For something that we say that we hate, we sure do a lot of dieting. More than half of all Americans say that they’re actively trying to lose weight, and millions of us are trying to do so by cutting calories or going on special diets. The idea, of course, is that our willpower and special diets will force our bodies to shed the pounds — at which point we will get off the diet and onto something more sustainable that, we hope, will help us keep the weight off.
The problem is: None of this stuff works!
Diets overwhelmingly fail. That’s partly because people don’t stick to them, and partly because dieting itself is a flawed idea. Weight loss is much more complicated than fad diets make it seem. Furthermore, health is more than how much you weigh. Even if you do crash-diet your way to your goal weight, study after study has shown that you’re very likely to regain all of that weight soon after you reach the goal.
Over the past decades, we have seen so many weight loss fads that it will practically be impossible to enumerate them all. Four critical components of these fads are that:
They are usually not based on any real facts.
The promise of instant results with little effort is usually a major selling point.
They quickly become widely accepted and the “thing” of the moment.
Now that the warmer months of the year have rolled around, swimsuit season is upon us. For this reason, many of us are already planning to go on a diet so that our summer bodies are ready to embrace everything this time of year has to offer. However, dieting isn’t as simple as you think. In fact, it involves some serious decision making.
Your diet affects your health. When you eat properly, it benefits your everyday health. It also reduces your risk of serious health conditions. Whether you are planning a meal or thinking about a snack, you will benefit in many ways from choosing protein.
Protein And Weight Control
Whether you are overweight and want to shed some pounds, or want to maintain your current weight, protein can help you achieve your goal. First, protein is a natural appetite suppressant. When you consume protein, you will feel full and satisfied. This can eliminate overeating and between-meal cravings.
Second, protein boosts your metabolism. Whey protein, especially, will help your body burn fat and calories. Your body will burn more calories when it digests food.
Another way protein helps with weight control is the amount of food you eat. When you choose a protein-rich product, you will generally eat less than when you eat fats or carbohydrates. You will consume fewer calories, instead of overeating high-calorie products.(more…)
Protein Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss and Muscle Gain
Here are 105 different protein shake recipes!
Utilize all kinds of fruits, vegetables, spices, and fun ingredients like peanut and almond butter, honey, oatmeal, and flavor extracts. Whatever you have laying around probably can be used in one of these protein shakes.
For those without digestive issues, check out the link to Optimum Nutrition below. It is an awesome product with a huge variety of flavors and sizes.
For those who are lactose intolerant, check out Muscle Milk protein power, which also comes in several flavors and sizes. When I found Muscle Milk I could finally start mixing protein recipes again!
Need protein powder?
Optimum Nutrition is nutritionally the healthiest and highest quality protein powder I’ve found at a reasonable price. It comes in over 20 different flavors and is available in 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, and 10 lb containers. Click here to order or learn more.
Muscle Milk is an equally great product and is also great for lactose intolerance. That’s right, if whey protein usually makes you sick give Muscle Milk a try. It comes in at least 10 flavors and in 2.5 and 5 lb jugs. Click here to order or learn more.
The Basic Fundamentals Of Losing Weight And Keeping It Off
Over the years, more and more consumers have discovered the paramount importance of losing weight and getting into shape. An abundance of health complications can be directly linked to obesity. This includes diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, losing weight can seem hopeless for a large quantity of the population. It is undeniably much more difficult than the majority of people will ever know and keeping the weight off can be even more difficult. Below, you will discover the fundamentals of losing weight and keeping it off for good.
Calories In vs Calories Burned
First and foremost, it is pertinent to follow the basics. The concept of losing weight is actually very simple. Individuals only need to consume less calories than they burn each and every day. By following this basic formula, you’ll eventually lose weight. Unfortunately, putting this simple plan into action can be very difficult. Hunger, lack of control, and other factors can get in the way and lead the individual astray.(more…)
When we mention the term “Superfoods” it is not uncommon for there to be a sense of confusion among most people. This is not really surprising either. While consuming nutrient dense foods is an ancient practice, the concept is basically lost in our fast-paced and convenience focused culture. Only recently has there been mainstream attention and research towards the importance of introducing this kind of nutrition back into the human diet.
The term “Superfood” refers to any nutrient-dense food that is widely considered to be beneficial towards our health and overall well-being. The term is a relatively new one, having only generated popularity in the last 20 years or so. However, the idea is simple. Foods that have a wide-ranging nutritional profile that includes; micro & macro-nutrients, phytochemicals, phytopigments, antioxidants, vitamin and trace minerals.
Most “superfoods” are plant based covering everything from fruits, vegetables, sea-vegetables, grains, nuts, grasses and herbs. There are even many all-in-one type of green superfood supplement powders. There are also some superfoods that are derived from fish as well. While most “superfood” products will have different ingredients and ratios of such, for the most part they will typically include all the same stuff.
What can Green Superfoods do for you?
There are so many benefits from regularly consuming foods considered to be “superfoods”. Whether you are consuming a green drink in the morning, or eating dense salads at lunch, or ending your day with a chia-seed pudding. By including any, or all of these foods into your diet most people will agree that you will see and feel great results.
The increase in foods rich in antioxidants like beta-carotene will add great regenerative and overall health benefits to your body. This plays an important role regardless if you are a young child, an athlete, a middle-aged parent, or an old timer. The ability to fight off illness and increase recovery time is crucial to living longer, and staying healthy and fit along the way.
“Superfoods” can offer a host of essential vitamins and minerals like B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium. There are ingredients that are otherwise quite uncommon in a typical diet today. On average most Americans are lacking in essential vitamins and minerals that help our body maintain itself, and the vitamins we do take are usually in the form of capsules or sugary pills that do not always absorb into the body sufficiently to have an impact.
Greens, which make up the majority of the “superfood” category, are extremely important to the body. Not only do they provide fiber, but they are also alkaline forming. By maintaining a balanced ph level in the body, research has shown that it will help prevent the formation of many health related issues, including cancer. (more…)
Simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle. Can it be done?
Generally speaking, bodybuilders and certain athletes find themselves going through two training and dieting phases each year: bulking and cutting. For bodybuilders, bulking is a joyous time of the year as they get to basically eat a selection of nice tasting foods, which whilst being healthy for the most part, still are made up of slightly unhealthier choices, with plenty of cheat meals thrown in for good measure.
When bulking, the idea is to build up a calorie surplus so that you basically consume more calories than you’re able to burn off.
This is primarily how muscle mass is grown. Whilst bulking however, it is important bodybuilders still keep an eye on their daily macros because if they consume too many calories, not only will they build muscle, they’ll also find themselves gaining a fair amount of fat in the process, and that is not ideal.
The second phase, they find themselves in, is one which is enjoyable, yet difficult and stressful at the same time – cutting, or fitness cutting as it is sometimes referred to as. At Project Swole we like to refer to this cutting phrase as a shred, as in Project Shred.
The idea behind fitness cutting is that they attempt to lose as much fat as possible, whilst maintaining or building as much lean muscle mass as possible. When fitness cutting, a bodybuilder’s primary goal is to become as lean, defined, vascular, and shredded as possible. If these sound like your goals, take a look at our handy fitness cutting guide outlining everything you need to know.(more…)
You felt the same way I did at some point in your life.
As a woman who is extremely active (I do crossfit four times a week), I rebelled for the longest time against adding more protein to my diet.
The majority of the advertisements that I saw for protein powder featured guys that looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday.
And while I would not mind my husband sporting those round shoulders, there was no way I wanted my physique to resemble anything remotely close to that.
My misconception of the effect that protein has on the body is very common among many women.
Protein is a crucial nutrient for the body. In fact, it accounts for 20 percent of our body weight, and helps in the synthesis of hormones, enzymes and vital cellular structures.
Protein also assists with fluid balance and the building of antibodies that protect against infection and other harmful viruses. In short, if we do not supply our bodies with the proper amount of protein, we cannot survive.
That is why it is so important to understand the crucial role that protein plays in maintaining overall health, especially since many women limit their protein consumption because of the myths associated with it.
Some women fear that high-protein diets may cause them to look too “bulky,” can compromise bone health or may be taxing on the kidneys. However, these assumptions are nothing more than myths that should be set straight for a variety of reasons.
One of the hottest topics in the nutrition world in the last 3-5 years has been gluten-free diet. As usual, the media and a general population acting like sheeple have once again blown something out of proportion.
People are needlessly following a gluten free diet just because they heard about it in the media or read about it on the Internet. Some of these people have even lost weight. But why? Most likely because they cut down on carbs altogether, or at least started eating healthier carbs.
But the question is, do YOU need to be a on gluten free diet? And the answer is, probably not. Here’s why
