Nutrition

Every Sunday of the fall Jen and I start the day with a trip to the farmers market before the football pregame shows start (I’ve grown partial to the two hour pregame show on ESPN, as opposed the ones on Fox and CBS, the last few years). As soon as we get back football goes on and we get started on our one “junk food” cheat day of the week. That doesn’t mean that we start eating processed or fake foods or a ton of sugar or anything like that. But we do splurge on some healthy… continue reading.

How many meals a day do you need to build muscle? It’s a question asked by everyone who starts strength training for the first time. We’ve all heard or read that you need to eat 5-6 meals per day. But who has the time or desire to do that? Surely no one who works or has a social life. Sounds like a real pain-in-the-ass nightmare if you ask me. I’m a big fan simplicity and minimalism. It’s liberating and gives you a sense of freedom. Ya know, the kind of freedom that comes from having to prepare meals every… continue reading.

If we throw everything else out the window I am, at heart, a fat kid who loves cake.  And pie. And pudding. And ice cream. Etc. Etc. Etc. My mom always tells stories about how as an infant my head would shake in anticipation as the spoon neared my mouth. I was fiendin for that good grub from day one. Growing up I’d always put away at least two plates of food for dinner and then pile on the dessert.My mom never let us drink soda or eat junk food and always cooked a homemade meal every night. I would… continue reading.

By Dave Ruel, “The Muscle Cook” Makes 1 Serving (6 pancakes) Ingredients * – 1/4 cup oatmeal * – 6 egg whites * – 1 tbsp ground flax * – 1/2 tbsp cinnamon * – 1/4 teaspoon of Baking Soda * – 1 teaspoon of Splenda Directions * 1. First heat a frying pan until hot and then reduce to medium temperature. * 2. After mixing together all the ingredients in a blender, spray some pam (or other cooking spray), drop by spoonful onto the plan, flipping… continue reading.

By Dave Ruel of AnabolicCooking.com Makes 1 Serving Ingredients * – 3/4 cup oatmeal * – 8 Egg Whites * – 1/2 scoop (15g) of Chocolate Protein Powder * – 2 teaspoons of Pure Cocoa Powder * – 1 teaspoon of Splenda (Jays note: Use organic honey instead) * – 1 tbsp of Flax Oil * – 1 cup of frozen Blueberries * – 1/4 cup of water Directions * 1. In a big bowl, mix All the ingredients (except for the frozen blueberries) * 2. Cook… continue reading.

By Brad Pilon Flexible intermittent fasting is becoming a very popular way to use your body’s natural ability to burn lots of fat in a short period of time. Here is a list of the ways that flexible intermittent fasting will turbo charge your fat loss. 1. Increases Fat Burning Hormones Hormones are usually at the root of most of your metabolic functioning, and fat burning is no different. Growth Hormone is the most important fat burning hormone in your body. Fasting pushes growth hormone production into high gear and this makes your fat burning… continue reading.

Guest Post By Brad Pilon You may not have heard of intermittent fasting, and so you may not know why it can and should be a part of your workout and fat loss plan. Intermittent fasting is the practice of abstaining from all but water for a period of usually 24 hours to help with the goals associated with fat loss and weight loss in general. The way in which it helps in this arena is by cutting out a full days caloric intake, while still being able to maintain a full workout schedule. Let’s look at… continue reading.

The late “Iron Guru,” Vince Gironda once said that 80% of building muscle is nutrition. While I don’t agree with that exact percentage, I will say that what you eat is just as important as how you train, if not more so, when you are trying to gain muscle. Many skinny guys often complain that they can’t eat enough or that they aren’t hungry. Other skinny guys come to the gym and tell me that they are eating a ton and wonder why they can’t gain weight. continue reading.

By Brad Pilon The theory of Starvation Mode is something that fuels Obsessive Compulsive Eating in North America and throughout the world. To use a very basic definition, Starvation mode is when your metabolism supposedly slows down when you don’t eat enough calories. More often than not this definition is used to support very complex diet programs. These diets will tell you that not eating enough food will cause you to store more fat. Right after delivering this pseudo-science message of fear they then tell you the only solution is to keep eating, and here is the catch, you… continue reading.

I have been getting a lot of questions about how to avoid aspartame and what kind of protein powder I recommend to those that still like to drink shakes. First of all, let me point out that there are several studies which show numerous detrimental effects from artificial sweeteners, such as memory loss, birth defects, links to cancer and erectile problems in males (if all the other ones don’t scare you, I’m guessing the last one might cause you to raise an eyebrow). Mysteriously, none of these studies are conducted in the United States. I’m sure everyone can figure out… continue reading.