Best Supplements for Muscle Gain

I'll bet you've got some opinions on this topic.  Not all supplements are created equal. How does your "stack" compare to this?   The combination of the stack can work together in a synergistic way, or you can be wasting money on supplements that just don't mix or are too much.  Is your current stack of supplements NSF Certified?  Your body will respond to your fitness plan when your nutrition is in line.  This article provides education and recommendations.

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Are you trying to build muscle, but not seeing results you want? Read on for the Best Supplements for Muscle gain!

You can flip through magazines or stroll through most brick and mortar supplement stores or online supplement stores and you see tons of supplements pitched in every possible way to make their supplement seem like the best for Muscle gains. Many of these supplements may provide results for most people, but not all supplements are created equal. To get the greatest Muscle Gains you need to know the Best Supplements for Muscle Gains. There are a number of supplements that show the greatest benefit and the most return across the board. The key is using the highest quality. The more pure the formula, the better your body will assimilate the product for proper muscle gain.

HERE ARE THE BEST SUPPLEMENTS FOR MUSCLE GAIN…

CREATINE

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance within muscle cells. Approximately 95 percent of the body’s creatine can be found around the skeletal muscle tissue. The remainder is stored throughout the rest of the body. Creatine may help increase the pace of muscle growth.

This naturally occurring metabolite has been reproduced as Creatine monohydrate for dietary supplement purposes. It’s used for cellular energy production and modulation. As with all things, the quality of the monohydrate can be of poor or high.  Price is often a indicator.  You get what you pay for. If you skimp on quality, your results will likely suffer.

The advantages of Creatine supplementation when you consume the purest form possible in the appropriate dosage can be the promotion of lean body mass, increased muscle cell volume, faster post-workout recovery, increased glycogen storage, and an increase in high-intensity muscle performance.

BEST SUPPLEMENTS FOR MUSCLE GAIN

The best and most pure Creatine that we have come across is the Creatine from the Beachbody Performance Nutrition Line. This product is definitely a cut above the rest, and it is NSF Certified. This means athletes from amateur to professionals can use it and will not test positive for any performance enhancing supplement or drug. This is why this is number one on our list of the Best Supplements for Muscle Gain.

BETA-ALANINE

This is number two on our list of Best Supplements for Muscle Gain because it is a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid that comes into the body through foods that are rich in clean protein. The performance enhancement of beta-alanine (BA) is due to its ability to increase intra-muscular levels of carnosine. This increase in beta-alanine through supplementation suggests carnosine levels may be raised by over 60% in as quickly as four weeks.

This increase is significant because during high-intensity exercise our bodies accumulate a large amount of hydrogen which causes our pH to drop (whereby we become more acidic). This acidification (lactic acid) can cause severe fatigue, decrease muscle performance, and shut down the neural drive, which can force muscle failure. By maintaining increased levels of carnosine through BA supplementation you are decreasing the accumulation of hydrogen, resulting in lower acid levels, which subsequently delays muscle fatigue, muscle failure, and aids in decreased muscle soreness.

Additional benefits of beta-alanine supplementation are elevated endurance, improved force output, and improved repeated sprint and fast twitch muscle ability. Beta-alanine also can work synergistically with Creatine.

We are going to go back to the Beachbody Performance Nutrition Line for our recommendation of their Energize Pre-Workout Supplement. Their high quality Beta-Alanine coupled with the purest form of Quercetin that we have seen, truly creates the best Pre-Workout formulation that will keep your muscles firing on all cylinders for the greatest muscle gains.

WHEY PROTEIN

It’s been systematically proven that there are improved performance and muscle gains when protein is consumed post workout. The trick here is to have a high quality protein formulated with the appropriate ratio of nutrient dense carbohydrates. The protein is needed for muscle synthesis but the carbohydrates are needed to carry the protein to the cellular level.

Whey protein supplies the body with protein that helps to jump-start the muscle-growing process. For increased protein synthesis and to improve muscle recovery and restoration, it is best consumed after a workout. Whether the goal is to add lean mass or drop body fat, adding a whey protein supplement post workout will speed the gain and loss process.

Here is the key point to make sure you are getting the right whey-protein supplementation for your post workout shake. Be sure it is the highest and purest quality; you get what you pay for. If you are purchasing a high quality product it will be easily digestible and balanced with the appropriate ratio of carbohydrates. The Recover Protein Shake from the Beachbody Performance Line provides the best of the best. It provides three types of protein (fast, intermediate, and slow release) and is formulated with the proper phytonutrients and carbohydrates to reduce muscle soreness, provide rapid recovery, improve strength recovery, and muscle rebuilding.

BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID (BCAA)

Another common supplement that is a part of the Best Supplements for Muscle Gain is BCAA’s. Branched-chained amino acids (BCAAs) help improve workout results. There are 20 amino acids in the body, and three are referred to as the BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are the key amino acids that stimulate protein synthesis and help with protein metabolism.

The body uses BCAAs to help muscles recover by driving nutrients to the muscle tissue. This allows for greater workout recovery, reduces pain from muscle fatigue, and improves metabolic recovery.

There is also some measure of proof that BCAAs can help improve endurance by keeping muscles fueled for longer workouts and distances.

The body will burn off BCAA’s as you work out. Therefore supplementation can help restore what is lost during intense exercise if consumed post workout with proper protein and phytonutrients. This formulation can be found in the Recover Formula we discussed previously. Another great time to provide the body with BCAA’s is before you sleep. The body’s greatest recovery time is at night when you are sleeping. If you consume BCAA’s in conjunction with a slow release protein and phytonutrients prior to overnight recovery it will create greater muscle gains as well. Most companies have yet to develop such a product, yet science has defined this to be a good practice.Recharge from the Beachbody Performance Line is the most complete formula we have seen in this arena.

GLUTAMINE

Our final supplement in our line of Best Supplements for Muscle Gain is Glutamine. It is touted for its ability to slow muscle-tissue breakdown during intensive exercise, and may also improve strength thresholds and elevate endurance.

Taking Glutamine post workout has a number of benefits. These benefits inclue preservation and restoration of muscle tissue which allows for increased fat burning, increased lean mass, and because it feeds into the immune system, more rapid recovery for the body as a whole.

Since we find the Beachbody Performance Line to currently be the best line on the market, you will be happy to know that both the Recover Protein and the Recharge Overnight Protein have optimal levels of Glutamine.

In conclusion we want to remind you that ultimately you can have results without supplements, but the process may be a bit slower. The advice that I give first and foremost is to get your daily nutrition in line first. For this the best nutrition plan that you can use is the Portion Fix Nutrition Plan which uses Portion Controlled Measuring Containers, and can be used in conjunction with the top selling cookbook Fixate, by celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese. You will be very surprised by how much better your body will respond to your fitness plan when your nutrition is in line. Then if you decide to take the supplements I have recommended, you should see even greater results.

The results you gain from supplementation are going to vary, specifically because each person will have a different workouts utilizing different levels of intensity and length. If your nutrition is in line and you are working out with the utmost intensity, these Best Supplements for Muscle Gains may help you get to the next level.

How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals

If you're working to improve your fitness, how does alcohol sabotage your efforts?  Don't drink your calories.  How much is the alcohol and how much is the mixer?  What about beer or wine? Is there an acceptable compromise?

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We all like to go out with our friends and have a few drinks. We also heard that when we are trying to obtain different health goals that alcohol can hinder those goals. So, How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals really needs to be something you understand.

Here is the deal, and we are going to be real. Not all drinks and beverages are bad for you. Yes many are filled with sugar or corn syrup, and yes these will not help you reach your health goals. There are also some drinks that won’t hurt your waistline or health and fitness goals quite as much, especially if consumed in real moderation. They can actually have some benefits. Again I want to remind you that this is moderation.

HOW ALCOHOL CAN RUIN YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS GOALS

How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals comes mostly when you over indulge, meaning more than 1-3 drinks per week, and consume mixed drinks. Mixed drinks are among the worst alcohol beverages you can drink because of the juices, sodas, and other sugary substances that make a mixed drink just that, a mixed drink. Then if consuming more than 1-3 drinks per week this can pack on a lot of calories and calories that your body has a more difficult time processing. When your body struggles with processing calories, they become sugars and can be stored as fat.

HERE ARE SOME SIDE EFFECTS OF THOSE OVER INDULGENCES AND MIXED DRINKS:

1. Alcohol has more calories per gram than the macronutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Therefore you are consuming less in quantity but far more calories.
2. Decreases your Inhibitions which means your decision making is decreased and you are more likely to choose foods and other things that you would not normally choose.
3. Alcohol can damage your liver, kidneys, and digestive system. All things we need running at their best to have a more balanced health.
4. Alcohol lowers testosterone levels in both men and women. It is never good to have lowered hormone levels for any reason.
5. Alcohol has been found to increase your appetite because it triggers the brain to send the signal that you are hungry. Again striking up the possibility for over indulgence of food.

It has been proven that the choice of alcohol and the amount drank will negate any efforts to lose body fat and will alter performance for the worst. The best advice would be to totally abstain to keep peak performance and hit your weight loss goals. Once your goals are obtained it would be highly recommended that you stick to the best choice which would be wine. Beer is okay, but if you consume more than 12 ounces 1-3 times per week it would be added to the How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals list.

HERE IS THE NEWS THAT I KNOW MOST OF YOU WANT TO HEAR…

You can see wine has not been mentioned as a better choice. Wine can still be on the How Alcohol Can Ruin Your Health and Fitness Goals if the consumption surpasses the 1-3 drinks per week rule, or you binge drink it, but if consumed appropriately it can have many health benefits.

If you have reached your goals, the wine could be something you add back into your life in moderation. Though it would still be recommended that if you are training for something specific, that you keep it to the bare minimum.

Red wine contains a chemical called Ellagic acid. This acid can actually slow the growth of fat cells and stop formation of new ones. It can also help burn more fatty acids in the liver cells. Now this doesn’t mean go drink a bunch of wine. We don’t want you to take this article to say that. When people do that, that is when we have a problem. Keep it in context, because creating too acidic of an environment in the body creates fat and water storage.

Even with this new research, you still need to keep it to 1-3 drinks per week and at the appropriate portion. Remember a glass of wine is really 4 ounces.

The other benefits of wine are it contains active antioxidants like quercetin which may kill cancer cells, it also may help lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Tannins in red wine that give it the red color, contain procyanidins, which have been known for protecting against heart disease. Resveratrol also found in wine can help to remove chemicals responsible for causing blood clots, help prevent cancer, aid in general heart health, lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol, and in the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Clearly there are many benefits to drinking red wine. The thing to remember is the “How alcohol can ruin my health and fitness goals.” That list is the one to remember. If you keep that list in mind, choose wine over other alcohol, and maintain a higher level of moderation, you can have some alcohol without ruining your health and fitness goals.

Of course the biggest recommendation is to abstain and focus on your health and fitness goals through proper nutrition, high-quality dense nutritional supplements, portion control (not over indulging), and proper exercise and fitness.

Carbs Before a Workout: Can It Help?

Carbs: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.  At what point during a workout will you "bonk" or "hit the wall" without carbs?  What are the best sources of carbs for fueling a workout?  How much is enough...or too little or too much?  Should you get the carbs from food or supplements?

There's more to the question than meets the eye.  This article provides some answers.

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While a popular belief is that carbs are the enemy, it’s just not the case, especially when it comes to working out. Carbs Before a Workout: Can it Help? In fact pre-workout carbs can help, and if you’re looking to improve your athletic performance, they’re a potent ally.
Fat is not the only macronutrient used for fuel, carbs are a primary source as well. Providing your body with proper carbohydrates will fuel your body through exercise, as well as aid in recovery and muscle gains. The body stores both fat and glycogen for fuel sources. Glycogen is stored in lower quantities. Low-to-moderate levels of exercise will utilize fat as fuel, but exercising at higher levels of intensity causes the body to shift its energy source from fat to glycogen. That’s one reason regularly including proper carbohydrates in your diet is an essential part of athletic training.

CARBS BEFORE A WORKOUT: CAN IT HELP?

“Carbohydrates are…the main fuel source to ingest for optimal recovery allowing for high volumes and intensity of training in subsequent bouts,” writes Dr. Jon Bartlett, Ph.D. College of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Victoria University in Melbourne.

Carbs Before a Workout: Can It Help? Yes it can if it is a carb source that will provide proper energy levels versus a spike and later drop in energy. The three main sources of carbohydrates are starches, sugars, and fiber. If you eat a lot of starches and sugars, you get the spike and drop in energy. If you eat more complex carbs mixed with some more starches or grains you will get a more even energy expenditure. When you eat carbs your body stores glycogen for energy use.

When you exercise, your body uses these energy stores and the glycogen is pulled into the muscle to be used as fuel. If you are not getting high quality carbohydrates for fuel your levels will be low. If your levels are low, this will create low energy. For an example, if you’ve gone on a long bike ride or a long run or pushed through a long exercise class and suddenly lost your energy or felt like you hit a wall, you’ve experienced what it feels like to have depleted your available glycogen stores.

In research, Van Loon found that simply eating carbs during exercise can help delay when you might hit that wall. A review by the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine showed that consuming carbohydrates prior to and during exercise “has been shown unequivocally to extend endurance performance.”

HOW MANY CARBS DO YOU NEED?

The body cannot store glycogen in large quantities. If you are consuming the proper calories within your daily nutrition you could do about 90 minutes of hard effort on your glycogen stores. The nice thing is your body can replenish this store fairly quickly and easily. Plus, as you get fit, your body becomes more efficient at storing and utilizing glycogen.

So the real answer to Carbs Before a Workout: Can It Help, is yes if in the right amount. It varies based on the exercise that is being done. The recommendation is typically 30-60 grams per hour of exercise (up to two hours). Go beyond two hours, and you might need to up it 60-90 grams.  It really comes down to the need for balance to provide the most efficient energy

SO HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT BALANCE?

Carbs Before a Workout: Can It Help? This may become a balancing act. It is about choosing high quality foods and/or supplements that provide real food carbohydrate sources in the proper ratios to keep the energy levels and recovery optimal for performance. For some this can be hard if there is not a great understanding in how to balance food to make this happen. So the suggestion is to eat balanced meals but also supplement with high quality supplements that already have the balance created for you. One of the best nutritional supplement lines on the market is the Beachbody Performance Line. This line provides high quality pre-workout, during workout, post workout, and night recovery that will truly give you that edge to take your workouts to the next level.

Here is the thing, if you are working out regularly, ignore the headlines suggesting you need to go low-carb. Carbs Before a Workout: Can it Help Your Workout? YES IT CAN! If you give your body the fuel it needs, keep a clean portioned nutrition plan, use high quality supplements you’ll feel better during your workouts and be more likely to see results if you do.

How Much Weight Should I Lift?

Guys let their egos get in the way and lift too much.
Women fear "bulking up" and lift too little.
So how much weight should you lift?
There's no one-size-fits all.  Depends on you and your goals.
If you're going to make the effort, make it count.  Don't go through the motions with the wrong weight and not get the results you want.
Read the article, make a comment about what works (...or has not worked) for you and share it with your friends.

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How Much Weight Should I Lift? It’s a perfectly good question, but the answer is going to vary. In fact, there are a number of variables that should be taken into account. When you take these variables into account it will allow you to customize your training program to ensure you’re using the right weight every time. For those of you not interested in details of How Much Weight Should I lift... here’s the short answer: You should always lift as much weight as you can for the number of repetitions targeted by an exercise without compromising form but that creates a burn for the last 4-5 reps or 10-15 seconds if timed. If you aren’t doing this, you’re only getting a fraction of your workout’s potential.

So let’s get into the answer of How Much Weight Should I Lift? Ultimately the independent variable isn’t the weight you are lifting, it is about the reps or time you are doing the exercise. So how do you figure out how much weight to lift, for the time or reps to get the best results? In exercise we know that failure is not an option, but with figuring out How Much Weight Should I Lift, failure can actually be good. This means if you never fail during a set, you never know how much weight you should lift when doing an exercise. So when you first start out and at least every 30 days it is good to create failure on an exercise. This lets you know what weights to use, and that you’re pushing to your limits. This is important to achieve your results whether your goal is to lose or gain weight.

HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD I LIFT?

Now let’s take a look at how the failure set is the answer to How Much Weight Should I Lift. This should be done with a few rules in mind so you don’t injure yourself. To begin you want to start with enough weight to barely reach the targeted repetitions or time. If you can just finish with maintaining form, then you found your weight. If you cannot, then you need to adjust it back just a bit. Repeat this process through every exercise in your workout.

Whether your goal is to gain mass, lose weight, or just get strong or ripped, taking a deeper look at How Much Weight I Should Lift will allow you to have the knowledge for the greatest results.

Most weight training exercises target a certain number of repetitions for each set or a certain amount of time. If you are using reps, the number might stay constant over the course of a workout or change depending on the exercise. If you are using time, the reps will vary based on the exercise. Either way, having an understanding of why this is being asked of you will help you get the most out of your workout program and determine the weight you should be lifting.

Here is a brief physiology lesson. This will help you understand how doing a failure test every 4-6 weeks will help as you train your body differently. It will help you understand why you will constantly need to change the amount of weight you’re using to get the most out of each workout.

A quick rundown of Weight Training Physiology to understand the question ofHow Much Weight Should I Lift:

• Hypertrophy Workouts: These workouts rev up the metabolism and are the quickest means to change your ratio of muscle and fat. Whether your goal is to lose or gain weight, beginning with a workout program that focuses on hypertrophy will change your metabolism, which in turn is body transformation. This will create a fat burn and added lean muscle with strength, which accelerates fat loss.

• Muscle Mass Workouts: This style of workout is going to combine low reps (or little time) with very high weights. This will produce larger muscles, which in turn increases the capacity for strength. The catch is, the strength does not come with size. To create the strength the larger muscles have to be trained to be efficient. This is done with programs that provide eccentric (negative) forces, and plyometric (explosive) forces.

• Muscular Endurance Workouts: This is exercise that lasts longer than a minute or over 15 repetitions. Endurance workouts target the glycolytic energy system, where both glycogen and oxygen are used when doing the exercise. This creates muscular endurance, which means you are increasing the muscle’s ability to perform for a longer duration. This style of training is best done when it is in conjunction with hypertrophy training.

So the questions about How Much Weight Should I Lift will have a different answers depending on what style of workouts you are doing. With that said, keep in mind that the best exercise programs for overall health, weight loss or maintenance, and muscular gains utilize all styles of exercise within one program. This will create the greatest results and benefits from your exercise.

When you start a new program be sure to go through the entire exercise program and do a failure test on each exercise to know where you need to start. This will help you get the greatest benefits from the weight you are lifting and the workouts you are doing.

No matter which of the above styles you’re targeting during your workout, it’s only effective if you have run the failure tests and are pushing your body to those limits. If the last few reps or seconds  are difficult while still maintaining proper form, you are good. If not, simply adjust. Of course you will have days that failure happens when you are working out. That is okay, you are still on track. When this happens you may need to evaluate whether you adjusted your weights too high, or perhaps you need to add some supplements to help your body perform and recover better.

Knowing the answer to the question of How Much Weight Should I Lift, ultimately will bring you greater results.

Exercise for Depression and Anxiety

Exercise is as much for your mental health as it is for your physical health.  Life is hard and we are all carrying some kind of burden.  Exercise can help ease and allow you to process the mental stresses.  But how? What are some good exercises to do?  If you're not in the habit, how do you get started?  This article has some of the answers.  How do you handle it?  Medication or lifestyle?

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Depression and anxiety symptoms often improve with exercise. When you have anxiety or depression, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do, but once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference. So, how do you Exercise for Depression and Anxiety?

First you need to have a greater understanding on how exercise can make a difference in depression and anxiety symptoms. The links between anxiety, depression and exercise are not entirely clear, but working out and other forms of physical activity have shown that it can definitely ease symptoms of anxiety or depression and make you feel better. Exercise has also been shown to help keep anxiety and depression from coming back once you are feeling better and symptoms have subsided.

How does exercise help depression and anxiety?

Regular exercise for depression and anxiety may help ease symptoms in a number of ways, which may include:

• Releasing feel-good brain chemicals that may ease depression (neurotransmitters, endorphins and endocannabinoids)
• Reducing immune system chemicals that can worsen depression
• Increasing body temperature, which may have calming effects

Regular exercise has many other psychological and emotional benefits, as well. It can help you:

• Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.
• Take your mind off worries. Exercise is a distraction that can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression.
• Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage anxiety or depression is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how badly you feel, or hoping anxiety or depression will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.

Now that you have an understanding of how it can help, what can you do to Exercise for Depression and Anxiety? Research has shown that physical activity such as regular walking, gardening or other forms of physical activity may help improve mood. Keep in mind that Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are beneficial to your health. The same research has shown that those who used exercise that incorporated progressive resistance training, and cardiovascular training showed a greater improvement and maintenance of depression and anxiety.

Exercise for Depression and Anxiety

With that said, many people don’t seek out exercise because they don’t want to go to a gym or fitness facility due to their depression and anxiety. So what is the answer?

The answer is to utilize at-home fitness and exercise programs such as Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix, P90X, TurboFire, Insanity, and others that provide resistance and cardiovascular training in a planned and structured format. This progressive exercise combined with a structured plan, and where you don’t have to leave your home is great way to create that improvement or maintain that Exercise for Depression and Anxiety can bring to a person.

One of the other things that many people don’t have with going to the gym to exercise for depression and anxiety is support. With a Beachbody Club Membership, each person gets a FREE Coach to support him or her. This can be a great benefit to those who have to exercise for depression and anxiety. If you start with a Beachbody Premium Membership, you’re first 30 days is FREE, and it gives you access to Beachbody On-Demand, an amazing meal planner, and much more! After your free trial ends, you’ll continue to stream world-class programs, such as P90X®, P90X2®, P90X3®, INSANITY®, and more from our massive Beachbody Member Library.

So take advantage of exercise to provide benefits to your overall health, and to improve or manage depression and anxiety.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

I usually pass along articles I agree with because I want to promote those ideas.  This article, I don't necessarily agree with, but I'm going to share it anyway.  I'd like to hear other opinions.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?  The article gives a qualified "no".  I would answer a qualified "yes".  The article says "If you truly want a balanced healthy nutrition plan... you really need to have at least 100 to 200 grams per day..."  New research and personal experience indicates you do better at under 100 grams of carbs per day.  30-50 g/day is a good range to target.  

What I can agree with is the quality of carbs - whole foods are always better.  Veggies - knock yourself out.  Fruits - ok, but you can over-do it.  But most grains and be significantly reduced (or eliminated) and you'll be better off.

With any type of food, we all need a big serving of portion control (pun intended).  We just don't need to eat as much of anything as we think we do.  Have some self discipline, eat a little less and drink more water.  You'll be fine.

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Are Carbohydrates Bad? They make you fat right? Come on it must be true, you read articles about it all the time. So they must make you fat…right?

Here is the deal. There is one small problem, carbohydrates are very important. In fact, carbohydrates (especially the right kind) are essential to your body. They aid in muscle growth, providing energy, as well as providing your body many other benefits. So, Are Carbohydrates Bad? The answer is NO!

Now let’s be real. Lumping all carbs together into one category is like saying all quarterbacks who play in the NFL will be just like Joe Montana. It would be absurd to call all carbs bad when vegetables and fruits are also carbohydrates. With that said, I would have a hard time believing that you would think that a nutrition plan attempting to completely purge carbohydrates would be a good idea. I have a feeling you are a pretty smart cookie (oh, that would be a bad carb). So to suggest that all carbs are evil, is just plain nonsense.

Let’s take a step back and take a hard look at reality, compared to personal preference. I need to ask you a question. Are you willing to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with the truth about carbohydrates? I am going to assume you said yes, either way I am going to give you the facts.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

 Are Carbohydrates Bad? Will bread and grains make you fat? Uh, NO! Blanket statements just don’t work. The “don’t eat carbs” or “Carbohydrates are Bad” statements are just that, Blanket Statements. Statements like these just confuse the general public. The reason people get confused, is that most don’t have a nutrition background or truly understand what qualifies as a carbohydrate. 95% of us look at food as simply that, FOOD. All blanket statements have done is cause people to adjust their diets in a way that keeps their bodies from functioning properly. This is why many people have been going out of their way to avoid certain foods, like bread, rice or potatoes. When in fact, these foods can have a place in a balanced nutrition plan and can play a role in helping you lose weight or gain lean muscle.

Now you know that carbs as a whole are not bad, BUT there are certain types of carbs that are not good for your body. Generally, these types of carbs will make you feel bloated and tired. These types of carbs often contain processed sugars, corn syrup, or are white flour based foods, and the list can go one with all the other processed crap available. If you cannot grow it, or it doesn’t come from minimally processed whole grains, it is not good. Yep, simple as that.

It comes down to the food manufactures like to confuse people. If they can get the general public to buy into what they are saying about a particular food, macronutrient, or diet, they make money and lots of it.

So back to the question at hand… Are Carbohydrates Bad?

NO, but all of us could gain a better understanding to guide our eating habits. Eating vegetables and fruit, as well as high quality, high fiber grains are an important part of healthy nutrition. If you truly want a balanced healthy nutrition plan that will aid in weight loss or muscle gains you really need to have at least 100 to 200 grams per day depending on your daily level of physical activity and exercise.

The overall message is, you cannot consume bucket-loads of refined low quality carbohydrates and chase them down with and extra-large soda and say, “well they said carbs aren’t bad”. I know you are smarter than the average bear and understand that you need to choose your carbohydrates wisely to have a healthy nutrition plan. It is about eating more good foods such as lean proteins, colorful vegetables, a variety of fruits, high-fiber grains, healthy fats, and cutting out the highly processed garbage such as candy, soda, sugar-loaded foods, poor quality breads, and boatloads of pasta.

Another important factor is choosing the correct portions of the carbs you consume. This can be as important as the kind of carbs you choose to eat. Grain and fruit carbohydrates should be smaller portions than vegetable carbs. If you need assistance with nutrition, portion sizes, and proper balance of carbs, proteins, and fats you may want to check out the 21 Day Fix on Beachbody On Demand. It has an amazing nutrition plan that creates the perfect balance of nutrients and portions. If you struggle with cutting out the crap, you definitely want to take a look at adding a total nutrition shake like Shakeology.

When it’s all said and done, if you are eating healthy and choosing wisely 85-90 percent of the time your body will be happy, you will have energy, and you will lose weight, gain muscle or maintain depending on your goals. You now know the truth to the question “Are Carbohydrates Bad?”

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Woman

Our culture seems to promote extremes.  Diet and nutrition are no different.  Prior to reading this article, I would have thought my concern was not getting enough protein.  Having read it, I'm evaluating if I get too much.  How much is too much?  ...in combination with what other foods?  Are protein shakes that give you 30g of protein per serving the way to go?  This article will answer those questions and more.

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What are the Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women? The average man in the United States consumes about 100 grams of protein per day, while the average woman takes in approximately 70 grams, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The amount of protein you need daily really is dependent on your gender and activity level, as well as your goals because this determines your total caloric intake which has an effect on the amount of protein you need to consume.

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Woman

The Institute of Health and Nutrition find that for general health, men should get around 56 grams of protein per day and that women should get around 46 grams. It is also important to know that the human body cannot properly utilize more than 20 grams of protein in one consumption. Therefore the grams should be spread out throughout the day in smaller doses. When consuming protein it needs to be of higher quality to ensure that you are getting the nine essential amino acids that are needed but your body cannot produce on its own. Meat, fish and poultry provide all of the amino acids, but if you are a vegetarian, you can combine foods, such as rice and beans, or whole-grain bread and peanut butter, to get a complete array of amino acids. Shakeology which is a total nutrition shake, will also provide all the nutrients you need from the protein to the amino acids. Including this shake in your daily nutrition will help you reach your protein needs without overloading the body with hard to digest animal proteins.

It is also recommend that 10 to 30 percent of your total calories comes from protein. This guideline is general and is dependent on goals. Example: 1,800 calories per day, 180 to 540 of those calories should be from protein. Each gram of protein is 4 calories. This would put your consumption at 45 to 135 grams of protein. This proves why it is dependent on gender, activity level, and personal goals.

Most People Get Too Much Protein

 To avoid weight gain, water retention and extra wear and tear on your digestive system, do not take in more protein than recommended. Your body will only use the protein it needs and can process at one time. If you are consuming more than your body needs, you will store it as excess fat, as well as eliminate it out. Therefore consuming to much at one time is bad for your body, and a waste of money. Eating large amounts of meat and animal protein each day can be especially unhealthy and hard on the body. Animal products should be eaten in moderation. Plant-based proteins, such as beans, whole grains and legumes are choices that keep the protein levels where you want them and provide a lot of other nutrients. Of course eating a variety of protein sources ensures your body balanced nutrition, all of the essential amino acids, and from being bogged down when there is too much of one food item.

Best Result with Your Protein Consumption

Most people don’t realize this, but the muscle gains and recovery do not come from just protein. You need to have a balanced proportion of proteins with complex carbohydrates for your body to actually assimilate the protein for muscle gains and recovery. Therefore you need to consume it in small amounts keeping the total grams in one sitting to 20, and couple that with carbohydrates that will allow for the proteins to be utilize. This is why we mention plant based protein sources, as it give you both the protein and the carbohydrates.

If you are looking at supplements for help on getting good protein and carbohydrates you want to use something that is natural and does not have additives, artificial sugars, and ingredients. Some of the best, is the Super Food Shake Shakeology, or Beachbody’s Recharge and Recover Protein from their Performance Nutrition Line. These products are clean high quality protein sources that are perfectly balanced with carbohydrates for optimal assimilation of the protein and super nutrient dense carbohydrates to aid in the process of muscle gains, and recovery.

When you are providing your body the proper Macronutrient quantities, you will get the greatest results. Too much or too little will keep you from having the gains and results you are looking to obtain.

With the knowledge of protein requirements, and overall balanced nutrition, great things will happen for you.