I use organic beef jerkey as a portable protein snack.
Q: Is a post-workout drink containing simple carbohydrates and protein the best for a post workout shake? Or should I just have protein?
Answer:
Dr. Chris Mohr recommends carbohydrate and protein after a workout. You can easily get this in chocolate milk, or from fruit and a protein shake.
I am on a trend to avoid high-glycemic liquid sugar sources with my clients, and so far, the results are turning out to be great.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit one of the links on this page or download the iPhone, Android or Windows 7 Apps.
If you've tried every weight-loss diet, then you're probably very, very frustrated with the promises that these programs make. And like most people, you wish for a simple program that told you how to lose fat in simple, easy-to-follow steps. We're going to give you some tips today on how to do just that, but first, here's a startling top-secret admission!
Nutrition is even more important than exercise when it comes to losing fat. And as hard as it is for me, a fat loss workout expert, to admit it, even my workout strategies might not help you lose fat if you aren't following a proper fat loss nutrition plan.
Eating properly has the greatest impact on fat loss, bar none. You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on your day off preparing as much food and as many meals as you can for the upcoming week.
But everyone knows that it is incredibly hard to make nutrition changes. So I want you to start making small, but consistent changes starting today. After all, you'll have a better chance of success if your goal is to eat more 2 more servings of vegetables today, rather than to eat perfect for the rest of the month.
To help you, I've broken down how to make some simple nutrition changes. For the first step, I recommend that you put aside an hour or two to plan your meals for next week. Take an extended trip to the grocery store with a set list of foods, including fruits and vegetables.
It's important to get a variety of foods in your diet (see how to get your 5-9 below). After your shopping, come home and do some washing, chopping, cutting, cooking, and freezing. Tupperware will come in handy.
How to Get Your 5 to 9 Every Day
You should get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. In a perfect world, you'd get far more than that.
According to the American Diabetes Association, fruits and vegetables provide nutrients that 'help lower risks of certain cancers, heart disease, and other health problems'. In fact, I believe that a high consumption of fruits and vegetables also helps clients lose fat.
Now, 5 servings might sound like a lot, especially when I insist that all 5 servings be whole food, and not from juices. But I want you to get the benefits of the fiber, not just the nutrients. Here's a sample plan to get 3 vegetables and 2 fruits per day (and this only represents your minimum intake).
Breakfast: 1 apple (1-2 servings depending on size)
At work mid-morning: 1 grapefruit (1-2 servings)
Lunch: A vegetable salad with actual vegetables, not just some bad lettuce and carrot shreds. You should get some spinach, tomatoes, and peppers cut up in the salad. Make this at home for convenience. And you know what, throwing in some orange or strawberry slices to a nice chicken breast, cashew, and spinach salad really adds some desired sweetness. (4 servings)
Mid-afternoon: Carrot sticks & pepper slices (2 servings)
Dinner: 1 cup of broccoli and/or asparagus (1-2 servings)
Dessert: Blueberries (1 serving)
There, now you've eaten up to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables. You'll have reduced your appetite and increased your energy. All you needed was a little prep work.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Ballantyne. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/371884
I was speaking with a client the other day that has made some healthy changes to his nutrition schedule. By making the simple move to whole, natural foods and relying less on foods from a bag or a box, and even cutting down his deli sandwich lunches, he has lost over 30 pounds in 6 months - while using a solid exercise program, of course.
And now that he has succeded, he's also had an "a-ha" moment. He's realized how simple eating properly can be. How he doesn't need to worry about low-carb this, or low-fat that. Practically none of his foods come with labels that tout either, nor do his foods have laundry lists of ingredients.
He also made the following observations:
1- It is hard to eat a lot of healthy food (lean protein and fiber-dense fruits and vegetables). Therefore, he eats fewer calories and that has helped him get lean.
2 - Even if is able to eat a lot of this healthy food for a couple of days, it is very difficult for him to gain fat (because the fiber and protein-based foods keep the calories low and the blood sugar under control).
I had to agree with him and I told him that he had pretty much found the 'Secrets to eating for fat loss'. But does he have to eat perfect at every meal? Rule #3 answers that question with some help from nutrition expert, John Berardi, Ph.D.
3 - Do you have to eat perfect every meal? No. Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D., says if you eat according to your whole, natural foods plan 90% of the time, you'll achieve great results in fat loss and muscle gain. That leaves you with some room for some unstructured eating (the exact number of cheat meals and snacks will depend on your weekly meal number).
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Ballantyne. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/370969
If you want to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve performance, then it makes sense to go to the experts that have achieved this with themselves and with thousands of clients. For nutrition, Dr. John Berardi is one of the experts worth listening to. Dr. Berardi is an experienced bodybuilder and University professor, and has provided us with his top 20 superfoods that we need to eat.
I ask John about nutrition every chance that I get because he knows a lot about what is arguably the most important part of the fat loss equation - nutrition.
CB: Do you suggest any superfoods that you think absolutely must be in everyone's diet for health and wellness purposes?
JB: Here are 20 superfoods that I think are essential in every nutrition plan.
1) Lean Red Meat (93% lean, top round, or sirloin)
2) Salmon
3) Omega 3 Eggs
4) Low-fat, plain yogurt (lactose free if you can find it)
5) Supplemental protein (milk protein isolates or rice protein concentrate if you have a milk protein intolerance/allergy)
6) Spinach
7) Tomatoes
8) Cruciferous Vegetables
9) Mixed Berries
10) Oranges
11) Mixed Beans
12) Quinoa
13) Whole Oats
14) Mixed Nuts
15) Avocados
16) Olive Oil
17) Fish Oil
18) Flax Seeds (ground)
19) Green Tea
20) Liquid Recovery drinks
If you get a few servings of each of these foods every week, you'll be pretty close to that healthy eating intersection I keep talking about.
CB: That's great John. I want all my readers to go through this superfoods checklist and then get these foods on their shopping lists ASAP.
Now, speaking of metabolism: what ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein is best for fat loss or is this something that must be approached individually?
JB: It really must be approached individually. You see, after working with thousands of clients, I've discovered that there is no 'one size fits all' approach to muscle gain or fat loss. There are different body types and each type requires a different prescription. For the sake of simplicity here, I'll break individuals up into 3 types:
*Body Type #1 - The Skinny Bastard - The skinny bastard is often characterized as having a 'fast metabolism.'
*Body Type #2 - The Fat Bastard - The fat bastard is often characterized as having a 'slow metabolism.'
*Body Type #3 - The Plain Ol' Bastard - The envy of all. He's the guy that puts on muscle easily while staying lean. He grows and shrinks in proportion.
Okay, so these definitions maybe won't find their way into Webster's but they create a nice distinction between individuals. Now, you might be thinking that these distinctions aren't always evident. And you'd be right. In most trainees these distinctions are quite clear. However, with proper training and nutrition, drug use, or surgery, the line can sometimes be blurred.
Drug use and surgery aside, if you don't know which type an individual is you've got to find out what that person would look like with the removal of the training stimulus.
If the person would end up really thin, not appearing as if they even bothered to work out, then they're a skinny bastard. If the would end up really fat, appearing thick but very chubby/chunky, then they're a fat bastard. And if the person would still look like they work out, albeit a little worse than presently, then they're a plain ol' bastard.
You see it's not how you look today that's most important - it's how you'd look if you didn't train.
CB: So what does each type require?
JB: I usually hesitate to prescribe macronutrient percentages and grams to clients - after all, isn't it my job to make it easy on them?
So rather than put them in the middle of a macronutrient minefield, I make it simple by translating all that calorie and macronutrient stuff into food that they can eat. As an old prof of mine used to say: "We don't eat calories, we don't eat protein, we don't eat carbs, and we don't eat fat. People eat food; apples and chicken breasts!"
So my nutrition prescriptions involve recommending different food choices at different times of the day. It makes it really simple for the client. No calculator or advanced math skills required.
CB: What about for the nutritionists reading this? How would you recommend they coach their clients with the 3 different body types?
JB: Body Type #1 - The Skinny Bastard - usually requires a higher calorie, higher carbohydrate diet (vs. the other types) when trying to lose fat. Crash diets, in this group, lead to lots of lean mass lost. These individuals can get lean by simply increasing their energy expenditure (usually through lower intensity cardio work - so as not to stress their already hyperactive sympathetic nervous systems) and by cleaning up their diets. Usually these body types can get lean from a diet that's 50% carbohydrate, 20% protein, and 30% fat. That's around what a self-selected nutrition intake would be anyway. That's why it's pretty easy for these individuals to get lean.
Body Type #2 - The Fat Bastard - usually requires a lower calorie diet that prioritizes protein and fat intake while keeping carbohydrate relatively low. When combined with more high intensity exercise (perhaps 5 weight training, 3 interval, and 2 low intensity cardio) sessions per week, a 30% carbohydrate, 35% protein, 35% fat diet works pretty well in this group - as long as they pay attention to nutrient timing.
Body Type #3 - The Plain Ol' Bastard - usually doesn't have to lose fat - bastards! However, when they do, they usually can do so with a combination of the two approaches above - the exercise prescription of the fat bastard and the nutritional prescription of the skinny bastard.
CB: What about this nutrient timing concept you mentioned?
JB: Good nutrient timing strategies are based on the fact that the body best handles different types of food at different times of the day. One of the most important nutrient timing strategies dictates that you should eat most of your non-fruit and veggie carbohydrates during and after exercise. This rule is especially important to our fat bastards above. If you haven't just exercised, put down the pasta, the breads, the rice, etc and step away from the table.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Ballantyne. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/351272
