Posts Tagged ‘Body Fat’

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

In Part 1 of Tips for Getting Ripped Six Pack Abs! I gave the 10 overall keys to getting ripped six pack abs which focused mainly on the exercises and mental game. In part 2 of Tips for Getting Six Pack Abs we will focus on the other half of the ripped abs success equation -Proper Nutrition.

Learning how, what and when to eat is crucial if you want to sculpt a ripped physique with striated six pack abs! You can strengthen your midsection with constant exercising, but if you consume the wrong foods, in the wrong amounts and at the wrong times, you will never see results. A smart nutrition strategy is essential!

Here are some key eating strategies to get and keep you eating right in your quest for six pack abs:

1. Calories Count

Keep your calorie intake below your calorie expenditure. As a general rule of thumb, keep caloric intake around 2000 calories per day or about 10 calories for every pound of body weight you carry, but never less than 1200 calories a day, for optimal fat loss.

2. Cycle Your Total Calories Daily

Each day do your best to vary your caloric intake from 1200 on one day to 1800 the next, then back down to 1400 the third day and then you can jump back to 2000 on day four, for best fat loss results.

You get the picture! This will keep you body guessing, never feeling deprived into thinking it is in a starvation state, where it is programmed to hoard body fat instead of releasing body fat more efficiently.

This will help get you into a fat burning mode instead of a fat storing mode, which in turn will help get your body fat down and moving towards 10% so you can begin seeing your chiseled six pack!

3. Think Protein First

When planning each meal always make sure that the majority of the calories in your meal, around 40-5o percent, come from lean protein. Good sources of quality protein include: chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs, low fat cottage cheese and milk.

Scientific studies show that protein helps stabilize blood sugar levels when it’s consumed with carbs which contributes to a sort of ‘time-released’ energy as opposed to spikes up and down. Whey protein in particular has been shown to help stimulate the release of appetite-suppressant hormones, causing you to eat less!

Studies have demonstrated that adding whey protein to a midday snack or beverage provides stable energy and can help control food intake at the next meal. Protein also has the highest ‘thermogenic effect’ of any food. This means our metabolism gets a boost when we eat protein and as a result we burn more calories.

In summary, protein helps build muscle, requires more energy to digest-increasing calorie burn, and gives you a harder more defined look to you physique. It keeps you feeling full longer as well as keeping your insulin levels in check, which will keep fat burning enzymes turned on!

Wow! What a power food PROTEIN is for helping you get your body fat down in preparation for the unveiling of those six pack abs!

In part 3 of Tips for Getting Six Pack Abs, I will give you a few more key nutrition tips for getting ripped six pack abs! We will cover the importance of fiber, eating the right amount of food in each meal, eating at the right times and a few other Nutrition pearls of wisdom.

So check in next week for part 3 and for the complete program order now….
Rapidly Ripped, The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!

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