CAN PROTEIN POWDER MAKE YOU FAT?

I have been asked this question several times. First protien and carb only have 4 cals/gram as opposed to 9 cals/gram in fat. So gram for gram protien and carbs have less calories than fat. But there is more to just the numbers. Carbs (esp. the high GI ones) are easy to convert to glucose and then later on (if unused) into stored fat where as protien is hard to convert to glucose and hence has difficulty converting into stored fat. Moreover protien (and good fat) hinder the assimilation of carbs and lower the combined GI of a meal, so it helps keep you full longer. So protein combined with a meal will actually slowdown the process of fat conversion after the meal. So the short answer is, no! Protein powder cannot make you fat, even if you don't exercise, unless it has added sugar. Health food stores sell weight gain protein powders that have protein mixed in with sugars, like maltodextrin and dextrose (pure glucose) and it is these types that will make you gain weight but then its due to the added sugar. Make sure you take a powder with sucralose or some other sweetner. And last but not the least there is always a possibility of overdoing a good thing. So use your own judgement.

Health tip:

I use protien powder mixed with milk, some strawberries, a teaspoon of almond butter and blend it to make a rich strawberry milk shake. It has high quality protien, low GI carbs from strawberries and heart healthy fat from almonds for a complete balanced meal replacement.

SHAPE-UPS: THE REVOLUTIONARY WALKING SHOES!

Just read on MSN about shape-up shoes, so I thought I’ll give my 2 cents on this. These funky looking shoes turn us into human rocking chairs and claim to give us sexy legs and butt and a strong core. Walking in them almost sounds like a new workout with its own warm-up and stretching routine (since when did we have to warm up and stretch before walking). Check them out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71cvCXp8_Tk&feature=player_embedded#!

First of all, realize that the models shown in the commercial or any other fitness commercial don’t get those bodies by solely using the product they are promoting. They get those bodies by following a diet plan and by sweating it out in the gym, period. So then the question is, will you get a body like this walking at the mall, wearing these shoes? I thought I already answered it!

These shoes claim to work your calves, legs, butt and core muscles to give you a better tone and additional calorie burn. First of all to effectively work any muscle you have to work it through the full range of motion (ROM) in order to stimulate the muscle fibers into getting stronger or burning any significant amount of calories. The amount of resistance against which the muscle is working also determines how many calories are spent. So walking at a speed of 3 miles/ hour with a body weight of 150lbs will burn about 270 calories/hour. Running at 6 miles/hour which works about the same ROM will burn about twice that much per hour because you push harder against the ground for the added speed. So looking at the women walking with these shoes it doesn’t seem like there is any increase in the ROM (or resistance) anywhere except perhaps the calves due to the rounded sole. As far as working the core trying to balance, all I can say is no one can ever lose any significant weight by doing crunches which directly hit the core. So while I wouldn’t deny that these shoes would burn some additional calories walking in them, the incremental gain (in calorie burn) wouldn’t be more than 5%.This translates to 15 additional calories for an hour of walking. Now is that enough to justify the $100+ tag on these shoes? I think you are better off walking 5 additional minutes or better even use that money to get a membership to a real gym, because when it comes to building sexy toned legs and butt, these shoes don’t hold a candle to good old fashioned squats and lunges.

P.S. if you have any low-back problems or knee pain I would suggest caution or even a physician’s advice before shelling out the green to get a pair of these.

FAILURE IS A NECESSARY PART OF TRAINING

If you never failed a rep in the gym and if you always ran the distance you said you will and if you always meet your goals in training, then how do you know you have pushed yourself to the limit? How do you know you are achieving the best that you are capable of? Do you get anxious before your workouts? Do you get nervous and sweaty palmed before your workout? If not, then I think you aren’t pushing yourself to the best of your ability. Try pushing yourself to the point of failure and that’s the only way you will know your potential. Don’t let your workouts become perfunctory just so you can get it over with. Keep challenging yourself and keep innovating in your daily workouts and that’s the only way you will endure and persevere in the long run. Don’t be afraid to fail because only then you will truly be your best or as someone put it:

“If you are afraid of being weak you will never truly be strong.”

And remember this applies to all walks of life!