Post Workout Nutrition

As you’ve probably heard before, your post-workout meal (full of nutrition) may very well be your most important meal of the day. The reason is that when you’re finished with an intense workout, you’re entering a catabolic state where your muscle glycogen is depleted and increased cortisol levels are beginning to excessively break down muscle tissue.

These conditions are not good and the only way to reverse this catabolic state (and promote an anabolic state) is to consume a quickly digestible post-workout meal (can be a shake or smoothie, full of nutrition) as soon as you can after training.

The goal is to choose a meal with easily digestible quick carbs to replenish muscle glycogen as well as quickly digestible protein to provide the amino acids needed to jump start muscular repair.  The surge of carbohydrates and amino acids from this quickly digested meal promotes an insulin spike from the pancreas, which shuttles nutrients into the muscle cells.

The post-workout meal should generally contain between 300-500 calories to get the best response. For example, a 120-lb female may only need a 300-calorie meal, whereas a 200-lb male may need a 500-calorie post-workout meal. Your post-workout meal should also contain anywhere from a 2:1 ratio of carbs:protein to a 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein. While most of your other daily meals should contain a source of healthy fats, keep the fat content of your post-workout meal to a bare minimum, since fat slows the absorption of the meal, which is the opposite of what you want after a workout.

When choosing what to make for your post-workout meal, the first thing to realize is that you DON’T need any of these expensive post-workout supplement formulations that all of the fancy ads you see everywhere will tell you that you absolutely NEED!  I tend to prefer to make my own post-workout shakes from natural ingredients instead of using a commercial mixture, since many of them are low quality with little nutrition.

 For the shakes that I make myself, here are some things to keep in mind if you try it...

A good source of quickly digestible natural carbs such as frozen bananas, pineapples, honey, or organic maple syrup are perfect to elicit an insulin response that will promote muscle glycogen replenishment and a general anabolic (muscle building) effect. The more you can assist the muscle repair process, the more you increase your metabolic rate and can help your fat loss as well.

The best source of quickly digestible protein is a quality non-denatured whey protein and/or some fat-free or low-fat yogurt. Here are a couple ideas for delicious post-workout smoothies that will kick start your recovery process:

Chocolate Banana – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup milk (I prefer raw grass-fed milk for max health benefits), one and a half frozen bananas, 2 tbsp organic maple syrup, and 30 grams chocolate whey protein powder – 38 g prot, 72 g carb, 1.5 g fat, 450 calories.

Pineapple Vanilla - blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, one cup frozen pineapples, 2 tbsp honey (preferably raw), and 30 grams vanilla whey protein powder – 35 g prot, 71 g carb, 1 g fat, 430 calories.

When choosing a good whey protein, it's important to note that the quality vastly differs between brands and types.  Most whey proteins are produced under high heat processes that destroy some of the fragile nutritional components of the whey.  The best whey that I've found is this great new grass since this is from grass-fed cows, it also has higher levels of muscle-building and fat-burning CLA (conjugated linoleic acid).

When looking to lose body fat, keep in mind that post-workout meals should have the opposite characteristics of all of your other meals throughout each day. While post-workout meals should have quick high glycemic index carbs and quickly digested proteins, all of your other meals throughout the day should be comprised of low glycemic index, slowly digested carbs and slow release proteins.

These are powerful strategies towards developing a lean muscular body with a low body fat percentage.  Another great thing about post-workout meals is that you can satisfy even the worst sweet tooth, since this is the one time of the day where you can get away with eating extra sugars without adding to your gut. Instead, it all goes straight to the muscles! But ONLY if your workout was super-high intensity and involved resistance training for large portions of the body.  If all you did was some low intensity cardio, forget about doing this type of post-workout shake.

Enjoy!
A more detailed and comprehensive nutritional analysis with more of these various powerful dietary strategies are found in our best-selling #1 rated fitness ebook in the world, The Truth About Six Pack Abs.

Is Forever Body Transformation A SCAM?

Is Forever Body Transformation A Scam Or Is It Legit? This Review Tells You What Forever Body Transformation Has To Offer. The Forever Body Transformation is legit and it's not a scam. I bought the Forever Body Transformation membership and I wanted to write a review on it so you know what Forever Body Transformation has to offer.

Forever Body Transformation is geared towards proper nutrition and easy effective workouts you can do right from home. The membership area has great videos that tells you all about portion sizes and how to read nutrition labels. Forever Body Transformation has wonderful meal plans and delicious recipes, you won't even feel like your dieting. They also provide you with a great food tracker to keep track of what you eat. That is a great tool because you will never wonder if your eating to much or not enough.

Forever Body Transformation has over 200 easy workout videos which you can do right at home. They also provide you with a Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator. This is a must needed tool for weight loss because as you lose weight, you should be eating less calories and the calculator determines how many calories your body needs by your gender, weight, and height.

One of the best things that Forever Body Transformation has to offer in my opinion is the friendly supportive community of other members losing weight just like you. You can easily talk to other members in the program to help you stay motivated. They also have a forum you can write in to reach out to all the other members of Forever Body Transformation. You can write about your progress, questions you might have, or even make new friends in the forum they provide. Everyone needs a friendly supportive community to lose weight to help you stay motivated.

That is just a few of the many things Forever Body Transformation has To offer. I could go on and on about all the tools provided to you in the membership area. So as you can see Forever Body Transformation is an effective weight loss program and is not a scam. This is one of the most effective weight loss programs I have seen in a long time. GOOD LUCK!

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10 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Meal

The holiday season is the time of year to open your heart and home to friends, family and most importantly.....lots of good food! And since there is so much focus on eating during the holiday period, a person's waist line could grow faster than you can say "pass the cheesecake."

To help you get by without having to buy a whole new wardrobe in January, we've put together 10 quick tips to help guide you to a healthier and happier holiday season. Follow these tips and your waist-line will thank you for it!

1. Grains are Good
Go for whole grains. Choose whole wheat breading, rolls, and bread for sandwiches; choose wild rice instead of using the old standby, white rice. Any type of white bread is high in refined sugar (which means more calories); if you still crave it, choose a "lite" or diet version. Choosing wheat instead of white may even help you feel fuller longer, because white bread actually digests faster than whole grain breads, which leads you to feeling hungry earlier.

2. Getting Steamy
Serve steamed vegetables instead of heavy casseroles. Use herbs and spices as seasonings instead of loading them with butter, oil or cheese. Reduce the amount of oil you use if you sauté them. Serve raw veggies and low-fat dip as appetizers instead of meat and cheese crackers or finger sandwiches.

3. Fruit is Fab Fare
Instead of a cornucopia of pies and cakes lining your dessert table, offer fruit-based finishers like fondue, fruit cocktail, yogurt parfaits, and fresh fruit. Not only will this reduce the fat and calorie content of your meal's finale, guests will also find fruit more refreshing than sweets. After all, usually by dessert, you're eating out of sheer habit anyway, not from hunger, so why "waist" the calories?

4. Trim Up that Turkey
If you're the one preparing the turkey, why not cook the stuffing separate from the turkey? You will reduce its fat content by preventing the fat from the turkey soaking into the dressing. Use less butter or margarine when you're preparing the stuffing. Don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy with a gravy separator or by refrigerating it. After you've tucked that napkin into your shirt collar, be sure to trim the skin off your turkey and you'll spare yourself some fat. Let your uncles fight over that drumstick; choose light meat rather than dark meat and you'll save quite a few calories.

5. Powder Your ... Dessert?
Got milk? Trade it in for the powdered variety and save yourself lots of fats and calories in your baking. A site visitor once wrote in to suggest that using evaporated skim milk in her favorite recipes instead of cream or milk has been one of the changes that has led her to an 80 pound weight loss! Add equal parts water to replace milk or use it straight from the can as a substitute in recipes calling for heavy cream.

6. Ease Up on Imbibing
Take it easy on the adult beverages. You don't have to swear off alcohol entirely, but moderation is definitely key. Not only are alcoholic drinks calorie-heavy, they also increase your appetite. Plus, as anyone whose had a few too many can attest to, they lower your self-control. Even if you were completely focused on not overeating when you arrived, after you've downed a few cocktails, there may be no stopping you! So, if you're going to imbibe, make it a one-off. To save calories, choose a wine spritzer or a light beer.

7. Super Smart Sundaes
When making sundaes as desserts or treats for the kids, choose sugar free ice cream or reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt. Non-fat, reduced-calorie whipped topping is almost identical in flavor and texture to its higher-calorie counterpart. Try topping sundaes with all fruit spread rather than chocolate or caramel syrup. If portions tend to get out of control, serve less ice cream in smaller dishes.

8. Be a "Veggie" Temp
Go "veggie" for a little while. If you're still hungry after the main course, go for seconds, but choose side dishes, rather than meat- or bread-based dishes. Select those dishes comprised of mainly vegetables. Try to choose healthier options like steamed or boiled veggies instead of casseroles or those topped off with butter or cheese. By stocking up on healthier dishes when you go for your second round instead of the entrée, you'll take in fewer extra calories and fat and you'll be adding more fiber. Another alternative is to get up and get your mind off eating. By doing so, you may find you're not still hungry after all, and forgo seconds entirely.

9. Make Smart Substitutions
Put to use some fat-fighting baking substitutions: use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in desserts; crushed graham crackers are a healthier alternative to pie crusts; replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or ¼ cup of egg substitute; replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce; use reduced- or non-fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream on pies.

10. Focus on Your Family
Holidays are really about getting together with family and enjoying your time with them, right? Don't rush your meal. Savor the flavor and texture of each dish and take small bites. Don't worry about measuring portion sizes down to the ounce today. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the day. Plus, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to realize that you're full, so taking it slow will help prevent you from overeating. Eat slowly and enjoy the company.

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