by admin | May 30, 2022 | Diet
A Short Guide To Protein
Protein is without a doubt one of the most discussed nutrients we get from food on a daily basis. There have been many debates and myths surrounding this nutrient, so in this article, our goal will be to tell you more about everything you NEED to know regarding protein.
Is Protein The Most Important Nutrient?
The word “Protein” comes from the Greek word “Protos” meaning “first/primary” and that in and of itself should speak about the importance of protein. Even more so, if you look into biology, most of the body was made out of protein, including muscle tissue, enzymes, hormones and others. Now, when it comes to ESSENTIAL nutrients, there are two of them – Protein & Fats.
Protein and fats provide essential amino & fatty acids, respectively, which the body needs but cannot produce on its own. This is why deficiency in those nutrients can lead to unwanted side effects, such as low libido, poor recovery, worsened hormonal function, brain fog and others.
How Much Protein Do I Need?
The widely recommended protein intake has circled around 1 gram of protein, per pound of bodyweight, per day. In other words, if you weigh 180 lbs, you’d need roughly 180 grams of protein per day. However, this appears to be more relevant for actively training individuals that hold more lean body mass.
In other words, if you don’t really hit the gym very often, you’d need about 0.6-0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight, to sustain health and optimal functioning. On the other hand, if you are very active and use your muscles, you’d be closer to 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight.
What Are The Best Sources Of Protein?
If there is one thing to know, that is namely the fact that not all proteins were made the same! Proteins are made up of amino acids – There are a total of 20 amino acids and 9 of them are essential. On top of that, each food provides protein that is digested, absorbed and retained differently. Based on the amino acid profile, as well as other properties like the ones we just mentioned, each food can be rated in terms of bioavailability.
The bioavailability is a fraction of a nutrient in certain foods, that is absorbed and used.
The things that change the biological value of foods are their chemical form, interactions with other compounds, as well as individual physiological responses to food.
Here’s the punchline…
Animal products appear to be of the greatest biological value for the human body! These are the foods that provide all essential amino acids, along with healthy fats and a multitude of vitamins. Nevertheless, mass-production of animal products implies unnatural growth, where the animals don’t have enough room to run freely and are fed with processed, low-quality animal foods.
For this reason, we have put up a list of the BEST animal sources of protein:
- Grass-fed beef
- Wild-caught salmon
- Free-range chicken
- Pork
- Cheese & Other dairy
- Eggs
Most of these foods are saturated with quality protein, meaning that you will need just a couple of portions to meet your daily needs!
What If I’m Plant-Based?
As we mentioned, animal foods are the only products that contain the full set of essential amino acids, along with the greatest bioavailability. Plant foods unfortunately lack one or more essential amino acids and take up a lot of space in the stomach, for little caloric value. Nevertheless, if you’ve decided to not eat meat, your best bet would be to combine different plant products, in order to compensate for their lacking nutrients.
Here are some of the best plant-based protein sources:
- Lentils
- Beans
- Other legumes
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Edamame
- Tahini
- Peanut butter
- Peas
- Macadamias
In combining those, you will be more inclined towards providing sufficient amounts of protein for your body, on a daily basis!
Protein Timing
Now here’s for a brief mention – If you want to further optimize your protein intake and how it’s being used, try timing it to your workouts. Have a solid protein feeding 2 hours before your workout, and then within 2 hours AFTER the workout. This will give you a slight boost in terms of the constructive, anabolic processes that happen after the workout.
Conclusion
Protein is a powerful nutrient that keeps us healthy, alive, well and recovered, which is why, you just can’t ignore it! Place quality, protein-rich products at the core of your daily nutrition and you will see the difference for yourself! Focus on quality-fed meats, along with some dairy and eggs, and if you are a plant-based eater, just stick to grains, legumes, nuts and seeds!
by admin | Apr 16, 2022 | Diet
4 Foods To Keep You Fuller For Longer
Have you ever consumed a couple of consecutive big meals just to feel hungry 40 minutes later?
Well, if this has happened to you, odds are you are not selecting the right foods with the appropriate satiety index. In this article, we’ll explain the importance of high satiety foods, and we’ll also give you a list of our 4 best picks in that category!
So, Why Is Satiety Important?
The modern-day market offers a variety or rather, an abundance of food products to choose from. However, the thing is that the tastiest foods also happen to be more processed AND least satiating. With poor nutrient profiles, these processed products simply satisfy your taste cravings, but hardly ever help you meet your actual nutritional needs.
When you’re not meeting your nutritional needs, well, your body keeps asking for more food by sending hunger signals, until you actually give the body what it needs. That is to say that processed foods are NOT inherently fattening but instead, they make you eat a lot more which therefore leads to inevitable weight gain.
Being satiated for the longest time possible after each meal is important, as that means you have met your nutritional needs and your body has the resources to work with for the goal of sustaining healthy function.
What Actually Brings Satiety?
Every sensation or bodily signal in the body is closely related with the balance of certain hormones. Specifically for appetite and satiety, leptin and ghrelin seem to be the two predominantly involved hormones. The macronutrients you get from food, that are most effective in inducing the feeling of satiety, are protein & fat.
For this reason, it is of prime importance to meet your daily protein and fat needs, as they will play an essential role in how hungry you feel throughout the day. Remember that a hungry mind won’t be able to focus on other, also important tasks you have.
Stay satiated!
The 4 Most Satiating Foods
Now without further ado, let’s have a look at the most satiating foods you can easily find in your local grocery store!
1. Beef
As we mentioned, protein and fats from whole food sources are amongst the most satiating nutrients you can give to your body. Beef and other red meats happen to be abundant of both nutrients, so including them in your nutrition plan is a good bet! If you always wake up hungry, and that oatmeal & coffee breakfast full of sugar can’t satiate you, well, try a morning ribeye steak!
It works.
2. Nuts
Cashews, almonds, walnuts and other nuts are so dense in energy that just a 100g of them can keep you full for hours on end.
Additionally, these tiny bites are full of essential fatty acids and other micronutrients that will not only keep you full, but also provide your body with the nutrients it needs.
Don’t be nuts, eat nuts.
3. Eggs
If you are trying to establish a nutrition plan that is nutrient-dense enough to keep you full and healthy, eggs cannot be ignored! Eggs are good as a standalone meal, or can be made an addition to a bigger meal, to make it complete! Furthermore, they can be enjoyed in a variety of forms, such as an omelette, scrambled, or even over some rice in japanese style!
4. Potatoes
Though protein and fats are the most satiating macronutrients, the food with the HIGHEST satiety index contains mostly carbohydrates… That’s right! Potatoes are, in fact, the most satisfying food a human can eat!
Try for yourself – Get a beef steak and cook up some potato mash and you will be full for at least 3 hours.
Final Thoughts
One of the most important aspects of your nutrition plan is to make it actually satiating! If you constantly feel hungry, you are not using the right nutrition plan, regardless of what anyone tells you. Make sure to include these 4 foods presented in this article and let us know how they affected your satiety and energy levels!
by admin | Apr 11, 2022 | Diet
3 day detox diet
After 3 days, you’ll rise again
In today’s environment and majority of lifestyles, it’s hard to avoid coming across substances and chemicals that are foreign to our system. In defence, the body reacts in remarkable ways to protect itself from intruders. Normally, it’s the excretory organs like the liver, kidneys, skin, including the lungs that need to work extra hard to segregate, neutralize and dispose of the toxins.
But it’s easier said than done. Toxins that accumulate in every cell of our body will cause the latter to release some form of chemicals (take the effects of nicotine in our brain) or gradually mutate into cancers and other degenerative diseases.
And we can never take back what we consumed. However, changing lifestyles and going on detox programs can do wonders for the proper functioning of vital body processes. Detoxification promotes cell renewal, flushes out free radicals, and strengthens the immune system. Even as short as a 3-day detox diet can help in purging out damaging toxins and make you feel so much better.
Although not all detox types are suitable for everyone, a 3-day detox may be a milder way of detoxifying. Other detox programs may require you to get a go-signal from your doctor especially if you are underweight, malnourished or have chronic diseases like cancer, iron-deficiency, anemia, ulcerative colitis, kidney and liver disease, among others. They may also require that you walk in and walk out of one – i.e prepare yourself before gradually leading into and out of the cleanse, all with good reason.
This one may benefit of course too, from slowly eating gentler foods before and after the detox. To begin with, this detox program is especially designed for a 3-day detox diet. Try to include the following foods for each day within three days.
Upon waking up in the morning,
drink a cup of warm water and lemon squeezed in it, to stimulate your gastric juices.
For your meals,
Eat one cup of whole grains like brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth, and at least three servings each of fruits and vegetables one of which should be eaten raw.
You could also make salads out of fruits and vegetables but choose vinegar or any natural virgin oils (olive and coconut virgin oils or fish oil) for your dressing.
In addition, have two doses of kidney and liver tonics daily over the 3-day detox diet:
Two cups of dandelion, chamomile or fennel tea, pure vegetable juice like carrot or beetroot, a clove of fresh garlic, medium bunch of black grapes, two cups of parsley or yellow tea. And make it a habit to drink 8 glasses or more water as well as other fluids made of fresh fruit juices such as apple and orange.
In addition- In your 3-day detox diet, drink herbal tea before going to bed daily and
have a 30-minute walk within the program period daily.
After the third day, you’ll surely feel rejuvenated and may want to do the 3-day detox diet again. But before you do that, change your lifestyle as much as possible and you will find that tis detox gets easier and easier, then you may want to increase detox times to say 4, 5 or 7 days when you decide to have your next cleanse.
Your body will reward you big time.
Happy cleansing happy detox.
by admin | Jan 9, 2022 | Diet, Fitness
The Yo Yo Effect | Part 2 – How To Lose Fat & Keep It Off
The Most Important Things For Sustained Weight Loss
#1 A Moderate Caloric Deficit
A caloric deficit is the first and most important requirement for any fat loss diet to work – It implies consuming fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its body weight. (Find that number by clicking HERE.)
And though a caloric deficit means looking and feeling better in your own skin, for the body it means ‘controlled starvation.’
Through this starvation, the body tries to adapt by lowering our energy output as a response to the deficit of energy.
This is why a caloric deficit must be moderate – This will allow you to still have energy for any daily mental and physical activities, as well as healthy functioning of all internal systems.
Furthermore, a moderate caloric deficit will allow you to retain your lean body mass (all tissues in the body except fat), which you inevitably lose during a period of time eating in a caloric deficit.
Set your daily caloric deficit at around 400-500 calories lower than your maintenance needs, or aim to lose around 1-2 lbs per week.
#2 Eat Plenty Of Protein & Fats!
Alright, a few paragraphs ago, we said that carb consumption isn’t the primary cause for weight loss.
Now you may be thinking, “Does that mean I can eat cakes and still lose fat?”.
And the answer is – Yes, absolutely!
As long as you’re in a deficit, you will lose weight, regardless of the content of food.
HOWEVER, the content of your foods will determine how your body composition changes, which is why the majority of your calories should come from quality food sources.
As we mentioned above, you will inevitably lose lean body mass during the process of weight loss.
But that can be minimized with the help of protein & fats (and weight training, which we’ll talk about in a bit).
As you may or may not know, dietary protein & fats are the two essential nutrients that our bodies need but can’t produce on their own.
This is why deriving them from quality food sources during a period of fat loss is essential for you to feel, look and perform better!
Set your daily protein at 0.8-1g per lb of body weight and your fats at 0.35-0.45g per lb of bodyweight!
#3 Don’t Forget Carbs!
Yes, carbs aren’t really your worst enemy on a weight loss diet plan!
Even more so, they can actually BENEFIT your weight loss and lean body mass retention.
How and why?
Well, it’s quite simple – Carbohydrates are the BEST source of energy for high-intensity training!
Better performance means a greater energy output and better stimulus for the muscles.
This makes it far easier for you to get in a deficit and furthermore, gives a reason for your body to retain the muscle mass.
After calculating your proteins and fats, give the rest of the calories to carbohydrates from quality sources, such as sweet potatoes, normal potatoes, starchy veggies, fruits, and honey!
#4 Train, Train Hard!
If you want to sculpt your body like a Greek sculpture during a period of fat loss, there is nothing better than combining the above-mentioned things with some hard-ass weight training.
Not only will intense training give your body a reason to retain the muscle mass, but it will also produce a myriad of benefits for your health… And make you look great.
Even more so, if you are a beginner or someone who has a lot of weight to lose, you might even gain some muscle WHILE losing fat.
Gaining muscle while losing fat is called body re-compositioning and is generally impossible for people with long training experience.
However, it can be done because re-compositioning is something reserved for beginners, people getting back to training after a lay-off, or individuals who are obese/overweight.
After The Diet Ends…
Alright, it’s been five months of vigorous dieting and training – You’re finally at your desired weight. Hooray!
What now? Can you ditch it all and go back to your old habits?
Well… It’s not recommended, really! That’s how the yo-yo effect kicks in.
You must realize that weight loss is the result of new, properly established habits.
The best you can do to keep the fat off afterward is simply maintain those habits.
Here are 5 must-dos after a successful weight loss phase:
- Gradually increase food
- Gradually increase training
- Keep making good nutritional choices
- Stay active
- Accept your new look & life!
Conclusion
The yo-yo effect of dieting is a common problem that people face.
There are many ways to avoid this, but it’s important not to go on an extreme diet and starve your body of the nutrients it needs.
Instead, try eating healthy foods in a caloric deficit and include plenty of training!
You can also look into how you live day to day – do you have time for yourself? Do you work too much or sleep enough?
These things all contribute towards weight loss, and how you feel, so be sure to think about them before going on a restrictive diet plan again!
Stay active and eat well without starving yourself! Find what’s sustainable.
Do you have any more questions? Feel free to ask by contacting us over at ______
by admin | Jan 9, 2022 | Diet
The Yo Yo Effect | Part 1 – What Is The Yo-Yo & Why Do We Gain Fat?
Carbs Are NOT To Blame For Fat Gain
We’ve all been there. We vow to start our diet on Monday, and by Wednesday, we’ve already cheated.
And okay, maybe next Monday we hop back on it, and through some months of torture, we finally achieve our desired weight… Only to regain 110% of it back in twice as little time as it took us to lose it in the first place.
But why is it so hard to stick to our diets? And why do most people manage to lose fat but NEVER seem actually to be able to keep it off? And what can we do to break this vicious cycle?
The secret is in the details…
Keep reading for tips on how to overcome the yo-yo effect of dieting!
What Is The Yo-Yo Effect?
- As we mentioned above, most people go through torturous phases to lose a solid amount of weight.
- Sooner or later, however, those same people regain all their weight back and some more.
- This is referred to as the “Yo-Yo effect” because, well, it’s like a Yo-Yo – You go down by a lot, suddenly, and then you come back up!
- Why does this happen? Let’s find out by reverse-engineering the process of fat loss.
Why Do We Gain Fat?
Before you go on to hop on a weight loss diet, it is a good idea to understand why you gained fat in the first place.
Contrary to popular belief, the reasons why people gain fat ARE NOT that:
- Too many carbs
- Too many sweets
- Because of hormones, that’s why
Rather, the most common reason for fat gain is one and the same – People consume way more calories from food than their bodies need to maintain their weight and healthy functioning!
- Because the body is a smart mechanism, it won’t allow any unused energy to be wasted – It will just be stored for later.
- And that “storage for later” is… Drum rolls, ka-ching, ka-chang… FAT!
- That’s right – The MAIN function of fat is to serve as an alternative energy source.
The Body Hates Drastic Changes
Alright, if fat is just an energy source, does that mean that simply using it will allow us to ‘burn’ it off?
That is absolutely right. The only way to lose fat is to use it!
And there is a precise, step-by-step system on how to do that, which we’ll talk about in part 2 of this article series.
Before that, however, there is one main consideration, which we want to emphasize on in this first part of this series…
The body hates drastic changes, especially when it comes to nutrition!
Any drastic change impacts the body negatively because it requires too sudden of an adaptation.
This includes, but is not limited to changes like:
- Suddenly reducing food to lose fat
- Suddenly stopping
- Suddenly stopping cigarettes
Think of any new habits, diets, and training regimens as the creation of a new environment for your body to thrive in.
The introduction to the new environment must be gradual so that the body can get familiar with it and transition smoothly.
Besides that, there are many other little things to factor in, which is exactly what we’ll touch on in part two of this article series.
Read Next…
With all of the above-said in mind, we can conclude that successful and sustained fat loss must be done with the gradual introduction of new, better habits, rather than flash-dieting!
In part 2 of this article series, we’ll go over the four most important considerations that’ll help you do just that!
See you in part 2!
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diet
We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Even though this is sometimes said to be 7 or 9 or even ten servings by professionals, who can’t seem to make up their mind – so I say get between 5 and 10 and you know you’re doing your best J
But knowing and doing are two different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there. We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food. If your family is anything like most, they’d much rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli. So we will have to get creative. Here are a few ideas to sneak some extra vegetables and fruits in your family’s diet.
- 1. Start the day with a breakfast smoothie. All you have to do is throw some fruits, and/or veggies, low-fat yogurt, or plant milk and ice in a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder in there for good measure. Just blend for a few seconds and you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work. To make it even more appealing for your kids, use some frozen yogurt or a scoop of home-made fruit ice cream in the smoothie. They won’t believe that you are letting them have ice cream for breakfast.
- Dried fruit makes an excellent snack any time of the day. Add some small cartons of raisins to your child’s lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your husbands briefcase and keep some trail mix sitting around for snacking. You can also add dried fruit to oatmeal and cereal in the morning. My family loves banana chips in their breakfast cereal and on yoghurt. This is of course best if you make these chips at home s then you know they aren’t coated full of sugar.
- Add some fruits and vegetables to your family’s sandwiches. You can add some banana, sliced apples or strawberry slices to a peanut butter sandwich. Top a sandwich slice – I use vegan chicken slices -but you may use chicken or turkey- with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and anything else they will eat. You can even make a sub shop style vegetable sandwich by combining several different vegetables with some vegan mayonnaise and vegan cheese on bread.
- Have a salad bar at dinner. Set out a variety of chopped vegetables, some cheese and croutons as well as several choices of salad dressing along with the lettuce and let everybody create their own perfect salad.
- Let them drink their fruits and vegetables. Keep an assortment of fruit and vegetable juices in the fridge and encourage everyone to drink them as a snack. Get creative. You could start family cocktail hour by pouring everybody a glass of his or her favourite juice over ice. Add some straws, cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everybody’s day went.
- Try this for dessert. Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit. Yum!
- Offer fruits and vegetables as snacks. You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter or cheese. Cube cheese and serve with grapes. Cut up some fresh veggies and serve them with ranch dip. Do fun things, be creative like – ants on a log. Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it (wow, fruit and vegetable in one snack).
- Try some new fruits and vegetables. Pick something exotic to get your family’s curiosity. With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension to trying something new. You could try artichokes, plantains, papaya, mango, star fruit, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store.
- Make a pot of vegetable soup or a stew that’s heavy on veggies and easy on the meat or better still go meat free. Both of these make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold.
- Start my Veggie Day. Each family member gets to pick a vegetable one day of the week. They qualify to pick a vegetable as long as they tried each vegetable the week before, otherwise they lose a turn and Mom gets to pick.
Incorporate a few of these ideas and you will have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time.
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Here is another tip:
Keep stocked up! – As now that everyone in the family has gotten a taste for it, make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies available and ready to snack on.
