Food
The misunderstanding of carbohydrates
You have all heard it, ‘carbs are the enemy’. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth and, I know, sometimes it is thrown around loosely and expected to be taken with a pinch of salt. However, they still seem to carry around a negative stigma, especially with weight loss diets. Carbs in a diet should never be the enemy. They are just as important, if not more important than the other two macronutrients, protein and fat. If there was going to be any saying, I guess it would be something along the lines of ‘calories are the enemy’. At least if your goal was weight loss, and that’s still a little misleading.
Example of a great Weight gain diet
To build some great muscle-mass, The key here is calorie excess, which means you will need to consume more than your body is burning. Your daily calorie goal is approximately 200 over your maintenance, which will fluctuate with activity levels. This should provide you with a great addition to build muscle-mass without negatively affecting your energy levels or health. Do this for your first month, and you should see some great progress. Following the first month, it will be easier to re-evaluate your body's needs, and reassess your daily calorie intake to adjust and make sure it's tailored to you. It's important to remember that everyone is different.
Data – does it help you progress?
Now I never thought that I would say this, but I like data. I especially like data when I can see it moving in a positive direction and it is helping me get bigger, stronger and leaner.
I can’t remember how or why I started logging my workouts. I know I was at university at the time and training in an incredible, old school gym. Nearly everyone at that gym was bigger than me, and most likely enhanced. The easy thing would have been to jump on gear and grow to catch up with everyone, but I have always prided myself on researching anything that could potentially harm me if abused or done incorrectly, and I knew the time wasn’t right for me to run a cycle yet. I needed the next best thing.
The effect of social media on fitness
The birth of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have had a huge impact on many things in today’s society. Many have been positive, like the ability to share good news stories and spread awareness about certain illnesses that come with some stigma, such as depression. Others may see a more negative side to it and believe it has just opened up another alleyway to bullying. Amongst all of this though, one of the biggest industries to thrive on it has been fitness.
Example of a great Weight loss diet
Most of us would like to lose a little weight, to feel better in our own skin, and be a little healthier. But it can be very difficult to know what to eat, with so many choices and so much conflicting information. So below I've compiled a list of healthy foods to include in your shopping list, as well as some meal options to ensure you eat a healthy and balanced diet.
The science behind muscle building
This is a tough one to write as I don’t like to over complicate muscle building or fat loss. Everyone can build muscle, and everyone can lose fat, therefore, how can it be that difficult?
In its simplest form, muscle building occurs when you train hard consistently and eat in a calorie surplus. You could tell the majority of the population to go away and lift weights in the 6-12 rep range for 6 months, with the aim to get stronger each week whilst eating in a surplus and the majority would come back with new muscle. You don’t have to explain to them the science behind it.
Stop losing muscle when you diet
There is absolutely no reason that you should be losing significant muscle mass when you decide to cut your calories and diet. I say ‘significant’ because depending on the severity of your diet, you may lose a small amount. However, this is usually when the said person Is dieting for a competition and extremely low body fat levels are needed. For the average joe who would just like to cut down so they can see their abs, there should be no reason why any muscle loss occurs.
How many meals a day do you really need?
A popular and confusing area in the fitness industry is how many meals a day do you actually need to help you reach your goal.
It’s a question that has been answered in many ways, to over complicated research papers to the super simple layman’s explanation.
Fat loss myths
In fitness, the biggest myths lie around building muscle and losing fat. This article is going to focus on the latter, fat loss myths.
I will be surprised if you haven’t heard of any of these before, but it's about time we put some of them to bed and educated everyone on how you really lose weight ( the secret will be revealed at the end of the article, and you only have to do ONE thing).
Top 6 protein bar recipes
Protein bars are an excellent way to get your protein in for the day. You can easily make them yourself with your favourite ingredients and they are a great change compared to having just a regular protein shake!
There are many recipes out there, but I am going to run you through my top 6. Hopefully you like them just as much as me.