Here are some of the best foods that will fight hunger that you should be regularly including. As long as you can control your hunger levels, you’ll likely find that cravings are also much lower so sticking with the diet program is not all that difficult.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the best sources of carbohydrates to add to your diet since it has so much fiber content. Plus, when you cook it you’re adding over twice the volume of liquid to the meal, really boosting the fill-you-up factor.  Since getting in enough water is also critical to get results on your program, this is a very easy way to do it.

Oatmeal will be best on a weight loss diet when it is prepared as normal, not when it is added and eaten raw (as then the volume is much lower so it will not fill you up nearly as much).

Broccoli

One of the best fibrous vegetables that you can eat is broccoli.  Broccoli is packed with antioxidants and contains a very healthy dose of dietary fiber, which will help increase the feeling of fullness you experience.

The one thing you will want to remember with broccoli is that you must avoid cheesy or cream based sauces as these will add unnecessary calories that will really make it hard to stick with your weight loss diet program.

Your best bet is to either steam the broccoli or stir-fry it with a low calorie sauce created from soy sauce, a mix of vinegars, and a small amount of olive oil.

Vegetable Soups

Vegetable soups are the perfect thing to have in the middle of winter to take the edge off your hunger.  A good broth based soup will serve to hydrate you without adding very many calories to the diet plan, plus if you load it with cabbage, you’ll also get a good nutritional boost.

There are many ways you can add flavor to your vegetable soups if you are struggling such as stirring in a can of crushed tomatoes, adding some onion soup mix, or creating your own seasoning by combining a blend of herbs and spices.

Cottage Cheese

Protein will be the most immediately satisfying nutrients on a weight loss diet program so it is one you want to focus quite a bit on.  Each meal you eat should contain at least 10 grams of protein and that should help give you a really good foundation to fight hunger.

One protein source in particular that will help you fight hunger is cottage cheese.  It contains a form of protein known as casein protein, which is the slowest protein source to digest in the body.

Having this right before you go to bed is a good choice since it will prevent you from waking up hungry throughout the night.

Walnuts

Finally, for longer term feelings of fullness, consider walnuts.  Walnuts contain a healthy dose of essential fatty acids, which are needed for optimal health.  By snacking on a small handful about an hour before your meals, you will eat less at those meals and should not find yourself snacking while you are preparing the meal.

So keep these points in mind. Filling your diet with hunger fighting foods will be your best strategy for killing hunger.  As most dieter’s know, once the hunger strikes, it becomes even harder to say no.

Related posts:

1. Three Hunger Busting Foods That Help With Faster Fat Loss
2. Fun Weight Loss Foods You CAN Eat
3. Quick Fat Loss Tip – Boost The Flavor of Plain Oatmeal Instantly

But what’s the real truth about fruit and fat loss?  Is it possible to include fruit on your weight loss diet program and still lose weight?

Let’s take a closer look at this issue.

Calorie Content And Fruit

The very first thing to take into account, due to the fact that it’s your total daily calorie intake that will play the biggest role in total weight loss is the total calorie content of fruit.

While fruits will vary in terms of exactly how many calories each one includes, typically you can expect somewhere between 50 and 100 calories per piece.  A medium banana for instance contains about 100 calories while a cup of strawberries will be a mere 50.  An apple ranges from 60-80, while a small orange is closer to 55.

Compare this with other foods you may snack on – granola bars or cereal for example, and you can clearly see that fruit is the lower calorie of the two. Most granola bars are between 150-200 calories while cereal, depending on the size of the serving you have will be between 120 to 300 calories.

In the war of fat loss, lower calorie wins out almost every day, therefore fruit is the better choice.

Fiber And Fruit

Second, consider the fiber in fruit.  Fiber is important from a nutritional standpoint because it’s going to help keep the body regular, as well as it’s going to help keep you feeling satisfied longer.

The more fiber you take in on your weight loss diet program, the easier you’ll likely find it to stick with that program.

For this reason, again, fruit is a smart choice.  Most fruits range from 2-8 grams of fiber per serving, so they will really make it easy to reach your daily needs.

Fruit’s Path In The Body

Now, before touting all the benefits of fruit with regards to fat loss, it is important to think about the pathway of fruit in the body.  When you eat a high starch food (such as a slice of bread for example), the carbohydrates will immediately get turned into glucose and sent into the blood stream.  From there they either go into the muscle cells for storage, are used immediately for energy, or get converted into body fat.

With fruit, however, because it contains 50% glucose and 50% fructose (a different form of carbohydrate molecule), it doesn’t act quite the same way.  The glucose portion will, but the fructose found in the fruit will immediately go towards the liver.

The issue with this is that the liver can only hold so much fructose before it starts converting it to body fat (approximately 50 grams, while the muscles can easily store more than 250 grams of glucose – more if you’re very muscular).

This then could potentially set you up for body fat gain.  Keep in mind that there is only about 5 grams of fructose per piece of fruit, so you’d have to eat 10+ servings a day to see this effect. If you happen to have a lot of other fructose in your diet though, then you might see problems faster.

For this reason, as suggested above fruit is quite a healthy choice for weight loss, but you still should practice moderation.  2-3 pieces a day will be fine, 20 will not.

Fruit And Exercise

Finally, let’s look at fruit and exercise.  As we just mentioned, half of the carbohydrates found in fruit will get sent right towards the liver.  While in the liver, this doesn’t really do much to support intense exercise activity.  From a workout standpoint then, you’re a bit better off having 100% glucose forms of carbohydrates (rice, a potato, or oatmeal, for example).

This will help fuel and restore muscle glycogen levels better, so it’s preferable if you’re very active.

So to summarize, yes, fruit can definitely be part of a fat loss diet.  But, you shouldn’t over do it. Have a few pieces for good nutrition and to satisfy your sweet tooth, and then focus on slower digesting forms of starch such as oatmeal or brown rice.

Also, avoid fruit right before and after your workouts because calorie for calorie, they won’t be quite as effective as a starch source would be.

Related posts:

1. Double Check Your Whole Grain Cereal For Better Fat Loss Results
2. Are You A ‘Clock-Eater’? Why This is Damaging for Weight Loss
3. Best Bedtime Snacks For Fat Loss

The problem most people fast when they want to build up muscle quickly is that they simply cannot get enough calories in during the day.

If you’re a guy who weighs 180 pounds already and are trying to push your muscle to new lengths and get to 200 pounds, you’re going to have to eat, and eat, and then eat some more. It would not be unusual to see you requiring a calorie intake of 4000 or more per day.

If you’re aiming to fill these calories with wholesome foods, be prepared to feel stuffed – overstuffed, in fact.

Luckily, if you make some smart meal choices you’ll find that you can get those calories down without feeling like you’re about to explode.

Here are some foods that you should use to build up muscle quickly.

Nuts

It doesn’t get much better than nuts when you’re looking for a healthy, calorie-dense snack to have. Nuts are easy to transport, quick to eat, and will help to keep your testosterone levels where they need to be to build more muscle tissue.

People who cut out all the fat in their diet often find testosterone levels dropping significantly, so this will help keep it where it needs to be. Since testosterone is a key hormone for building muscle, it’s something you must maximize.

Raw Oats

For your carb source, oatmeal is always a good choice but when cooked it contains a very high amount of water, which will fill you up really quickly.

Instead, try having it raw. You can add it to your protein shakes, have it cold like you would regular cereal, or just add it to other foods such as yogurt, cottage cheese, or regular cereal.

When it’s dry, it’s very calorie dense and won’t cause a blood sugar spike like some other forms of carbs.

Red Meat

Moving on, red meat is another good food to include regularly in order to build up muscle quickly. Red meat not only is a great source of iron, but it’s also a fantastic source of protein, which is necessary to build new muscle mass.

Aim to eat lean red meat at least three times a week for best results.

Dried Fruit

Finally, don’t overlook the benefits dried fruit will provide. Regular fruit is good for antioxidants, but the fiber and water found in it will really fill you up.

Instead, opt for dried fruit instead. It’s calorie dense, will satisfy your craving for something sweet, and fits in perfectly for any muscle building diet plan.

So be sure you keep these foods in mind and start incorporating them into your muscle building workout plan.

If you do, you will find results come much faster and you’re far more comfortable on a daily basis.

Related posts:

1. Build Muscle Up Quickly With These Tips
2. How To Increase Testosterone Levels To Build Muscle Faster
3. Three Hunger Busting Foods That Help With Faster Fat Loss

Often, these people find themselves ravenous, cold, suffering from dry skin, and not really seeing the weight loss results they were hoping for.

Including healthy sources of dietary fat in with your diet will help promote better overall health and body function, help decrease feelings of hunger while on your diet, as well as help provide energy when carbohydrates are brought lower.

Functioning strictly on protein, while may be a fast way to lose weight, isn’t going to be healthy over the long term.

But, which fats are best to be eating? Most people recognize that saturated and trans fats are the ‘bad guys’ and are the ones you want to avoid.

Learning the various sources where your dietary fat is coming from then poses to be the best solution to being sure you’re getting the right types.

Here is a helpful guide to aide you.

Monosaturated Fat Sources

* Almond oil
* Avocados
* Avocado oil
* Corn oil
* Evening primrose oil
* Hazelnut oil
* Margarine (soft, tub with liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient)
* Mayonaisse (made with safflower or soybean oil)
* Nuts
* Olive oil
* Peanut oil
* Peanut butter
* Safflower oil
* Sesame oil
* Sesame seeds
* Soybean oil
* Sunflower oil
* Sunflower seeds

Polyunsaturated Fat Sources

* Canola oil
* Cod liver oil
* Flaxseed oil
* Flaxseeds
* Halibut
* Herring
* Mackerel
* Salmon
* Sardines
* Sesame oil
* Sesame seeds
* Tuna
* Walnut oil

Saturated Fat Sources

* Animal-fat shortening
* Beef fat
* Butter
* Coconut oil
* Cottonseed oil
* Egg yolks
* Fatty meats
* Full-fat milk products
* Lard
* Palm oil
* Palm kernel oil
* Tropical oils
* Vegetable shortening

Trans Fat Sources

*cakes
*cookies
*crackers
*pies
*animal products
*margarine
*potato chips
*corn chips
*popcorn
*household shortening
*salad dressing
*breakfast cereal
*candy
*some varieties of peanut butter

So, be sure you make yourself well aware of this list and check for it as you plan your daily menus. You ideally want your fat intake to be at least 15% of your daily total calories, if not more.

Always keep in mind though that as fat intake goes up, carbohydrate intake should come down (protein intake will most likely remain constant, unless you’re overeating in protein in the first place, in which case that’s a whole other problem).

If you just bring your fat intake up without regard to lowering carbohydrate intake, you’ll wind up taking in too many calories and fat gain will result.

It’s a careful balance equation that needs to be dealt with, but when done properly, will yield fantastic fat loss results as well as improving your overall health and well-being.

Related posts:

1. Mike Geary’s Healthy Peanut-Butter Chocolate Fudge Recipe
2. Top Characteristics of An Effective Fat Loss Diet
3. Biggest Fat Loss Mistakes

Many times, when you’re in a rush, a good option to turn to is a healthy smoothie, created from a mix of protein powder, fresh or frozen fruits, yogurt, milk, raw oatmeal, peanut butter, and in some cases, frozen yogurt (depending on calorie intake and program goals).

There are so many different smoothie recipes out there to choose from that you’d be hard pressed not to find one that you enjoy.

With some advice on creating your healthy smoothie recipe, here’s Vince DelMonte.

For more information about Vince’s Six Pack program, please visit his website.

====> Click HERE for YourSixPackQuest

Related posts:

1. Mike Geary’s Healthy Peanut-Butter Chocolate Fudge Recipe
2. Quick Fat Loss Tip – Boost The Flavor of Plain Oatmeal Instantly
3. Where Is Your Fat Coming From?

One such food might be pancakes. Pancakes smothered in hot syrup are a favorite among many and often bring back childhood memories of when your mother or grandmother used to make them every weekend morning – or at least I know I sure do.

Now though, pancakes have most definitely been removed from your diet because not only are they high in carbohydrates (particularly if you are choosing to drown them with maple syrup), but they’re also high in calories and often fat too.

Basically, pancakes are a weight loss diet nightmare!

Until now.

Recently I came across this video for almost carbless protein pancakes. Next time a craving strikes, give this one a try!

*Note too that you can certainly purchase sugar free maple flavored syrup (Ed Smith makes a fantastic one), which will help make the taste of these even more like the real pancakes you used to enjoy.

Related posts:

1. Quick Fat Loss Tip – Boost The Flavor of Plain Oatmeal Instantly
2. Protein Powder and Fat Loss: Do or Don’t?
3. Mike Geary’s Healthy Peanut-Butter Chocolate Fudge Recipe

It’s important that you understand waht this term refers to so you can then go on to formulate a weight loss program that is going to promote optimal fat loss.

Essentially what calorie deficit means is that during that day (or whatever time period you’re examining), you have consumed fewer calories than the body has burned.

And, don’t think that you have to burn all of the calories off that you eat through exercise either. Keep in mind that the largest contributor to your daily calorie burn is actually your basal metabolic rate, which is essentially all the body’s processes that take place while you are just sitting there.

For most people this will represent about 70-80% of the total calories they burn, so exercise actually plays a minor role in creating that deficit.

On the other hand, if you see the word ‘calorie surplus’ stated in an article, this means you are eating more than the body is expending in a day, hence you will gain weight (either fat tissue or muscle mass depending on a variety of different factors).

So, don’t let yourself be confused by this word again. Understanding how it fits into the whole weight loss picture will help you get a better grasp over what you need to do to reach your goals.

On a side note, most often the daily deficit or suplus (depending on your goal) that you should aim for is between 250-500 calories per day. This is the equivalent to 1/2 to one pound of weight gain or loss each week, which is a good and safe range to shoot for.

Related posts:

1. Reader Question: Targeted Ketogenic Diets and Calorie Intake
2. Are You A ‘Clock-Eater’? Why This is Damaging for Weight Loss
3. Types of Exercise That Boost Metabolism

The purpose of doing this is to avoid having to do the large weekly carb-ups that are going to be required on a standard Ketogenic diet in order to be able to maintain intense exercise levels.

Here’s the question that was asked.

I’m going to be using a TKD (Targeted Ketogenic Diet) and am not quite sure how many calories I should be eating. Unlike other people using this diet for weight loss, my goal is to actually gain some good quality muscle mass. I currently weigh 200 pounds and am about 20% body fat.

Secondly, on non-workout days when I’m not having the carbohydyates before and after my workout, should I increase the amount of fat I take in on this day to make sure I’m still eating the same amount of total calories?

Great question. Now, obviously since your goal is to build muscle, you need to be in an overall calorie surplus throughout the week as this is what is going to spark new body tissue growth. If your goal was fat loss, on the other hand (for the readers out there who have this goal), then you would be looking to create a calorie deficit instead.

For gaining muscle mass, my general recommendation is to put calories somewhere between 15 – 18 multiplied by your bodyweight in pounds. So, for our reader, this would equate to 3000 and 3600 calories per day (200 X 15 and 200 X 18).

If you are more active, you should start closer to the higher end of the scale; if you’re less active, you should be nearing the lower end.

As you progress on, you will then adjust your calorie intake depending on which direction weight gain is coming. If you aren’t gaining muscle fast enough, you would increase your calories. If you are starting to gain a bit too much body fat, you would decrease them. I’d recommend increasing or decreasing by about 10% of your total intake every 2-3 weeks.

Moving on to the second question, this is really going to be up to you. On days you workout you will be more active, thus you will need extra calories (which are coming from the carbs). On days you aren’t working out, chances are you total daily calorie burn will be lower, hence you won’t need those extra calories for fuel.

That said, your body will still be recovering from the previous day’s workouts, so additional calories taken in could help to serve that purpose.

I’d say, if you want to take a progressive approach to building muscle mass and aren’t as scared of gaining a small amount of additional body fat, then yes, add the calories you’d normally consume from carbs as fat calories to your non-workout days.

If, on the other hand, you are really looking to keep your gains lean and are okay with seeing a slower rate of muscle mass, then you could opt to leave those calories out. Your calorie surplus at the end of the week will be lower, hence you may not see as much muscle growth, but you also won’t have to worry quite as much about some of those excess calories ending up as gained body fat.

Always remember though, real world results are what matter most, so be sure you’re constantly monitoring progress and adjusting your total calorie intake to accommodate.

Have a question you want answered? Please send it to Shannonclarkfitness@gmail.com and check back regularly to see if it’s been answered.

Related posts:

1. Protein Intake and Fat Loss Diets: How Much Do You Need?
2. Definition: Calorie Deficit
3. Carbohydrate Requirements of a Mass Building Diet

Learning about what’s known as the ‘Female Athlete Triad’ will help you ensure that you maintain the right mindset when it comes to your workout and fat loss diet.

Here’s an article by today’s guest author, Vince DelMonte discussing this.

The Female Athlete Triad – Could You Be At Risk?
By Vince DelMonte

One major issue that many women who are getting serious about their workouts start to deal with is known as the female athlete triad.

The female athlete triad can affect a wide variety of individuals, from someone training for a rigorous competitive sport to someone who is simply trying to take their physique to a new level. Most commonly it is seen in activities that do place a high amount of focus on the image of the body, such as ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, and women’s fitness.

It’s important that you learn to recognize exactly what the female athlete triad consists of so that you are not only aware if you are already experiencing it but also, you learn what you can do to protect yourself from further damage taking place.

The Three Main Components Of The Female Athlete Triad

The female athlete triad, like the name suggests, is composed of three big factors.

1. Amenorrhea

Amenorrhea can be defined as the cessation of the menstrual cycle, after it had previously been somewhat regular, for three or more months in a row.

While some women may just be irregular, the key here is that they are not getting periods at all. It can be slightly difficult to establish if this is your issue if you have always been irregular, but most often even those who are irregular will get at least one menstrual period of a three month cycle.

2. Eating Disorders

The second component of the female athlete triad is the presence of any one of the various eating disorders that are seen. This could be anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, or an unclassified disorder (unhealthy relationship with food). Remember to keep in mind here that one does not need to be fully starving themselves to have an eating disorder. You could simply be feeling extreme amounts of guilt after even a small detour from your diet and this could classify you as having an eating disorder or unhealthy relationship with food.

3. Osteoporosis

Then, the third factor in this condition is osteoporosis. This factor particularly, is very detrimental to the woman as it could set her up to experience an increased risk of stress fractures or broken bones for the rest of her life. Many women also start to remove dairy products from their diet as they believe it will cause weight gain and once again, this only further enhances the problem.

Additionally, this factor usually comes about because of the previous two factors.

What Causes The Female Athlete Triad

In terms of what causes this condition to develop, there have been many research studies that have tried to determine just this and unfortunately there isn’t once single precipitating factor, but rather, it’s a combination of factors that seem to be at play.

First, usually what causes the condition to strike is that the individual is not consuming enough total daily calories. This seems to be the most important part of the equation; therefore, if you are hoping to avoid the development of these problems, eating enough is your best preventative mechanism. As an easy general guideline, for weight loss, the lowest number of calories you consume should be ten times your body weight.

So for example, a female weighing 130 pounds would require a minimum of 1300 calories each day – and this is for maximum fat loss.

The second thing that needs to be looked at is the woman’s overall body composition. Women need so much fat on their bodies in order to function effectively. When there is a lack of total body fat, problems occur, particularly with the reproductive system – as seen with the loss of the periods.

Usually these two are interconnected as many times a woman is not taking in enough total calories will obviously have a lower body fat level.

Between the two though, total calories is more important as there are a select few who are able to maintain quite low body fat percentages, yet still avoid the development of this problem.

Why is this? It’s because they are eating enough calories to maintain their weight, their weight is just a lot of lean mass and little fat tissue.

Finally, the third reason that this condition can develop is because of overexercising. When a woman overdoes it in the gym or on the court/field, she is starting to place an inordinate amount of stress on her system, and both her CNS and reproductive system will respond in a negative way. Rest is very critical in any workout program and should be scheduled in regularly.

So, the three main points to watch out for are a loss of your periods, abnormal or unhealthy eating behaviors, and a workout schedule that allows you very little, if any rest at all.

If you are suffering from any of those, or a combination of them, you may want to speak to a professional (both medical and psychological), as all three are very interrelated, with the development of one often leading to the development of another.

If, on the other hand, you are already experiencing problems, then your first step is to cut back on the amount of exercise you are doing and your second step is to increase the amount of calories you are consuming. Increase the calories slightly slowly as this might be a scary process for you, aiming for a weekly increase of about 10% of your total current intake each week. This will also allow the metabolism to keep up with this increased amount of food and prevent you from gaining any weight in the process.

If you complete both of these objectives, you should find that slowly your body fat levels also become more regulated, which fixes the last issue of this disorder.

So, if this sounds like it could be a condition you are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing, be sure to have a good hard look at your training and eating habits. Your health should always be the number one priority, even if some of you would rather place looks as your main objective.

———————————-
About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.MuscleAdvantagePlan.com

Related posts:

1. Female Fitness Model Training Tips
2. Simple Techniques To Preventing Binging So You Can Lose Weight

While there is plenty of evidence out there that dairy products can actually help promote the process of weight loss, there’s also plenty of sources that are advising you should avoid dairy at all costs.

This leads to highly misleading information and sadly, far too many people are falling for this myth.

To examine the role that dairy can play further, let’s look briefly at a research study that was conducted to look at the role that milk based proteins can play in the muscle damage effects after a hard workout.

Study Design

It already is widely recognized that every time you subject your muscles to an overloading stress, as you likely are doing every time you hit the gym, you’re going to damage the muscles slightly, creating tiny tears in the muscle fibers.

It is this process that allows you to grow back stronger though, which is the whole point of weight lifting activity in the first place.

When this muscle damage takes place, there is a degradation of the protein structures within the muscle tissue, which is what leads to the decreases in performance that are seen if you try to workout again too soon after a hard workout.

Furthermore, it is this degradation to the protein structures that can also cause that post-workout soreness you often experience, sometimes referred to as DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness).

This study was designed so that four independent groups of six healthy males were to either consume water (acting as the control group), carbohydrate based sports drink, a milk protein-based carbohydrate drink, or plain milk.

The variables that were assessed immediately before and then at 24 and 48 hours after the exercise session took place included DOMS, isokinetic muscular performance, creatine kinase, and myoglobin levels.

The Results

The results of the study indicated that DOMS was not significantly different between any of the groups, however peak torque was significantly higher during the 48 hour post-exercise reading for the milk protein and carbohydrate drink compared with the carbohydrate alone drink or the water.

Further, the total work of the set was significantly higher 48 hours after the milk protein and carbohydrate drink as well as just the plain milk drink in comparison to the carbohydrate drink or water.

Creatine kinase and myoglobin levels were also lowest after the milk-protein carbohydrate and plain milk drink.

Conclusion

Therefore, the take home message here is that supplementing your post-workout period with a milk based protein drink or milk alone will help to decrease the amount of muscle tissue damage that is seen after the exercise has been completed and will help you recover faster before your next exercise session.

Reference:
Cockburn, E. et al. (2008) Acute milk-based protein-CHO supplementation attenuates exercise-induced muscle damage. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. Aug; 33(3):775-83.

Related posts:

1. Research Study: The Dairy Intake and Weight Loss Connection
2. Research Study: Fat Loading Versus Carb Loading and Performance
3. Research Study: More Proof Intense Cardio is Superior for Weight Loss