The Energy Drink Blog

Choosing the right foods to snack on is very important, especially for eating properly after a workout. It is important to building lean muscle mass and quickly repair muscles. While working out, the body depletes its source of glycogen. Not replenishing your body of this will likely cause fatigue and poor performance during future workouts.

Eating snacks that are a combination of carbohydrates and protein is the ideal post workout snack.  To achieve optimum benefits from a post work out snack, the snack should be consumed 30 minutes post workout and another meal should be eaten about 2 hours after the snack. Choosing snacks that are low in sugar is also important.

As mentioned before, the ideal post work out snack is a low sugar combination of protein and carbohydrates. Some of the following snacks are not only great to help lose weight, but are also great for post workout.

1. Protein shake with fruit: Mixing up a whey protein shake with some frozen fruit after a workout may seem like a decadent treat, but this is on of many weight loss tips. As bodybuilders know, whey protein is quickly digested and absorbed into the body providing quick energy and recovery.
2. Energy drinks: Finding the best energy drink and weight pills is very important to maintain weight loss. Be careful when choosing an energy drink as most of these drinks are saturated with sugar! It is very crucial to find a drink that will send you into an energy crash after consumption, or disrupt sleep patterns at night.
3. Lean meat with cheese: You can skip the bread this time around. Enjoying a slice of lunch meat and cheese will provide essential protein and calcium post work out. Enjoying a few slices of fruit along side will also provide adequate carbohydrates and fiber to keep you feeling fuller for the rest of the day.

It is important to eat small meals throughout the day to help keep hunger cravings under control. If you are tired of the same old snack options and are looking for something new and exciting to much on this New Year consider the following food options.

1.       Fruit: More than just the common apples, oranges, and bananas, there are plenty of other fruit options available to consumers these days. Most grocery stores offer very exotic fruits. Trying something new can help keep snack time fresh, new and exciting. Be daring and try a fruit that you have not tried before such as papaya, star fruit, or anything else that sparks some interest. These fruits can also be blended with whey protein powder to create a delicious and nutritious snack.

2.       Hummus: Even those most people only eat this at Mediterranean restaurants, this is a quick and easy snack that can be made by blending together heart healthy olive oil, protein packed chick peas, and a combination of any of the following: cilantro, red pepper, garlic, lemon juice, eggplant and cayenne pepper. This can be spread on pita bread or wraps. It is also great when accompanied by freshly cut up pepper, cucumbers, carrots, celery sticks and other vegetables.

3.       Flavored teas: Brewing up a fresh cup of tea is a great way to indulge in a variety of flavors without adding calories. There are great and wide selections of teas available, some of which also include chocolate and caramel flavorings. These drinks will take your taste buds on an adventure without ruining the diet. Some teas, such as hoodia tea, are also great options for weight loss.

Additionally, some teas serve as great herbal remedies in that they help to promote sleep and clear minds, as well as alleviate headaches. These teas often contain peppermint, and chamomile.

Even though your tolerance for hot and spicy may be limited, the benefits of using cayenne pepper as a home herbal remedy are great. Cayenne pepper is popular in many food dishes including chili. Recently, cayenne pepper can be found as an ingredient in gourmet chocolates, giving the chocolate a spicy, smoky flavor.

The benefits of using cayenne pepper are many. Cayenne pepper has been used to promote circulation of blood to extremities. This is good for people who often have cold hands and feet. Cayenne pepper also is known for preventing blood platelets from sticking together. Additionally, as can be seen from eating a too hot buffalo wing or salsa, cayenne pepper also induces sweating. This helps to raise the body temperature as well as drain mucus membranes.

The ingredient behind the hot and spicy attributes of cayenne is capsaicin. This compound works well as a muscle and joint rub. It is extremely important to use caution with cayenne pepper as it causes irritation to skin and eyes.

Even though cayenne pepper can be found in a diet pill and other weight-loss supplements, it is unlikely to help you lose weight. Nevertheless, cayenne pepper may support your diet and exercise efforts for other reasons. Research shows that it aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Like hoodia gordonii, cayenne pepper can suppress appetite that is due to poor absorption of nutrients, especially with overweight people.

Keeping a workout fun, fresh, and new are sure ways to be sure that your New Year’s resolution is kept throughout 2009. If going to the gym and running on the treadmill or using the elliptical seem like an activity that you can not handle one more time, try these new and fun activities in the New Year.  

Group exercises: Sometimes the motivation to workout is lacking when it comes to flying solo. Participating in a group activity will surely be a fun change of pace when it comes to getting fit. Some creative activities for the New Year include dance based routines such as Zumba, and military regimented boot-camp styled courses.

1. Yoga: Yoga is a great way to relax and stretch. Even though this is a group based class, there is no competition between participants. Yoga is strictly about you. However, participating in group classes is a great way to share a positive experience with others.
2. Group Sports: It doesn’t matter if you were the starting quarterback in high school or the water boy, participating in a group activity such as tennis, basketball or racquetball is a great way to work up a sweat as well as make some new friends. Team sports are a great way to make use of the competitive spirit as well as get fit. Just remember bowling with the guys on Wednesday nights while drinking beer and smoking cigars does not count as working out and will not help you to lose weight.
3. Get Back to Nature: Getting fresh air outside is another great way to get in all the fitness and exercise that one needs. With so much time spent indoors these days, taking a long hike through the woods or along the beach will provide a great opportunity to get fit as well as get back to nature.  Be sure to pack some healthy snacks while out on a hike. Some great choices include whey protein bars as well as energy drinks.
4. Hi-Tech Fitness: From the way we listen to tunes to the specialty socks on our feet. Technology and fitness have merged together to bring getting fit into the 21^st century.  From MP3 players that we wear in our shoes to the moisture wicking properties of clothing, technology has given us the opportunity to take our workout to a whole new level.  This is proven with Wii Fit and other interactive video games.

Stevia is making news lately as the two leading soft-drink manufacturers; Coca Cola and Pepsi have plans to introduce this sugar substitute in their drinks. As early as this month Coca Cola, who has more than 28 billion dollars in sales annually, plans on introducing Sprite Green in two unnamed test markets. While this is good news for cola lovers who want to lose weight, it still has not been officially approved by the FDA.

So what is Stevia and how does it differ from other sugar substitutes already on the market? Stevia is derived from a shrub that is native to South America. Stevia has been used for centuries by South Americans to sweeten beverages and is classified by the FDA as being generally accepted as safe for consumption.

Stevia has not yet been approved in the United States, Europe or Canada, but has however been used for over thirty years in the Japanese market as a sugar substitute. While the FDA has not yet given the official green light to Stevia, it has been sold at farmers markets and health food stores in the United States for decades.  There are many energy drinks and diet pills that can be found that contain Stevia in the ingredients. Despite the fact that they have been prohibited from using the official label of sweetener, they have still been used as such for decades.

Further research on the plant will be conducted; however studies that have been conducted so far show that using the stem of the Stevia plant shows no adverse side effects on cardiovascular, reproductive or digestive systems.  Studies have also shown that fluctuations on blood sugar for people with diabetes have been noted. Since Stevia is all natural, it should not have harsh side-effects. This is similar to hoodia gordonii, a native plant to the African Kalahari that is proven to suppress the appetite with no adverse side effects.

When these products hit the market, Truevia and PrueVia are the brand names that Coke and Pepsi products use, respectively, and promise to provide a new generation of products and options to people who want to lose weight but still be able to enjoy a soft drink now and then.

Salt is a natural flavor enhancer and can be found on just about every kitchen table. Something salty is also something most people crave, so when it comes down to it, is sea salt better for you than regular table salt?

To begin to answer this question the differences between the two types of salt should first be identified. Sea salt obviously is from the sea. It is harvested from evaporated sea water and has a much coarser, larger texture than table salt. Sea salt is commonly used in cooking, and baking as well as cosmetic and beauty purposes. Advocates of sea salt claim that the flavor is much more delicate, where as table salt can be strong and overwhelming in flavor.

Table salt on the other hand is mined from rock salt and has a very fine texture to it. Iodine is also added to table salt. It is recommended that adults get in the neighborhood of 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams of salt in their daily diet. This is rarely a deficiency as most Americans get more than the recommended daily intake of this mineral in their diet. For the reason that most Americans get more than the recommended dosage of sodium in their diets, it is advised that consumers scrutinize labels more closely, as everything from energy drinks to weight pills to potatoes chips have added sodium.

The main difference in sea salt and table salt is that table salt has iodine added to it. Even if personal preference is for sea salt, the recommended intake of iodine can be achieved by eating dairy products as well as seafood. It can even be found in the best diet pills.

Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR as it is referred to is the amount of calories that the body needs to consume to maintain existence. This value is usually determined when the body is at rest, usually in the morning when you first wake up and are still. Those who seek weight loss tips often are guided to this number as a first step in losing weight.

Studies show that approximately 70 percent of the calories that are burned in a day are devoted to BMR.  Ten percent of calories consumed are needed to digest food and the remaining twenty percent of calories are assigned to other activities such as exercising and going about daily routines.

In general the formula for BMR is pretty good estimate of needed caloric intake, however there are other contributing factors that influence a person’s BMR. These factors include lean muscle mass, physical state, and overall health. As is well known, strength training is an essential factor for weight loss and for increasing the number of calories burned.  This gives way to the fact that people who have more lean muscle mass than those who do not, may have a higher BMR, since they are constantly burning more calories.

There are other factors that can affect the BMR of an individual and that is the stage in life in which they are in. For example, women who are in menopause may notice changes in weight due to changes in metabolic rate. How this does in fact affect an individual is dependent on the individual make up of every unique person. Some people may find that their BMR increases while in others it decreases.

Using a BMR calculator is a good way to decide how to adjust the diet in order to lose weight. BMR calculators use factors such as age, gender and height to figure the caloric intake that should be consumed. This is a great tool, however it is important to never go below 1200 calories a day in order to maintain proper nutrition.

Television shows like the biggest loser and others have shown that it is possible to achieve any weight loss goal. While some people may only have five or ten pounds to lose, other may have 100 or more pounds to whittle off their frame. Even though this may seem like an impossible task, it can be done. So what is the best way to lose weight effectively?

First, writing down what your weight loss goal is, is the first step to accomplishing the goal. It was once said that if you write down a goal, you own that goal. Writing this number down, honestly, is the first step to accomplishing it.

Second, break down the larger number into smaller more achievable goals. Staring a number of 50 pounds or more can be very deterring. Incremental goals of five pounds are much more realistic, and accomplishable. Plus, since it is possible to lose up to three pounds a week safely, these small achievements can be big motivators.

Third, remember to eat. Dieting is not about starvation and deprivation, in fact it is about the opposite. Fueling your body with smaller, nutritious meals throughout the day as opposed to eating fewer, larger meals is also critical. Achieving as little fluctuation in blood sugar levels is necessary to burn calories most efficiently. A variety of foods should be included in the diet.

Fourth, exercise! No matter what the activity is, just as long as it is activity, is important to weight loss. Burning more calories than is consumed is what drops the pounds. Metabolism can also be boosted with a diet pill.

Statins are the most effect cholesterol lowering drugs available on the market. They are able to effectively lower and reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood as well as dramatically reduce the number of cardiovascular related diseases and deaths.

How do they work?

Statins work by reducing the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood by stimulating the LDL receptors in the liver. While these drugs are generally safe with few side-effects, side-effects that can occur are skeletal muscle damage and increased liver enzymes. Also, once one begins taking statins to lower cholesterol, chances are they will be on the medication the rest of their life. For this reason, statins are often prescribed as a last resort.

Other cholesterol lowering techniques that have proven successful are diet and exercise. Studies show that maintaining a healthy weight helps regulate cholesterol levels. If you are currently overweight some weight loss tips are as follows: Cut out trans fats. Trans fats also are a contributing factor to high cholesterol. By simply cutting back on the foods with trans fats, the need for cholesterol lowering drugs is reduced.

Also people are able to lose weight with hoodia gordonii. This is a naturally growing plant in the African desert and has been used for thousands of years with no known side effects.

Quitting bad habits such as smoking and drinking can help quickly reduce the need for statins. By kicking these habits, less stress is put on the arteries and the liver is also better able to perform its function, and reduce the need for cholesterol lowering drugs.

Keywords: weight loss tips, statins, lose weight, hoodia gordonii

Curb Soda Cravings

Sugary, syrupy, sweet caffeinated beverages are an addiction that many people cannot kick. A surprise to most people is that, almost 20 percent of a person’s daily caloric intake comes from beverages. With that is mind, it is important to remember that not all beverage choices are equal. While water is calorie free and hydrating, other beverages such as coffee and alcohol can be dehydrating and full of calories. For individuals who are trying to lose weight, replacing one or two beverages a day with water can be a great way to lose weight fast.

As can be seen from a trip to the grocery store or sponsorship of any sporting event, and the like, we as a society are obsessed with our cola addiction. New flavors are constantly coming out and sales numbers continue to increase. Most cola companies have advertising budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars to develop loyal patrons. Also, because of the negative stigma surrounding cola, many leading cola manufacturers have added sports drinks to the product offering. Even though these are disguised as “healthy” drinks, some contain just as much sugar as soda.

The average 12 ounce serving of cola has anywhere from 100 to 200 calories and 16 grams of sugar. This has absolutely no nutritional value and is why obesity has become an epidemic.

Quitting the cola addiction can be difficult, however starting slowly and replacing just one soda a day with any of the following beverages is a great start to kicking the habit.

Milk: Milk, contains bone building calcium and vitamins A and D, all necessary for disease prevention and weight management. New studies even reveal that weight loss is stimulated with the induction of dairy in the diet. Whey protein can even be added to this drink to create a healthy meal or snack.

Tea: Green tea in particular tastes great and is loaded with antioxidants and other healthful properties that make it a great substitute for soda. Many manufacturers also have exotic flavors such as pomegranate and citrus flavors to offer. Tea made from herbs such as mint and chamomile as well as hoodia tea, are also favorites.

Water: Water doesn’t have to be bland. Adding citrus peel and other herbs to water give it a little bit of flavor. It is important to stay hydrated in order to stay feeling energetic and full.

Keywords: soda, lose weight fast, whey protein, hoodia tea