A Great Whey 2 Get Protein!

Protein is important. Whether you are doing a nutrition plan like P90x that has you eating A TON of protein for the first 30 days, or if you are just a regular Joe...we need protein. Primarily it is for building and repairing body tissues (like muscle) and structures. Sometimes, protein is not easy to get in healthy forms. For instance, there is a good amount of protein in a hamburger...but it is a hamburger. Even lean ground turkey meat from the supermarket is not only expensive, but it is generally riddled with antibiotics. Free range turkey is much better but it is expensive, and shoot, I am poor. And what about the vegetarians it is hard for them to get complete proteins! it is recommended we eat as many grams of protein as our weight (180 lbs person should eat 180 grams of protein) Jeeze! How do we get enough protein in our bodies?! Answer: Whey protein powder.

A lot of people (girls especially, no offense ladies) equate buying a tub of some kind of powder from GNC with a massive body builder juiced up on steroids. WRONG. Buying a package of whey protein and drinking it with some water, milk, or in a smoothie, is not going to make you huge. It is just a simple way to get easy to digest, low to non fat protein in your system. Plus there are tons of fun flavors. Don't get me wrong, some brands are awful, some are excellent (I'll reveal what to look for below, and what tastes best), but whey protein powder is a goldmine for getting in shape.

Here are just a few benefits of whey protein:

* Naturally complete protein, i.e. is has all the amino acids for a daily diet
* Easy to digest, fast protein to speed muscle building and recovery
* More energy is needed to burn/digest protein --> more weight loss
* Slows glucose absorption in the bloodstream, reduces hunger cravings via lower insulin levels and increases fat burning
* High amounts of leucine, a key amino acid for promoting lean muscle tissue growth

Ok, so here are the best whey proteins on the market in my opinion.

1. Team Beachbody Whey (was there any doubt, I mean come on, I am a beachbody coach)...very fine and delicious, not too chalky at all. Chocolate and vanilla, they keep it simple. Buy it here

2. AMP Whey by GNC. Almost like sugar cause its so fine and not chalky (though not much sugar in it). Very very fine crystalized look, dissolves amazingly well, tastes fantastic.

3. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard (Pictured above) or Muscle Milk. This is my go to generally, so good, lots of great flavors and it is not too expensive. It looks chalky, but it mixes really well.

Stick to the basic flavors, chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream. The fancy flavors like banana, or mocha are risky but some people like 'em.

You should generally look for around 18 - 25g of Protein per scoop, no more than 140 calories per scoop, low sugar, low fat, and it should have all 23 essential amino acids in it, most do. Also, with regards to protein bars, the best tasting are the Pure Protein brand (Wal mart has them), but the P90x ones are good too, a little more chalky and power-bar tasting i.e. mealy.

Protein Powder can be mixed with oatmeal/cereal, I use it in my Shakeology smoothies with milk and some frozen fruit for breakfast. It is good to have some protein after a workout to help muscle repair and growth. I mix it with my P90x Results and Recovery Formula (which is essentially pure sugar! MMMmmmMMMmmm) So, add some Whey protein to your diet, whoever you are, it is a great whey to get protein (hahahahahaha). Make sure you spread it out through the day through all your 5 meals. All 5 meals should have a balance of complex carbs, protein, and fiber. Please don't think that drinking whey protein is going to get you in shape. You have to work out to do that :)

Get at me on twitter (@CoachZoso), check out my Facebook fan page and friend me :), email me with questions. I love to help out and coach! I am studying to be a counselor, so its in my nature.

Namaste.

Dieting Too Hard: Starvation Mode

So in order to lose weight, we should just starve ourselves right? I mean that makes the most sense, if you put less in your body you are going to be smaller. While this may seem like it makes the most sense, when you are exercising regularly (or not) the last thing you should do is deprive your body of necessary calories, or else you run the risk of entering the dreaded starvation mode, when your body will hold onto all the fat in the body because it is not getting enough nourishment.

Now if you don't exercise that much or at all, you should not eat less than 1200 calories a day as female, and 1500 calories a day as a male. But for those of us who exercise moderately to a lot need to make sure we are getting a good amount of calories; when you keep stepping on the scale and not seeing any drop in weight it may be due to the fact that you are not eating enough! Sounds crazy right? It is true, here is why...

Your metabolism needs energy to work! This means that if you don't give your metabolism those necessary calories to actually do the work it is going to come to a halt. It will literally stop working and your body will enter a flight/fight mode (back to caveman times I suppose) and try to hold onto every bit of fat it can to ensure it has energy stores (lb of fat has 3500 calories, that's a lot of energy!).

So, if you are working out a lot, 4-7 times a week, you HAVE to make sure you replenish your body immediately after a workout (some P90x results and recovery formula tasty...) and all through the day with 4-6 smaller meals. If you are trying to lose weight, your body needs a lot of GOOD calories in order to do so.

So as an example, after doing the Harris Benedict Equation (look it up on wiki, it is a great tool!) I found that I need to eat around 3000-3200 calories a day if I want to maintain my weight with the amount of exercise I do...I want to LOSE weight though, so what I do is create a deficit (not a huge one). I eat around 2500-2700 calories a day. That way I get a slow burn in my body, and end up burning around 3500 calories (as you remember this is a lb. of fat) a week! Perfect!

In the worst cases, and this is VERY extreme...you can enter into super extreme starvation mode, called muscle cannibalization. Where your body can't find any energy to help it function and it will actually eat your muscles. Nom Nom Nom!!!! You will start to lose muscle if you don't eat enough! So don't be afraid to eat when you are doing a diet/exercise program, it is crucial. But eat well, don't eat crap! (a bit of sugar is good after a hard workout to help restore glycogen in the muscles and reduce lactic acid (soreness)). Keep at it folks! Follow me (@CoachZoso) on Twitter!

Keep Digging

Tim (Coach Zoso)

Nutrition, The Cornerstone

So after chatting with some folks in the chatrooms on Teambeachbody.com, I couldn't help but realize that most people don't understand the foundation of any successful fitness undertaking or transformation process is learning how to eat well. Don't get me wrong, I get the cravings, I eat ice cream every now and again because I am human. But around 90% of the time, I am eating the following: whole grains, fruits, veggies, good fats, good dairy, good protein. I stay away from sodas (diet and regular), caffeine, processed foods, candy, alcohol, chips, fast food etc. It takes time to make the switch over to whole foods, but it is well worth it. It gives you more energy for your workouts, you tend to sleep better, have less stress, and have more self-esteem and confidence. Being a young professional, being in grad school, just got out of college, whatever the case is, the twenty-somethings is a hard time in life. A lot of questions, a lot of things changing, and a lot of instability. Here are some basics about learning how to eat healthy. It can be a drastic shift, but you will find that eating healthy, eating how humans are meant to eat is a wonderful thing.

1. Quality: I just touched on this, but if you eat high quality foods over bad ones, you will feel better and lose weight. It is that simple. Eating enriched foods loaded with sugar will spike your energy level and then make it hit rock bottom and you don't want to work out cause you are tired. Foods with bad fats (saturated types...not olive oil or avocado) are high in calories and offer no nutritional value. It is hard to find high quality food in today's fast paced world. Focusing on a career or a relationship seems to take precedence. Maybe bring your healthy food to work? I bring bagged dinners/lunches to class and meetings all the time.

2. Quantity: Ditch eating 2 or 3 big meals a day. Try to switch to 4 - 6 small meals a day (it can prove challenging). Your body is designed to take in food throughout the day, your metabolism has an easier time of turning 4 - 6 small meals a day into energy. You will feel more energized and say goodbye to that heavy feeling in your stomach after a huge meal, ugh. Your body becomes like a machine if the fuel is good :). I have brought coolers to 3 hour classes. If I can learn to eat healthy, you can learn to eat healthy.

3. The Deficit: A good calorie deficit is crucial. What do I mean by a calorie deficit? Well if you use something like the Harris Benedict Equation (check it out on wikipedia, great tool) you can figure out your allotted calories for the day based on height and weight and exercise. For instance, taking those 3 factors into account I should eat 3000 calories a day to maintain weight...I want to lose weight, so I create a deficit by subtracting 500 from that number. So I eat 2500 a day and the weight falls of naturally, at a slow pace (fast weight loss can be dangerous). NEVER STARVE YOURSELF. Most people don't realize that you have to eat a high amount of GOOD food to lose the weight, your body needs food to lose weight, it seems counterintuitive, but it is true! Don't let the pressure to lose weight cloud this truth; don't just go starving yourself thinking you are gonna lose weight then your body enters the dreaded starvation mode!

Try to implement these practices into your diet and you will naturally feel more energy and have more success in your workouts, and if you don't workout, they are still great tips for eating healthy. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it all at once, take a little step at a time, like cutting out caffeine, or limiting your sweet treat to twice a week then slowly diminishing it and replacing it with fruit. Set realistic goals for yourself, be disciplined, and you can easily get into great shape. We eat junk because we are stressed; the pressures of a new job, a new school, a hectic schedule are ever present in the lives of us twenty somethings, but trust me you can do it, I did and I am the king of lazy and scatter-brain-ed-ness...I had help though, the nutrition guides and tools/calendars offered in all of the programs on Teambeachbody.com and supplements like Shakeology, I seriously could not have done it without 'em. Critical and I am not just saying that.

As always, any questions or concerns about fitness, nutrition, life, meditation, Team Beachbody products, or anything just send me a message on facebook, twitter, team BB, or email (edgarallanpwned@gmail.com). I am studying to be a counselor after all, so helping is in my blood ha.

Tim (Coach Zoso)

I Transformed, So Can You!

My entire life I've been made fun of because of how I looked. I would try to take alternate routes when I walked home from school because I didn't want to run into a couple kids who always made fun of me. Peers at school would poke fun at me, ladies never found me attractive, I never felt good about myself physically. I think I got overweight because how I was raised, I stress ate a lot when things were bad at home, and things seemed to always be bad; I also used videogames to cope. I had a couple stretches of months in my teens where I would exercise and lose weight...but fast forward to post graduation and you'd find me in a computer chair a good 4 to 5 hours out of the day playing computer games, eating junk like when I was a kid. I was around 225 lbs. and close to the worst shape of my life. I had always been way too scared to do something about my physical fitness. I felt comfortable in front of that computer screen, not putting myself out there and trying to get into shape. I think we all feel these kinds of comforts when we eat certain foods, drink alcohol, or sit in our air conditioned rooms watching television.

One night, I saw an infomercial for a product called Insanity and a switch went off in my head. I was tired of sitting around, eating unhealthy and living unhealthy. I got the product and never looked back. Insanity was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, mentally and physically. I was huffing and puffing, sweating hard on the floor through the first week or two. Then the workouts got a little easier...I started to get better at them. When I hit month 2, I was getting excited for the workouts. I was also seeing results. When I finally finished, Insanity helped me drop 2 pants sizes and almost 35 lbs.

The results I got would not have been as great had I not eaten well, dug deep, and used the Team Beachbody community for support. I took to heart everything that I heard from those videos . I really did have to dig deep to get through every workout. But after the puddles of sweat and the endless plyometrics, I conquered it. With the help of Shakeology and a balanced diet (this was so crucial, eating contributes to roughly 60% of the success one has with any workout regime) I got through.

Not everyone can have a switch go off in their head that gets them off the couch. That is why I am here. I want to help you get through these workouts. I want to encourage you. The support is so critical to successfully completing a program and getting amazing results. Now don't think I went from 225 lbs. to a six pack. Ha! You have to be realistic with yourself. Give yourself some realistic goals, have patience, have dedication, don't miss your workouts and this stuff just gets fun. I know it is hard for the twenty somethings to find time, being a young graduate student or a young professional starting his or her career, we don't tend to think about fitness, it goes on the back burner. I am here to show you that you can find the time...make a choice, not an excuse. Lets start your transformation story together.

If I can do this, you can too. If you wanna chat with me let me know! Email me at tim.bell02@gmail.com! Check out my Coach Site, Facebook Page, and friend me! I want to be available for you, and help you get in shape.

Namaste,

CoachZoso