Eat a High-Protein Diet

If you’re trying to keep fat off and muscle on, eating protein is second to none. Proteins, like chicken breast and egg whites, build muscle and are the least likely nutrients to be converted to fat and increase fat stores. Protein will also help our fat-loss efforts because, as clinical studies have shown, it causes a greater increase in our metabolisms than any other macronutrient. In other words, the body burns a substantial amount of calories just in the process of breaking down protein. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, protein is also a very potent appetite suppressant. No need for those over-the-counter appetite control pills when we’re on a high-protein diet.

Now the big question is, how often and how much protein should we eat each day? Well, it’s a fact that muscles grow because of net protein synthesis, which is the difference between protein degradation and synthesis. In the average couch potato, this net difference is zero. He or she isn’t causing any muscle damage, so protein requirements are the same day in and day out. If we’re bodybuilding or weight training intensely and correctly, we should be causing a good deal of muscle fiber damage, and thus we need extra protein to repair this damage.

As to how much protein we need, some studies show that to elicit muscle growth beyond what we’d normally achieve, we need quite a bit more than the RDA of 70 or so grams. I personally make sure to get at least one gram per pound of my lean body weight. For example, if I weigh 200 pounds and have a body fat percentage of 5 percent, my lean body mass is 190 pounds, so I’d make sure to get at least 190 grams of protein, preferably more, each day divided among my six meals

Raw Food Diet

The Raw food diet is easy and effective. It not only works to lose weight, however, it improves your health. This diet helps you feel energized. The theory behind the diet is that a large part of cooked food turns into fat production, because heat and acid change it, making it un-metabolizable in other complex processes. On the other hand, raw food should break down into components which can be directly metabolized in a variety of cells.

In the Raw food diet your intake is based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods. When you heat foods above one hundred and sixteen degrees Fahrenheit, you are destroying enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food. It also is thought that when one cooks food, you are diminishing the nutritional value of food.

The diet is almost all living or raw foods. The Raw food diet is great because there are numerous health benefits. It not only increases your energy, but it improves your skin appearance, betters your digestion, improves your weight loss, and reduces your risk of heart disease. Unlike other diets, the raw food diet contains less trans fat and saturated fat. It also is low in sodium, high in potassium.

So, are you wondering what you can eat? The answer is anything unprocessed, preferably organic, whole foods such as: fruit, vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, dried fruit, seaweed, legumes, dried fruit, unprocessed organic or natural foods, freshly juiced fruit and vegetables, purified water, and young coconut milk. Delicious!

If you are interested in some good preparation techniques, you could: Sprout seeds grains and beans, juice vegetables and fruit, soak nuts and dried fruit, blend your foods, or dehydrate your foods.

Start your raw food diet today! I have provided for you a sample meal plan, but of course your personal meal choices can and should vary.

BREAKFAST: Fresh fruit salad topped with almonds and pumpkin seeds; and a side of coconut milk.

LUNCH: Salad with veggies, sprouted lentils, seed cheese and olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

DINNER: Raw vegetables blended to a soup, half an avocado, fruit and sun tea.

Raw foods add fiber to your diet and assist in optimum colon health. Using an herbal colon cleanser like Co-Clean will also improve colon health by promoting increased energy, improved concentration, clearer sinuses, clearer skin and weight loss as the backed up toxins are purged from the digestive system.