One of the goals of body building nutrition is to keep the metabolism going to promote the growth of lean muscle and the depletion of fats and reduction of water retention. One way to do this is to increase your meal intake to smaller, more frequent meals. This means eating smaller meals every two and a half to three hours. Eating more frequently keeps your body’s motor running and your metabolism up. The composition of the meals is also important, and will be discussed later in this article.

In addition to eating more frequently, meals need to be placed strategically throughout the day. Body building and nutrition go hand in hand also when the nutrients should be taken in. Calories should be focused around times of activity and decreased during times of inactivity. If your workouts are focused toward the beginning of the day, so then should the meals you ingest.

Composition Of Meals

Body building and nutrition are related not only in the frequency of meals, but also in what goes into those meals. The key here is ratios. This relates mostly to carbohydrates and proteins. The ratios should be 40% carbohydrates, 40% proteins, and 20% fats. The fats should be lean fats found in lean meats or plant oils. The proteins are essential in the absorptions of amino acids needed to build muscles within the body. The carbohydrates provide the energy needed to get through the workouts. Fats, though they have been given a bad rap, are also essential. They are important in insulating and coating nerves, as well as providing cushioning for vital organs. For this reason, it is essential to obtain fats into your diet as a body builder.

Water, Water, Water

One of the most essential aspects of body building and nutrition is water. Water is vital to your body building success. Water serves many purposes to the body builder. It cools you down after a hard workout. Water helps flush out the toxins that build up in the body. Drinking plenty of water can help control the appetite, and it is suggested that cold water also helps increase metabolism.

Let us take a brief look at the benefits of nutrition supplements, as the first step in nutrition guide.

• Healthy nutrition increases energy both in body and in mind
• It provides relaxation to the mind and the various body parts
• Bodybuilding supplements help in beating stress and fatigue
• Nutrition supplements sharpens the mind and improves memory power
• Healthy nutrition is a great facilitator of detoxification and in overcoming addiction
• Nutrition supplements assist you in achieving internal calmness and a connected feeling
• All the above processes help in elevating the overall mood, resulting in higher work efficiency

Healthy nutrition is a natural process that gives you the same or even higher energy boost and mood relaxation from tea, coffee, tobacco, liquors, drugs, etc., without their harmful side effects

Body-mind complex should not be violated

The major difference between these bodybuilding nutrition supplements and the above listed harmful materials is that the natural nutrition supplements work with the innate design of your body and not against it. All addictive materials definitely work against the body-mind system, though they might appear to be working with them.

They do provide stimulation and relaxation. That could not be denied. However, the harmful side effects from drinks, drugs, and tobacco far exceed the momentary benefits derived from them. They become an addiction. They leave you exhausted and run down in the long run, because they work against the natural body system. Constant exposure to such violation of the body and mind leads to the dislocation of internal harmony. Disastrous results ensue.

Right nutrition guide to healthy life

Nutrition supplements are the exact opposite of the above listed harmful items in functioning. They not only work the body-mind system but enhance the natural abilities inherent in our complex physical structure. There is nothing miraculous about healthy nutrition and bodybuilding nutrition supplements. By nature, they are designed to supplement and compliment the various body functions and mental activities.

They are similar in nearly all the aspects to the various chemicals and fluids that we have in our body and brain. Vitamins, minerals, and amino acids present in our body control the function of the various body parts and the activities of the brain. The nutrition supplements just enhance the energy present in the body to higher levels, increase the focusing power of the mind, and usher in overall well being.

]]> http://packabs.com/benefits-of-nutrition-supplements/feed/ http://packabs.com/diet-mantras-for-a-lean-body/ http://packabs.com/diet-mantras-for-a-lean-body/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:19:45 +0000 admin http://packabs.com/?p=62 Here are the dietary strategies you can implement to promote body fat reduction and a lean body:

• Eat 5-6 small meals per day of relatively equal proportions; you should try to eat a meal about every three waking hours.

• Plan all of your meals for each entire week; only choose the items you need for your planned meals when you’re at the grocery store (if you don’t have junk around the house, you most likely won’t eat junk).

• Calculate your daily caloric requirements to lose weight; don’t obsess over calories, but try to stay approximately where you need to be to lose weight.

• Eat a portion of lean protein at each meal, along with a portion of fibrous healthy carbohydrates, and a portion of healthy fats.

• Focus on unrefined, unprocessed foods in their natural state.

• Focus on lower glycemic index carbohydrate sources for the majority of your meals, but don’t worry about avoiding healthy higher glycemic index choices like bananas, raisins, and carrots; these foods have beneficial nutrients and the glycemic response can be controlled if the portions are kept low and combined properly with other foods.

• Eat higher glycemic index carbohydrate sources (sugars and lower fiber complex carbs) along with protein immediately after your intense workouts to replenish muscle glycogen and start the muscle repair process; a 2:1 to 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein immediately following your workouts best facilitates the recovery process.

• Avoid fad diets or “crash” diets.

• Do not create an energy deficit exceeding 1000 calories per day (i.e. if your maintenance caloric intake is 3000 cal/day, never go below 2000 cal/day); a 500- 750 calorie/day energy deficit is best for fat loss while maintaining muscle; as a general rule, it is never recommended that females go below 1200 calories/day and males should never go below 1600 calories/day.

• Try to incorporate an overfeeding day once per week to stimulate your metabolism and to help you stay on a focused diet for the other six days per week.

• Avoid refined oils, trans fats, and high fructose corn syrup at all costs.

• Try to include green, oolong, and white teas into your daily diet to promote a leaner body; try the suggestion of mixing all three of these teas into an iced tea mixture and drinking it throughout the first half of each day.

• As long as you’re not lactose intolerant, include at least 3-4 servings of dairy and other sources of dietary calcium into your daily plan to promote fat loss.

Source: Truth about six pack abs.

1. Eat about 15-20% below your calorie maintenance level. If you use a more aggressive calorie deficit of 25-30%, then do not keep calories too low for too long; increase your calories to maintenance or maintenance +10-15% 1-2 days per week.

2. Spread your calories into 5-6 smaller meals insteadof 2-3 big ones. Be very conscious of portion size. If you eat too much of anything (even “healthy” food), you can say goodbye to your abs. Period.

3. Eat a source of complete, high quality lean protein with each meal (egg whites, lean meat, fish, protein powder, etc.)

4. Choose natural, complex carbs such as vegetables, oatmeal, yams, potatoes, beans, brown rice and whole grains. Start with approximately 50% of your calories from natural carbs and reduce carbs slightly (especially late in the day) if you are not losing fat.

5. Avoid refined, simple carbs that contain white flour or white sugar.

6. Keep total fats low and saturated fats low. Aim for 20% of your total calories from fat (and no more than 30%). A little bit of “good fat” like flaxseed oil, fish fat, nuts and seeds, and so on, is better than a no-fat diet. Essential fatty acids actually assist the fat burning process.

7. Drink plenty of water—a gallon a day is a good ball- park to shoot for if you are physically active. 1000 or more reps of daily ab work is an amazing feat of endurance, but that’s not how you get visible, 6-pack abs! If you were to do 1,000 reps of ab exercises every day, you would have outstanding development in your abdominal muscles and you would definitely have great muscular endurance. Unfortunately, if your abs are covered up with a layer of fat, you will never see them even if you do 10,000 reps a day!

I’m going to give only the 100% truth, and I promise that if you give your 100% commitment in return, you’ll get the abs you’ve always wanted. I hope that during the course of this program you’ll become somewhat of a chef. Cooking can be fun and there is an enormous sense of well being in knowing that you have prepared your very own meals from fresh ingredients. Hit the kitchen, crank up the radio and have fun! Know that your body is improving with every meal you eat and know that the more you cook, the easier it becomes.

Making healthy meals will become second nature to you, which will benefit you now and for the rest of your life – what a worthwhile investment!

Some of the recipes include:

• Cream of mushroom soup
• Omelettes
• Low Carb / High Protein Hot Cereal
• Milkshakes – different flavored protein drinks
• Faux mashed potato
• Low Carb Fries
• Wraps with different fillings and dressings
• High Protein Bread
• Crispy Salads in the dressing of your choice
• Strawberries & Cream
• MuscleHack Pancakes & Syrup (regular, cinnamon and vanilla
flavour too)
• 3-Ingredient Chewy Protein bars (including chocolate peanut
flavor)
• You can even have your coffee with cream 

Please note: You must be prepared to shop for new items of food. You may even have to order some ingredients online. If this seems like too much of a hassle for you then you simply do not have the correct mindset required for the job. That may sound harsh but I don’t want to skirt over the fact that a certain level of desire is required to make this happen; weak desire brings weak results.

It’s a matter of commitment. The person who has come to realize that they are the creator of their own life and destiny will take charge and do what it takes. This is not to say that it is hard to get hold of the ingredients, (in fact I’ve actually prepared a shopping list for you and provide links to online retailers) but if you are someone who is accustomed to eating their meals from a pre-packaged container or a fast-food outlet, you may find the change required difficult. My advice is to step up to the plate and take control!

As you will be buying some ingredients that will last you weeks if not months at a time, it may seem initially that this is an expensive way to eat, but as you average the cost out over the weeks you will see that there is not a significant difference in the cost. In fact, if you regularly eat out, it will quite likely be cheaper.

Source: Totalsixpackabs.