Monthly Archives: May 2016

Nutrition Supplements

Do you need supplements?

Gym supplements, Suppliments

My view is yes,  you do need sport supplements to achieve great results .

Yes, supplementing is essential for maximum growth and recovery.

I believe in supplementing, and my personal experience has shown that leaner and superior gains are achieved through supplementation.

If you struggle to meet your goals,  supplementation could be the answer. A bulking supplement is recommended for hard gainers,  and protein replacement meals is recommended for individuals struggling with weight loss, and a protein supplements is recommended for body builders who want to grow and achieve the six pack look.

Food reduces the need for supplements

A variety of different protein sources is essential to ensure proper and sufficient protein intake.

You will need to include fish, chicken, dairy and red meats.

Most people will need to eat 5-6 smaller varied meals per day  to achieve the perfect balance between gains and weight control. But no matter what diet an individual follows, the majority want to gain maximum muscle and minimum fat.

Calorie intake per day

The biggest factor is caloric intake per day. This is the amount of food required to keep you alive and how many more or less calories you need to achieve your goal (weight gain or loss).  This is discussed in another post.

Protein to carb to fat ratios

Nutrition is a science.  Each person needs to adjust their protein to carb to fat ratio to their specific needs and “body types”.  This is discussed in another post.

Body types

There are 3 basic body types and depending on your body types:

Naturally skinny or lean Ectomorph, Naturally plump or broad Endomorph, and the Mesomorph who is naturally muscular. You could fall between the ecto / meso or endo / meso body types. Most individuals’ goal is to achieve the Mesomorph body type.

Why supplement?

With today’s busy lifestyle,  and work responsibilities, it is easier and faster to take a sports supplement to replace 2 or 3 meals.  And contrary to popular belief, the added ingredients make it cheaper per serving  of sports supplements , than to have a varied healthy diet.

Sport supplements also tastes better than many foods that give an body builder or athlete the equivalent nutrients.

The pros of taking sports supplements

  • The nutrients in a gym / sport supplements is highly-concentrate.
  • It is quick and easy to carry , prepare, drink or eat a serving of sports supplement.
  • The recommended or required intake is met quickly.
  • Sport supplements have the correct ratios for maximum absorption.
  • Sports supplements include higher levels of performance enhancing nutrients that food cannot provide quickly, such as creatine, which requires saturation to be achieved for maximum benefit.
  • Dietary supplements have a psychological and motivating effect.

Tips on nutrients

Zinc: 

Overdosing on Zinc supplements causes nausea and vomiting.  Zinc binds to copper, inhibiting copper absorption in the body. Reduce zinc intake unless advised by a doctor. only take one or twice a week to “top up” if your body is depleted.

Zinc is also found in Emmental and Edam cheese, oats, oysters or pumpkin seeds.

Creatine

Creatine doesn’t really have any side effects but any overdose is expelled and wasted. Follow the product instructions and do not overdo it as you will be flushing money away, quite literally.

Iron

Iron is absorbed better with Vitamin C and amino acids.

Iron is found in meat, green leafy vegetables, parsley, dried lentils and carrots.  Note that spinach contains a rich amount of iron, however, oxalic acid found in spinach prevents the body from absorbing the entire amount.

Negative calorie foods that burns fat

Fat burning, Food,

Do negative calorie foods exists?

The theory: You will burn more energy digesting these foods than you can get from the calories in that food

These foods are usually plant-derived foods that are high in water content and rich in fiber: grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, except for fatty fruits like avocados and olives.

This is a myth,  you cannot eat food to lose weight

It seems like a great weight loss miracle, but unfortunately it does not work like this.

Celery is top of the list as an example as it has 10 Calories, of which most of the Celery is water and fibre and it is a great snack to eat to suppress hunger pains instead of a Chocolate bar loaded with sugars – at 280 Calories.

It has been shown that to digest the Celery, you only need 2 Calories. This means that the body burns or stores the balance of 8 Calories.

Ok, since you do not burn more fat by eating these foods, what use are they?

You will not shed the calories from the cake you just ate by eating these foods, but you can replace that cake with these instead!

  1. These foods are much healthier than junk foods!
  2. They contain a good proportion of water and fibre, reduces cravings, and keeping you fuller for longer! This means you will eat less during the day, and when consuming these foods, your calorie intake will be drastically reduced.

Vegetables that burn fat

Vegetables on the negative calorie food list are: Asparagus, Bean sprouts, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory/Radicchio, Cucumbers, Endives, Green beans, Jicama, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Radishes, Spinach, Squash, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini.

Fruits that burn fat

Fruits on the negative calorie food list are: Apples, Blueberries, Cantaloupe, Cranberries, Grapefruits, Honeydew, Lemons/Limes, Mangoes, Oranges, Papaya, Peaches, Pineapple, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerines, Watermelon.

Herbs and spices that burn fat

The spices and fresh or dried herbs on the negative calorie food list are: Anise, Cayenne, Chili peppers, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander/Cilantro, Cumin, Dill, Fennel seeds, Flax seeds, Garden cress, Garlic, Ginger, Parsley, Onion, Mustard seeds, Watercress.