Consumption of red meat has been associated with fat gain (and weight gain) because of its high energy and fat content. Even though the role of fat intake as a causative factor for obesity recently has been seriously questioned, and rightly so, red meat still is a food that’s on the forbidden or avoid list of most diet plans. And while there are studies showing an association between meat intake and obesity [1-3], there are also studies not showing this [3-5]. And when digging deeper in the data, many of the studies that have reported a significant association with meat intake and fat gain / obesity have several flaws that invalidate their conclusions….
In a previous article I reported the controversial results of a study that compared the muscle (myofibrillar) protein synthetic response of a traditional “bodybuilding” high-load low rep workout (90FAIL) to a higher rep low load workout (30FAIL), both taken to failure 1. If you haven’t read that article, here’s a lowdown:
The workout with higher rep lower load sets (30FAIL) was equally effective in stimulating muscle (myofibrillar) protein synthesis as a workout with low rep high load sets (90FAIL) 1. But more notably, the high-rep low load workout (30FAIL) resulted in a more prolonged muscle protein synthetic response and a greater elevation of muscle protein synthesis rates than the low rep high load workout (90FAIL) 24h after exercise, and also induced a greater stimulation of anabolic signalling pathways 1.
However, this study was an acute study with measurements taken for only 24 hours after one single workout bout. This doesn’t tell us whether higher rep sets would lead to long term increases in muscle mass, which is what we are ultimately interested in. Well, the same research group just published an actual 10 week training study 2 to find the answer to this nerve-itching question….
The Skinny on Diet Supplements: Fact Vs Fiction, now available!
This comprehensive book covers over 40 of the most common and popular supplement ingredients that create many well-known diet supplements sold on the market. I use my 20+ years in the supplement industry to break through the hype and mystery surrounding the base components of the VAST majority of the diet supplements sold – their ingredients – and explains how they work using easy to understand language.
In this book, I put the power of knowledge into the readers hands by teaching them how to judge if a supplement is likely to be effective for weight loss based on its ingredients; using an easy to understand format for the beginner, but with additional scientific extrapolation for the more advanced and experienced. I cover what really works and what has real science to support it, vs the invented pseudo-science used by many companies to sell ineffective – and potentially dangerous – diet supplements.
This is info most supplement companies wished you didn’t have access to, because a truly informed and educated consumer is not what they want!
Using this book to choose your next supplement purchase allows you to discern the “good” supplement ingredients from the “bad,” and understand why some ingredients are added to supplements in such minute amounts that doing so is known in the industry as “label decoration” and other tricks of the trade.
I have a level of experience and knowledge of the industry that few possess, and even fewer willing to write about it honestly. I’m an industry insider who pulls no punches; I have learned from consulting to major supplement companies, designing supplements, and writing extensively many years for the many international and well-known health and fitness magazines. This information is what I give to the reader of The Skinny on Diet Supplements.
In discussions about dieting, a topic that often comes up is that of “cheating”; is it good or bad to cheat once in a while during a diet?
In order to answer this questions appropriately, it is necessary to look at both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of dieting, and the physiological and psychological responses they each elicit.
Mitochondria are the ‘energy powerhouse of the cell’ that convert the foods we eat to usable energy our body uses to fuel life sustaining reactions within cells, our daily activities and athletic performance 1-4. While energy production capability and muscle performance might seem to be more relevant to sports, it also equally important for achievement and maintenance of health throughout the life span. In this article I will describe how chronological aging affects our mitochondria, its implications and the ins-and-outs of a new type of supplements marketed at “exercise mimetics”.
Most supplements are used for one specific outcome, for example fat loss, muscle growth or general health promotion. However, there are a few exceptions. Fish oil is one of them.
We all know about the cardiovascular health benefits of fish oil, and in a previous article I covered the fat loss effect of fish oil. Now let’s take a look at the potential application of fish oil for those of us who are interested in muscle growth…
Written by Monica Mollica
Fish oil is well known for its beneficial cardiovascular and cardiac health effects. In 2004 FDA approved a prescription fish oil preparation for treatment of high blood triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia) 1. However, recently several studies have shown that fish oil also has other beneficial effects, which might appeal more to the younger population, and especially to fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts. One of these effects is fat loss.
The associated video below summarizes much of what is contained in the full article below. So, for the short version, watch the vid, but for the complete info, I highly recommend reading the full article. It could change your life!
Learning Permanent Weight Loss!
Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a science guy who likes to quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, bodybuilding, and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.
For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It’s not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will attempt to change all that.
Like it or not, summer is coming. We’ll be ditching the jackets and showing off more skin. If you’ve been diligently exercising and eating right over the colder months, you probably have nothing to worry about. Some of us might turning to a “quick fix,” and is there one?
How important is meal frequency? Is 6 meals per day really needed? How about 3 or 4? I cover the debate in this new vid!!!
