Performance Benefits

Caffeine’s greatest exercise benefit is on your body’s aerobic endurance, or your ability to maintain a certain exercise intensity for a greater length of time. Numerous studies have demonstrated that caffeine intake prior to, and during, exercise results in greater exercise duration, reduced fatigue, and greater time to exhaustion. Similar effects have been shown for short-duration exercise intervals as well.

Some research suggests that caffeine can improve sprint and power events, but the findings are somewhat equivocal. Furthermore, the number of studies examining caffeine’s role in these types of events (e.g., weightlifting, 100m dash, etc…) are scarce.

How it Works

Caffeine is believed to improve aerobic endurance performance by increasing the body’s ability to use its fat stores during exercise. It is well understood in exercise science research that the greater use of fat for energy prevents the depletion of glycogen — the stored form of glucose that we receive from consuming carbohydrates. The more glycogen we are able to conserve in our muscles, the more energy we will have later on in an event.

Dose

Research has demonstrated that the most effective caffeine dose prior to exercise is about 1.5 to 3 mg per 1 lb. of body weight. Keep in mind that a cup of drip coffee contains about 150 to 200 mg of caffeine, while a cup of tea contains about 50 mg.

Consuming more than 4.5 mg of caffeine per 1 lb. of body weight may cause adverse symptoms, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The NCAA penalizes athletes who have more than 15 micrograms of caffeine per 1 mL in urine samples, and consumption of more than 10 g is believed to be fatal for most humans. You’d need to consume about 8 cups of coffee to exceed the IOC’s caffeine limit.

Source

Caffeine appears to be more effective when consumed in tablet form than from food sources such as coffee. Consider purchasing pure caffeine tablets for the most optimal effects. If coffee, vitamin water, or energy drinks are your preferred caffeine modality, you’ll just have to consume more. According to Graham and colleagues (1998), coffee may contain a compound that limits caffeine’s chemical response in the body.

Warnings

Not all people react to caffeine the same way. Some individuals may experience heightened nervousness, irritability, and anxiety after consuming high amounts of caffeine. Some sources of caffeine, such as coffee, can cause stomach problems, such as gas, bloating, and cramps. In severe cases, caffeine can lead to heart problems.

Caffeine is also a diuretic, and increases the risk of dehydration and heat-related conditions in hot temperatures.

I’ve written about some of these diets in other posts, but I want to reiterate that weight-loss is not a secret. Any diet program that claims that losing weight involves the consumption of some “magic bullet” nutrient or avoiding other key macronutrients is likely a gimmick. Not only are they gimmicky, but they are costly. Personally, I find it funny that losing weight — which should actually lower your grocery bill because you are consuming less — ends up costing people thousands of extra dollars each year.

Luckily, you don’t need these costly programs to lose weight. These programs offer nothing you cannot replicate yourself. I will admit that most people I know who go on some of these diet programs do end up losing weight. In fact, some of them shed amazing amounts of weight very quickly. But when I look closely at their diet programs, I quickly realize one of two things. Either the program is physically dangerous, or it is no different than the tried-and-true weight loss strategies that dietitians have know for years. Here’s a closer look at what expensive commercial weight loss programs offer, and how you can replicate similar, or better, diet strategies at home for free.

Motivation

Perhaps the biggest advantage commercial diet programs offer is the psychological benefit. They require you to set goals, monitor your food intake and exercise performance, and many even have counselors and support groups in which you can motivate each other and share stories. They require you to cut calories, exercise more, and stick to your program.

This will be the most difficult part of losing weight yourself, but you can do it. You have to start by setting a goal, and I recommend that your goal have nothing to do with the amount of weight you lose. There are no guarantees that you will lose a certain amount of weight with any program, and this should not be the key determinant of your program’s success. Instead, set  a goal of achieving 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. Set another goal of cutting 250 to 500 calories from your diet each day. If you do these things, weight loss will take care of itself.

Monitoring

Most online weight loss programs allow you to record what you eat, enter it into a diary, and some even provide elaborate graphs and charts of your food intake. This simple goal measuring strategy is one of the key reasons commercial diet programs are so effective. They provide a visual representation of your progress, they allow you to see how well you are actually following your program, and they allow you to set new goals.

You can easily keep track of your own food intake. I suggest WebMd or the Mayo Clinic websites, which each have similar tracking systems. You can also simply graph your food intake and exercise patterns in an excel sheet or home diary.

Specific Diet Strategies

Here’s where commercial diet programs begin to veer in many different directions. Low-carb diets are popular because of the misconception that carbohydrates cause weight-gain. Protein-based diets help because protein requires more energy to digest, thus burning more calories. However, the small effect these programs have on your metabolism pales in comparison to the effects of simply cutting calories and increasing activity level.

According to the Mayo Clinic, most commercial diet programs are effective because they emphasize restricting caloric intake and monitoring your food intake. As mentioned above, you can easily do this yourself. Start by following the 3,500-calorie rule — you need to burn 3,500 calories beyond what your take in through food to lose 1 lb. of body fat. This rule may vary slightly from one person to the next, but it’s a great start. If you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you’ll lose about 1 lb. each week. Burn more calories through exercise, and you’ll lose more.

Quick Weight Loss

Any diet program that advocates losing weight quickly is ill-advised, and places you at risk of nutrient deficiencies and dehydration. For example, much of the weight lost in protein-based diets is from dehydration, not fat. Low-carb diets should actually focus on avoiding simple sugars and foods high in the glycemic index, but not carbohydrates in general. Consuming less than a certain number of carbohydrates each day can limit your intake of certain vitamins and minerals.

Quick weight loss programs are dangerous and you don’t want them. Not only are they dangerous, but they typically do not provide lasting results. Once the weight is gone, many people resort back to their old eating habits. Losing weight slowly allows your body to shed fat rather than water weight or protein stores, and also forces you to engage in healthy physical activities which you can enjoy for the rest of your life. Avoid attempting to lose more than about 1 to 2 lbs. each week if you really care about your body.

Weight loss does not have to be complicated.

While women and men tend to differ in body size and composition, as well as hormonal characteristics, they do not differ in measures of relative strength, nor do they differ in their responses to exercise. The same weight loss principles, therefore, apply to both sexes.

Is There a “Best Weight Loss Program?”

Much debate exists regarding the best weight loss programs. Advocates of Atkins, Paleo, Ideal Protein, and other low-carb diets attest that carbohydrates are the main dietary culprits in weight-gain, and you need to keep these nutrients to a minimum if you want to reduce body fat and total weight. More traditional dietary programs advocate reducing fat, particularly saturated and trans fat, to cut total body fat and weight.

Whatever the current dietary trend, in almost all cases you can find research that both supports its principles as well as research that contradicts them. For example, you’ve probably heard, and may even know, people who have lost weight as a result of engaging in one of these diets. However, the Mayo Clinic asserts that these diet fads are generally successful simply because they cause people to pay more attention to what they eat, they become more physically active, and they naturally reduce the amount of food they consume.

Any dietary program that places an unusual emphasis on any one particular nutrient, whether it be carbs, protein, fat or a vitamin or mineral, has the potential to harm your body. In reality, regardless of your current weight and health status, your body needs a balance of macronutrients and micronutrients to operate efficiently and to meet its variety of metabolic needs.

So what constitutes an effective diet? The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) explains that there are two tried-and-true principles for losing weight in the majority of individuals, and you’ve heard them before.

1. Be More Active

If you want to lose weight, stop focusing on what you eat so much and go get physical. My diet almost never changes. I eat a lot, all the time. Yet my weight consistently fluctuates throughout the year according to how much exercise I get. During the summer, when I’m kayaking a lot and leading several practice sessions throughout the day, I tend to lose a lot of weight. During the winter, when the season is over and I’m focused on writing and designing training programs, I naturally gain weight. I’m sure most people have similar reasons for gaining or losing weight at certain times.

Much of the reason adults put on weight as they grow older is not because of the natural process of aging, but because their metabolism slows down due to less and less physical activity over time. Adults lose muscle as they age, not because of time, but because they simply are not out running around all day jumping over things, playing sports, and swinging on monkey bars like they did when they were kids.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends achieving a minimum of 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each day to maintain cardiovascular fitness and a healthy weight. Recent research actually suggests that people need closer to an hour of aerobic exercise each day. How many of us really achieve this much? Moderate exercise for 30 minutes can burn 250 to 500 calories, about as much as an entire meal.

2. Restrict Calories

While becoming more active will help you lose weight over time, you’ll lose weight more quickly if you cut calories. The caloric-deficit rule of cutting 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. of body fat, while perhaps overly-simplistic, is correct. Each 1 lb. of body fat contains 3,500 calories, and you need to ultimately need to achieve this negative energy balance to lose weight.

Cut about 500 calories from your diet each day, and you’ll lose 1 lb. each week through diet alone. But, you do not need to place particular emphasis on restricting any one nutrient. While a variety of factors influence your weight and metabolism, no rule is as important as obtaining this caloric deficit (NSCA, 2008). You need to obtain about 50 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 percent from protein. You can calculate these percentages regardless of what your total caloric consumption is.

For example, if your body requires 2,000 calories to maintain its current weight, and you want to lose 1 lb. each week, you need to achieve a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories. You can do this by limiting your caloric intake to 1,500 calories a day, exercising more, or both. Pretend you get 30 minutes of exercise each day, which burns 250 calories. You need to cut 250 more calories from your diet each day to lose 1 lb. a week. If your diet now calls for 1,750 calories, you need to consume 875 from carbs, 525 from fat, and 350 from protein.

Final Words (of Wisdom)

The best weight loss program for men and women is a program that you can adapt permanently into your lifestyle. Don’t listen to all the marketing hype of a new revolutionary finding that will let you use 10 lbs of fat in a week. If it does work, it can’t be healthy. You didn’t gain all that weight in week so don’t expect to lose all that weight in a week either.

Cut out the white bread to help reduce body fat.

In order to reduce body fat, you should steer clear of a number of foods. Two categories of foods, in particular, can have a particularly adverse effect on body fat: most white foods and foods high in sugar — especially fructose. White-colored foods are often high in the carbohydrates starch and sugar. Carbohydrates are an essential component of a healthy diet, but many people are not active enough to burn off the excessive amounts of these nutrients they consume. When carbohydrates go unused, the body converts them to fat and they are stored in various locations — particularly the abs– for later energy use.

White-colored foods typically also have a high glycemic index — a measure of a particular food’s effect on blood sugar levels. High-glycemic foods are quickly digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, causing a sudden rise in blood glucose levels. This surge of blood glucose causes a quick burst of energy, but is followed shortly after by a crash. High-glycemic foods can leave you feeling hungry shortly after eating — craving another blood glucose rush.

White Breads and Refined Grains

White bread, and other foods made from white flour, are high in carbohydrates, particularly the simple sugar glucose — and have among the highest glycemic indexes of any foods available. Refined white flour also undergoes a milling process that removes the bran and germ from the wheat grain. These two layers of the seed hold much of the grain’s vitamins, minerals and fiber. You need to consume more white bread, and thus more calories, to obtain the same amount of nutrition as whole grain products. Though fiber is technically also a carbohydrate, the body does not digest it, and it therefore does not cause the rise in blood sugar of other carbohydrates.

Potatoes

Potatoes are high in the carbohydrate starch. Starch is exclusively found in plant foods, and is composed of hundreds molecules of glucose. Carbohydrates are ultimately converted to glucose in the bloodstream, thus starch is dissolved very quickly, causing a sudden and drastic rise in blood glucose levels. Like potatoes, white rice is also high in starch. Instead of white rice and potatoes, eat brown rice, barley and other non-starchy whole grains.

Fructose

When most carbohydrates are digested, they are converted to glucose in the bloodstream. The body then secretes insulin to help cells absorb the sugar to be used for energy. Fructose, however, is processed more slowly in the liver than other sugars. The liver cannot convert excess amounts of fructose into usable energy quickly, so it converts it to fat. High amounts of circulating fat in the bloodstream can suppress hormones that regulate appetite, leaving you feeling hungry for more calories. Excess fat also contributes to insulin resistance — a condition in which the body has difficulty using glucose for energy. The body, then, releases more insulin into the bloodstream. High levels of insulin can contribute to excess fat storage and a difficulty accessing fat stores for energy.

Photo © Wikimedia commons

Why Do Timed Sets Work?

Timed sets with weights work because they force you to use your body’s anaerobic energy system heavily. The net effect of fat loss is much greater because of EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). When your body is consuming more oxygen, your metabolism is higher, allowing you to burn more fat. With standard aerobic training it is typical for your body to return to normal oxygen consumption within a few hours. After heavy anaerobic training it is typical for your body to be in a state of EPOC for 2-3 days! This means a longer fat burning window and more toning for your body.  Additionally, timed sets in the weight room help you to build and maintain muscle. The more lean mass your body holds, the faster your metabolism will be.

Fartlek

Fartlek is a Swedish  term meaning “speed play”. In fartlek training you combine brief spurts of high intensity anaerobic exercise with longer spurts of lower intensity aerobic exercise. This method of training is outstanding for burning fat as well as raising your anaerobic threshold. For this reason fartleks are very popular with runners and cyclists. As a former sprinter performing fartleks helped me to get better base conditioning before track season. These workouts were hard, but rewarding in the end. An example of a fartlek is stationary bike sprints. You can sprint all out for 20 seconds of work and take 40 seconds to rest for a set amount of time.

EDT

EDT stands for escalating density training. EDT is an interesting take on timed sets. You have to complete the maximum amount of reps possible in a set time. For example: maximum amount of chin ups you can perform in 15 minutes. By exercising using this method you are able to increase total workload by performing many sub-maximal sets. My suggestion would be to figure out exactly how many reps you plan to do per minute. This way you can control your fatigue levels. In the last minute or two, shoot for more reps if you have energy. The objective is to surpass the amount of work you did in the previous workout.

Circuit

Perform an exercise for a set amount of time then move onto another. When all the exercises in the circuit are complete take a rest break. The time you work on each exercise should be kept short (under 1 minute), so that you can work at high intensity.

Tabata

Tabatas are difficult but have a profound effect on fat loss. They are usually performed as 8 all out sets of 20 secs of work and 10 secs of rest. The total time of one tabata should last 4 minutes. Tabatas can be utilized as a good finisher for a workout.

The Workout

The following workout is an intense, fat burning experience that will leave your legs shaking and your stomach turning! Make sure to bring some water and a towel along for the ride!

1. Cut Calories

Advocates of supplements and fad diets may tell you differently, but your body weight is primarily a result of your energy balance, or the amount of calories you take in each day versus the amount your body expends through activity.  Calories provide energy and your body requires a certain number of calories each day to support its basic vital functions, as well as any additional physical activity. If your body does not receive enough calories through food, it will ultimately burn its own carbohydrate, fat and protein stores. Achieving a negative energy balance, or a state in which you burn more calories than you eat, is the only way to lose weight. You need to achieve a negative energy balance of 3,500 calories to burn 1 lb. of fat.

2. Increase Activity

While cutting calories can help you reach a negative energy balance, you can enhance this state by increasing your physical activity level. Physical activity burns calories, builds muscle and increases your basal metabolic rate, or the rate at which your body metabolizes the calories you consume. Exercising for 30 minutes each day at a moderate intensity can burn 200 or more calories. Exercising at a high intensity can result in even greater caloric expenditures.

3. Balance Your Diet

While your body’s weight is primarily a result of your energy balance — regardless of the type of food you eat– a balanced diet can indirectly influence body weight. For example, fat contains 9 calories per 1 g while the other two macronutrients (carbohydrates and protein) each contain just 4. If you consume foods that are high in fat, it is much easier to consume unnecessary calories than if you overeat foods that are high in carbohydrates and protein. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends consuming 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 percent from fat and 10 to 35 percent from protein. Even if you cut your overall calories, you should still follow these guidelines.

Bonus Tips

1. Don’t cut carbs

Carbohydrates are essential for our overall health and are the key fuel source for our body’s cells. Much debate has occurred over the efficacy of low-carb diets in promoting weight-loss. According to the Mayo Clinic, low-carb diets are likely effective because they have an impact the body’s energy balance — regardless of the type of nutrients being consumed. Low-carb diets also advocate restricting fruits and vegetables, which are chocked full of essential vitamins and minerals. Such diets increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies.

2. Limit Simple carbohydrates

While low-carb diets are not advisable, limiting simple carbohydrates, or sugars, can help you lose weight. Simple sugars are carbohydrates that consist of just one or two saccharide molecules. When eaten, they are broken down quickly and provide a sudden burst of energy followed by a crash. This crash can leave you craving more simple sugars shortly after eating, causing you to consume extra calories.

3. Eat complex carbohydrates, Especially fiber

Complex carbohydrates are broken down slowly, causing a more gradual — but lasting– effect on blood  sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates provide a prolonged state of fullness and can prevent you from craving more calories. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that cannot be digested, and as it passes through your body, can help cleanse the intestinal tract. Fiber has also been demonstrated to reduce blood cholesterol and help manage blood sugar levels, thus helping to prevent type 2 diabetes.

4. Eat plenty of Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are key components of a healthy weight-loss diet for two reasons. First, they have a low energy density. Because much of their weight consists of water, they contain relatively few calories compared to their overall weight. Foods with a low energy density can help provide a feeling of fullness without adding a lot of calories. Second, fruits and vegetables have a high nutrient density. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals, without contributing many calories. You can meet many of your daily nutrient needs through consuming fruits and vegetables without all the calories of many other types of foods.

Rapid Weight-Loss

Rapid weight-loss programs, or those which suggest cutting more than a few lbs. a week, are dangerous and you should avoid them at all costs. Cutting more than about 500 calories from your daily diet can place your body at risk of severe nutrient deficiency, losses in muscle rather than fat, dehydration and, in extreme cases, organ damage and death. A realistic goal for weight-loss is about 1 to 2 lbs. per week. Give yourself plenty of time to reach your weight-loss goal, eat a balanced diet, increase your activity level and you will shed that extra weight.

Losing weight gradually also has a positive psychological effect. Whereas rapid weight-loss diets focus on solely the outcome (i.e., reaching a certain body weight), gradual weight-loss programs allow you the time to change your lifestyle and develop the behavior patterns consistent with maintaining your weight after your diet is complete. Many people who aim to lose weight quickly find themselves right back where they started shortly after they’ve reached their goal. Those who focus on losing weight slowly generally have a better toolset for maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.

The Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion

Research has shown that the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion is a good way to tell how hard you are working, as it correlates with your actual heart rate during physical activity. The relationship between a person’s perceived exertion rating times 10 and their actual heart rate during physical activity are such that a person’s exertion rating may provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during activity (Borg, 1998). For example, if a person’s rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is 12 (see below chart for scoring), then 12 x 10 = 120. The heart rate should be approximately 120 beats per minute. Note that this calculation is only an approximation of heart rate, and the actual heart rate can vary quite a bit depending on age, physical condition, and with medication. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion is the preferred method to assess intensity among those individuals who take medications that affect heart rate or pulse. This scale is used because despite the lack of variability in one’s heart rate when controlled by medications, exertion is still an experience felt and used to rate the amount of effort put towards the exercise bout. While doing physical activity, it is important to rate your own perception of exertion. This feeling should reflect how heavy and strenuous the exercise feels to you, combining all sensations and feelings of physical stress, effort, and fatigue. Do not let any one factor such as leg pain or shortness of breath be your focus, but try to sum your total feeling of exertion. Attempt to appraise your feeling of exertion as honestly as possible, without thinking about what the actual physical load is. Your own feeling of effort and exertion is important, not how it compares to other’s. Look at the scales and the expressions and then give a number. This will give you a good idea of the intensity level of your activity, and you can use this information to speed up or slow down your movements to reach your desired range.

How to Use the Scales to Gauge Your Workout

• A good warm up pace is around 10 to 11.
• Practitioners generally agree that perceived exertion ratings between 12 to 14 on the Borg Scale suggests that physical activity is being performed at a moderate level of intensity.
• Workouts done in the 15 to 18 range are your target for fat burning and cardio conditioning. If you cannot maintain this level of workout, consider interval training between moderate and more intense bouts of exercise. More evidence is showing that harder workouts actually contribute more to fat calories being burned than moderate to light exercise. They are finding that there is less of a “fat burning zone,” and more of a target effort that should be put forth towards an exercise bout to burn an optimal number of calories.
• Exercising at 19 or 20 on the scale cannot be maintained for very long because this is VO2 max and heart rate max. Even the best athletes can only reach this level in their workout for a limited period. Exercising up to and around this point will help you broaden your scale, and help you increase your VO2 max.



If you are better at the 1-10 rating systems, you can try to use this scale. It does not correspond to heart rate the same way that the Borg Scale does, but it can give you a good idea based on the percentage or ratio of your max effort.

List of Fat Burning Foods

Have you ever heard of the quote, “An apple a day keep the doctor away.”? The apple does live up to the quote’s hype because it’s packed full of vitamin C and malic acid. Malic acid plays an important role in energy regulation, which means they enable your body to convert fat into energy more easily. In addition to helping your body burn fat, apples also have a lot of fiber and are water based so they keep you full longer. Try snacking on an apple and a stick of string cheese midway between breakfast and lunch to stay full and keep your body’s metabolism running.

Next up is berries. Almost all types of berries are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins essential for fat burning (and helping you stay young). Try substituting berries for healthy snacks instead of a candy bar or other sugary sweets. Berries are perfect additions to morning oatmeal or cereal, giving you a quick nutritionally balanced breakfast in a bowl.

Another big fat burner food is raw almonds. Raw almonds are a great source of magnesium, a key element that your body needs to regulate energy and fat burning hormones. You can crush raw almonds and sprinkle them on top of a cup of non-fat plain yogurt for an afternoon snack. You can also keep 5-10 raw almonds with you at all times and eat a few whenever you feel fatigue as they are an excellent source of energy. In addition to being a fat burner, raw almonds also contain protein to help build muscle, fiber to help keep you full, and vitamin E to help you stay healthy.

Eggs is an unexpected fat burning food. Eggs contain vitamin B12, a supplement for breaking down fat cells into energy. In addition to its fat burning capabilities, eggs are also full of protein and animo acids so they are sometimes used by fitness extremes to supplement recovery protein shakes. You can cook eggs with just about anything (eggs make everything taste good). If you are concerned about cholesterol, you can try just using more egg whites than yolk.

Yogurt, like any other non-fat dairy item will aid you in burning fat and keep you full longer. The three a day rule is good for getting rid of fat and keeping up on your calcium (for fighting bone loss). It is also great for your digestive system. When purchasing, buy non-fat, and try to avoid yogurt with added sweeteners.

Green leafy vegetables are technically not a food that burns fat, but they contain so little calories and so much fiber that your body ends up burning a energy digesting it. Besides salads there are many wonderful and delicious recipes you can make that include all kinds of leafy greens.

Final Words

A word of caution: always remember to eat in moderation. Although these are natural fat burning foods, they are still food. Consuming a large amount of these foods will pack more calories than your body need, and that can work against your fat-loss goal. Aside from that, eating healthy is easy when you know the direction to take. All of these foods are delicious and can be combined with other foods to liven up your menu (plus a lot of these foods are a part of my daily diet plan). For best results, you should combine fat burning meals with proper fat burning exercises, the working man’s weight loss tips, and supplements like the ECA stack. It’s not a diet but a new way of life.

Three Important Types of Protein to Know

Whey (fast-absorbing)

Whey protein is found as a by-product of milk and cheese productions. This type of protein can be quickly ingested into the body quickly. Because of that whey protein shakes are the best protein shakes for post-workout recovery.

Casein (slow-absorbing)

Casein protein accounts for about 80% of proteins in cow milk and cheese. This type of protein has the ability to coagulate (gel or clot) in your stomach, which causes it to digest very slowly. I opt to use for Casein powder instead of milk is because milk contains fats and carbohydrates, which I do not need for my purposes.

Egg (medium-absorbing)

Egg protein is found in [you guessed it] eggs. These proteins take about one and a half to three hours to absorb into your body (medium absorption rate). As a side note, careful nutritional inspection will reveal that egg yolks are quite good for you too. Here is a comparison between egg white and egg yolk.

How to Take These Proteins

Whey Protein

Because whey protein can be absorbed quickly, it is best consumed immediately after a workout. After an intense workout, your body is in a state that craves nutrients. Failure to provide proper nutrition will force the body into a catabolic state (you do not want this). After a workout, you need simple carbohydrates to quickly push the body out of its catabolic state and whey protein to help your muscles rebuild. After my workouts, I drink a shake consisting of sugar and whey protein mixed at ~2:1 ratio. For example my post-workout protein shake consists of

• Water
• 50g of whey protein (usually 2 scoops)
• 100g of pure cane sugar OR 125g of honey

(About ~80% of honey is sugar, giving 100g of sugar total.)

I prefer using 125g of honey because it is more soluble it contains potassium which also aids in muscle recovery and helps prevent cramps.

Casein Protein

Because casein protein is absorbed very slowly, it is best to consume this protein before you sleep. The reason for this is because your body goes into starvation every night and runs on catabolism. Sleep is really the best time for your body to rebuild and recover, but it cannot do it if it is in a catabolic state. The slow release property of casein protein provides your body with a constant small source of protein to keep your body from catabolism. My pre-sleep shake is quite simple: water and casein protein (no other non-sense).

Egg Protein

Egg proteins fall in between the two extremes and it is also a truly natural gold-standard source of protein. Some people suggest drinking whey protein in the morning to combat catabolism from sleep, but I prefer to incorporate eggs into my breakfast. Why?

• One egg contains more than 6 grams of high quality protein containing all the essential amino acids our body needs to build and maintain muscle mass.
• I need my breakfast to keep me full longer than 2 hours. Egg protein take longer to absorb than whey protein. Eggs also contain several B vitamins required for energy production (good way to start your day full of energy).
• I don’t want to drink protein powders all day.
• Eggs is one of the best fat burning foods.

You shouldn’t eat more than 1 egg per day because of its cholesterol content. The good news is that cholesterol is only found in the egg yolk. So my optimal breakfast would contain, 1 whole egg (with yolk) + 1 egg without yolk, giving me ~10g of egg protein to start my day. I opt for 1 whole egg because the B vitamins and other useful nutrients are only found in the yolk.

Conclusion

Smart protein consumption is crucial to fitness success. I guarantee that if you follow this protein consumption plan, you will notice results quicker from your exercises. You will not be as sore during workouts, allowing you to workout longer. You will be sore less often, allowing you to exercise more often. You can even tweak your protein consumption (add more nutrients) to make them act like protein diet shakes and replace meals. Also, retaining more muscle mass will help you will lose fat quicker. As a bonus, check out my post on the best protein powder and optimize your protein consumption today!

There are two types of muscles you can develop from physical activity: fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles.

Fast-Twitch Muscles

Fast-twitch muscles activate during short and intense physical activities.  For example, when you are maxing out in benching, your pectoral fast-twitch muscles are being used.

The benefit of fast-twitch muscles is that it gives you explosiveness and short-lived enormous strength.  Because fast-twitch muscles need energy quickly to perform intense activities, fast-twitch muscles rely primarily on a consumption-ready reserve of carbohydrates (glucose in your blood stream) for fast conversion into energy.

The drawback of fast-twitch muscles is that once your consumption-ready carbohydrate reserves are depleted, your fast-twitch muscles ceases to function.  This is why most people who weight train with heavier weights have longer rest periods in between sets (the body uses this rest period to rebuild a consumption-ready reserve of carbohydrates for the next lifting set).

Slow-Twitch Muscles

Slow-twitch muscles are activated during long workout routines with low-intensity or endurance training.  For example, when you are repping out in benching, your pectorial slow-twitch muscles are being used.

The drawback of slow-twitch muscles, is that it cannot react as quickly as fast-twitch and you cannot use it for any intense physical activities.

The benefit of slow-twitch muscles is that it is resistant to fatigue. Also, because slow-twitch muscles do not need energy as quickly as fast-twitch muscles, its primary source of energy comes from fat cells.  Slow-twitch muscles are also more resistant to catabolism.

Focus on Developing Slow-Twitch Muscles to Lose Fat

Most weight lifters today focus on developing their fast-twitch muscles and neglect their slow-twitch muscles.  While I do see the benefit of fast-twitch muscles, if your goal is to become lean and cut, you should tailor your exercise workout routine to developing your slow-twitch muscles.  These muscles are the ones that will help you burn an extra 50 Calories of fat per day.  Thinking on a big scale, if you’ve gained 10 pounds of slow-twitch muscles, you will be burning an extra 500 Calories of fat per day from doing nothing out of the ordinary.

Examples of Slow-Twitch Muscle Exercises

It is easy to come up with slow-twitch muscle exercises.  Just do whatever exercises you do except modify it to be less intense and longer.  For example, if you used to bench 145 lbs. 8 times per set, you can decrease your weight to 125 lbs. and lift 15 repetitions per set instead.  If you run for exercise, try running slower over a longer distance.

I am also a big fan of using your own body weight for weight training.  Mainly because there is a good chance that you are targeting slow-twitch muscles with these exercises.  At home, I rarely use my $700 Golds Gym weight bench, but instead I use the following exercise equipments (which are relatively cheap and useful for targeting slow-twitch muscles):

• GoFit Ultimate Burst Resistant Core Stability Ball with Workout DVD
• Perfect Pushup
• Resistance Bands Exercise Training Set

If I were to recommend a “must have” equipment out of all of these, it would be the balance ball as it lets you perform many different exercises using your own body weight. I have another post on this site on why I love using the stability ball so much. Check it out!

Lastly, if you want to lose weight fast, I also suggest that you try to incorporate these fat burning foods into your diet.