Can I lose Weight by using supplements?

This is a very common question with a lot of complex answers. In order to keep it simple the answer is “yes”. Yes, you can lose weight using supplements however you need to make the right choices for what you want to achieve. Weight loss can be assisted in many ways such as changing your diet, increasing your exercise routine and believe it or not, getting enough sleep. To answer the question in relation to supplements, there are many you can use that will help with weight loss. Hydroxy cut products are one of the most popular and come in a range of capsules and protein powder combinations. Weight loss using hydroxyl cut products is achieved through an increase in body temperature and a slight quickening of your motabalisium. This process keeps your body in an anabolic state which is where you burn the most calories, and the result is weight loss.

Meal Replacement Shakes

The other method available is the use of meal replacements, protein meal replacements and/or protein bars. Meal replacements and protein based meal replacements offer a powder based formula that you can mix with water or skim milk to create what we call a protein shake. This shake is then a substitute for a meal and thus, they are called a meal replacement. A meal replacement formula contains vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to feed your body all the nutrients it requires. Every meal replacement you have feeds your body and reduces your calorie intake, meaning you can achieve weight loss with nothing more than consuming a tasty shake.  

Protein Shakes

Protein shakes are a little different as they are generally lower in carbohydrates, lower in fat and lower in calories than a meal replacement. Protein shakes and protein supplements will also help you with weight loss, however the are designed to feed your body when you are more active than the average person. The high quantity of protein feeds the muscles and helps them to recover from exercise performed. So, high protein shakes can be used to lose weight, but should not be used for long periods as they do not provide all the vitamins and minerals your body required from food.

Snacks & other options

Protein bars are another option to meal replacement shakes and protein shakes. Protein Bars are design as a snack, and some can be used as a meal replacement. Be sure to check the labels as some are high protein, low carbohydrate, some are high protein & high carbohydrate and others are low protein & high carbohydrate. Protein bars com in different sizes and flavours and I must warn you, some taste fantastic and others taste terrible! If you want to use protein bars as a meal replacement to meet your weight loss goals, I would suggest you look for high protein content (over 10%) and medium level carbohydrate content (no less than 20grams). This will ensure you are still getting enough carbohydrates to give the energy to keep going while still lowering your overall calorie intake.

I hope this information has helped you to better understand the difference between a meal replacement, a protein shake and protein bars. Good luck in achieving your weight loss goals.

       Protein - what is it?

The biggest selling bodybuilding supplement in the world is protein powder. Protein powder and protein shakes are used all over the world by both professional and amateur gym junkies, athletes and sports people. Anyone doing any type of strenuous exercise should be increasing their protein intake to help the body recover and grow stronger. Protein powder is the most common form of protein and comes in many different types such as Whey, Isolate, and Casein or as a blend of all three. Protein powder can be made from Soy, Egg and Milk products, or even extracted from Rice. The easiest way to digest protein powder is to make a protein shake. Mix the powder with water, skim milk or regular milk and drink it like a milk shake. Most protein powders have flavourings so they do not taste too bad.

Protein comes in other forms of bodybuilding supplements such as protein bars, and in some countries in a pill or capsule form as well. There are also some new bodybuilding protein blends called Hydroxy Cut. These protein powders include an agent that creates an anabolic state by increasing the metabolism. This increase makes the body burn more calories than it normally would, and thus it can help with weight loss. Some protein powders also come blended with Creatine. Creatine is a bodybuilding supplement that boosts your energy, and strength by increasing the ability for your body to feed your muscles. It does this by utilising more water to expand the size of your blood vessels, which creates a faster blood flow. Creatine is the second biggest selling bodybuilding supplement in the world, second to protein powders.

Let’s talk about protein powders and what they can offer. One of the biggest selling brands is Optimum Nutrition. Optimum Nutrition a pioneer of protein powder and protein shakes. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey has always been one of the leading bodybuilding supplements available, and due to the high quality products, and competitive pricing, Optimum Nutrition will remain one of the leading suppliers. Optimum Nutrition offer products such as Hydro Whey for a super fast digesting mix of Whey Isolates that are refined using a special process that makes it one of the cleanest, most pure proteins available. They also offer a Casein protein which is a slow digesting form of protein designed to take before bed for prolonged sustenance while you sleep. 100% Whey Gold Standard is the golden oldie of protein powder and offers a perfect blend of Whey Isolates and Casein as well as including Glutamine to aid recovery and help reduce soreness after training. Optimum Nutrition Gold is by far the most versatile protein powder on the market. This product is suited to amateur and professional sports people, and is particularly effective for novice, intermediate and advanced body builders. For a great tasting protein shake try Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard in double chocolate, strawberry, banana or perhaps the new coffee flavour. If you want a bodybuilding supplement that is an all-rounder, this is the protein powder for you. So when in doubt, stick with what many recognise as the best, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Protein, try some today.

Protein intake – how much?

Firstly, if you do not know already, protein powder and protein shakes are the key bodybuilding supplements. The three components of bodybuilding that you need to master are exercising your muscles under stress to encourage them to grow, getting enough sleep to allow your body to recover, and the most important, managing your diet.

1. 1.    Exercise. In the famous words of Lee Haney (8 time Mr Olympia) “stimulate not annihilate”. You need to stimulate your muscles to encourage growth through the use of exercise and weights. What you are actually doing, is tearing muscle fibres. This action causes the muscle to repair itself and the body’s natural defence is to rebuild the muscles stronger and bigger to prevent them being damaged again. In order to allow your muscles to grow, you need to combine all three key areas.

1. 2.    Sleep. This is usually the most neglected part of most young bodybuilders, as they do not understand the need to rest. Common perception is to train as hard as you can, drink a heap of protein shakes and take lots of other bodybuilding supplements, and all wall work out fine. This is not the case. Based on university research, the optimum sleep period for a body builder is no less than 8 hours. In saying that, it was mentioned that the minimum requirement was 7 hours. So, at worst, you need to ensure you are getting a minimum 7 hours of sleep a night to allow your recovery to progress.

1. 3.    Diet. If you take your body weight in pounds and times it by 20, this is the required calorie intake you need to grow. Once you have the calorie intake, you can build your diet plan. Then design your food intake to be 10% healthy fats, 60% clean carbohydrates and 30% proteins. If you are not that serious, but want to make gains try this; take your body weight in pounds and ensure you take in between 1 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound per day. This amount of protein will allow your muscles to repair themselves and grow, providing you are also getting enough rest.

The big question is – how to I take in over 300 grams of protein a day? Well, your diet needs to be rich in proteins such as chicken, fish and red meats, and you need to use bodybuilder protein supplements to help you. The body can digest an amazing amount of protein and research shows the optimum intake to be up to 35 grams at one sitting. So, use a protein powder and make some protein shakes to supplement your daily intake. The standard suggestion is two shakes a day, usually taken upon waking and before bed, plus another shake within an hour of completing a workout.

If you want a suggestion of a good clean protein powder, keep a look out for Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard. This protein powder is one of the best on the market. You can also use protein bars as snack food – these are becoming more and more popular, and some now have up to 20 grams of protein in a bar. Whatever bodybuilding supplements you choose, make sure you have two protein shakes a day, at a minimum, so you can meet the needs of your body, and maximise your potential growth.

What is the one bodybuilding supplement you must have?

There are numerous bodybuilding supplements available today, and it can be very confusing for new people to work out what they should use to help them to reach their goals. If you read the bodybuilding and sports magazines you will see lots of big budget advertisements displaying perfectly built guys and trim sexy girls, advertising products that suggest they can make you look like this. The truth is, most of these bodybuilding supplements will not help you at all. Allot of these bodybuilding supplements are designed to do very specific things and unless you have a deficiency in a certain area, most of these supplements will not help you.

One example of misleading supplements is Testosterone boosters. If you are under 30, your body is making 100% of the testosterone that you need. If you supplement your diet with testosterone, your body will not absorb it as it already has what it needs. If you are over 40, your testosterone levels have dropped significantly. If you supplement your diet with a testosterone booster you will see and feel improvements very quickly.

Scientists have been researching bodybuilders and athletes for years and they always come up with the same common theme. You work out, stress and tear the muscles, you eat to fuel the body to aid the repair process, and you rest to allow the body to recover and grow. These three staple components have remained the same. The other facts that have remained the same are that protein contains the nutrients required to repair muscles. Scientists do not talk about NO Boosters, fat burners or plant extracts, they talk about the need to supplement your protein intake as they have proven time and time again, that to aid in muscle repair and growth, you need to increase your protein intake.  This applies to all people who take part in some sort of exercise or sport.

Protein powder, in the form of protein shakes, has always been the easiest and most convenient way to supplement your protein intake. Protein comes in many forms such as Whey protein, Whey Isolate protein and Casein protein. There are also products that provide a blend of all three. Protein isolates are the cleanest and fastest digestion type of protein powder, so they are great either pre or post workout to supply instant food to your muscles.  Casein protein is slow to digest so is better suited to a before bed shake when you are trying to reduce the onset of a catabolic state, or between meals to boost your protein intake. Being slow digesting, it can also reduce your appetite so can help with weight loss. Whey protein is the most popular. A Whey protein shake can be used upon waking, before bed, post workout or even between meals. Most Whey proteins contain around 23 grams of protein, which is within the range of a body’s ability to digest. Scientists say that 35 grams per serve is the absolute maximum protein intake that can be absorbed at one time so using a 25 gram dose, you are ensuring your body will absorb the lot.

If you’re looking for a good all-round protein that will provide a good mix and balance of protein types, have a look at Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard. This has been around for years and is still one of the biggest selling bodybuilding proteins on the market. It is also suitable to general users and ladies.