Protein is an essential nutrient and is vital to your health. It is used to build muscles, skin, hair, and nails. However, many people put their health at risk by eating too much protein. The typical American diet already provides plenty of protein and there is no point in adding any more, unlike fat cells, there is no place in the body to store protein so the excess is eliminated or is seen as fat rather than muscle…
So what you need to do is to consume just enough protein to allow your muscles to be healthy, perform work and grow. But how much is just enough
You only use protein for about 15% of your energy use, the majority of energy comes from fats and carbohydrates. Exercising doesn’t necessarily mean that you require more protein but more carbohydrates to stop your body from breaking down protein and using that for energy. Try to make sure that 70% of your protein comes from sources such as meat, fish, eggs, or poultry. The complete protein provided by these foods combines with incomplete protein consumed from other food sources. So your body makes the best of all the protein that you consume. If you are consuming too much protein, you are probably consuming too many calories over your maintenance levels and this will show as an increase in your body fat levels. And with the advent of the latest fad high protein diets, not enough carbohydrates are being consumed so the protein is converted to glucose and not converted into muscle growth.
What is needed for muscle growth is not more protein but high-intensity strength training with the required amount of time for rest and recovery between sessions. Because that major bodybuilding star you saw in the latest magazine requires 300 grams of protein a day doesn’t mean that you have to. What he won’t tell you is that taking Steroids is behind his muscle gains and not his diet.
High-intensity strength training and not food stimulates muscle growth. Consuming excessive amounts of protein is not only bad for your liver and kidneys but also promotes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is also linked to osteoporosis and some forms of cancer.
One way to overcome the need to eat large quantities of protein is to increase the consumption of protein in stages until a maximum efficiency point is reached and then drastically reduce it again. This obliges the body to over-compensate by increasing the efficiency of the absorption of protein into the body.
An example of a Protein Loading diet is found below.
Week One
Breakfast: Poached egg on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.
Snack: Fruit and protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken, potato, and vegetables. Fresh fruit salad.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Fish in any style, rice, vegetables, whole meal bread, and fruit salad.
Week Two
Breakfast: Two poached eggs on toast, cereal with fruit salad, and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken with potatoes and vegetables (any style)
Snack: Nuts, fruit, biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Roast Beef with vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.
Week Three
Breakfast: Three eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and protein shake.
Lunch: Turkey with potatoes and vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: ½ Chicken, potatoes, veggies, brown rice, whole meal bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
Week Four
Breakfast: Four eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Spaghetti with meat sauce, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: Roast Pork, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
After week four of this protein-loading diet, move from the max intake of protein to the lowest. So in the fifth week go back to the week one menu, in the sixth week, the week two menu, and so on.
This protein-loading diet provides a balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates and combined with high-intensity strength training will be very effective in increasing muscular body weight without the need to ingest large quantities of protein.
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
If you observe carefully you’re likely to find that you eat more than you need. There are several steps you can take to reduce the size of your portions without being hungry or feeling deprived…
The first, and most obvious, is to emphatically say “no” when asked, “Supersize that?” If you just can’t pass up a “bargain,” bring along a friend, order the larger size, and split it between the two of you. Otherwise, remind yourself that the regular portion will satisfy your physical hunger. Several studies have demonstrated that when you eat food until you’re no longer hungry, it stops tasting good. The extra food in the jumbo size wouldn’t have provided any additional enjoyment; it would have just left you feeling bloated and angry with yourself, so you shouldn’t feel deprived when declining jumbo portions.
Second, recognize that controlling portion size requires that you read the labels carefully to avoid being misled. For example, a snack package of Grandma’s Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies has 200 calories, nine grams of fat, and twenty-eight grams of carbohydrates per serving, but if you read the label carefully, you’ll find that a serving is only one of the two cookies in the package. More than likely you’ll eat both cookies, so you’ll consume twice as many calories, grams of fat, and grams of carbohydrates.
Sam, a forty-six-year-old engineer who had lost twenty pounds, learned that the price of continuing weight loss was eternal vigilance. Having avoided desserts for most of the week, he decided to stop at a convenience market after dinner to indulge his love of ice cream. He was doing everything right: he had eaten sensibly so he could allow himself a treat, he had finished dinner so he wasn’t hungry, he wasn’t using the ice cream to soothe any emotional turmoil, and he was planning on giving the ice cream the attention it deserved to get the maximum enjoyment from it. He spent a few minutes in front of the freezer case examining its contents before choosing an ice cream sandwich made with two cookies. He did some mental calculations and decided that he could afford the 295 calories listed on the label. When he got home he noticed that the serving size was “1⁄2 sandwich.” The sandwich was perfectly round; there were no notches, dotted lines on the wrapping, or anything else to suggest that it should be cut in half. Sam struggled for a minute before deciding that he couldn’t afford 590 calories, cut it in half, and put one half in his freezer before enjoying the other half.
Check the label on a package of pasta. The caloric values are for a two-ounce serving yet most recipes call for at least four ounces and restaurants may serve seven or eight ounces. You have to read the nutrition labels very carefully.
Third, slow the pace of eating. One study found that eating slowly was associated with greater weight loss for women in a weight-control program. When you’re eating take smaller bites, put the knife and fork down frequently, talk more (remember, it’s not polite to talk with your mouth full!), and stop eating for a minute in the middle of the meal, while there is still food on your plate. Don’t distract yourself by reading or watching TV while you’re eating. Pay attention to what you’re eating. Notice the texture and temperature of the food and see if you can identify any spices that were used. If you focus on your eating, it’s likely that you will be satisfied with smaller quantities of food.
Finally, review your Eating Records paying particular attention to the “Excess” column. While overeating is a general tendency that occurs in many situations, see if there are any particular “Times,” “Foods,” or “Location/People/Circumstances” associated with the checks in the “Excess” column. If you find any circumstances that make overeating more likely, you can plan to substitute low-density (high-fiber, high-water content) foods when you are in that situation.
Author: Edward Abramson, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert on eating and weight disorders who lectures to professional and lay audiences around the world. He is a professor of psychology at California State University and a former director of the Eating Disorders Center at Chico Community Hospital. Dr. Abramson has appeared on “Hard Copy,” “20/20,” PBS, “Good Day LA,” “Joan Rivers,” and other TV and radio programs, and his work has been written about in Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Self, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and other major publications.
Students today are faced with the serious reality of unwanted weight gain as they enter college. A recent study by Cornell University found that, on average, college freshmen gain about 0.5 pounds a week…
This is almost 11 times more than the average weight gain among 17- and 18-year olds and almost 20 times more than the average weight gain among American adults! In the face of such staggering statistics, two obvious questions arise: 1) Why are college students gaining weight at such an alarming rate? 2) How can college weight gain be avoided?
Q: Why are college students gaining weight at such an alarming rate?
A: There are many different specifics that lead a student to gain weight in college, but they can be summed up into three main categories:
An increase in Calories: College life encourages an increase in the caloric intake of students. College is filled with social events and social events usually equal FOOD! Most college cafeterias serve their food buffet style, and when given access to unlimited amounts of food most people automatically overeat. Fast food, while laden with calories, is cheap so it appeals to the budget of a college student. Studying for long hours often leads to snacking for hours. Blended coffee drinks and smoothies are often staples in a college student’s diet even though these items often pack more calories than a regular meal.
Decrease in Activity: When students enter college most of them leave organized sports behind them. These students that were used to practicing five or more times a week for hours at a time are now left with no accountability to be active. Couple this with the hectic schedule that most college students deal with, and it begins to make sense why most incoming freshmen don’t even make time to find the campus gym, let alone visit it regularly!
Metabolism Killers: College students are notorious for crashing their metabolism by poorly managing their diets. This occurs when a student eats too few meals and ends up eating extra-large meals once or twice a day instead of proportioned meals throughout the day. A common metabolism killer of college students is skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day as it starts one’s metabolism up in the morning. Eating late at night is another classic metabolism killer of college students.
College weight gain
Q: How can college weight gain be avoided?
A: The first step in avoiding weight gain is to be aware of the things that cause it. Couple that with the following three suggestions of proven ways to avoid weight gain, and you are looking at a plan of success!
Set a Goal: The best way to ensure that you don’t become the next college weight gain statistic is to make it your goal not to gain weight. Be aware of the changes to your lifestyle once you enter college, and make a conscious effort to only allow healthy changes to occur. Post your goal where you can view it every day and periodically check your progress by weighing yourself.
Practice Nutritious Eating: Be aware of the pitfalls of college eating habits and concentrate on eating nutritious, well-balanced meals. Avoid fried foods and those high in calories. Eat as many fresh vegetables and fruits as you can, and practice portion control while roaming the cafeteria.
Join an Exercise Program: Whether you join an intramural sports team, enroll in PE, or attend an aerobics class, the bottom line is that you need to be active in order to ward off the freshman fifteen. Find an activity that you enjoy and consistently do it. You should be exercising for a minimum of half an hour three times each week. A great way to stay consistent is to build accountability with a friend.
In Conclusion
Armed with an informed game plan and some effort, any college student can avoid weight gain. You don’t have to settle for depressing weight gain as you navigate through the most exciting time of your life! You deserve the body of your dreams.
Author:
Diana Keuilian, Certified Personal Trainer, and author of “Avoid The Freshman Fifteen”, has a proven method for avoiding college weight gain.
Over the last 30 years, research into food and blood glucose response has completely changed our carbohydrate classification system.
It has been learned that it is impossible to predict the impact on the blood glucose levels of certain foods. Instead, people are fed carbohydrate foods and the response is measured.
This response is known as the Glycemic Index (GI). It is a measure of how quickly carbohydrate foods are digested and absorbed and ranks carbohydrate foods according to their impact on blood sugar (glucose) levels: as indicated by elevated blood glucose.
Foods with a high GI are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels. While foods with a low GI are broken down more slowly over time and keep blood glucose levels more stable (remember that low is slow!).
Some carbohydrate foods will maintain your energy levels for hours, while some may cause your blood glucose to rise and fall. Different types of carbohydrates can also affect feelings of fullness in the stomach, and this can influence hunger and your ability to control your body weight.
Why is the GI important?
When our blood glucose levels are stable, we have plenty of readily available fuel for the brain and muscles. If our blood glucose levels drop too low (hypoglycemia), we feel tired, dizzy, and generally unwell. If our blood glucose levels rise too quickly, a rapid drop usually follows this.
Include low glycemic index foods in meals and snacks to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream. A low glycemic index snack a few hours before exercise will help maintain your energy levels for more effective training.
After high intensity exercise (strength training) a high glycemic index snack should be consumed within 30 minutes. This will help to replace energy and start the recovery process.
Low-GI foods take longer to digest and help delay hunger pangs that little bit more, thus promoting weight loss. So please choose your carbs carefully, as this will lower your insulin levels and burn more fat. The secret is to swap high GI foods with low GI foods.
Simple steps to a low GI diet
Step No 1
Start with a healthy, well balanced, and varied diet based on a good nutrition program. The diet should be low in fats and moderate in carbohydrates and protein. The program should be high in fiber and contain a varied amount of foods to provide the required amount of vitamins and minerals.
Step No 2
Look at the type of carbohydrates that you consume during the day. Look at the carbs that you eat the most, as these will have the most dramatic impact on your diet.
Try to change the carbs you eat the most with at least one low GI one. (Replace potato with sweet potato, use noodles instead of rice) By substituting half of your daily carbohydrate from high GI to low GI will result in an overall reduction in the GI of your diet.
Reducing the GI in your diet reduces your insulin levels and increases the fat burning apparatus in your body. Try to reduce the high GI’s in your diet by substituting them with low GI’s.
Regular consumption of low GI foods increases the feelings of fullness and satisfaction and so prevents weight gain. Try taking in six small meals a day of healthy low fat low GI foods to prevent overeating at meal times and control appetite.
Remember that it is also important to look at the calories in food too. Rice and bread might be low in fat, but when your body is burning the carbohydrates in these foods, it doesn’t burn as much fat. So if you are on a low fat diet, you won’t lose as much weight if your calories are still high.
Have a look at the table below for the different GI food ratings:
Low GI (lower than 50)Medium GI (50-70)High GI (higher than 70)
Grapefruit (26) Pineapple (66)Cornflakes (80)
Baked Beans (15)Raisins (64)W/M Bread (72)
Lentils (29)Sweet corn (59)Brown Rice (80)
Peanuts (13)Potato Chips (51)Carrots (92)
Soy Beans (15)All bran (51)Baked Potato (98)
Compare these two menus and try to adjust your diet accordingly
High GI Menu
Breakfast: 40 grams of cornflakes with milk. Two slices of wholemeal toast with margarine and jam.
Snack: two sweet biscuits with a cup of white coffee.
Lunch: ham and salad whole meal Roll with an apple.
Snack: four crackers with cottage cheese and chives.
Main Meal: a serving of roasted chicken with a large baked potato and peas, and a small piece of cake.
Low GI Menu
Breakfast: 40 grams of bran with low fat milk. Two slices of low GI toast (Try Burgen) with margarine and jam.
Snack: two oatmeal biscuits with coffee (Low fat milk).
Lunch: ham and salad roll (low GI bread). Soft-serve vanilla yogurt with toasted muesli sprinkled on top.
Snack: two bananas.
Main Meal: A serving of roasted chicken with a small baked potato and peas. Two scoops of low fat ice cream with half a cup of canned peaches.
Eat low GI foods – roasted chicken
Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, nuts, and avocados contain very little or no carbohydrates. These foods, if eaten by themselves, will not have much effect on your glucose levels and are very low GI. Alcoholic beverages, especially wine, are also low GI, so they can be included in your diet, but remember to count them in your daily caloric intake.
Low GI foods are ideal for losing weight due to the slow absorption from the stomach. Low GI foods also help to keep blood sugar levels more stable, and this has an effect on reducing sweet cravings.
About the Author
Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks” – the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in Ten Weeks” – easy-to-use and follows techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym”.
We will look at why some meat is better than others for you and why some fats are better than others for you. What are these Omega fats, anyway? We will also look at why the fat ratio of meat and eggs can be affected by the animal’s feed and living conditions. We’ll also touch on the fact that just because an animal was raised on organic feed it still may not have the nutrients needed to make their meat healthy…
To figure out what Omega fatty acids are we will touch on just the basics. Fats are compounds called Lipids. They are chemical compounds of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. Fatty acids are the refined fuel forms of fat and some cells, like the heart, prefer them over glucose (sugar). Fatty acids are named according to the number of carbons in their chain, for example, Omega 3, and Omega 6. Because there are fewer carbons in an Omega 3’s chain has some to do with why they are better for you. Your HDL (good Cholesterol) comes from Omega 3’s.
Now we need to know this because there are certain Fatty Acids that are considered “Essential” meaning that we need to get them from the foods we eat. They are Linoleic, Linolenic and Arachidonic. But actually Linoleic is the only one that our body can not make so it is dependent on diet.
Fatty acids have many important functions:
Linoleic acid strengthens cell membranes and helps prevent skin breakdown like eczema, and skin lesions.
Linoleic acid combines with cholesterol to move it through the blood and helps lower blood cholesterol levels.
All three Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) help with the blood clotting ability of the body.
Linoleic acid is a precursor of many hormone-like substances in the body. One of these hormone-like substances is Prostaglandin.
Prostaglandin was originally thought to originate in the prostate gland, hence its name, but it is actually present in all body tissue. Omega 3 fatty acids are precursors of prostaglandin. It is formed from Linoleic acid which is an (EFA) and must come from dietary intake.
Prostaglandin acts as a hormone to directly coordinate important biological functions. Some of the functions are:
The smooth muscle tone is controlled by them (Smooth muscles are involuntary muscles like those around the heart and blood vessels).
Platelet aggregation (blood clotting) is affected by them.
Inflammation reactions and immune responses are also controlled by them.
For this reason, they are very important in Cardiovascular Disease. The longer the chain of fatty acids the harder it is for the body to absorb them. For this reason, Omega 3’s are much easier to absorb than Omega 6‘s. They both compete in the body for the same receptor sites so it is important to have a higher dietary intake of Omega 3’s than Omega 6’s. We want Omega 3’s to get to the receptor sites in larger numbers than Omega 6’s. Omega 3 fatty acids are not present in grains and very low amounts are present in hay. In order to have Omega 3’s in the meat we eat the animals need to be raised on pasture. As a comparison:
In grain-fed beef, Omega 3’s are 1, and Omega 6’s are 20.
In grass-fed beef, Omega 3’s are 1, and Omega 6’s are 3.
Medical experts have found that if Omega 3’s are 1 and the Omega 6’s exceed 4 in the ratio people are more likely to have health problems.
By eating pastured meats like beef, pork, and chicken not only do we lower our risk of heart problems, but just by this change alone, the average American can lower their calorie intake by about 17,700 calories a year.
Chicken is a source of Omega-3 acids
Free-range chickens are a better source of omega-3 acids.
Chickens that are raised in areas where they can range and eat vegetables, grass, insects, and a small amount of corn have a higher amount of Omega 3’s in their eggs. For example:
In range-fed chicken eggs, Omega 3’s are 5, and Omega 6’s are 1.
In confinement-raised chickens, Omega 3’s are 1, and Omega 6’s are 20.
The eggs of range-fed chickens have a higher number of Omega 3’s than Omega 6’s. This means they would be very good for you, and could even help lower cholesterol levels in your body. Flax seed is high in Omega 3’s and is a great feed source to boost Omega 3’s in the meat and eggs of chickens.
Beware of labeling. For example, an animal raised on “Organic Feed” still may not have a healthy ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids present in the meat. This is because even organically raised grains do not have healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acids present. Fish is high in Omega 3’s but so many of our water sources are contaminated with Mercury that it may be safer to eat Pastured Meats.
It is no wonder that down-home, country living has a reputation for making you healthy and strong. Eating the right foods, raised in the right conditions, can make a big difference in the way you feel and the way your body functions.
About the AuthorMary Howard RN Mary Howard is a Registered Nurse, mother of two, and enjoys natural gardening. Feel Free to contact her at: gardenrn@sendfree.com
The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.
