If whey protein powder is so great, why do so many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts insist on having a casein protein shake before bed? I’ll admit that I am as guilty of this as anyone else because for years I choked down blenders full of crappy tasting casein protein powder before bed because that’s what I was told to do by all of the books, magazines, and online fitness gurus. So what is it about casein that …
How many times have you been at a fast-food restaurant, ordered a value-sized meal and then justified it (at least a little bit) by drinking a diet soda? If so, you’re certainly not alone. It’s estimated that about one-fifth of the U.S. population consumes diet drinks on any given day. Most of us who have ever tried to lose weight have probably heard that we should avoid “drinking our calories,” so choosing a zero-calorie beverage like a …
Although the popularity of collagen has exploded over the last few years, most people I talk with are still not sure what it is and why we should (or should not) be taking it. What exactly is collagen? Collagen is a structural protein that is found in our skin, bones, cartilage, hair, tendons, and ligaments. It amounts to 25–35% of total protein in mammals, which makes it the most abundant protein in our bodies. In fact, 70% …
Starvation mode is believed to be a type of metabolic damage that can either stop or even reverse the weight loss process despite a person remaining in a caloric deficit. So, is starvation mode a real thing? Research has shown that it’s not, but unfortunately it is not that simple, and there’s a reason that so many people think it exists. Here’s the problem. Even though starvation mode, as described above, may not be a real thing, …
The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are composed of three amino acids that the body cannot make itself and needs to acquire from the food that we eat. These three essential amino acids are Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. These three branched-chain amino acids are particularly important to those of us who are interested in building bigger and stronger muscles in the gym. In order to understand why this is, we have to first understand that our bodies are …
