Follow Me as I Tweet the IFT

At this very moment I’m in Chicago, IL.  But not just to see the beautiful downtown area, or catch a baseball game.  I’m here on business.  I’m here for the Chicago IFT 10, annual meeting and food expo!  I plan on being at the expo July 18th and 19th 2010 and will be Tweeting my way thru the show.  Not too much mind you!  I’ll try and keep it interesting and informative.  You can find the simple instructions below on how to keep updated on this event.

I might even use Twitvid to toss up a live but short video.  Assuming there’s something that you need to see to believe.

What is the IFT Food Expo:

The IFT is an annual meeting and food expo.  It’s main focus is to bring the professionals involved in both the science and business aspect of the industry under one roof.  At the IFT, you have the opportunity to learn about cutting edge trends, new products and bleeding edge scientific innovations.

This isn’t a show for competitors.  It’s not littered with supplement companies.  Before protein water or adding fiber to every food became mainstream, you saw this kind of innovation and ideas at these shows.  Many times the vendors are improving on existing ideas.  But once in a while, you see a trend that hasn’t hit the shelves yet and it’s the kind that might make a difference. (Beta-Alanine comes to mind when I learned about this one in Vegas 2 years before it was even bottled by a supplement company).

It’s how I keep up to date on what coming in the industry.  It’s my insight into what goes into products, from what country and all the finer details.  It’s much more than a supplement show where all you see are fitness models and packaged goods with LOUD music and outrageous claims.

How You Can Follow Me at the IFT 10 Expo:

I will be using the hashtag #IFT10 for Twitter posts (aka “Tweets”) concerning this year’s Expo.  If you are a Twitter user, please make sure to add “#IFT10” to all your tweets about the IFT 10 annual meeting or to just ask questions about something.

If you are new to using hashtags, note that you can follow hashtags via our page on Twubs (http://www.twubs.com/ift10). This makes it easy for you to keep track of all posts about the show, regardless of whether you are following me or the various tweets.  I’m even aggregating anybody who tweets about the show on this page.  It’s your chance to see what’s coming and ask questions.

Who knows, I might even be able to stop by a booth or two if you Tweet me your info using the hashtag above.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

What's in Your Protein Shake?

A recent investigation on protein drinks has been causing waves of concern or even alarm to ripple through the fitness and bodybuilding world. Supplement companies are up in arms and people are wondering whether they should stop drinking protein shakes after the magazine said they tested 15 protein drinks for heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) and 3 of them came up above the proposed safe limits…

“We purchased 15 protein powders and drinks mainly in the New York metro area or online and tested multiple samples of each for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury” said Consumer Reports.

“Concentrations in most products were relatively low,” continued the article, “but when taking into account the large serving size suggested, the number of micrograms per day for a few of the products was high compared with most others tested.”

Out of the 15 products tested, the following exceeded the U.S. Pharmocopeia (USP) suggested limits for safety:

EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate (ready to drink liquid): 16.9 arsenic, 5.1 cadmium

Muscle Milk chocolate powder: 12.2 arsenic, 5.6 cadmium, 13.5 lead, 0.7 mercury

Muscle Milk Vanilla Cream: 12.2 lead

* Amounts in micrograms

So, if you use protein drinks should you be worried? Should you stop drinking them? Well, it appears disconcerting that certain brands are high in these metals, but keep in mind that:

(1) Some people and organizations are questioning the choice of 3rd party lab used by Consumer reports, as well as the definitions for acceptable safe levels.

(2) These test results showed that that 12 out of 15 products were within safe limits even at high doses (or had zero heavy metals present), and

(3) Products which tested high were tested based on very large doses. Therefore, this might be a red flag only for very heavy users (three shakes a day or up to 8 scoops) of specific products (not protein powder in general)

Heavy metal contamination is a particular health concern for certain populations including infants, young growing children, women of childbearing age who plan to have kids soon, pregnant women, and nursing women.

However, I don’t believe this report is a reason for panic or giving up moderate use of protein supplements.

Due to all the publicity, I imagine that the few companies named will write rebuttals or responses, and if necessary, simply tighten up their quality control. Probably, the industry in general will start posting more information on their testing, safety and quality standards. Some companies have reassuringly already done so on their websites (which has probably boosted their sales, not hurt them).

I think this is mostly a non-issue.

Consumer Reports is a favorite publication for many people researching purchases of cars, electronics and appliances. They were probably well-intentioned in their protein article (although who knows what underlying biases might be there).

In the future, however, I’d like to see these types of tests performed under scientific scrutiny and get the results published in a peer reviewed journal. This way, we can review the test results, read about the experimental methods and get the evidence-based facts about protein requirements and contaminant safety standards, rather than depend on journalists whose usual job is comparing brands of toasters.

On a related note, the NSF has questioned the lab/testing methods used in this story:

NSF International cannot comment on the test results reported in the July 2010, Consumer Reports article on protein drinks. It omits critical information about the laboratory that performed the test and its accreditation qualifications. ISO 17025 accreditation is critical for any laboratory testing for heavy metals in dietary supplements and nutritional products. The article also omits the test methods used, analytical preparation, sample size, the basis of their risk assessment, detection limits, quality control data and instrumentation used for this report.

While it’s fine and good that this info was published, what really bothers me about the write up is that it seems their journalists are using these test results as ammo to attack the entire idea of taking protein supplements and eating a high protein diet.

“You don’t need extra protein” and “high protein diets damage your kidneys,” claim Consumer Reports. They also quote a dietitian who said the body can only utilize 5 to 9 grams of protein per hour. I’d like to see a research citation on that one!

They are clearly perpetuating some of the same stupid myths about protein that bodybuilders and strength athletes have had to debunk for years.

When mentioning how cadmium is toxic to the kidney, they added, “the way that high protein is bad for your kidneys.” That is false. A high protein diet (on par with what a strength athlete would reasonably consume), is not damaging to a healthy kidney.

High protein diets are contraindicated for patients who already have kidney disease and caution is warranted in certain populations where risk of sub-clinical kidney conditions may be present or where there is kidney disease predisposition. That’s not the same as saying eating a high protein diet causes kidney disease.

It’s quite true that there’s a “more is better” mentality among many muscle-seekers and protein supplement marketing often feeds right into that. The consumer may be told – via advertisement or editorial – to take protein drinks multiple times every day (better for sales than recommending occasional or light use only when needed, right?)

Protein marketing can sometimes border on the outrageous today – with all kinds of claims made for muscle gain, fat loss, enhanced performance and even anti-aging. The truth is, protein supplements are just food – powdered or liquid food – they’re NOT magic! A lot of muscle and fitness fanatics today depend way too much on supplements and not enough on whole, natural foods.

How many people actually drink 3 protein shakes a day, every day (21 a week)? I don’t know. No one in my circle does, and it’s not something I recommend. In my Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program, I recommend eating mostly whole food, eating a variety of foods and using protein shakes or powders as an occasional supplement for convenience or if you need a supplement to help you meet your optimum level of intake.

Personally, I use protein powder once a day in my oatmeal and I enjoy an occasional protein shake – you can make some pretty tasty smoothies if you add things like fruit, peanut butter, ice, etc. I don’t plan on stopping.

Some people are freaking out over this. I know the personality type: certain people will say, ‘No way, if there’s ANY heavy metal in any protein drinks I’m not taking them at all! Why take a chance?” Seems prudent, except that most of the protein drinks tested were well within safety limits and all were within limits with more moderate usage.

Besides, small exposure is inevitable anyway. What’s in the whole food you’re eating? If you pressed the issue, you could find some substance to gripe about – including heavy metals – in many of the foods you eat daily right now – yes, the so called “clean foods” – dairy products, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, shellfish, etc.

Advice:
(1) Too much of anything can be bad for you, so don’t go crazy with protein drinks or protein foods (or too much of any one type of food).
(2) Avoid diets that make you dependent on protein shakes or meal replacement supplements.
(3) Don’t believe everything you read in the mainstream media until you check out the real science for yourself.
(4) Use Consumer Reports when you want to know what car or camcorder to buy. Take their bodybuilding and sports nutrition info with a grain of salt.

Disclosure: I have no affiliations or associations of any kind with any protein or supplement companies.

About the Author: Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models and Founder & CEO of Burn The Fat Inner Circle

Is Your Protein Shake Poison?!

In the July 2010 issue of Consumer Reports, there’s a 4 page spread and chart showing that those favorite protein drinks of yours can contain potentially unsafe levels of heavy metals.  Things like Arsenic, Lead and Cadmium!  With such a report, it’s almost a guarantee to rock the supplement world.  Or is it?

Maybe the better question:  Should it?

The full report will be in the July issue of Consumer Reports.  Or you can read the Consumer Report on Protein Drinks (opens in a new window)

QUESTION: I just read the Consumer Reports article about potentially unsafe levels of heavy metals.  Some of those protein drinks I consume.  I’m currently drinking Muscle Milk chocolate.  Not three times a day but I use it frequently.  Do you think I should stop drinking protein shakes entirely?  What is your thought on this report?

ANSWER: Could this be true?  The same magazine I used to buy my last washer and dryer is now the expert on supplement research?   Can the same evaluation methods to test how dry my socks are be used to tell me if I’m in-taking too much dangerous levels of heavy metals?  Or even better, how much protein I need a day?

In a nutshell, Consumer Reports used USP (U.S. Pharmacopeia) an independent research facility to test 15 protein drinks which included ready to drinks, meal replacement power and just whey powders.

Consumer Reports testing was based on consumption of three shakes per day and the testing applied proposed U.S. Pharmacopeia standards - not current, accepted or approved standards or guidelines.  It’s important to note this was not published in a peer reviewed scientific journal.

They tested for:

• Arsenic
• Cadmium
• Lead
• Mercury

USP found most of the products to be in the low or moderate range for the 3 servings except for the following three products.

What Consumer Reports Found:

• EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate Shake has an average of 16.9 micrograms of arsenic in three servings — more than the 15 micrograms a day that is the proposed USP limit. It has an average of 5.1 micrograms of cadmium for three servings — above the USP limit of 5 micrograms a day.

• Muscle Milk chocolate powder, at three servings, contained all four of the metals, and three metals were found at a level that was among the highest of all 15 products tested. Cadmium levels were 5.6 micrograms — above the 5-microgram limit. Lead was 13.5 micrograms — above the USP limit of 10 micrograms. The arsenic averaged 12.2 micrograms — near the 15-microgram daily USP limit.

• Muscle Milk vanilla crème had 12.2 micrograms of lead per three servings — above the 10-microgram daily limit. It has 11.2 micrograms of arsenic — close to the 15-microgram daily limit.

Here’s What They Aren’t Telling You … They Didn’t Compare Apples to Apples!

All of the products listed in the Consumer Reports article are not the same.  Muscle Milk and Myoplex ranked the highest partly because they are Meal Replacement Powders or MRPs.  MRP’s will have naturally higher trace amounts of these elements because they include a blend of all macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates), plus micronutrients in vitamins & minerals.  Whey protein powders OR low carb protein powders will contain lower levels of these elements because they provide mostly protein and not the full blend of macronutrients plus vitamins & minerals that MRP’s do.

In other words, the more nutrient sources (macronutrients & micronutrients) one consumes, the more trace amounts of these metal elements they are ingesting.  The report would have been more accurate if all like products were compared (MRP’s). Pure Whey protein powders will have lower amounts of these elements for the reasons just mentioned.

Do You Know What’s In Your Food?

Don’t forget the substances tested by Consumer Reports are naturally occurring in the environment, and it would be uncommon, if not impossible, not to detect the trace amounts reportedly found in any agricultural product, such as dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

Lead Contamination in Everyday Foods

BUT KEEP READING…

First off … let me start by saying I’m not a scientist by nature.  But that doesn’t disqualify me from making comments on how a proper study should be conducted.  In fact, I wondered myself after reading this article.. how would one conduct such a study?

My guess is, at the very least they need to include the methods used in testing so that anybody else qualified could reproduce the results. Even friendly hackers do this.  They report their findings and methods used to reproduce the error in an effort to get the company in question to fix their product.

However, what’s the #1 thing missing from this Consumer Reports article Heavy Metals Found in Protein Shakes?  Care to take a guess?

The methods used!  For all I know, they took various expired supplements from a location in Area 51 and used a metal testing kit from ACE Hardware.  They don’t specifically say how it was conducted and the onus is on them.

Here’s How another 3rd Party, Independent Agency Responded to the  Consumer Reports Article on Protein Drinks

“NSF International cannot comment on the test results reported in the July 2010, Consumer Reports article on protein drinks. It omits critical information about the laboratory that performed the test and its accreditation qualifications. ISO 17025 accreditation is critical for any laboratory testing for heavy metals in dietary supplements and nutritional products.

The article also omits the test methods used, analytical preparation, sample size, the basis of their risk assessment, detection limits, quality control data and instrumentation used for this report.”

FACT: In order to report your finding you MUST report methods used so that results can be reproduced by others.  Sorry Consumer Reports but your study is invalid without such.  Not to mention your testing apples to oranges.

But don’t take my word for it… I asked Daniel Whittaker, a personal trainer for decades, a Wellness Consultant, an Expert Moderator on DiscussBodybuilding.com and researcher.  He’s currently attending California State University, Los Angeles, where he is studying Exercise Science and Bioscience and assisting with research in the University Human Performance Laboratory.

He is the recipient one of two Certificates of Honor awarded by his College in recognition of exceptional academic achievements, and he has been inducted into both Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society.

“Marc, your comments about the validity of the research methods are spot on.  Without a methods section, the report is really of no value if I can not repeat it consistently in a proper lab with the same methods…” -Daniel Whittaker

What’s even more shocking is that nobody including the fitness expert you probably follow seems to pay attention to the 4 pages that precede the pretty colored chart.  Things I’ve tried in my newsletter, program, blog, podcasts and forum to battle.  What things?

MYTH:

“The body can only break down 5 to 9 grams of protein per hour” -Kathleen Laquale, licensed nutritionist and certified athletic trainer

FACT:

“Regarding the quote from Kathleen Laquale about the body only being able to break down 5 to 9 grams of protein an hour. I defy her to find research to support this. I cringed when I saw the original quote in Consumer Reports, and I’m cringing again to see that the NPR site has adopted it as fact. - TCLoma (of T-Nation?)

“There is no such thing as consuming too much protein.as long you’re getting other nutrients in your diet as well.” – Dr. Andrew Shao, Ph.D, in Nutritional Biochemistry from Tufts University in Boston, M.S. in Human Nutrition Science.  His B.A. in Biology is from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

A reoccurring theme throughout the entire article is:

Too Much Protein Can Cause Health Problems!

Of course, there’s no links to current studies just “experts” who drop the statement like a hot stock tip at a bus station.

Let’s see what a few of the real experts in the field of bodybuilding have to say about the never ending myth that a high protein diet is deadly ….

“If you tell them you are on a high protein diet because you are an athlete they will tell you, “oh you don’t want to do that, you don’t need it and it will lead to kidney disease” without a single decent study to back up their claim!” - Will Brink, columnist, contributing consultant, and writer for various health/fitness, medical, and bodybuilding publications article,  author of the “Nutritional Myths that Just Won’t Die: Protein.”

“A number of health risks have been attributed to the consumption of high protein intakes, this includes potential problems with the kidneys, bone health, metabolic acidosis and certain types of cancers. For the most part, these risks tend to be extremely overstated.” -Lyle McDonald, “Protein Controversies.” Chapter 8 from The Protein Book: A Complete Guide for the Coach and Athlete.

Moving on …

So I asked my friend and mentor, Tom Venuto, a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS) and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book,  “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” about this “High Protein” is bad for you that Consumer Reports wants you to believe.

Marc: Tom, can you explain why some licensed professional STILL tell their clients that a diet high in protein leads to health problems?  Including kidney failure, dehydration and osteoporosis?

Tom Venuto: I knew this question would pop up. This “high protein is bad for you” myth never seems to go away, so let me squash this ugly bug right now once and for all.

At one time or another, you’ve probably heard the myth that high protein diets are:

• bad for your kidneys,
• they dehydrate you
• and give you osteoporosis.

Well, here’s the truth: It’s a medical and scientific fact that except in the case of pre-existing kidney disease, there is no documented evidence that a high protein intake will cause kidney damage in a healthy kidney. In fact, there is not a single study that has been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal using adult human subjects with healthy kidneys that has shown any kidney dysfunction whatsoever as a result of consuming a high protein diet.

In the textbook, “Total Nutrition: the Only Guide You’ll Ever Need,” from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, the authors, Victor Herbert and Genell Shubak-Sharpe, had this to say about protein and kidney disease:

“High-protein diets have never proven to be a serious hazard for healthy people, although processing excess protein can overburden a liver or kidney’s that are damaged by disease. That’s why individuals with kidney or liver disease are often put on protein-restricted diets. Likewise, very high protein formulas can also be detrimental to very young or premature infants whose kidney function is not fully developed. Some nephrologists have also speculated the eating a high-protein diet throughout life may be the reason for the ’slight’ decline in kidney function that usually occurs with age, but this connection is still under investigation.”

What about the claim that high protein diets cause osteoporosis? In inactive people, some studies have shown that increased protein intakes lead to elevated calcium excretion. This is because high protein intakes increase the acidity of the blood, and the body must “leach” calcium from the bones to buffer the acidity. The researchers theorized that this calcium loss could lead to accelerated osteoporosis, especially in women.

While this phenomenon has been observed in sedentary individuals, there is no clearly established link between high protein intake and osteoporosis. Women with risk factors for osteoporosis should be more cautious, but if you are athletically inclined and participate in aerobic and resistance exercise, you will probably have few risk factors. Here’s what Herbert and Shubak-Sharpe had to say on the subject:

“Our typical high-protein, high-meat diets have also been implicated as a factor in the development of osteoporosis, but these claims may be the results of misinterpreting scientific research. Studies have shown that adding purified protein supplements and amino-acid mixtures that have had their phosphate removed do increase excretion of calcium by the kidney in both animals and humans. However, several long-term controlled human studies carried out by Herta Spencer, M.D., at the Hines VA Medical Center in Illinois have shown that high intakes of protein from natural protein sources such as meat, which have their phosphate intact, do not significantly increase calcium loss.”

A post-menopausal sedentary woman would not be well advised to go on a high protein diet, but if you’re a bodybuilder, or even if you just train with weights recreationally, then you will have denser bones than someone who doesn’t work out. Therefore, extra protein should not be a cause for concern.

Probably the only legitimate problem created by a high protein intake is dehydration. Metabolizing protein requires more water than fats or carbohydrates, so it is very important to consume extra water if you increase your protein intake. The standard recommendation is 8-10 8 oz glasses per day (64 – 80 oz). However, the higher your protein intake, the more water you should drink beyond the standard guideline. For bodybuilders on high protein diets, a gallon a day (124 oz) is more like it.

The one gram per pound of bodyweight guideline is good as a general rule of thumb for bodybuilders.  The amount of protein you need depends on how hard you are training and on whether you want to gain, maintain, or lose bodyweight.

Marc: Thanks once again Tom.

I can appreciate the overall good intentions of Consumer Reports to bring public awareness to the foods were consuming.  However, it does not negate the fact that the study itself was flawed and that most of the article seemed to have a bodybuilding type bashing theme to it.

In my 6 years online and 2 decades of bodybuilding, I’ve run across these myths countless times.   I can understand how the average consumer might not know protein intake requirements or how to conduct a proper research study, I fail to understand how a company as large as and well funded as Consumer Reports can write such a loosely documented and misleading prose on the world of fitness.

Even IF the report were true, they give NO information to the companies listed on how to reproduce the results to correct their products.

When David Barr wrote on the potential ill effects of Glycocyamine in some products, specifically Muscle Milk, I recall passing that report off to Cytosport.

Guess what they did?

They took the research, they looked over the facts and the consumer concerns and Cytosport REMOVED it from the product.

See folks.. that’s how it works.

Step 1:  You Find Something Questionable

Step 2:  You Document Your Research and Share with Company

Step 3:  You See if Company Responds

What we have here is a clear case of myth perpetuation and classic biased reporting.

Here’s What They Should Do Next:

Instead of freaking out of high protein diets, or all protein powder, the products that have been named should get tested by a research group that will publish the findings in a peer reviewed journal, where we know the methods of testing meet certain scientific standards or at least can be scrutinized by the rest of the scientific community to be sure that they do.

If the results come up positive for heavy metals, these supplement companies have some explaining to do and some actions to take for damage control.

The Bottom Line: Overall, the Consumer Reports article on Heavy Metals Found in Protein Drinks is of no real usable value. I won’t change my habits at this time when it comes to using protein supplements on that list or not.  Regarding Cytosport’s Muscle Milk, which I am a consumer of at times, it has NSF Certification which does not support the findings of Consumer Reports.

In my NoBull Bodybuilding program, I recommend whole foods thru Ph.D. approved meal plans, andd using protein shakes or powders as an supplement getting no more than 20% of your daily protein from such sources.  While I use proteins like this myself, I don’t drink 3 shakes a day.

Disclosure: I have a close family member works for Cytosport.  However, I am a consumer of the product.   You should realize however, that this isn’t an research report; it is a blog, and unbiased blogs are kind of boring.  If you don’t take a position what do you write about, really?

Industry Response:

Cytosport: Testing Confirms Muscle Milk Safety
Optimum Nutrition
NSF Statement on Consumer Reports Findings

For Further Research:

Protein Drinks Are Dangerous??!! Yeah, right.
CBS Morning Show: Could Protein Drinks Be Harmful to Your Health?
Heavy Metals Found In Protein Shakes: Should You Stop Drinking Them?
UltimateFatBurner Blog: Skeptical about Consumer Reports
How to Evalute Any Supplement
Dangerous protein drinks?
Bodybuilders & Protein, Part 1, 2 and 3
How Much Protein Can I Eat at Any One Time?
Consumer Reports Magazine Takes Aim at Protein Drinks

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. – My biggest pet peeve is a few fitness experts trying to make money off the report and linking you to a brand of protein thru their affilite link!  Of course they make a commissions off the purchases.  Talk about bias.  If you don’t trust supplement companies WHY on earth would you trust and expert that passed this report to you, offering up no professional insight and then tries to milk you for a few cents off a link to purchase protein.

I believe buyers should be made aware of the incentives individuals may have to give particular advice.  They should be more cynical.

The FitBit is a wireless personal trainer that tracks activity and sleep.

Hats off to to a company called Fitbit!  It’s rare in this day that a company can improve upon an existing technology.  However, they took something as simple as a “pedometer” and turned it into a feedback junkies dream and a fashion divas must have item.

From the Company:

The Fitbit accurately tracks your calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and sleep quality. The Fitbit contains a 3D motion sensor like the one found in the Nintendo Wii. The Fitbit tracks your motion in three dimensions and converts this into useful information about your daily activities.

You can wear the Fitbit on your waist, in your pocket or on undergarments. At night, you can wear the Fitbit clipped to the included wristband in order to track your sleep. Anytime you walk by the included wireless base station, data from your Fitbit is silently uploaded in the background.

I’d like to share my experience with the Fitbit in hopes it you might find it useful.  As I type, the Fitbit is telling me that in order to reach my target goals, after this post goes live, I’m going to need to get a few more minutes of activity in if I want that body of my dreams (cliche but true).

When the Fitbit arrived at my doorstep, I had already signed up for the free fitness tracker portion of the website.  Without even owning the little device, you can do such things as:

• Log activities
• Log food
• Track weight

Fitbit Says.. Your Daily Activity

All displayed in a neat historical and daily graph.  Nothing fancy but simple.  In my world, feedback is EVERYTHING.  I thrive on it so I can continually adjust, beat my last efforts and improve.  The less I think about the little things, the more I can focus on what matters.  While the free portion is the site is comparable to many other sites, you can:

• search from an extensive list of foods
• add your own custom foods and
• see foods that others have entered and make publicly available.   But just keep reading ….

The REAL power of the Fitbit is the device itself and the information it sends back to the wireless base station.

Fitbit on the Wireless Base Station

With Fitbit, you can monitor such things as:

• Intraday Calories
• Steps Taken
• Miles Walked
• Record Specific Activity
• Sleep Patterns
• Leaderboard Activity

Now imagine that you sat down and calculated how many calories you need per day to reach your goals.  You guess about your metabolism and if you are lucky, you might get to use tools that take into account your perceived activity factor.  Here’s the REAL deal with the Fitbit that drives me crazy as I love the continual feedback.

Intraday Calories:

How active are you really vs. your perception.  I work out quite hard during my 60 minutes in the gym.  I sweat, I push myself, I have fantastic workouts on average.  But be honest… there’s 23 hours you don’t do that in a day and truth be told, I’m not leading an active lifestyle according to Fitbit in the scope of a full day.  Sure, for those 60 minutes, I’m #1 on the leaderboard but for the rest of the day, I’m quite sendentary.  I find myself sitting a lot in front of the computer (answering emails, forum posts, etc).  All worthwhile activity but it does change your entire calculation!

If you think you are leading this wildly active lifestyle and you pick formulas that take that into account, you will be frustrated over time as to why you might not be gaining muscle or burning fat.  However, with something that monitors your activity during the day, you can quickly adjust as necessary to keep that calorie surplus or calorie deficit in check.  Let me repeat what I think is the most important aspect of Fitbit.

Intraday Calories based on your activity.

If you’ve ever done a calorie calculation formula, you’ll find that it takes your perceived level of activity into account.  However, what it will not to is show you your actual level of activity.  You may be overeating or undereating!  Many people place themselves into a moderately active lifestyle without taking into account they sit most of the day.  Fitbit gives you a very good visual feedback of what’s happening.

Intraday Calories

How accurate is the device?

From my tests, it’s without 100 calories of the most popular method of calorie calculation called the Harris-Benedict Equation.

Sometimes I’m more active and sometimes I’m less.  I can adjust my intake based on what I’m doing vs. what a formula thinks I’m doing as input by my own bias.  You just can’t adjust quickly using a formula but you can using a feedback device like Fitbit.

Quick Note: I’ve found that Monday thru Friday I’m eating what I’ve calculated but I am not as active as I am on Saturday and Sunday.  Interesting to note, on the weekends I’m more active but eat less as I’m out more.  Knowing this tidbit, I’m able to adjust my weekday calories to fit more of my actual exertion and attempt to eat more on weekends.  Without Fitbit, I’d be overeating 5 days a week and undereating two days… thus making it much harder to reach my goals.  Not many people re-work formulas based on the intraday activity.

To me, that’s the real power of device.  Keeping me honest about my level of activity. It won’t be so accurate on activities like 60 minutes of vigorous weight training.  It can’t tell you how much weight you lifted, or how many reps you did.  It doesn’t know such but you can manually record that activity in your log via the website to compensate.  It does a pretty accurate job of most other walking and moving type activity. (Found it to be slightly off on elliptical machines).

Sleep Patters:

This device tracks sleep patterns based on recording such activity before you go to sleep and stopping the activity upon waking up.  It’s movement based so technically you might say you went to sleep and lie there for 20 minutes without moving and get different results.  It seems to record my own sleep patters quite well.  In my short experiments, I’ve found that I feel the most refreshed when I am able to record 8 hours of sleep.  Or at least within 10 minutes of that magic number.  Too much more and I feel groggy.  Less and I wake up ready for a nap.  Generally speaking, people need between 8-10 hours of sleep.  But the real way to determine that is for you to record your sleep over a period of time and find your ideal situation.  For me, if I can get 8 hours, I’m doing great.   This turned out to be a surprise feature.

It comes with a wrist wrap that secures the Fitbit to your wrist at night.  Some have found it too small if you are big boned but I find it to work.  It’s made of soft cloth and fits securely and snug.  You could secure it to your clothing but if you are a stomach sleeper, that could prove uncomfortable.

Sleep Patterns

The #1 Feature of Fitbit:

The ability to deliver me a stream of continual feedback so that I may adjust my caloric intake and/or activity to meet a short term target.  Most important of all, I can see my past records and strive to beat them or at least challenge myself.

Personal Stats

Please understand, I am biased and I love this device.  If you want an unbiased review, you will need to find somebody who will write a review about this tracking device that has never owned or or just saw it at the gym and learned about it through a brief conversation.  This device isn’t for everyone but it sure works for feedback junkies or keeping you honest.

What makes Fitbit stand out besides the technology?

There are NO FEES to upload your data.

Once you purchase the device, you pay nothing after that to keep updating and getting your stats.

Okay, so do I wear the Fitbit all the time?  Pretty much except in the shower as it is not waterproof.  I’ve found placing it on my gym shorts on the side is always out of the way of my weight workouts  Using the sleep band at night is not a problem.  Hence, I am able to get a good rating of my daily activity.  It becomes embarrassing as I stare at the pie chart that tells me I have 7 hours of sedentary activity.  At the same time, it is a motivator for me to get up and take breaks and keep moving.

FAQ:

How accurate is the Fitbit Tracker?

“Calorie data from the Tracker is very similar to those from energy expenditure measurement devices used in clinical research. The Tracker will give you a good sense of how your activity levels change from day to day.

The Tracker is also one of the most accurate pedometers. We’ve tuned the accuracy of the Fitbit step counting functionality over hundreds of tests with multiple different body types. For most wearers, the Fitbit should be roughly 95-97% accurate for step counting. We spent a lot of time ensuring that this accuracy is achieved even when you wear the Fitbit loosely in your pocket.

Sleep data from the Tracker correlates very strongly with results from polysomnograms found in sleep labs.”

Does the Fitbit accurately track calories from cycling/biking?

“The Fitbit is optimized for walking, running and general household/lifestyle activities and gives you a good general 24 hour picture of your day. It’s not going to be that accurate for things like biking, but the website will allow you to manually log activities, so that an estimated calorie burn for your biking can be included in your daily totals. If you are only doing the biking for an hour or so a day, the Fitbit will give you a good overview of your activities for the other 23 hours. The Fitbit is really for people to get a general sense of their day and get motivation from improvements in their general day to day trends.”

Resources:

The Official Fitbit Website

My Fitbit Profile

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. - My biggest complaint about Fitbit is the apparently lack of International shipping.  It’s not at all necessary to be in the United States for this device to work.  It just syncs to the base station and uploads data to your account.  Your options seem to be at this point to purchase the Fitbit from eBay.  While Fitbit the company may not ship the device internationally, an independent seller might.

P.P.S. – You can record specific activities by pressing Start and Stop.  You’ll see the activity show up in your dashboard and you will see some specific information on that recording.  Maybe you want to see how many steps it is around the block?  How long it took?  Your pace?  You can record individual activities.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

“How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?” That’s right up there with “How do I get six pack abs” as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time. The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers – even from experts who are supposed to know these things. So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously?

Short answer: Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat at the “same time.”

Long answer: It’s difficult and it’s complicated. Allow me to explain….

First we have the issue of whether you really lose fat and gain muscle at the “same time.”

Well, yes, if your definition of the “same time” is say, a month or 12 weeks. But in that case, you’re probably not gaining muscle at the “same time” literally speaking, as in, right now this very moment you are reading this, or 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for months in a row.

The best explanation for what’s really happening is that you alternate between periods of caloric surplus (anabolism) and caloric deficit (catabolism) and the net result is a gain in muscle and a loss in body fat.

You see, if you stay in a calorie surplus, it’s the body’s natural tendency for body fat and lean body mass to go up together. And if you stay in a calorie deficit, it’s your body’s natural tendency for body fat and lean body mass to go down together.

There may be exceptions, but the general rule is that it is very difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time – the mechanisms are mostly antagonistic to one another. When it does happen, it’s almost always the result of “unusual conditions” – I call them X factors.

The 4 X-Factors

The first X-factor is “training age”.  Ever hear of “newbie gains?” The less trained your body is and the further you are from your genetic potential, the easier it is to gain muscle. The reverse is also true – an advanced bodybuilder with 20 years experience would be thrilled just to gain a few pounds of solid dry muscle in a year!

The second x factor is muscle memory. It’s easier to regain muscle you’ve lost than it is to gain new muscle in the first place (ergo, the fat out of shape semi retired bodybuilder who starts training again and blows up and gets ripped “overnight”).

The third X factor is genetics (or somatotype). Ever heard of the “genetic freak?” That’s the dude who sprouts muscle like weeds even when he’s on the “50-50 diet” (50% McDonald’s and 50% pizza)… and he never gets fat. (That dude chose the right parents!)

The fourth X factor is drugs. It would stun (or sadden) you if you knew how many people take performance and physique-enhancing drugs. I’m not just talking about pro bodybuilders, I’m talking about “Joe six pack” in the gym – not to mention those fitness models you idolize in the magazines. How did they get large muscle gains with concurrent fat loss? Chemicals.

I’m not a gambling man, but I’ll place a wager on this any day: I’ll bet that in 99% of the cases of large muscle gains with concurrent large fat losses, one or more of these x factors were present.

That’s not all! There are actually 5 more X factors related to your body composition and diet status (the X2 factors). But I’ll have to talk about those later.

So you’re not a beginner, you don’t take roids, you’re not a genetic freak and you have no muscle memory to take advantage of. Are you S.O.L? Well, I do want you to be realistic about your goals, but…

There IS a way for the average person to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

The Secret: You have to change your “temporal perspective!”

Traditionally nutritionists and fitness pros have only looked at calorie balance in terms of 24 hour periods. At midnight, you could tally up the calories like a shopkeeper closing out his register, and if the balance were positive, you’d say you were in a surplus for the day. If the balance were negative, you’d say you were in a deficit for the day.

But it’s entirely possible that you might pass through periods of “within-day” surplus where you were in a highly anabolic state (for example, you eat the biggest, highest carb meal of the day after your workout), and you were in a deficit the rest of the day.

If you did intense weight training, and you timed your nutrient intake appropriately, Isn’t it possible that you could gain a small amount of muscle during those anabolic hours, while losing fat the rest of the day? Granted it might only be grams or ounces – but what if you kept that up for a week? A month? Three months?

As you pan out and look at the bigger picture, what if most days of the week you were in a deficit for the entire day, and on some days you were in a surplus? If so, then isn’t it possible that over the course of the week, you’d have a small net gain of muscle and loss of body fat a a result of the caloric fluctuation?

These within-day and within-week phases are called microcycles and mesocycles. If you also had a primary goal with a longer term focus of several months, say 12 weeks or 16 weeks, that would be a macrocycle.

What I’ve just described is nutritional periodization. Some people call it cyclical dieting. it’s where you manipulate your calories (primarily by fluctuating carbohydrate intake, hence “carb cycling”) in order to intentionally zig zag your way through periods of surplus and deficit and create specific hormonal responses.

The end result: muscle gain and fat loss during the same time period!

I know that someone out there is having a hissy fit because I’ve only talked about calories: deficits and surpluses. Rightfully so. Calories matter but there’s more to it than calories – most importantly, hormones and “nutrient partitioning.”

If you’re in a calorie deficit you are going to pull energy from your body.The question is: From WHERE? If your hormones are out of whack and you’re eating crap, you could lose more muscle than fat in a deficit and gain almost pure fat, not muscle, in a surplus!

But WHAT IF you could manipulate within day energy balance, use nutritional periodization AND control your hormones with food and lifestyle strategies?

AHA! NOW you can see how concurrent muscle gain and fat loss are starting to look possible!

Make no mistake – concurrent muscle gain and fat loss is a difficult goal to achieve. The good news: difficult does not mean impossible. Or as George Santayana said, “The difficult is that which can be done immediately, the impossible, that which takes a little longer.”

The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program: How to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat at The Same Time

You can learn more about gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time in Tom Venuto’s new e-book called, “The Holy Grail Body Transformation System.”

You’ll learn all about nutritional periodization, cyclical dieting, hormonal manipulation, within day energy balance, nutrient partitioning, AND the all the X factors, including the 5 “X2-Factors” – which are the keys to gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

You’ll also get Tom’s new “TNB” training system, as seen in Men’s Fitness magazine (the complete, expanded version that Men’s Fitness didn’t have room to print).

Get a copy directly off the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle Inner Circle store.

Frankly, I’m puzzled…

Free Bodybuilding Books

As to why these 3 fitness experts (not internet marketers):

• Marc Lobliner, CPT
• Chuck Rudolph MEd, RD
• Derek “The Beast” Charlebois, CPT

Would be giving away a collection of nutrition and training manuals
that rival the systems people spend $97 or more.  It’s called the
Scivation Library and it could very well be the greatest gold mind
of bodybuilding information.

When I say ‘Giving Away’ I mean:

1. NO Information Collection of Any Kind
2. NO annoying guy with rock music asking you for stuff
3. NO stupid videos of bodybuilders making fools of themselves

Valuable Library Includes: (direct download; right click save as)
http://scivation.com/books/

• Bulking for Endomorph, Ectomorph and Mesomorphs
• Cutting Competition Diet Manual
• Pre-Contest Preparation
• Lean Muscle Bodybuilding
• 12 Week Female Fitness Program
• The Diet Solution (burn fat and build muscle year round)
• and more

If you’ve been scratching your head lately on how to get below 10%
body fat or you’ve contemplated a bodybuilding show or even if you
just want to know how do those guys and gals completely transform
their physiques?  Here’s a great resource I think you will love
called …

“The Books You Need for the Body of Your Dreams”

http://scivation.com/books/

Disclaimer: I’m not going to lie.  It is a download off of a
supplement company website.  It was created by experts in the
field.  If you can look past the promotional pitches (they are
entitled to it for the work they did this collection) I think
you’ll find this to be a startling resource.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. - I’m an not affiliated with Scivation in any way.  I do not
take or endorse the products.  Nobody approached me to write this
and I’m not asking for anything in return.  I’m simply amazed at
the wealth of knowledge in the PDFs.  I hope you will find them
useful and browse thru them at a later time.

Question:

“This is a bunch of supplement ads!  I can’t believe you’d promote this?”

Answer:

“You obviously don’t see past the marketing.  Why don’t you go buy the latest program for $97 which will tell you 100x less by a person who can’t deadlift over 400 lbs on the best of days.  They’ll be richer and you’ll feel better.”

Question:

“The graphics for those ebooks are horrible.  LOL… they need to hire a graphics person.”

Answer:

“Actually they don’t.  They are bodybuilders.  Not Internet Marketers. “

Negative Effects of Caffeine

I’ve got a confession to make! I’m a coffee-holic. Ever since I bought myself a Keurig single cup brewer, I’ve been drinking more coffee than ever before. I love the machine but it may be the death of me.

I’m sure by now you are well aware the benefits of moderate caffeine consumption. What you may not be aware of is potential problems with consuming too much caffeine.

As a quick reminder, here’s the average breakdown of some typical beverages that contain caffeine.

Average Caffeine Content in Coffee Beverages:

• Starbucks Tall: 260 mg
• Keurig K-cup: 200 mg
• Drip coffee: 115–175 mg
• Espresso: 100 mg
• Brewed: 80–135 mg
• Instant: 65–100 mg
• Decaf, Keurig K-cup: 3-5 mg
• Decaf, brewed: 3–4 mg
• Decaf, instant: 2–3 mg

Moderate doses of caffeine demonstrates positive benefits.

Moderate being defined as 200-300 mg of caffeine per day. For drip coffee, that might be 1 to 2 cups a day but for a K-cup lover like myself, it changes the scope of my habit. For those who make trips to Starbucks or Peet’s, the playing field is isn’t the same as instant coffee your parents drank in 1970. This is true for the wide range of sugary caffeinated beverages in existence today that simply did not exist a decade ago.

Moderate Caffeine Consumption = 200 – 300 mg per day

In my college days, I could suck down 3 cups of Folgers ground coffee without a problem and still be under 400 mg a day. The source of the caffeine came from cheaper, less potent, store brands. Of course, the taste wasn’t all that good but the caffeine levels overall were much lower.

Here’s just a few of the higher caffeine beverages on the market that will take you to the upper levels of moderate into heavy consumption with just ONE serving.

Heavy Caffeine Consumption = 500 – 600 mg per day

• 5150 Juice: 500 mg
• Fixx Extreme: 400 mg
• Boo-Koo Energy: 360 mg
• Redline Power Rush: 350 mg
• Spike Double Shot: 350 mg
• Spike Shotgun: 350 mg
• Wired X344: 344 mg
• Rockstar Punched Guava: 330 mg
• Starbucks Grande Coffee: 330 mg
• All City NRG: 300 mg
• Speed Stack Pumped N.O.: 300 mg
• SPIKE Shooter: 300 mg

** There may be other additives in these drinks including sugar (topic for another post ) but the primary focus is on caffeine consumption. **

While moderate caffeine consumption probably won’t cause harm for most of the population unless you are extremely sensitive to caffeine, too much can noticeably affect your health. Heavy daily caffeine use — more than 500 to 600 mg a day, or about four to seven cups of coffee — can cause:

Negative Effects of Caffeine:

• Insomnia
• Nervousness
• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Nausea or other gastrointestinal problems
• Fast or irregular heartbeat
• Muscle tremors
• Headaches
• Anxiety

Worried that you might be a heavy user of caffeine or going beyond the 600 mg per day?

If you want to change your caffeine habits, you can try some or all of the following suggestions:

• Track Your Consumption – Such an obvious statement but in the example that I mentioned above, as the situation changes, you should re-evaluate your consumption habits. What started off at 3 cups of regular ground coffee and is now 3 K-cups a day is a drastically different level of caffeine consumption.
• Reduce Your Usage – Instead of 3 cups, try just 2. Reducing your consumption in little amounts over time will bring you back to normal levels without making a drastic or major cutback. 1 less cup of coffee could make all the difference.
• Switch to Decaf – Love your coffee? Switch to a decaffeinated option. While it still has small amounts of caffeine, it’s enough to bring you from heavy usage back to moderate.

Caffeine offers many health benefits in moderate amounts between 200 – 300 mg per day. But, when you reach 600 mg a day, you’ve hit the upper limits of Heavy consumption. At this point, it would be wise to take some of the recommendations above to limit your usage. As with most supplements, some is good, more is not better.

Recommended Resources for more Nutrition Facts for Coffee:

Coffee and Health

Coffee: Is it healthier than you think?

 Loading ...

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

List of High Protein Foods

When it comes to an easy to use list of high protein foods, it’s super simple if you break it down into categories.  Adding protein to your meals is simply a must.  Not with protein shakes but whole foods.  Using the list below, you can easily obtain the protein you need per day for muscle building.  There’s no reason you can’t get all your protein needs or close to it by consuming whole foods.

If you aren’t sure about how much protein do you need a day to build muscle, that’s a topic covered in a previous blog post.  Be sure you know what you need and then simply use these foods to ensure you are supporting your muscle building efforts.

Important Note: Not all proteins are created equal.  This is just a list of high protein foods.  Some proteins listed will have more fat.  Some will require more servings than other high but higher fat and calorie dense proteins.  However, by looking at this list, you can see that if you design your meals correctly, you an easily get enough protein from whole foods sources without needing weight gainer shakes or protein shakes to consume your daily totals.

Animal Protein: 40z uncooked

• Lamb loin: 32.1g (4oz roasted)
• Buffalo (bison) steak, top round: 26.3g
• round, top, lean (select): 26.1g
• Elk (game meat): 25.9g
• round, eye of, lean (select): 25.2g
• sirloin, top, lean (select): 25g
• tenderloin (filet): 25g
• ground, 95% lean: 24.3g
• Buffalo (bison) steak, top sirloin: 24.2g
• flank steak, lean (select): 24.2g
• round, tip, lean (select): 24.2g
• Pork tenderloin: 23.6g
• ground, 90% lean: 22.7g

Seafood:

• Salmon, wild Alaskan: 28.8g
• Tuna, Yellow fin (tuna steak): 26.5g
• Tuna, canned in water, albacore: 26g
• Tuna, canned in water, chunk light: 26g
• Shrimp: 23g
• Mackerel, canned in olive oil: 24g
• Squid: 17g

Poultry: 4oz uncooked

• Turkey breast, skinless: 33.9g
• Turkey, ground 99% lean: 28g
• Ostrich steak: 28g
• Chicken breast, light meat, skinless, 99% lean: 26g
• Venison steak (deer meat): 25.9g
• Chicken breast, ground, lean: 24g
• Chicken breast, canned: 18g

Starchy Vegetables, Grains, Beans and Legumes:

• Lentils: 9g
• Beans, Adzuki, canned, 1/2 cup: 8.7g
• Lima beans, canned: 7g
• Beans, black, canned: 7g
• Beans, Garbanzo (chickpeas), canned: 7g
• Beans, navy, canned: 7g
• Rice, wild, dry: 6.5g per cup
• Black eye peas, canned: 6g
• Beans, pinto, canned: 6g
• Oatmeal, old-fashioned (no sugars added): 5g
• Potato, white: 4.2g
• Pumpkin, canned: 3.6g

Dairy:

• Cottage cheese, 1% low fat: 17.5g
• Cheddar, low fat, block: 18g per 2 inch cube
• Cottage cheese, 2% low fat: 15.5g
• Milk, skim, 1 cup: 8g
• Milk, 1% low fat; 1cup: 8g
• Milk, 2% low fat, 1 cup: 8.1g
• Cottage cheese, non-fat: 16.2g

Breads, Cereal, Pasta and Grains:

• Bagel, plain, whole wheat: 12g
• Bagel, plan, whole wheat high fiber: 11g
• Bagel, multi-grain: 11g
• Quinoa, uncooked: 10g
• Brown rice (boil in the bag): 9.3g
• Shredded Wheat, spoon size (boxed cold cereal): 6g
• Bulgar (whole grain), dry: 8.6g
• Oat bran (hot cereal): 6g
• Tortilla, multi-grain, low fat: 7g
• Spaghetti, whole wheat, uncooked: 9g

Fruit:

• Goji berries (wolfberries), dried: 4g
• Cantaloupe (melon): 2.3g
• Cherries, pitted: 2g
• Pear: 1g
• Lemon: 1.3g
• Raspberries: 1.2g
• Watermelon: 1g

Fibrous Vegetables and Greens:

• Broccoli, raw, chopped: 4.6g
• Artichoke, fresh, edible portions: 4.2g
• Kale, raw, chopped: 2.2g
• Peas, green, frozen: 4g
• Turnip, greens: 2.4g
• Brussels sprouts, raw, chopped: 3g
• Leeks raw: 1.6g

Fats, Oils, Nuts and Seeds:

• Hemp seeds: 11.4g
• Pumpkin seeds, shelled, roasted: 9.4g
• Peanuts, raw: 8.6g
• Almonds, raw: 7g
• Sunflower seed, shelled: 7g
• Sesame seeds, whole, dried: 6g

Getting enough protein is simple to do when you know what foods will give you the most bang for your buck.   My #1 rule is that if you are trying to build muscle, you should not be consuming more than 20% of your daily protein needs thru liquid sources.  That means, if you find yourself getting most of your protein thru supplement shakes, you are simply approaching it incorrectly.  The choice of your foods will make all the difference.

Additional Resources of Foods High in Protein:

• List of High Protein Foods from Common Sense Health
• List of High-Protein Foods and Amount of Protein in Each
• List of High Protein Foods from the Harvard School of Public Health
• Best High Protein Foods
• Foods High in Protein: Top 10 Healthy Choices

The above list is a guide not a definitive resource.  There’s many sample meals plans and pre-fabricated muscle building meal plans you can download.  Then you take those plans, and adjust as necessary.  Add more servings or cut servings.  If you want a support community including a complete list of foods that any sane bodybuilder would recommend, check out the Burn The Fat Inner Circle community.

A Quick Tour of the Burn The Fat Kitchen.

You’ll be able to download an entire food list of approved bodybuilding foods broken down into:

1. Food items
2. Quantity
3. Weight
4. Calories
5. Protein
6. Carbs
7. Fats
8. Fiber

Only 6 pages in length, the list of approved foods beats any database currently in existence for the bodybuilder.  It’s a 6 page grocery shoppers dream (used for shopping online for in the store).  You’ll never wonder what foods you should buy to build muscle or burn fat.

You’ll find this Burn The Fat Inner Circle foods list among many other tools, a support community and a selection of the top fitness experts in the world.  There’s no reason you have to do this journey alone without expert advice and the tools you need.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Protein H2O: 10g of Whey Isolate Protein

Protein H2O comes from Cytosport, the makers of Muscle Milk.  This beverage is set to compete with other flavored protein waters currently on the market.  Shown here are just 2 of the 5 flavors.  Grape and Grapefuits.  This is 60 calories and 10g of whey protein isolate.

The #1 ingredient?

• purified water

Nutrition Facts:

• Serving Size: 16 fl oz
• Servings per Container: 1
• Calories per serving: 60
• Total Fat: 0g
• Sodium: 25mg
• Potassium: 50mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 6g
• Dietary Fiber: 5g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 10g
• Calcium: 6%

Ingredients:

Purified water, whey protein isolate (derived from milk), digestive resistant maltodextrin, (soluble dietary fiber), natural flavors, fruit and vegetable juice extract (color), phosphoric acid, citric acid, sucralose, potassium citrate, sodium citrate.  Gluten Free

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

How Often to Post?

It pains me to even ask such a stupid and simple question but I’m not writing posts just to entertain myself.  Although at times, I’m sure that is the impression.

Simple question really and I know there is no one answer but being who I am, I’ve got to ask anyway.  Some people enjoy longer posts.  Some enjoy more frequent short content to relevant issues.

How Often to You Want to See a New Post?

 Loading ...

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com