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Surprising High-Protein Foods For Weight Loss

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You know you need protein for a flat belly diet: It’s a crucial building block for lean muscle, which in turn burns fat. But you probably don’t realize how many different foods will give you a serious amount, including fruits and veggies. In fact, a number of unsung and surprising foods pack almost as much — or even more — protein than an egg. (For reference, that’s 6 grams.)

1. GREEN PEAS

Amount of Protein: 8 g per cup (14% DV)

It’s enough to make Popeye do a spit take: Despite their wimpy reputation, a cup of green peas contains eight times the protein of a cup of spinach. And with almost 100% of your daily value of Vitamin C in a single cup, they’ll help keep your immune system up to snuff.

How to Enjoy Them: Layer them into a mason jar salad or add them to an omelet to boost eggs’ satiating power.

2. GUAVA

Amount of Protein: 4.2 g per cup (8% DV)

The highest-protein fruit, guava packs more than 4 grams per cup, along with 9 grams of fiber and only 112 calories. With 600% of your DV of Vitamin C per cup — the equivalent of more than seven medium oranges! — the tropical fruit should merengue its way into your shopping cart ASAP.

How to Enjoy Them: The fairly complicated preparation process involves slicing and eating. You can also toss them into just about any type of salad, slip slices into a detox water, or make homemade popsicles with a fraction of the sugar of storebought.

3. Hemp Seeds

Amount of Protein: 6 g per tablespoon (11% DV)

Similar in taste to sunflower seeds, these nuts are derived from hemp seeds, which are also used to grow cannabis. (We know what you’re thinking. The answer is no.) By weight, hemp seed nuts provide more high-quality protein than even beef or fish. Each nut is also packed with heart-healthy alphalinoleic acid. Find them in your local health-food store or in the natural-products section of your grocery store.

How to Enjoy Them: Eat them straight from the bag, or sprinkle a handful on salads or in your morning oatmeal.

4. LENTILS

Amount of Protein: 18 g per cup (36% DV)

Here are some pretty amazing proportions: One cup of lentils has the protein of three eggs, with less than one gram of fat! Their high fiber content makes them extremely satiating, and studies have shown that they speed fat loss: Spanish researchers found that people whose diets included four weekly servings of legumes lost more weight and improved their cholesterol more than people who didn’t.

How to Enjoy Them: Eat them on their own as a side or simmer them into a number of all-season soups.

5. KAMUT

Amount of Protein: 11 g per cup, cooked (20% DV)

This ancient grain, which you can use in place of quinoa, has 3 more grams of protein per cup than its trendy cousin. It’s high in magnesium, potassium and iron, with 21 g of fiber per cup. Bonus: A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating kamut reduces cholesterol, blood sugar and cytokines, which cause inflammation throughout the body.

How to Enjoy It: Toss it into salads or eat it as a side dish on its own. And if you’re looking for a quick way to turbocharge your own weight-loss, sip your way thin with The 7-Day Flat-Belly Tea Diet and Cleanse. Test panelists lost up to 10 pounds in just one week!

6. TRITICALE

Amount of Protein: 12 g in 1/2 cup (24% DV)

You may not have heard about this wheat-rye hybrid, but it just might become your favorite. An able stand-in for rice or quinoa, triticale packs twice as much protein as an egg in one 1/2 cup serving! It’s also rich in brain-boosting iron, muscle-mending potassium and magnesium, and heart-healthy fiber.

How to Enjoy It: Use triticale in place of rice and mix it with soy sauce, fresh ginger, cloves, shiitake mushrooms and edamame to make a healthy, Asian-inspired dish. You can also use triticale flour in place of traditional flour in your baking.

7. GOAT CHEESE

Amount of Protein: 5 g per 1 oz serving (9% DV)

Dairy products are famously protein rich, but this versatile cheese (dare we say the most versatile?) is truly impressive: You can get nearly 10% of your daily protein from a 1 oz, 76-calorie serving.

How to Enjoy It: Crumble goat cheese over a colorful salad and top it with ourZero Belly Vinaigrette dressing; use a watermelon or chickpea base to ratchet up the fat-burning benefits. Or combine feta with other flat-belly ingredients to make a creative healthy homemade pizza, like the arugula-and-cherry number above.

8. PUMPKIN SEEDS

Amount of Protein: 8 g per 1/2 cup (14% DV)

When it comes to healthy snack foods, almonds and walnuts are always on the A-list, but pumpkin seeds, a.k.a. pepitas, are an underrated winner. One half-cup serving has 20% more protein than an egg, and is high in iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and immune-system-boosting zinc.

How to Enjoy Them: Add pumpkin seeds to salads, oats and yogurt, or grab a handful as a snack.

9. SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Amount of Protein: 6 g per cup (12% DV)

Tomatoes are packed with the antioxidant lycopene, which studies show can decrease your risk of bladder, lung, prostate, skin, and stomach cancers, as well as reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. Just one cup of the sun-dried version will lend you 7 grams of fiber, ¾ of your RDA of potassium—which is essential for heart health and tissue repair—and 50% of your RDA of vitamin C, the superstar antioxidant that prevents DNA damage. They’re also rich in vitamins A and K.

How to Enjoy Them: Use them as a pizza topping, a tangy addition to salads, or snack on them right out of the bag.

10. SPROUTED WHOLE-GRAIN BREADS

Amount of Protein: 8-12 g in two slices (14-21% DV)

Not all breads are carb bombs waiting to shatter your weight loss goals. This nutrient-dense bread is loaded with folate-filled lentils and good-for-you grains and seeds like barley and millet.

How to Enjoy It: Make a protein-packed veggie sandwich overflowing with wholesome nutrients. On two slices of sprouted whole-grain bread combine tahini-free hummus, avocado slices, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, onions, spinach and tomatoes.

11. CHICKPEAS

Amount of Protein: 11 g in one cup (20% DV)

You might not think of the little beige bullets as a superfood, but it’s time to start. High in nutrients and soluble fiber, chickpeas are a prime weight-loss weapon, increasing feelings of satiety by releasing an appetite-suppressing hormone called cholecystokinin.

How to Enjoy Them: Use chickpeas as a base for a salad incorporating tomatoes and feta, blend them into homemade hummus with lemon and olive oil, or roast them (above) for a superhealthy alternative to chips. You can also substitute chickpea flour for a portion of the regular flour you use in baking; it contains almost twice as much protein as the standard white stuff.

12. GRUYÈRE CHEESE

Amount of Protein: 8 g per 1 oz slice (14% DV)

Here’s an excuse for a wine-and-cheese hour: The schmancy Swiss cheese (don’t forget the accented ‘e’) contains 30% more protein than an egg in one slice, plus one-third of your RDA of vitamin A.

How to Enjoy It: If you’re looking to indulge, keep your serving to the size of four dice, and moderate your vino to one glass for women, two glasses for men, to get the bad-cholesterol-lowering benefits of the antioxidant resveratrol. Also, slim down fast by offsetting all these empty calories with these 8 Best-Ever Superfoods for a Flat Stomach!

13. ARTICHOKES

Amount of Protein: 4.2 g in 1 medium artichoke (7.5% DV)

Ghrelin is your body’s “I’m hungry” hormone, which is suppressed when your stomach is full, so eating satiating high-fiber and high-protein foods is a no-brainer. The humble artichoke is a winner on both counts: It has almost twice as much fiber as kale (10.3 g per medium artichoke, or 40% of the daily fiber the average woman needs) and one of the highest protein counts among vegetables.

How to Enjoy It: Boil and eat the whole shebang as a self-contained salad (why not add a little goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes?), toss the leaves with your favorite greens and dressing, or peel and pop the hearts onto healthy pizzas and flatbreads.

14. TEFF

Amount of Protein: 13 g in 1/2 cup (23% DV)

Dubbed the next big thing in grains, teff has some calling it “the new quinoa,” and Lisa Moskovitz, RD, says that label is well deserved. “It’s a more complete amino acid-packed protein than quinoa itself,” she says. “That makes it great for anyone who wants to keep calories low and protein high.” Moskovitz says the health benefits don’t stop there. Teff is “also a good source of fiber, in addition to containing 30 percent of your daily value of blood-pumping iron.” All that fiber and protein add up to one key element in your slim-down efforts: appetite control.

How to Enjoy It: Cook teff as a simple side dish with some Parmesan, onions, fresh garlic and tomatoes, or use it as a base for breakfast porridge. Add honey, fruit, and unsweetened coconut flakes for some additional flavor and crunch.

15. BLACKBERRIES

Amount of Protein: 2 g per cup (3.5% DV)

The fruit with the second-highest amount of protein (behind guava), blackberries’ benefits are strictly front-of-the-pack. They boast phytonutrients that help blood clot and keep bones healthy, as well as the antioxidant lutein, which supports eye health. Plus, with 8 grams of fiber per cup (almost as much as soybeans), blackberries are one of the 11 Best High-Fiber Foods for Weight Loss.

How to Enjoy Them: Scarf them by the handful, add them to whole-wheat pancakes, or sprinkle them into plain Greek yogurt for a high-protein breakfast without excess sugar.

16. CHIA SEEDS

Amount of Protein: 5 g per 1 oz serving (9% DV)

One of the hallmarks of a balanced diet is to have a good ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3s. A 4:1 ratio would be ideal, but the modern American diet is more like 20:1. That leads to inflammation, which can trigger weight gain. But while eating a serving of salmon every day isn’t exactly convenient, sprinkling chia seeds—among the most highly concentrated sources of omega-3s in the food world—into smoothies, salads, cereals, pancakes or even desserts is as easy a diet upgrade as you can get.

How to Enjoy It: Bring a chia-based snack to work that you can reach for (guilt free!). Try making chia pudding with 1/2 cup chia seeds, 2 cups unsweetened almond milk and vanilla extract to taste. In a rush? Stock up on Chia Pods for a quick grab-and-go snack.

17. AMARANTH

Amount of Protein: 14 g per 100 g serving (25% DV)

Like quinoa, this nutrient-packed seed is native to the Americas and was a staple of the Incan diet. The grain-like seeds have a mild, nutty taste. Gram for gram, few grains can compete with amaranth’s nutritional portfolio. It’s higher in fiber and protein than wheat and brown rice, it’s loaded with vitamins, and it’s been shown in studies to help lower blood pressure and harmful LDL cholesterol.

How to Enjoy It: Amaranth cooks up just like rice, but it’s even more versatile. Toss it with grilled vegetables as a bed for chicken or steak, or with apples, almonds, and goat cheese for a serious salad.

18. GOLDENBERRIES

Amount of Protein: 5 g per serving (9% DV)

These tangy, dark yellow berries are native to South America, where they’re sold fresh or made into preserves. In the United States, you’re more likely to find the fruit dried and bagged.
One serving of dried goldenberries contains 4 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. They’re also a great source of vitamin A and disease-fighting antioxidants. You can find them at Whole Foods.

How to Enjoy Them: Snack on the dried berries alone like you would raisins, or toss a handful on a salad or your breakfast cereal.

19. MUNG BEANS

Amount of Protein: 24 g per 1/2-cup serving (43% DV)

Commonly eaten in China and India, these beans have a tender texture and a sweet, nutty flavor. They’re high in potassium, iron, and fiber, but they’re also 24 percent protein. What’s more, unlike many other legumes, mung beans retain most of their high levels of vitamin C even after they’re boiled.

Source: eatthis.com

The Perfect Post-Workout Meals

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Eating quality food post-workout is crucial…you know, if you expect to make gains and stuff. The science on recovery is a little War-and-Peace-y in its complexity but you can boil it down to a few nutritional musts: in order to optimize your results, you need to replace the amino acids and glycogen lost during your workout.

Starting the muscle building process by increasing protein synthesis and nitrogen retention requires a quick dose of the right protein and carbohydrates. But we can’t (and shouldn’t) always rely on plain protein shakes, chicken and rice. It’s boring and an absolute affront to your flavor-deprived palate. Besides, your body prefers a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods. Try these six post-workout muscle-building meals that taste great and get results.

MEAL 1: PROTEIN PANCAKES

 

How To: Mix four egg whites, ½ cup rolled oats, ½ cup cottage cheese, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Cook on a preheated griddle on medium to low heat, until it bubbles then flip and cool another 30-60 seconds. Top with fresh berries or banana slices.

The Perks: These pancakes pack a mean protein punch without a ton of carbs, perfect for those looking to retain muscle tissue when trying to lean up. The medium- and slow-digesting proteins help keep a steady stream of amino acids to stay more anabolic.

Calories: 421 | Protein: 51 g | Fat: 6 g | Carbs: 39 g

 

MEAL 2: BEEF AND SQUASH WITH MARINARA

How To: For those looking to satisfy that deep, aching post-workout hunger, this one is for you. Cook up eight ounces of lean grass-fed beef with salt and pepper to taste. Cook one whole butternut squash for 30-45 minutes until soft. Mix them together in the pan when done and add four ounces of your favorite marinara sauce.

The Perks: If you are training hard and with more volume than usual, chances are your appetite is up as well. The creatine replenishes your explosive energy stores and extra fat from the beef helps keep you satisfied and full of calories. The starchiness of the squash digests slowly and helps keep hunger at bay.

Calories: 628           | Protein: 70 g | Fat: 18 g | Carbs: 38 grams

 

MEAL 3: TUNA AND CRACKERS

How To: Take a can of yellow fin tuna and add a handful (1/2 cup) of crushed up whole grain crackers. For flavor, add pepper, a dab of extra virgin olive oil, mustard, and chopped up pickles.

The Perks: This one is perfect to utilize on-the-go for those working out on their lunch break at work, or those who have to endure an epic commute home from the gym. It is also simple and cost effective. The crackers add some needed carbs, helping to spike your insulin levels to drive nutrients into your muscles.

Calories: 379 | Protein: 41 g | Fat: 13 g | Carbs: 24 g

 

MEAL 4: HIGH-PROTEIN OATS ON-THE-GO

How To: Add ½ cup of rolled oats, 1-2 scoops of your favorite whey protein powder (we suggest vanilla), ½ cup of frozen or dried fruit, and slivered almonds. Add ½ cup of water or skim milk and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Add cinnamon or stevia to add more flavors.

The Perks: Another great convenience food, this dish is best for morning trainers. Oats and whey have been a bodybuilding staple forever, but often times are bland and burnt out. By adding some fruit, natural sweetener and almonds, you gain a whole new appreciation for oatmeal. The balance of carbs and protein make it great for those looking to build mass and those watching the leanness scale.

Calories: 422           | Protein: 31 g | Fat: 12.5 g | Carbs: 48 g

 

MEAL 5: EGG SCRAMBLE

How To: Scramble four whole eggs with two added egg whites. Add one cup of chopped mixed veggies. Spinach, onions, mushrooms and red bell peppers are good additions. For more protein, add ¼ cup of diced lean ham or bacon. If you need (or want) more carbs, add a piece of fresh fruit on the side.

The Perks: Breakfast for dinner? Uhhh…yes. Plain egg whites just get too boring, forcing you to ditch your high-protein meal for a Krispy Kreme when you are burned out on traditional bodybuilding foods. Keep the yolks for the extra omega-3 fats, vitamins and minerals. Make them taste good with some bacon (turkey bacon is a great, lower-fat option) and increase nutrient density and texture with the veggies. Nothing says post-workout breakfast like eggs. This post-

 

MEAL 6: CHICKEN AND SWEET POTATO HASH

How To: Grab a large chicken breast (about 8 ounces) that is already cooked and dice it up and throw it in a pan with olive oil. Add ½ cup of diced sweet potato, 1/2 cup of diced apples and add cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. You can make an even bigger batch to store in the fridge to use through the week.

The Perks: Chicken and sweet potatoes, gourmet recovery style. Sweet potatoes are the perfect bodybuilder carb that slowly digest to keep your energy levels high and insulin spike just enough to feed the muscles but not the fat stores.

Calories: 300 | Protein: 51 g | Fat: 5 g | Carbs: 30 g

Source: muscleandfitness.com

 

 

14 Key Benefits Of Exercise That Will Surprise You

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It doesn’t matter if you are a depressed teenager or an anxiety-ridden elderly patient; either way, exercise can help you fight depression without using a pharmaceutical cornucopia to treat your symptoms. Here are 4 reasons that exercise helps to keep you not just healthy, but happy:

1. Exercise Helps to Regulate Hormones

Photo: essentialsurvival.org

Increased use of pharmaceuticals and advancing age can lead to hormonal changes, further leading to anxiety and depression. Exercise helps to return these hormones to homeostatis. Qigong in particular has been shown to reduce depression in elderly patients. And teen patients can even reap the benefits of exercise to help keep cortisol and adrenaline levels in check while increasing seratonin, melatonin, and oxytocin.

Another review examining  previous studies also affirmed that people who exercise are able to reduce the severity of their depression. The research came to us from the Cochrane Library.

2. Exercise Gives You more Energy

Photo: wellnesstoday.com

You’ve heard Newton’s first law – objects in motion tend to stay in motion. The reason we feel unmotivated when we’ve been negligent in exercising is because our respiratory and cardiovascular systems become depleted (as do all our other bodily systems) when we don’t move. Our cells don’t turn over as fast.

Toxins start to linger longer in our blood and digestive tract, and we start to feel tired and flat out cruddy. When we exercise, all our systems support this life-promoting activity by ‘turning on.’ This is part of the reason we experience an endorphin rush during and just after an exercise session. It is the body’s reward for doing something good for ourselves – and then we have the energy and motivation to do it again!

3. Exercise Builds Confidence

Who doesn’t feel better when they start to see their waistlines grow smaller, their skin begin to glow from the reduced toxicity in the body from sweating during exercise, and the general tone of their muscles improve? Exercise is a huge confidence booster. Even taking a brisk walk every day can increase your sense of accomplishment when things don’t seem to be going your way.

More vigorous exercise at least three times a week can help make your confidence soar. Many feel depressed because they feel powerless, but you can’t feel both confident and powerless at the same time.

4. Exercise Slows Aging

Photo: integratedwellness.com.au

People who exercise usually feel at least five to ten years younger than their chronological age. They often look it, too. By exercising regularly you could potentially reduce your biological age by as much as 9 years when compared to your chronological age. The maximum reduction in age occurs when 3,500 to 6,500 calories are expended each week.

Depression can also trigger as we age, as the demands of life and its responsibilities mount. Low testosterone levels (in both men and women) can increase age-related depression, but exercise can help boost them. Not only does exercise make you feel and look younger, but it can actually reduce the stress that accompanies becoming an older adult.

5. Exercise Zaps Belly Fat.

Photo: wisegeek.org

It’s the easiest way to beat the bulge, period. “Regular moderate- to high-intensity aerobic exercise has the greatest impact on reducing ab fat — the dangerous fat that ups your risk of diabetes and heart disease,” says Olson. Exercise is the ultimate middle manager because it lowers levels of cortisol, a hormone that has been linked to ab fat. In fact, women with the most cortisol in their system have higher BMIs and bigger bellies than those with moderate amounts of the hormone, found a University of California at San Francisco study.

6. Exercise controls calories.

Photo: perthfit.com.au

“It’s pretty simple: You need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight,” says Nancy Snyderman, MD, a FITNESS advisory board member, editor-in-chief of BeWell.com, and chief medical editor for NBC news. Regular exercise blasts excess calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. “Plus, you continue to burn calories even in the hours following your workout,” says Dr. Snyderman.

BeWell.com

7. Exercise keeps lost pounds MIA.

“Ninety percent of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off for a year do about an hour of physical activity a day,” says John Porcari, PhD, a FITNESS advisory board member and a professor of exercise and sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Exercise is even prescribed by docs for people who have undergone weight-loss surgery to help them hold onto their newly thin figures.

8. Exercise boosts metabolism.

Photo: prestige-fitness.com

Yes, you’ll lose fat when you diet without exercising, but you’ll also lose muscle, which means you’ll burn fewer calories. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the more calories you’ll torch.

9. Exercise trims inches.

The number on the scale doesn’t tell the whole truth, says FITNESS advisory board member Jari Love, a certified personal trainer and fitness DVD star: “When you shed fat and gain muscle you may lose inches and drop sizes without losing actual pounds.” For instance, if you gain 3 pounds of lean muscle and lose 4 pounds of fat, you’ve actually experienced a 7-pound improvement in your body condition, despite the scale only showing 1 pound of weight loss.

10. Exercise curbs emotional eating.

Photo: silvamethodlife.com

“Working out has been proven time and time again to help regulate mood, which has a direct effect on people who eat when they’re stressed or upset,” says Robert E. Thayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach. Translation: When you’re already in your happy place you don’t need Ben & Jerry to lead the way.

11. Exercise creates a healthy chain reaction.

Photo: corporateculturepros.com

There’s a reason you find juice bars at the gym: “Healthy habits tend to cluster together,” says Boston-based psychologist Eric Endlich, PhD. “When people make positive changes, like getting more exercise, they tend to work on other health improvements as well, such as eating better.” The result? Weight loss.

12. Exercise brings on the fun.

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Let’s face it: Rock-climbing is way more exciting than eating a celery stick. That’s why it’s easier to be active to stay slim than to maintain a strict diet. “If you look at people who incorporate exercise successfully in their lives, they’ve found something they truly enjoy,” says Dr. Snyderman.

13. Exercise stops hunger.

Photo: titanovo.com

People who exercise and diet are actually less hungry than those who only diet, according to a study in the journal Obesity. Bonus: Your self-restraint is higher, too.

14. Exercise ups energy.

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Regular physical activity increases stamina by boosting the body’s production of energy-promoting neurotransmitters, studies show. That pep gives you even more motivation to get moving and shed pounds. When was the last time diet alone did all that?

Source: fitnessmagazine.com

How This Showering Trick Can Make You More Energized for the Workday

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You’ll spend about 4,000 hours of your adult life showering — possibly more time than you spend reading, exercising or watching TV — but chances are, you’ve been doing it wrong.

If you take a morning shower, you probably think it energizes you for the day, but it can actually have the opposite effect.

In fact, a hot shower or bath is what many doctors recommend for people who have trouble falling asleep — to help them fall asleep. The reason: Emerging from a hot shower into cooler air brings a sudden decrease in body temperature, leading to a tranquil state of mind. This is helpful when you’re looking to fall asleep but not what you need before you start your day.

If your goal is to wake up in your morning shower, then you need to make a 90-second tweak.

The secret lies in the contrast. Here’s how to do it:

Once you’ve finished your normal cleaning ritual, crank the nozzle as cold as it goes, and stand under the water for about 30 seconds. Feel free to gasp or scream if it helps (some say it does).

After 30 seconds, turn the water up as hot as you can stand for another 30 seconds. This opens up the capillaries, increases blood flow and provides an all-around sense of stimulation.

Finally, cap it off with one more cycle of icy cold. Always end on cold.

You might be asking, “Why would I put myself through such discomfort first thing in the morning?” Because it works.

Hot and cold hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of years. In Finland, the sauna isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. The country is home to 2 million saunas (for a population of 5 million) with 99 percent of Finns enjoying the stress-relieving benefits of the sauna at least once a week.

I trust the Finns and scientific research provides further confirmation. Studies have shown that it provides a full-body tune-up, including:

Reduced stress: In a study on free radicals, 10 healthy subjects swam regularly in ice-cold water and showed adaptation to oxidative stress and hardening (an increased tolerance to stress). When building a business, combating stress is crucial for achieving clarity of mind.

A stronger immune system: Another study found that taking daily cold showers increases the number of disease-fighting white blood cells. In an attempt to warm up, the body speeds up its metabolic rate and activates the immune system, releasing more white blood cells.

Improved blood circulation: When exposed to cold water, our arteries and veins constrict. This temporary tightening allows blood to flow at a higher pressure, which is great for cardiovascular health.

Increased ability to burn fat: Research shows that cold-induced glucose uptake results in the creation of brown fat cells, which create warmth, burn energy and keep you slim.

Aid in battling depression: A 2008 study found that adapted cold showers stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and increase beta-endorphin levels in the blood. They send a high level of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could produce an anti-depressant effect.

While trying out this new routine, you should fully expect discomfort but be equally prepared to start your day feeling more refreshed than ever before.

Young Woman Enjoying Coffee And Breakfast

Photo:huffingtonpost.com

Source: entrepreneur.com

Pill That Builds Up Physical Stamina by Burning Fat?

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Many athletes know that it takes a long time and lots of practice and exercise to build up the physical stamina it takes to participate in their sport. Track athletes such as distance runners practice for years to build up enough stamina to run such distances. Basketball players run up and down the courts in practice all through their school years and into the pros to build up their stamina or endurance in order to play most of a game.

Perhaps no one knows what it takes to build up endurance more than a marathon runner. I’ve always wondered what would make anyone want to run a marathon considering the race is patterned after what happened to a soldier who ran that distance and then collapsed and died from the physical effects it placed on his body.

You probably aren’t a track or professional athlete, but there are still plenty of times that you wish you had more physical endurance than you currently have. How quick did you tire out when mowing the lawn, trimming the shrubs and trees or cleaning the house? What about the last time you spent time with your kids? I’ve often heard parents say they wish they had the energy of the young.

If you’re an older person like me, you may have been fairly active most of your life, but now life has slowed down and you are forced to exercise to try to get yourself back in shape or lose weight. I ended up buying a treadmill and walk at least 1.5 miles twice a day. When I started walking, I had a hard time walking half a mile at a brisk pace before tiring out. I’ve now built up the endurance and stamina to do 1.5 miles a stint, but even then, I have to really push myself to cover that distance. I know the more I walk the more weight I’ll lose and better the exercise will be on my heart, but I just haven’t built up that stamina or endurance to walk further or longer.

We hear about all kinds of miracle drugs and pills these days, but what if you could take a pill that would help build your stamina for physical exertion? Sounds like one of those quack deals? Think again.

Ronald Evans, Professor and Director of the Gene Expression Lab & Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California believes he may have found just such a miracle stamina drug.

But don’t get too excited yet as his research is still in the early study phase. However, his research not only promises hope to millions of us that need stamina to help with our exercising and weight loss, but it will also raise ethical questions for amateur and professional athletes.

Evans’ miracle drug, known as GW1516 was given to laboratory mice for eight weeks. At that time, the test mice and control mice were placed on a treadmill and ran until they showed signs of fatigue. The control mice averaged about 160 minutes before fatiguing and the test mice that received GW1516 ran for an average of 270 minutes.

Evans and his research team believe that GW1516 works with a specific gene that changes the body from burning the stores of sugar for energy to burning fat. The implication of this could be not only beneficial to millions who are exercising to lose weight, but the idea of burning fat as part of the sudden increase in stamina could be huge for the weight loss industry.

Evan’s commented on his findings, saying:

“If you reprogram the genetics, you can acquire that level of fitness without having to expend a lot of energy.”

According to a recent report on Evans’ research:

“It’s not clear whether the chemical would work the same way in humans. But if it did, the results from the study could one day lead to a pill that controls a network of genes, turning them on and off to selectively burn fat and sugar, much like exercise training. Such a therapy could mimic the benefits of exercise for those with limited mobility, such as the elderly, obese or physically impaired.”

“In the new study, Evans and his team built on earlier work in which they found a kind of biological sensor called PPARD that, during exercise, senses fat in the muscle and then turns genes on and off to burn fat and preserve sugar. [Dieters, Beware: 9 Myths That Can Make You Fat]”

“Previous work also showed that GW1516 interacted with that sensor, activating the same set of genes as those that would be triggered by exercise. For example, in one study, Evans and his team gave GW1516 to normal mice for four weeks and showed that it controlled their weight and insulin response. But it didn’t seem to influence endurance in sedentary mice.”

“In the new study with sedentary mice, they increased the dose of GW1516 and gave the compound over a longer period.”

“When the scientists analyzed muscle tissue from the mice, they found a few interesting things. First, the tissue did not show any of the physiological changes associated with fitness training. There was no increase in the number of blood vessels or mitochondria, the power plants in cells that generate more than 90 percent of the energy.”

The bottom line is that GW1516 may help boost stamina and help burn fat, which could be a huge benefit for weight loss, it does not seem that the drug would benefit the heart or build-up of muscle. For athletes, they need to build-up muscle. For many of us regular folk, we need to not only build-up muscle mass but we need to improve heart function. Perhaps being able to exercise longer will allow someone to build up the muscle mass and improve heart health. Guess we’ll all have to wait to find out.

8 things everyone should do before 8 a.m.

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Life is busy. It can feel impossible to move toward your dreams. If you have a full-time job and kids, it’s even harder.

How do you move forward?

If you don’t purposefully carve time out every day to progress and improve ,  without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of our increasingly crowded lives.

Before you know it, you’ll be old and withered  —  wondering where all that time went.

As Harold Hill has said —  “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”

Rethinking Your Life and Getting Out of Survival Mode

This article is intended to challenge you to rethink your entire approach to life. The purpose is to help you simplify and get back to the fundamentals.

Sadly, most people’s lives are filled to the brim with the nonessential and trivial. They don’t have time to build toward anything meaningful.

They are in survival mode. Are you in survival mode?

Like Bilbo, most of us are like butter scraped over too much bread. Unfortunately, the bread is not even our own, but someone else’s. Very few have taken the time to take their lives into their own hands.

It was social and cultural to live our lives on other people’s terms just one generation ago. And many millennials are perpetuating this process simply because it’s the only worldview we’ve been taught.

However, there is a growing collective-consciousness that with a lot of work and intention  —  you can live every moment of your life on your own terms.

You are the designer of your destiny.

You are responsible.

You get to decide. You must decide  —  because if you don’t, someone else will. Indecision is a bad decision.

With this short morning routine, your life will quickly change.

It may seem like a long list. But in short, it’s really quite simple:

  • Wake up
  • Get in the zone
  • Get moving
  • Put the right food in your body
  • Get ready
  • Get inspired
  • Get perspective
  • Do something to move you forward

Let’s begin:

1. Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep

Let’s face it  —  Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conducted surveys revealing that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders. Additionally, 60% of adults and 69% of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

In addition, “more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month — with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more.”

On the flipside, getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

  • Increased memory
  • Longer life
  • Decreased inflammation
  • Increased creativity
  • Increased attention and focus
  • Decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise
  • Lower stress
  • Decreased dependence on stimulants like caffeine
  • Decreased risk of getting into accidents
  • Decreased risk of depression
  • And tons more … Google it.

The rest of this blog post is worthless if you don’t make sleep a priority. Who cares if you wake up at 5 a.m. if you went to bed three hours earlier?

You won’t last long.

You may use stimulants to compensate, but that isn’t sustainable. In the long run, your health will fall apart. The goal needs to be long-term sustainability.

2. Prayer and Meditation to Facilitate Clarity and Abundance

After waking from a healthy and restful sleep session, prayer and meditation can help you orient yourself toward the positive. What you focus on expands.

Prayer and meditation help facilitate intense gratitude for all that you have. Gratitude is having an abundance mindset. When you think abundantly, the world is your oyster. There is limitless opportunity and possibility for you.

People are magnets. When you’re grateful for what you have, you will attract more of the positive and good. Gratitude is contagious.

Gratitude may be the most important key to success. It has been called the mother of all virtues.

If you start every morning putting yourself in a space of gratitude and clarity, you will attract the best the world has to offer, and not get distracted.

3. Hard Physical Activity

If you want to be among the healthy, happy, and productive people in the world, get in the habit of regular exercise. Many people go immediately to the gym to get their body moving. I have lately found that doing yard work in the wee hours of the morning generates an intense inflow of inspiration and clarity.

Whatever your preference, get your body moving.

If you don’t care about your body, every other aspect of your life will suffer. Humans are holistic beings.

4. Consume 30 Grams of Protein

Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferris, in his book, “The 4-Hour Body,” also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after waking up.

According to Tim, his father did this and lost 19 pounds in one month.

Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevents spikes in hunger.

Eating protein first decreases your white carbohydrate cravings. These are the types of carbs that get you fat. Think bagels, toast, and donuts.

Tim makes four recommendations for getting adequate protein in the morning:

  • Eat at least 40% of your breakfast calories as protein
  • Do it with two or three whole eggs (each egg has about 6g protein)
  • If you don’t like eggs, use something like turkey bacon, organic pork bacon or sausage, or cottage cheese
  • Or, you could always do a protein shake with water

5. Take A Cold Shower

Tony Robbins starts every morning by jumping into a 57-degree Fahrenheit pool.

Why would he do such a thing?

Cold water immersion radically facilitates physical and mental wellness. When practiced regularly, it provides long-lasting changes to your body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems that improve the quality of your life. It can also increase weight-loss because it boosts your metabolism.

There is of course, an initial fear of stepping into a cold shower. Without a doubt, if you’ve tried this before, you have found yourself standing outside the shower dreading the thought of going in.

You may have even talked yourself out of it and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” And turned the hot water handle before getting in.

Or, maybe you jumped in but quickly turned the hot water on?

What has helped me is thinking about it like a swimming pool. It’s a slow painful death to get into a cold pool slowly. You just need to jump in. After 20 seconds, you’re fine.

It’s the same way with taking a cold shower. You get in, you heart starts beating like crazy. Then, after 20 seconds, you feel fine.

To me, it increases my willpower and boosts my creativity and inspiration. While standing with the cold water hitting my back, I practice slowing my breathing and calming down. After I’ve chilled out, I feel super happy and inspired. Lots of ideas start flowing and I become way motivated to achieve my goals.

6. Listen to/Read Uplifting Content

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. It is common for the world’s most successful people to read at least one book per week. They are constantly learning.

I can easily get through one audiobook per week by just listening during my commute to school and while walking on campus.

Taking even 15–30 minutes every morning to read uplifting and instructive information changes you. It puts you in the zone to perform at your highest.

Over a long enough period of time, you will have read hundreds of books. You’ll be knowledgeable on several topics. You’ll think and see the world differently. You’ll be able to make more connections between different topics.

7. Review Your Life Vision

Your goals should be written down  —  short term and long term. Taking just a few minutes to read your life vision puts your day into perspective.

If you read your long term goals every day you will think about them every day. If you think about them every day, and spend your days working toward them, they’ll manifest.

Achieving goals is a science. There’s no confusion or ambiguity to it. If you follow a simple pattern, you can accomplish all of your goals, no matter how big they are.

A fundamental aspect of that is writing them down and reviewing them every single day.

8. Do At Least One Thing Toward Long-Term Goals

Willpower is like a muscle that depletes when it is exercised. Similarly, our ability to make high-quality decisions becomes fatigued over time. The more decisions you make, the lower quality they become  —  the weaker your willpower.

Consequently, you need to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. The important stuff.

If you don’t, it simply will not get done. By the end of your day, you’ll be exhausted. You’ll be fried. There will be a million reasons to just start tomorrow. And you will start tomorrow  —  which is never.

So your mantra becomes: The worst comes first. Do that thing you’ve been needing to do. Then do it again tomorrow.

If you take just one step toward you big goals every day, you’ll realize those goals weren’t really far away.

 Conclusion

After you’ve done this, no matter what you have for the rest of your day, you’ll have done the important stuff first. You’ll have put yourself in a place to succeed. You’ll have inched toward your dreams.

Because you’ll have done all these things, you’ll show up better in life. You’ll be better at your job. You’ll be better in your relationships. You’ll be happier. You’ll be more confident. You’ll be more bold and daring. You’ll have more clarity and vision.

Your life will shortly change.

You can’t have mornings like this consistently without waking up to all that is incongruent in your life. Those things you despise will meet their demise. They’ll disappear and never return.

You’ll quickly find you’re doing the work you’re passionate about.

Your relationships will be passionate, meaningful, deep, and fun!

You will have freedom and abundance.

The world, and the universe, will respond to you in beautiful ways.

Source: businessinsider.com

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