Nutrition rules

Bodybuilding - No-Nonsense Nutrition Rules

1. Take The Time To Eat Breakfast In The Morning.
Breakfast should include complex carbohydrates and clean protein. Essentially, complex carbohydrates provide energy and the protein ensures that the body has material readily available for rebuilding tissues.

Combining the complex carbohydrate with a protein stabilizes blood sugar levels and stokes the metabolism. Fail to provide your body with the energy that it requires to function properly and it will feed off of your muscle tissue and ultimately hamper your metabolism. A good combination here is a bowl of oatmeal, eggs, grapefruit and a cup of coffee.

2. Eat Five To Six Small Meals Per Day.
This one requires some planning. The "meals" referred to consist of a protein, complex carbohydrate, and a fibrous carbohydrate. Some good combinations include:
Chicken/Brown rice/Broccoli
Tuna/Medium baked potato/Green beans
Lean cuts of beef (once a week)/Sweet potato/Salad
Salmon/Quinoa/Asparagus

3. Eat Every Three Hours.
This also requires some planning. Eating every three hours keeps the blood sugar/insulin levels stable throughout the day, controls cravings, prevents binging, reduces fat storage and keeps the metabolism burning hot.

Since you hear the word "metabolism" quite frequently in conjunction with nutrition, let's take a quick look at what it means. Basically, "metabolism" is the rate at which your body burns through food. When you hear that someone has a "fast metabolism," this simply means that the person's body is efficiently using the calories derived from food whether active or at rest.

Here is the thing; eating frequently makes you burn more calories. On the contrary, missing meals immediately slows the metabolism, triggers the body's starvation response and thus sounds the death knell for fat burning.

Grocery Shopping Tips

Bodybuilding - What Are Some Grocery Shopping Tips For A Bodybuilder?

Here are a few general rules to make your grocery shopping as painless and conducive to the bodybuilding lifestyle as possible.

Rule #1: Accept That You Will Be Buying Groceries More Often Than Sedentary People.

A weekly grocery trip will be the absolute minimum. Why will you need to shop so often? First, most of the foods you should be eating (meat, fruits, veggies, etc.) are perishable. Second, it's unlikely that you'll want to get everything at the same place.

For example, in addition to the grocery store, you may want to hit up a local bakery for some whole grain products or the farmers' market for local meat and produce. If you want to get the most out of your nutrition, you can't necessarily expect shopping to be convenient.

Rule #2: Accept That You Will Be Spending More On Groceries Than Sedentary People.

You may indeed find ways to work around this one to some extent (see Rule #3), but with food, as with most things, you get what you pay for. In addition to the fact that quality food often costs more than unhealthy food, you can expect to be buying quite a bit of it. Simply put, athletes need more calories, more calories mean more food, and more food means more money.

On the plus side, however, you shouldn't be buying soda, chips, fruit snacks, or other processed (and expensive garbage), so take comfort in the fact that you can save a lot of money in that area.

Rule #3: Buy In Bulk Whenever Possible.

There are numerous reasons to buy in bulk. First and foremost, it saves you money. Second, since you'll be going through a lot of food, it allows you to buy in quantities that will actually sustain you for awhile effectively reducing the frequency of you grocery store visits.

Rule #4: Shop Based On Need, Not Mood.

Plan your shopping out as precisely as possible ahead of time. Shopping based on mood (hungry, full, happy, depressed, whatever) can only lead to one thing: Buying the wrong types of food in the wrong quantities for the wrong reasons. Make a list and stick to it. Everything you eat should have a purpose.

Caffeine: To Drink or Not to Drink?

Caffeine: To Drink or Not to Drink? Dear Michel,

By Dr. Andra Campitelli, ND I love a cup of coffee just as much as the next person. It's not so much the energy boost for me, but the smell and the ritual of savouring that cup in the morning. Whether it's the ritual, or the little energy kick that has you reaching for your favorite beverage, people are always concerned about whether their coffee is doing them more harm than good. So, let's look at the pros and cons of indulging in that perfect cup. Caffeine is found in a growing list of foods; making it a much more commonly consumed substance than previously thought. It's a natural stimulant, found not only in coffee and tea, but also in cola beverages and even chocolate!(1) The debate has always been whether or not it is safe to indulge. According to Health Canada and Harvard Women's Health Watch, the negative side effects of caffeine occur most commonly with over consumption, but 2 to 4 cups daily appear to be a safe amount(2), so no more than 400 mg of caffeine a day. However, we have to take this dosage recommendation with a grain of salt. Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant, and individuals have varying degrees of sensitivity, therefore some people may respond or react differently to caffeine than others. Many of the common side effects associated with caffeine consumption are cardiovascular in nature, such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and occasional irregular heartbeats. However, there have also been links to breast cancer and osteoporosis(2). Health Canada has been studying reported links between caffeine consumption and the following conditions and effects: General toxicity (e.g., muscle tremors, nausea, irritability); Effects on calcium balance and bone health (e.g., bone density, risk of fractures); Behavioural effects in both adults and children (e.g., anxiety, mood changes, attentiveness); Potential links to cancer; Effects on reproduction (e.g., male and female fertility, birth weight)(1). Although Health Canada has reported conflicting research, these negative conditions and effects mentioned above seem to emerge with excessive caffeine consumption. Adults are encouraged to limit their caffeine consumption to under 4 cups daily and cautioned to be aware of the caffeine content of other foods being consumed to ensure they stay below this level. (Please see the chart outlined below for a list of caffeine-containing foods). However, there is also evidence that caffeine, even is lower doses, can still produce negative side effects. There have been links between caffeine consumption and hormone disruption, specifically cortisol, our "stress hormone". With just 100 to 200 mg of caffeine (the amount in 1 single 8 oz cup of coffee), we begin to disrupt our stress hormones, causing excessive production of cortisol. Increased cortisol levels can disrupt our blood sugar levels, our cholesterols, our sleep patterns and can even encourage weight gain, specifically around the middle. These are definitely not desired side effects! Despite these negative associations, there are also some positive health benefits to caffeine consumption. Not only is caffeine a powerful antioxidant(3), new research is finding that it may even be the most powerful antioxidant in our diet and could protect against Alzheimer's and heart disease(4). In addition to these benefits, studies show that the risk for Type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers than non-coffee drinkers. Coffee may also reduce the risk of gallstone development, improve cognitive function, reduce the risk of liver damage in people at high risk for liver disease and reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease. It has also been shown to improve endurance performance(2). So, after learning a bit about the pros and cons of caffeine consumption, what's the best option for you? Here are some tips to help you when reaching for that cup! 1) Limit your caffeine consumption! We know that there are many negative side effects to drinking that java, so don't overindulge. Choose decaf when possible! 2) If you're undergoing a large amount of stress, skip the coffee! Try TrueEndurance for a natural energy boost, as well as support for those adrenal glands that will help to balance those stress hormone levels. 3) Limit consumption of other caffeine-containing foods and products if you are going to indulge. (See list of foods below). 4) Drink tea! Green tea has many amazing health benefits, so switch up some of your coffee with a cup of antioxidant-rich green tea. 5) Try reaching for a natural supplement, if you're looking for that energy kick! Try TrueEnergy to get that little boost for the day or even for a pre-workout jump. It contains guarana, which naturally contains caffeine, but only 12.5 mg less than a cup of tea with additional nutrient to naturally stimulate energy production. 6) If you're going to drink coffee anyway, support your adrenals and take your antioxidants! Try TrueStress Support and TrueAntioxidant/Protect or TrueBASICS A/O, for those antioxidants, as well as for your full dose of vitamins and minerals. Healthy Drinking! Works Cited 1. "Caffeine - It's Your Health," accessed March 2010, http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/caffeine-eng.php.2."Coffee Health Risks," last modified August 2004, http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk. 3. C. Lee. "Antioxidant Ability of Caffeine and its Metabolites Based on the Study of Oxygen Radical Absorbing Capacity and Inhibition of LDL Peroxidation," in Clin Chim Acta 1-2(May 2000): 141-54. 4. Jorge Rafael León-Carmona and Annia Galano. "Is Caffeine a Good Scavenger of Oxygenated Free Radicals?" in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 15 (2011): 115. 5. "Caffeine and Nutrition," in Harland, B.F., 7-8, Vol. 16 ( 2000): 522-526. 6. Maurice E. Shils et al., Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease (Waverly Company, 1999). NutriSearch Comparative Guide