Posts Tagged ‘Balanced Meals’

Question:  How much protein do you need and how much protein can your body efficiently handle in each meal?

Answer:  Well it really depends on a lot of variables.  However, as a general rule of thumb, for the regular exerciser who is active and working out (with both resistance training and cardio) 3-6 days a week and wants to build a muscular, ripped physique, I have always used the formula that I have read and researched throughout the years that states to go for 1 gram or protein for every pound of body weight!

So if you are 180 pounds you would consume 180 grams of protein per day and even up to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight if you want to build and add muscle to your frame.  I have used this formula for years and the results are obvious and it will work for you as well.

Now you may be thinking well that makes sense but if I am eating 5-6 small balance meals a day, how many grams of protein can my body handle most efficiently in each meal so that the protein goes toward building lean muscle and is not getting stored as body fat?

Well, the body cannot use more than about ¼ gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per meal to build lean quality muscle tissue.  In other words, a 180 pound male does not need to exceed 45 grams of protein per meal, and a 120 pound woman does not need to exceed 30 grams of protein per meal to maximize their muscle-building potential.  Keep in mind that consuming more than this per meal will not hurt your muscle building potential; it just won’t improve it.

So if you are 180 pounds and are consuming 5-6 small balanced meals per day, nicely balanced between protein and complex carbohydrates, as stated in my  nutrition and exercise e-book, Rapidly Ripped – The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life,  your protein requirement for each meal should be around 30 grams but not more than 45 grams.  This will place you in an anabolic state and keep you in a positive nitrogen balance, allowing you to optimally utilize the protein in each meal most efficiently, so that it works on building and maintaining lean ripped muscle and not getting stored as body fat!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped”
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner

Why eating 5 to 6 meals a day is the way to go when it comes to losing body fat, eliminate food cravings and having increased energy!

Eating six small balanced meals per day trains your brain that it is “never really hungry” due to the constant stretch on the upper stomach that comes with this kind of regular eating.  See when your upper stomach gets stretched your stomach feels full and it then sends a signal to your brain that you are full and you feel satisfied.  The appetite satisfaction that you get from the protein rich meals balanced with good Carbs on the Rapidly Ripped Eating program, last about 2-1/2 – 3 hours!  In addition, since you are eating every 3 hours on the Rapidly Ripped Eating program, you basically don’t have time to develop those deep hunger cravings that messes up just about any eating plan and just when your stomach is beginning to growl and feeling hungry it is time for your next meal.

With this type of eating strategy you are training your brain that there is no time to really ever feel hungry.  Your brain and body are cared for and its nutrient needs are being met.  This is why the six meal eating strategy you will learn in the complete Rapidly Ripped Fat Burning System for Life severely decreases and in some cases eliminates food cravings!

When you follow a DIET you are depriving yourself of food and starving your body but on the Rapidly Ripped Eating plan you are feeding and nourishing your body every 3 hours, six times a day so when do you have time to feel hungry and when do you fit in cheating?  Constantly stretching your stomach TRICKS your brain into feeling full most of the time.  When you begin the program you will be amazed that you are never really hungry and you feel like you are always eating.  You may even feel like you want to skip a meal because you are always satisfied and may even feel full-but Don’t!  Remember, skipping meals will only begin to slow down your metabolism and place you back into a fat storing mode tricking your body into thinking it is approaching famine or starvation mode and will hold onto the FAT!

Eating six meals a day creates a “metabolic environment” that supports your energy and muscle metabolism, while helping you burn bodyfat.  Study after scientific study has shown this to be so and a recent published report in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition cites that people who ate six times a day had a faster metabolism rate than those who ate just three meals daily.  The study showed eating meals frequently throughout the day every 3 hours, like we promote on the Rapidly Ripped Eating Strategy, allows you to burn fat more efficiently!

In part 3, I will discuss what the right amount and the right combinations of food should be in each meal – to turn you into a fat burning machine!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped”
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner

Photo By: Tsja!

So what is this supplement that will help you increase fat burning?

I can tell you it is not a pill, not a magic potion, not a prescription drug, fad diet or secret formula….

And it is something none of us get enough of, yet we should all make a conscious effort to consume more of….

It is plain old simple Water!

WHY and how does this work?

Let’s understand why drinking water contributes to fat loss and maybe we will all become more conscious about drinking more water…

Drinking water increases fat burning. The reason is due to the fact that water relieves the burden on the liver by keeping your kidneys doing the filtering.

When kidneys are taxed from too little water your liver has to take over and help… and… your liver is your primary fat burning organ!

So… there you go.

But There’s More…

Here is a simple technique to increase fat loss even further…..

Drink 16 ounces of pure water 15 minutes before eating and you will drop weight.

Researchers testing hydration found that drinking water prior to meals significantly decreased the amount of food consumed.

One reason is: Your stomach feels fuller.

The other is more technical… In order to keep acidity levels optimized the body begins to increase its core temperature slightly. This state called “thermogenesis” is primed for fat burning purposes.

So you get a triple benefit from drinking water:

1. More appetite control
2. Increased thermogenesis (fat burning)
3. Increased hydration (less stress on liver =more fat burning.)

This makes plain old water the number one fat burner you can drink on the planet.

For ultimate fat burning make sure you are drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day. One with each of your 6 small balanced meals and four more throughout the day.

I shoot for a gallon of water a day and suggest you do the same.

For now, stay focused, stay consistent, train hard, eat smart and have fun.

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of Rapidly Ripped –
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner