5 Tips for Better Sleep and a Healthier Mind and Body

Here's my not-so-dirty secret: I sleep about ten hours a night. You may say, "Well, I don't need that much sleep." You may say, "I can't get that much sleep." But do you know how much sleep you really need?

What are you doing to make sleep a priority in your life? While scientists may not fully understand the role sleep plays in our life cycle, or even understand why we need to sleep at all, they agree on one thing: healthy sleep patterns are essential to physical and mental health. Interrupted, irregular, or insufficient sleep is a critical factor in illnesses of both the body and mind.

  

How Much Sleep Do You Need

The Mayo Clinic and the National Sleep Foundation agree adults need at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night.^1,2 Sleep needs are individual, though, and your body chemistry, hormones, age, and activity level will affect how much sleep you need. You also need more sleep when you are sick or under personal, emotional, or other physical stressors. As a result, your sleep need may be the minimum seven hours or it may be as high as twelve when you are very ill.

I personally find I need close to ten hours in the winter and about 8.5 come summer. People often poke fun at me for my bedtime habits. I climb under the covers around eight o'clock most nights. But, I'm never sorry come the next morning when I wake regularly without an alarm clock around six o’clock, feeling ready for the day.

5 Tips for Better Sleep

1. Exercise daily but not too close to bedtime.

As a reader of this site, you are likely aware of the profound benefits of exercise, including regulation of metabolic hormones, stimulation of digestion, and promotion of circulation. All of these things can lead to better sleep.

But during a workout, stress hormones including cortisol, prolactin, growth hormone, and testosterone rise in the body. Cortisol in particular is disruptive to restful sleep. Give your body ample time to reduce these chemicals prior to lying down for the night. If you choose to exercise after six o'clock, choose options like yoga or walking that will give you the benefits of exercise while not increasing stress hormones.

2. Choose a light dinner.

In yoga and Ayurveda, it is common practice to eat the largest meal at midday when digestion is the most active. Evening meals often consist of a light serving of easily digestible, cooked vegetables. When I am away at a yoga retreat and eating this way, I sleep like a baby.

3. Stay away from alcohol.

I know this is not popular advice, but drinking alcohol affects sleep cycles. It may cause you to fall asleep quickly, but the sleep will not likely be truly restful and may include many bouts of insomnia later in the night. High sugar levels in most alcoholic beverages also negatively affect sleep patterns.

  

4. Create a bedtime routine.

Go to bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends, and do the same things each night before bed. Turn off all light-emitting electronics about an hour before your bedtime. Start your routine then, perhaps taking a bath, reading, or enjoying another quiet activity like sipping bedtime tea. When it is time for sleep, stop doing everything else.

Use your bed for sleeping only, creating an environment of peace and quiet. If you think you do not have time to get eight hours of sleep, this is the time of day you should focus on. Many of us spend several hours a night watching TV, when we could be sleeping. Sleep is the most important habit you will ever form, so make the effort to create the habit well.

5. Wake up around the same time each morning.

It drives my husband nuts, but I do not sleep in more than thirty minutes on the weekend. Truth told, it's not possible for me to do so. My sleep pattern is so regular that I wake up on time whether or not I have anywhere to be. Thankfully for me, I enjoy my morning time. I willfully surrender nighttime TV and Internet surfing so I can get up early, walk the dog, and enjoy meditation. My morning routine is just as firm as my nighttime routine, meaning I rarely ever have conflict in my sleep patterns.

Depending on your personal routine and sleep habits, some of these suggestions may seem like radical changes. If you try making sleep a priority for just one month, though, you will feel healthier, stronger and - icing on the cake - younger. Good sleep is a secret to vibrant skin, healthy hair, and a sharp mind. Good sleep is also a first step in dealing with any mental illness or healing any physical ailment.

References:
1. "How many hours of sleep are enough for good health?" MayoClinic.org.
2. "How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?" National Sleep Foundation.
3. M.J. Gawel, et al., "Exercise and hormonal secretion," Postgraduate Medical Journal Jun 1979;55(644):373-6

Why Should You Drink Tea Every Day?

According to a study, green tea powders’ beneficial compounds are not as stable as previously thought.

Green tea is consumed for health benefits, and the higher the catechin content, the better the health benefits. Catechins are the antioxidants found in green tea which are considered to fight diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other health issues.

Instant powdered green tea has become more popular for consumers, and is also often made use of as ingredients in products promoting the health benefits of green tea or which is green tea flavored. It’s important to know how the nutritional value of these products is influenced by storage. The study discovered that temperature increase, and to a lesser degree humidity, accelerates degradation of catechins.

The temperature that an amorphous solid is changed from a glassy, rigid state to a viscous, rubbery state is known as the glass transition temperature. Compounds can start reacting with one another faster in that rubbery state because of an increase in molecular mobility, which results in considerable chemical degradation. The study results revealed that the green tea powder’ health benefits degrade at low temperatures, even lower than the glass transition temperature. Although tea powders degrade slower below the glass transition temperature, they can still degrade.

High-performance liquid chromatography was used to tracked catechin concentrations. The powder was dissolved into a solution, and compounds moving at different rates were measured by passing the solution through a column.

Over 1,800 samples of green tea powder were stored at various combinations of humidity and temperature for 16 weeks and then catechin loss was measured. Green tea powder samples at the highest humidities and temperatures had the most catechin loss. Models were built from those results for predicting how various storage conditions affected the catechin rate loss.

Can't Do Pull Ups? We Have 7 Tips to Get You There

Pull ups are a basic movement in CrossFit, yet in and of themselves they are an intermediate gymnastic movement. Starting out pulling your bodyweight can seem like an insurmountable task.

Don’t fall prey to the mistakes of progressing too fast, kipping before you’re ready, or skipping over the fundamentals. There are tons of strategies and methods of assistance to get your chin over that bar, but not all of them are helping you to get stronger.

Here we will learn where to begin and which alternatives are worth your time. Here are seven tips for achieving that beautiful, dead-hang pull up:

1. Work Your Mobility

Pullups begin as all movements do - with proper mobility. Work on being able to maintain a proper overhead position exactly as described in my article The Safest and Smartest Progression for Building Your Overhead Lifts. If you start with tight lats, chest, or spine you’re already in a compromised position. This will put more stress on your shoulder joint and spine. For a pull up, you must start in a deadhang position with active shoulders. Once you can hang in this position in a controlled manner, then you can start pulling motions.

If you are unable to achieve a proper active hang position, you can still start building strength while working on your mobility. Work on grip strength using heavy deadlifts along with farmer’s carries. Both will stress the forearm and hands in a similar way to a pull up. To begin building pulling strength, you can do bent over barbell or dumbbell rows. Both are effective at building pulling strength and require less mobility to perform correctly.

2. Get Some Hang Time

Once you open up the mobility to dead hang properly, then you need to start spending time on the bar. Dead hangs for time are an effective way to build shoulder stability and grip strength. Make sure you never let your form suffer during these.

3. Avoid Jumping and Rubber Bands

Jumping pullups and banded pullups are popular in the CrossFit world as a way to get in a workout, but I’ve found little success with these methods and little direct translation into actual pull up strength. Strict banded pullups can be decent for building strength, but during a metcon they get abused and people begin to kip, bounce out of the hole, and squirm in all sorts of ways to finish their reps. If you’re after metabolic conditioning, switch to rows, deadlifts, rowing, ring rows, or some other variation.

4. Build Strength

To get your first pullup what you want to do is build strength. This means operating at 80%+ of your max effort at a minimum. Ring rows are one of the most effective methods to build strength and are easily varied in intensity by changing your positioning. Mark your foot positioning each workout and begin to creep your body closer to parallel with the floor each time. This will increase the load by involving a greater percentage of your bodyweight.

Negative pullups are also effective at building strength. Start with a five-second controlled descent and build to longer durations of time. Eccentric work can be very taxing and leave you sore, so start conservatively and add on as your body tells you. Don’t combine a lot of eccentric pulling work and then a hard metcon involving similar movements.

5. Stay Focused

Remember the body can adapt well in one way at a time. It’s hard to increase strength and endurance at the same time. This is why we cycle our training and have times when we focus on strength and times when we focus on conditioning. If your goal is to do a pull up, then focus on getting that first one now, and then multiple reps later.

6. Resist the Kip

Don’t kip until you can do at least five strict pullups. Kipping is the translation of horizontal momentum to vertical force and allows you to do a greater number of pull ups. Kipping is more efficient, but it also loads the shoulder dynamically, putting more force on it. If you are unable to control your bodyweight, there is no reason to add momentum on top of that.

7. Climb a Rope

Another movement great at building pulling strength is rope climbs. Rope climbing with efficiency involves using your legs to hook the rope and push yourself higher. Your arms hold you in place as you bring your legs up. So for a rope climb you only need to be able to hang on, not just pull your way to the top. Therefore, this is a great tool for people still working on building their pulling strength. If you’re a beginner, though, remember to let your legs help you so you don’t just focus on your arms and get burned out.

Respecting the pullup, training for your current ability level, and listening to your body will yield long-term results. If you’ve never done a pull up, then it’ll take time to get there, but the long smooth road always beats the ups and down of overtraining and progressing too quickly.

The Female Guide to Getting Lean

So many times women ask me, "How can I lose this?" while they're pinching whatever area they want gone. While no one is exactly the same, there are a few general tips that I can throw out there for you that do the trick whether you're leaning up for aesthetic or performance reason.

Calorie Intake

If you weigh 200lbs and are only eating 1,200 calories, you are not eating enough. That doesn't mean break out the donuts, that means increase your protein consumption – to start. A general guide for calorie intake is your bodyweight times ten to twelve. Example: 200lbs x 10 = 2000 cal.

You may be thinking this is a lot of food, but it is not. Women have been taught that starving themselves will make them lose weight. In reality, we don't just want to be smaller do we? Don't we want to be leaner, too? I'm not saying bodybuilding lean, but enough to see a little definition in your arms and/or abs. Most women would answer me with a very loud, “Yes!”

Calorie intake is just one component of many that go into this machine we call our body. The body is much smarter than the average person. You may trick it once or twice, but it will learn how to overcome what you are trying to do to it. The body will combat under eating by hording everything you feed it. Then you jump on a piece of cardio equipment and pedal your little heart out for extensive amounts of time, and still - nothing. Why is that? Keep reading!

Drop the Carbs Down

You don't have to completely eliminate them; doing so would only set you up for failure. Do you even know how many you get in a day? Do you have a food log? Are you logging on a site like Fitday.com or MyFitnessPal.com? Do you know what foods are considered high in carbohydrates?
          
The foods to reduce in this category would be sugar, which includes candy, cakes, pies, etc. But it also includes fruit. I hear so many people say how healthy they eat and then proceed to tell me they load up on fruit. Fruit is mostly sugar. Natural sugar is still sugar, and it still makes you fat if you eat too much of it. Okay, so we have sugar clarified. More foods that are sugary: pasta, potatoes, some other veggies - research those. Don’t forget rice and bread are sugary, too.

Another misconception is that brown rice and pasta and whole grain breads don't do the same thing as their regular white counterparts. Truth is - they do. They just have a little more fiber and digest more slowly, so you don't get quite the same insulin spike, but they are still a carb and they can still cause fat gain if you overeat them.

So what we have learned is to drop carbs down. In general, I start people out at 25-30% carbohydrates in their diet and assess from there. How are you going to do that if you don't know how many sugars and carbohydrates are in what you're eating? Start logging your food on one of the sites I mentioned above. Take responsibility for what goes in your mouth.

Increase Your Protein and Don’t Fear Fat

Beef, chicken, turkey, fish, etc. There are studies out now that are proving our governments “lean meat only” consumption isn't necessary.

For example:

• CLA is a substance that accumulates in the fat of grass-fed ruminant animals-fats like butter and tallow-that has anti-cancer effects.
• Industry apologists have now done an about-face and are campaigning against the trans in favor of the liquid oils - while using this opportunity of heightened public interest to continue demonizing the fats we should all be using, the natural saturated animal fats in animal foods and tropical oils.

Increased protein helps maintain the lean mass (muscle) you already have. You want to keep this, as it increases your metabolism. Adding a little more lean mass is usually a good thing. As a general starting point, I think 40% of daily food intake should be protein. I have seen great results with this.

Resistance Training

Ladies, listen very closely: you will not bulk up from resistance training. If you start getting bigger, it is most likely because you are also eating more. You may put on a little lean mass, but it should not cause you to outgrow your pants. In fact, if you clearly know what foods are acceptable, watching your nutrition, and doing resistance training, you should be getting smaller and leaner.

Just because you workout doesn't mean it's time to go get a pizza because you “just worked off the calories.” It's simple, if you have a high body fat percentage, you are eating too much, unless there are medical reasons surrounding your weight in which case you should be even more attentive to your food intake.

Resistance training has some proven benefits:

• Improved muscle strength and tone
• Weight management
• Prevention and control of health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis
• Pain management
• Improved mobility and balance
• Improved posture
• Decreased risk of injury
• Increased bone density and strength
• Reduced body fat
• Boosted metabolism
• Improved sleep patterns
• Increased self-esteem
• Enhanced performance of everyday tasks

A Little Cardio Goes a Long Way

Women today go way overboard with cardio. I have a simple explanation for what this does to your body. It is well known to those of us in the industry that excessive cardio (meaning more than 45 minutes steady state or 30 minutes of high intensity interval training) is too much for the average person. After this amount of time, your body will start to become catabolic, which means it starts to eat muscle for fuel instead of food recently eaten and fat stores. All those ladies you see on the cardio equipment day after day, who always look the same, are actually eating up their muscle.

Do you realize what this means? They are lowering their metabolism because now they have less lean mass. Basically, if you would give them a body composition test, they would be fatter.

Becoming catabolic also happens when we don't eat enough. Starving yourself will only make you carry more fat. When you can't stand starving yourself anymore and go back to “normal” eating, don't expect a positive result. All the scam diets that tell you to drink nothing but shakes or eat only five hundred calories a day, they make you catabolic and set you up for failure. Don't be lazy. Take control of your body.

All of it comes back to being balanced and approaching your health and fitness from a variety of angles. While these guidelines are general, they work and they are a great place to start whether your goals are athletic or aesthetic. Cardio, strength, and nutrition are all important and all build upon each other. Focusing too much on any one aspect while leaving others at the wayside won’t have you be the best athlete you can be

What physiological effects does alcohol have on sports performance?

Whether you’re a competitive athlete or a recreational athlete, a gym goer or participate in regular matches or events, alcohol could be the factor that is preventing you from reaching your goals.  Alcohol consumption impairs all aspects of exercise, from performance to recovery, affecting skeletal muscle, metabolism, thermoregulation and neural systems.

 

Short-term:

Dehydration and reduced glucose production are immediate effects of alcohol consumption:

Dehydration:

Alcohol dehydrates the body through excess urine production and vasodilation, hence why you feel nauseous and have a headache the morning after a big night!  Whilst exercising, you sweat in order to prevent increases in body temperature – this results in fluid loss and therefore further dehydration.  Combining alcohol with exercise increases the risk of dehydration, this leads to diminished blood flow and therefore reduced circulation of oxygen and nutrients, which are essential to fuel and repair the muscles.  Water is required to regulate body temperature and therefore if dehydrated when exercising there is a high chance of overheating.

 

Blood sugar:

If the liver has to break down excess alcohol then it is less able to produce glucose (the primary fuel used by the muscles).  Depleted glucose means the body has to rely on fat metabolism for energy, resulting in feelings of lethargy and slower movement.  Low blood sugar will have adverse affects on the intensity and duration of exercise, as well as reduced concentration, reaction speed, coordination and dexterity.  It is well documented that availability of glucose is a key factor in aerobic performance, as well as muscle repair and recovery.  In addition, if the liver has to concentrate on removing the toxins from alcohol, lactic acid clearance will be less efficient, leading to lactic acid build up and rapid fatigue.

Therefore consuming alcohol before exercise will lead to reduced performance due to excess dehydration as well as decreased blood sugar and depleted lactic acid clearance.  Similarly, drinking alcohol post-exercise isn’t advisable as it will compromise hydration status as well as ability to recover efficiently.

Long-term:

In the long-term, alcohol has adverse affects on metabolism:

·         Alcohol is extremely high in calories (7 calories/g), almost as high as pure fat. 

·         Alcohol reduces the number of calories you are able to burn whilst exercising.

·         The body isn’t designed to store alcohol and therefore tries to expel the toxins as fast as possible – this gets in the way of other processes, such as the absorption of essential nutrients and fat metabolism.

Although the mechanisms of action are yet to be fully understood, in terms of skeletal muscle, alcohol misuse has adverse affects on muscle cramps, muscle pain and proprioception. Furthermore, by disrupting sleep patterns and hormone concentrations (testosterone and growth hormone), alcohol reduces muscle synthesis and therefore the ability to build muscle.

Summary:

The effects of alcohol in regards to human physiology and consequently, exercise performance are multi-factorial and extremely complex.  However, evidence is clear that athletes who want to achieve their maximum potential should refrain from alcohol consumption, especially in excess.

This article was expertly written by nutrition writer Samantha Innes.

3 Simple Ways to Heal a Stiff, Sore, or Injured Neck

Now, we are going to focus on cervical strain and give you some simple ways you can help yourself heal.

Cervical Strain or Sprain

In the case of a cervical strain/sprain, there are a number of things that can be done to facilitate healing. As a licensed acupuncturist I have been trained in numerous treatments and protocols to help this condition, but I wanted to pick techniques that wouldn’t require any special knowledge or training to do. These three therapeutic techniques are intended to be used after the acute-phase of the injury, which is the first four days after the incident.

Remember that after a neck strain/sprain, the muscles in the neck will often become tight, guarding the affected area and limiting motion and mobility.Anything that can be done to safely alleviate muscle tension, improve range of motion, and promote blood circulation to the affected area, is going to help the healing process.

A. Manual Cervical Traction

Applying gentle traction to the neck can often ease and elongate tight muscles, allowing pinched nerves or compressed blood vessels to be released.

Tight muscles will constrict and compress everything around them. The idea behind using traction is to create more space and alleviate pressure by improving the blood supply to the neck muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the affected area.

One of the simplest ways to do this is to:

1. Lie down on your back and place a folded (lengthwise) hand towel under the occiput of your head. This is the rear part of your skull that rounds out away from your neck.
2. Have a friend gently pull the towel straight towards them. Try to get them to hold the position for at least 3 minutes.
3. Repeat the exercise 2-3 times per-day or until you feel some relief. I have seen excellent results in my own clinic with as little as a few minutes a day.

B. Hydrotherapy

Soaking in Epsom Salt can be very helpful for the release of muscle aches and pain. It is informative to remember the actual name of Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulfate. Among magnesium’s many functions is it will reduce the rate of calcium binding after a muscle contracts as it competes for the same binding sites as calcium, which contracts a muscle.

Something as simple as an Epsom Salt bath can be of great benefit in relaxing a tight muscle.

It is easily done by

1. Adding 2 cups of Epsom Salt to a warm bath full of water.
2. Soak your neck in the bath for 15 - 20 minutes, allowing the Magnesium to be absorbed through your skin.

C. Acupressure Point for Stiff Neck

Luo Zhen is the name of an acupuncture/acupressure point used specifically for a stiff neck. The point is found on the back of the hand in between the two bones in the depression just past the knuckles of the pointer and middle finger.

How to use Luo Zhen to treat a stiff neck:

1. Massage the point on the opposite side of the body from the neck pain. If the right side of your neck hurts, massage the point on your left hand. You will need to massage this point by pressing into it with the tip of your finger, and make sure to use enough pressure to feel slight tenderness at the point.
2. Maintain that pressure while making very small circles with your pressing finger.
3. At the same time as you are stimulating the acupressure point, exercise the neck by rotating your head side to side. You should slowly begin to notice a slight increase in your range of motion while experiencing a decrease in pain.

Once, I treated an elderly woman with severe neck pain and limited range of motion from sleeping in a bad position.

I tried using the acupuncture point Luo Zhen for several minutes while she exercised her neck. To my surprise, there was no result or improvement at all.

Rather than give up, I decided to try again. This time I worked on the point for more than ten minutes and then rechecked. She had a very slight increase in her range of motion. After forty minutes of treatment we had the full mobility of her neck restored and no pain.

Patience and Persistence Are Important When Treating Neck Pain

I’m not telling this story to say that everyone is going to have these types of miraculous results with this or any of the other techniques. What I want to point out is sometimes it will take some patience and the ability to acknowledge even a small amount of progress in order to fully restore one's health. Had I just given up after my first attempt, the treatment may not of had any benefit at all.

Do you have a sore neck? Give one of these treatments a try and post your results to the comments below.

Whey Protein vs. Casein Protein: Which Is Best For What?

When you go supplement shopping, have you ever actually looked at what type of protein you’re buying? I typically purchase whey protein, but there are other proteins out there, specifically casein.

As humans, we can break down all the different types of protein, but for this article we will keep it simple and look at the two most-purchased proteins - whey and casein. You will learn how each protein acts in the body and how each has a unique benefit to you as an athlete.

The Science of Protein

All proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Some proteins even have sulfur in them. These elements make up the building blocks of proteins - the amino acids. There are twenty basic types of amino acids.

Proteins are composed of both essential and nonessential amino acids:

• Essential amino acids must be obtained through food as the body cannot synthesize these.
• Nonessential amino acids are still important to construct our body’s proteins. The name just means it is not necessary for us to ingest them because our bodies can synthesize them.

The Effects of Calorie Intake and Training

Protein can be metabolized as a source of energy when you are experiencing a negative caloric balance. That means when you eat fewer calories than you expend.

There is an inverse relationship between your caloric intake and your actual protein requirement. When caloric intake goes down, protein requirement goes up and vice versa. In addition, individuals who have a negative caloric balance and consume lower-quality proteins will need an even higher amount of protein than would normally be consumed.

"There is an inverse relationship between your caloric intake and your actual protein requirement. When caloric intake goes down, protein requirement goes up and vice versa." 

For athletes, protein requirements are increased due to training. Both aerobic endurance training and resistance training can increase protein need. For aerobic athletes, protein is required for tissue repair and the use of branched-chain amino acids for fuel. For strength athletes, protein is required for tissue repair, along with the maintenance of a positive nitrogen balance.

Okay enough of the biology, right? Let’s get down to the meat and potatoes of this article - should you use whey or casein protein and why?

Whey Protein - The Facts

You will see whey protein the most in the supplement stores. Whey is a component of cow’s milk and accounts for about 20% of its protein content. Interestingly, most whey is produced as the byproduct of cheese manufacturing. (Remember Little Miss Muffet?)

Whey protein includes all the essential amino acids (remember those?) and is especially high in branched-chain amino acids, which are key for muscle protein synthesis. Whey protein has more sulfur-containing amino acids than its counterpart, casein. Because of this trait, it has a slightly higher level of biological utilization than other proteins.

"Interestingly, most whey is produced as the byproduct of cheese manufacturing."

Whey is considered a fast protein source. It digests fairly quickly, which causes a rapid increase in amino acid levels in the body. After consuming whey protein, blood amino acid levels peak at around sixty to ninety minutes after ingestion. This peak is short lived and is not sustained past two to three hours.

When protein floods the body with amino acids in this way, some of the protein is oxidized or wasted as excess. Since whey protein is so quickly digested, this is the protein you want to use right after your training session. This is because your muscles have broken down from your workout, and since whey protein is so fast acting, it can aid in muscle repair by increasing muscle synthesis.

Casein Protein - The Facts

This type of protein is the most abundant form in cow’s milk, accounting for about 80% of its protein content. All forms of casein contain a high-quality blend of essential, nonessential, and branched-chain amino acids. Unlike whey, casein contains a fairly low percentage of branched-chain amino acid and has a lower biological utilization rate.

Casein is a slow-digesting protein. The body digests casein’s amino acids in a steady manner that keeps their levels well maintained after ingestion. Thus, casein produces a stable elevation of amino acids that lasts for up to seven hours.

Casein does not have an amino acid spike like whey protein does. Therefore, less protein is oxidized or wasted. Because of this, casein increases protein synthesis to a lesser extent than whey, but reduces whole body protein breakdown. Casein produces greater positive overall protein balance compared to whey. Casein is usually known as “anti-catabolic” because of this slow acting nature.

Casein is ideal for nighttime use or as a meal replacement, when you know you will not eat for three hours. Since casein is so slow acting, it is not ideal for your post-workout protein. This is because your muscles will not get the immediate benefit of muscle repair shortly after exercise, like they can with whey ingestion.

Casein is better used at bedtime. While you sleep, you have the greatest opportunity for muscle repair, and casein can aid in that type of repair throughout the night since it produces seven hours of steady elevation of amino acids.

Protein and Appetite

Many people use proteins as a way to suppress appetite or as a way to replace a meal. Is one better than the other in this regard?

The British Journal of Nutrition did a study to answer this question. The object of the study was to compare the effects of hydrolyzed casein (HC), intact casein (IC), and intact whey (IW) on energy expenditure (EE) and appetite regulation.

In this randomized, cross-over study, 24 overweight and moderately obese young men and women consumed three equally active dietary treatments that varied in protein source. The study was conducted in a respiration chamber, where energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, and subjective appetite were measured over 24 hours at three independent visits.

The results showed no difference in dietary treatments between 24 hours and the period after dinner or lunch when it came to energy expenditure or appetite regulation. But the study did show that lipid oxidation (fat loss/waste) - estimated from the respiratory quotient, which is used in calculating basal metabolic rate - was found to be higher after the consumption of intact whey than the consumption of hydrolyzed casein during the daytime, as well as after breakfast meals.

"So basically, none of the proteins tested varied when it came to regulating appetite or increasing your body’s energy expenditure. But they did differ when it came to fat loss."

So basically, none of the proteins tested varied when it came to regulating appetite or increasing your body’s energy expenditure. But they did differ when it came to fat loss.Based on this study, it seems you may have more fat-burning capabilities if you ingest intact whey in the morning.   

Summary

Many people in the fitness realm use some sort of supplementation on a daily basis. Protein is by far the most popular. But if you don’t know what type of protein you are consuming, you might be getting in the way of your own fitness goals.

To keep it simple:

• Whey is perfect for the morning hours and as your post-workout protein for muscle repair.
• Casein is perfect for your nighttime muscle repair.

Also, just like any other food or substance you put in your body, always choose a quality protein. You will usually regret if you go cheap.

RELATED: What effect does the timing of nutrition have on its effectivity?

References:

1. Bendsten, LQ. et.al “Effects of Hydrolyzed Casein, Intact Casein, and Intact Whey on Energy Expenditure and Appetite Regulation: a Randomized, Controlled, Cross-Over Study.” The British Journal of Nutrition (2014): 1412-1422, accessed November 16, 2014, doi: 10.1017/S000711451400213X.

2. Llewellyn, W. Sport Supplement Reference Guide. (Florida: Molecular Nutrition, 2009), kindle edition.

3. Baechle, Thomas R., Earle, Roger W. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Nebraska. Human Kinetics 207-208.

4. Tate, P., Seely’s Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. (New York: McGraw Hill Companies, 2012), 37-38, 694.

5. Abrahams, P., How the Body Works. (New York: Metro Books, 2007), 260.

Tips to Stay Fit Over the Holidays

It's that time of year: The clock has turned back, Halloween is over, stores are preparing for the holidays and our diets go by the wayside.

Farewell, bikinis and salads. Hello, big sweaters and comfort food. All those yummy holiday meals will invariably add a few pounds that we'll struggle to lose when the New Year starts.

How about finally putting an end to the seasonal cycle? Staying on track during winter means establishing healthy habits that will be with you throughout the year--habits you will celebrate as the sunny days return and you are ready to shed the sweaters.

Here are my top five tips to stay in shape throughout the holiday season:

1. Don't stop exercising.
Shorter days, frosty temperatures, bad weather: Excuses are easier to find at this time of year. As a result we burn less calories than we take in, and the first pounds soon settle in.

The solution: Keep up your usual activity levels and, if need be, create a schedule to keep you from procrastinating. Opt for more indoor activities and reconsider what time of day you exercise.

2. Allow yourself one indulgence meal per week.This might be the season of holiday dinners and office parties, but by overindulging on all of those occasions you run the risk of packing on the pounds fast. The trap? Telling yourself that because it's the holidays you might as well relax and enjoy yourself -- and that January will be the time for "starting fresh."

The solution: Plan one pleasure meal a week. But whatever the dish, always have steamed vegetables in place of bread or potatoes. Counterbalance with some "light" days, with all-fruit breakfasts and enough exercise to sweat off the excesses of the table.

3. Eat winter fruits and vegetables.Flu, tonsillitis, coughs and sniffles and other bugs: This is also the time of the year our immune system is under the most strain. If you're not eating enough vegetables and fruits, you're probably not getting enough vitamins and antioxidants. As a result, you end up fighting one winter illness after another and have little energy to move, let alone exercise.

The solution: Load up on seasonal fruit and vegetables. Gorge on colorful root-vegetable salads and steamed or stir-fried veggies. The choices might not seem as broad as in the summer, but there is plenty out there you might not have explored. Don't hesitate to try something new.

4. Start with a soup.Every winter the same thing happens: You get home from work or school cold, hungry and desperate for something hearty and warming.

The solution: Begin every meal with a homemade seasonal vegetable soup. Brimming with vitamins, minerals and fiber, it will fill you up before you tackle the rest of your meal. Prepare a big batch and freeze the extra so you'll have a stash ready to eat in minutes.

5. Stay motivated.How do you keep up the motivation when it's cold and dark outside? Staying active and getting outdoors -- even for a short while, preferably at the brightest time of the day -- is by far the easiest solution to break the pattern of sluggishness. Did you know that no amount of indoor lighting can compete with the sun for boosting our energy levels? Even dull winter sun filtered through a thick layer of clouds is significantly more powerful than artificial lighting.

The solution: Make yourself accountable. Find a buddy and make a date to get outside. Nothing beats mutual support to remain motivated.

--Valerie

This post was expertly written by Valerie Orsoni. Connect with Valerie on her website, Facebook and Twitter.