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Protein
Part 1:
I
Didn't Realize How Important Protein Was For Fat
Loss
Until I Discovered Something That Blew My Mind...
Protein
Part 2:
How
to Maximize The Results You Get From Your
Protein Powder. Timing Is Everything!
Protein
Part 3:
The
Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt Cheap!
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Protein
Part 1
I Didn't Realize How Important
Protein Was For Fat Loss Until I Discovered Something
That Blew My Mind...
The
year was 1992. I had just finished a long cycle of weight
gain whereupon I had moved my bodyweight up from about
150 pounds to about 215 pounds. And let me just tell
you, it wasn't all muscle!
I
hadn't been all that careful about my diet previously
but I thought I knew pretty well what I was doing. It
was time to lose some of that fat.
The
first thing I did was make the biggest mistake a dieter
can make: in my focus of trying to eat only low fat
foods, I unwittingly and drastically reduced the amount
of protein that I was eating.
The
result? I lost weight and plenty of it. The problem
was, I lost mostly muscle! I was smaller, weaker, lighter
and nearly as fat as I was before. Not quite the results
I was looking for.
In
retrospect, I know exactly what I did wrong and it's
something I'll never do again.
I
FORGOT ABOUT PROTEIN!
Protein
is an extremely important nutrient whether your goal
is to lose fat, gain muscle or just tone yourself up.
It is the main structural nutrient in your body, making
up the bulk of your muscles and organs. Protein is essential
for proper hormone function and immune system health.
Most importantly, for our purposes, protein is used
for building and repairing muscle tissue.
When
you are trying to lose fat, you reduce your calories.
Unfortunately, your body views fat stores as more precious
than your muscle tissue and will tend to eat up muscle
tissue before it goes to fat for energy. This physiological
adaptation used to protect our ancestors from famine
but works against us now.
This
is very unfortunate because muscle tissue is a great
calorie-burner. The more muscle you have, the more calories
you burn even when you're doing absolutely nothing!
Protecting your muscle tissue makes fat loss so much
easier, it will amaze you. Not only that, it will help
you keep that fat off permanently!
What
can you do to protect your muscle tissue?
The
first thing you can do is exercise. Exercise, especially
resistance training, provides a stimulus for your body
that sends it a signal saying "keep this muscle,
you're going to need it."
The
second thing you can do is provide your body with enough
protein. This can be in the form of food or supplements.
Good
food sources of protein include chicken, fish, eggs,
lean meats, legumes (beans), soy, and dairy products.
Protein supplements are derived from food sources but
are concentrated for convenience and effectiveness.
How
much protein do you need?
The
standard recommendation for athletes is between 1.2
to 1.7 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (or
0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight per day), though
some research indicates a ratio as high as 2 grams per
kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.9 grams per pound)
is beneficial. This means if you weigh 150 pounds, you
should try to eat between 75 and 105 grams and up to
around 135 grams of protein per day.
Essentially,
you should experiment with your protein intake to find
out what works best for you. As far as importance in
your supplement program goes, I would rank protein as
next in importance to a good multi-vitamin.
When
I made my first grand attempt at fat loss, I made the
mistake of neglecting protein and it cost me. Don't
make the same mistake I did!
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Protein Part 2
How to Maximize The Results You Get From Your Protein
Powder. Timing Is Everything!
Whether
it be for fat loss or muscle gain, I always recommend
taking a good protein supplement. The reason for this
is simple: it is a convenient way to get high-quality
protein without excess calories.
Be
aware, however, that in no way am I advocating that
you live on protein powder (like the dangerous Liquid
Protein diets that used to be popular) alone. The key
point to understand here is that a protein supplement
is exactly what the name suggests: a supplement. It
should be taken in addition to a nutritious diet in
order to achieve a certain purpose, in this case increased
protein intake.
Protein
powders and protein bars can also be used as meal replacements
on occasion, especially when you are on the go. They
are far more nutritious than a fast food meal and more
convenient.
The
most popular and highest quality protein powder is whey
protein. Whey is very digestable and is used efficiently
in the body.
You
can maximize the effects you get from your protein supplement
simply by knowing exactly when to take it. Here is a
list of the when, why and how of effective protein supplementation,
ranked in order of importance.
1.
Immediately After A Workout
If
you only take protein once per day, this is the absolute
best time to take it. Immediately after you finish your
workout, your body needs raw materials to rebuild and
recover with. If you don't supply the raw materials
through eating, your body will break down muscle from
elsewhere in your body in order to rebuild the damaged
areas. This is very counterproductive as you can well
imagine.
By
taking in some protein (20 to 30 grams or so) within
minutes after exercise, you provide your body with the
raw materials it needs to recover without breaking down
it's own muscle tissue.
2.
An Hour After A Workout
About
an hour following a workout, your body has settled down
from the excitement and is ready to really start rebuilding.
The protein that you took in immediately following the
workout has been metabolized and your body is looking
for more. Another protein shake at this time is a good
way to help speed recovery. Try to take in another 20
to 30 grams about an hour after working out.
3.
First Thing In The Morning
Immediately
upon waking, or as soon after that as you can manage,
take a scoop of protein powder. Your body has just been
through an (approximately) 8 hour fast and is hungry
for nutrients. Feed your body!
Protein
powder is more quickly assimilated than solid food and
gets into your muscles faster. This protein shot gives
your metabolism a boost, which can help with fat loss.
Be sure to follow it with a good breakfast, of course.
4.
Last Thing At Night
Prepare
your body for the long overnight fast by giving it a
little something to work with. A good combination for
this purpose is to mix a scoop of whey protein in with
a small glass of milk.
Whey
is what's known as a "fast" protein, meaning
that it's digested quickly, while milk protein (casein)
is what's known as a "slow" protein, meaning
it's digested relatively slowly. At night, you want
your protein to be metabolized slowly so that your body
gets a more even supply over the course of the night.
By mixing "fast" and "slow" proteins,
you get the benefits of the higher-quality whey with
the slower digestion time of the milk.
5.
In-between Meals
A
quick protein shake can be a great snack in between
meals. It helps keep your body supplied with protein
all day long. This is especially useful if you tend
to have long periods of time in-between meals. It could
mean the difference between losing muscle and building
or keeping muscle!
6.
With Meals
Taking
a protein supplement with meals is a handy way to increase
the protein content of a meal. This is perfect for when
you ake
a meal that is somewhat low in protein.
7.
In The Middle Of The Night
This
is a trick that bodybuilders sometimes use in order
to keep their muscles supplied with protein throughout
the night. Keep a pre-mixed protein shake right beside
your bed. Although some trainers have been known to
set alarms to wake up to drink it, I prefer to have
it there waiting just in case I wake up, but I don't
try to wake up on purpose. If I don't wake up, it's
right there ready for me to drink first thing in the
morning! This strategy is more targeted for muscle growth
rather than fat loss.
WARNING!
Never
drink a protein supplement immediately before working
out!
Some
people do this thinking that it will give them an energy
boost or give them a head-start for post-workout recovery.
Basically, all it does is sit in their stomach and bloat
them up. Valuable blood that should be going to working
muscles gets sent to the digestive system to try and
digest it. The same warning goes for taking protein
during a workout. Don't do it!
By following these protein-intake recommendations, you
will increase the effectiveness of your supplementation.
Even if you choose to take advantage of only one or
two of these timing techniques, you will certainly see
an improvement in your recovery ability.
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Protein Part 3:
The Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt Cheap!
Without
a doubt, whey protein is king when it comes to protein
quality and digestability. Ironically, whey used to
be considered a useless by-product of cheesemaking and
was just dumped into ponds as waste!
There
are two main classifications of whey protein, which
are essentially based on how processed the whey is.
The two forms are whey isolate and concentrate. The
major difference between the two is that whey isolate
is more processed and is thus a purer source of whey.
Whey concentrate is still a very high quality protein
however.
If
you have the money to spend, whey isolate is the higher
quality protein. If you're looking to get the most protein
bang for your buck, I'm going to let you in on a little
secret:
Whey
concentrate is very nearly as good as isolate and is
a whole lot cheaper!
I
would compare it to driving a sports car. Imagine whey
protein as the Ferrari of protein. It is a top-quality
protein and a top-quality car. If you put a manual transmission
into that Ferrari, you are going to get more performance
out of it. This is what happens with whey isolate as
compared to whey concentrate. Whey concentrate is your
basic Ferrari, while whey isolate is your souped-up
Ferrari.
My
favorite protein supplement, which I always recommend
to clients and friends, is the EAS brand whey concentrate
protein powder called "Simply Protein."
EAS
is a very high-quality, well-known brand name and is
a pioneer in scientific supplement development. They
know their stuff!
But
here's the best part...
I
know an online store where you can get this protein
powder at a fraction of the price you would pay at a
regular retail store. Let me throw some numbers at you.
For
2 pounds of whey isolate you will generally pay anywhere
between $29.95 and $39.95.
For
10 pounds of EAS whey concentrate at the online store
I will tell you about, you will pay only $49.95 (as
of June 13, 2007). For this exact same brand at a retail
supplement store, you will most likely pay around 35
to 40 dollars for only a 5 pound tub of it.
When
you break down the numbers, it looks something like
this:
Whey
Isolate: $15 to $20 per pound
EAS Whey Concentrate Retail: $7 to $8 per pound
EAS Whey Concentrate Online Store: $5 per pound
I've
been using and researching protein supplements for the
past 12 years and I have yet to find a better deal on
this high a quality of protein.
Use
this link and go get some today!
Click
here
p.s. the best part is they only charge a flat rate of
$5.95 for shipping regardless of the size of your order.
You could order 40 pounds of protein and still only
pay $5.95 for shipping! (Actually, if you ordered over
$200.00 worth, your shipping would be free!)
