Three Foods Your Weight Lifting Diet Needs to Have

There are obviously dozens of foods that are highly beneficial to a weight lifting diet. We want to pick one from each of the foundational areas of your diet.

They are:
1) Protein
2) Carbohydrates
3) Fats

An often misunderstood fact is that you need both carbs and fats as well as protein to build muscle.

While protein is what your body will utilize to repair the damage that you cause your muscles during training, carbs and fats are also absolutely necessary to your weight training diet.




Carbs are one of the best muscle building foods and necessary for the drive that they will provide for you in the gym as well as recovery after a workout. Having carbohydrates in your diet will allow your body to better use the proteins in your diet. Your body has to break the protein down into amino acids which are the building blocks of muscle but the process it uses to do this requires the energy that you get from having a proper amount of carbohydrates in your diet.

Fat too is an essential part of a muscle building diet. Be sure to get a lot of essential, unsaturated fats and you don't need to fear the saturated fats either. Contrary to a most people's thinking, saturated fats won't make you fat if you eat them and can be greatly used by the body to build lean muscle. Essential fats, especially omega 3, helps to push the majority of the glucose you consume into your muscles to be used rather than into your fat cells to be stored. Believe it, you have to eat fat to loose fat and build muscle.

So for carbs our favorite recommendation is oatmeal. It is great for breakfast which is your most important meal of the day. It is a simple carb with plenty of fiber. This is our top recommended carbohydrate to have in your diet. Obviously there are many other great sources for carbs. Other whole grains, fruits, and vegetables all contain healthy and highly beneficial carbohydrates.

For protein it has to be eggs. They are at the top of every list you will find because their protein is so easily converted into amino acids by your body. The quality of all protein is measured by the standard of egg protein. They are also rich in essential fats, saturated fats and contain lecithin. All these are highly beneficial for producing the muscle mass you're looking for. Other tremendous sources of protein are whole milk, lean chicken and turkey, lean red meat, fish and cottage cheese.

Lastly is fats. Again there are a number of great sources. Fish oil, flax seed oil, hemp oil, extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil, eggs, nuts and beans to name a few.

One of the greatest sources is fish oil. It has a tremendous amount of omega 3 fatty acids in it in two forms 1) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 2) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Both are used by your body and help to grow muscle and prevent a number of diseases and other health problems. Getting the right amount of fat in your diet allow for the production of testosterone. An essential hormone used for building muscle.

Nutrition is no doubt the part of muscle building where people make their biggest and most consistent mistakes. If you want to build muscle you have to pay attention to nutrition.

Too many people spend way too much time at the gym instead working on their muscle building diets in the kitchen. The sad fact is that time in the gym can be greatly wasted without the necessary time in kitchen.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Greg_Gallon/430093

How to Build Muscle Quickly With 3 Exercises

If you only could do 3 exercise to transform your physique, what would they be? The truth is, you not only can learn how to build muscle quickly with only 3 exercises, but for many people this is actually the superior way to get bigger in the shortest amount of time possible.

One of the most common pitfalls that prevent so many people from learning how to build muscle quickly is over training: going to the gym and doing dozens of little exercises that will do little to build real bulk muscle, but will over train the body making it very difficult to recover and grow bigger muscles.

Spending an hour jumping around from machine to machine is much less effective than focusing on a few hardcore movements which work the overall body and trigger overall growth.




So, here's how to build muscle quickly with 3 exercises:

Squats - 1 set for 20 reps.

20 rep squats are highly effective for muscle growth not just in the legs but all over. 20 rep squats are so intense that they trigger overall muscle growth unlike any other exercise.

Dips - 2 sets for 10 reps (or 1 weighted set to complete failure)

Dips are highly effective for shoulder, chest, and triceps. I look at dips as "squats for the upper body". Very intense and very effective. Weighted dips work best, where you use a chain weight belt and attach weight plates. But to start out, normal weight free dips will work.

Chins - 2 sets for 10 reps (or 1 weighted set to complete failure)


Chin-ups are another good mass builder that work the back (lats) and the biceps as well. Again weighted chins are very effective, but first start out with regular chins until you can get a solid 10-15 reps.
If you have limited time, and want a simple, quick, yet intense way to achieve muscle gain, give this routine a try.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Chess_McDoogle/75612

Four Foods to Help You to Lose Weight Naturally

There are many fad diets that will help you to lose weight, only to have you to regain that weight again as soon as you stop the diet. But did you know that there are many healthy foods that can help you to lose weight? These are safe foods that you can make a permanent part of your diet so that you will never have to worry about gaining that weight back...ever again.

Avocados. Avocados have gotten a bad rap due to their high amounts of fats and calories. But the fats that they contain are the good fats, which the body needs in order to absorb other nutrients. The calories are also not a bad thing, as they are loaded with essential nutrients that the body needs as well. Thus avocados can fill you up and keep you feeling full, so that you can avoid other empty calorie foods.

Avocados can be mashed and used as part of a salad dressing for leafy greens. They are also great when diced and served with rice and beans. In addition, if you love fruit smoothies, avocados can add a nice rich and creamy texture when added in with other fruits.




Nuts and Seeds. Nuts and seeds are another food that you might have been told to only consume in moderation, as they too contain high amounts of fats and calories. However, as with avocados, these are fats and calories that your body needs and will give you similar benefits. And the great thing about nuts is that they are easy to take along with you so that you can munch on them, whenever you feel the munchies coming on.

Nuts and seeds are also great when used as a topping for a leafy green salad. From a nutritional perspective, they are best when consumed raw, however, you can lightly toast them in coconut oil to bring out more flavor.

Leaf Vegetables. Leaf vegetables are also very nutritious and will provide you with a lot of nutrients and fiber that will clean out your digestive system. A clean digestive system is absolutely essential in order to lose weight naturally. In addition, leaf vegetables are also low in calories, which makes them perfect for combining with avocados and nuts and seeds.

To make a simple salad with your favorite leaf vegetables, simply combine them with a mashed avocado, some lemon juice and a hint of sea salt. If you love onions and garlic, then by all means add them as well, as they are excellent foods to help improve the overall health of the body.

Sprouts. Sprouts are another great food to add to your diet if you are trying to lose weight. They are one of the most healthiest foods on the planet, and are very economical. The best part about sprouts is that you can grow them right in your own kitchen in a sprouter, or in a jar. You can sprout just about any kind of seed that has been obtained organically for the purpose of sprouting. Once sprouted, you can add them to your salads, sandwiches, wraps and smoothies.

Before using the sprouts, make sure to thoroughly wash them and remove the hulls from the seeds. Also, make sure that they do not contain any mold, as sprouts are prone to mold.

By adding these foods to your diet on a regular basis, and gradually increasing the amount, you will begin to lose weight gradually. This is what you want, because rapid weight loss in many cases is not healthy, and the weight often comes back when the diet is stopped.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Helena_Reimer/265768