Saving Money on Meals

Probably one of the most common question asked by people is " How much do you eat in a day?" Surprisingly, not what - although of course people do ask that, too- but how much. 

To me, this shows just how much people are worried about whether they're eating enough or not.

I am a full-time student at Monash University Malaysia and I live in Lagoon View Resort Condominium which is located in between campus and Sunway Pyramid (place that I usually get my groceries from). Sometimes people, mostly fellow students will casually ask me the question. When I reply, "5-6 meals per day and between 2,400- 2,800 calories." the person is astounded. Then they'll give me reasons like "I don't have enough time" or  "it's too expensive to eat like that."

My thoughts: false, and false. As a student myself, I know excuses like those can be simply thrown to avoid being held responsible for your own bad decisions. I can tell you that I've both run the numbers and put them to the test in the real world. No matter who you are or where you live, you can do this!

The Four Kitchen Essentials

Before you get rolling in the kitchen, you're going to need to outfit yourself with a few essential appliances: a microwave, an oven, a rice cooker and a large grill pan. You probably already have access to the first of those things, but trust me, the other three are just as important to spice things up.

They allow you to prepare - in large quantities, I might add- all that is necessary to eat according to your desired macros  in a university setting. Other electrical appliances like blender is nice to have, but they aren't necessary and most apartment won't provide it.

Below are the basic meals I prepare in each of the essential kitchen appliances. I highly encourage you to do some research to find recipes that fit  your taste buds.

1. Microwave
I use my microwave to reheat all of my meals. Besides that, I also use it to cook red potatoes and sweet potatoes, both of which can be considered as my staple food. To cook any kind of potato in the microwave, make sure you do the following:

 1. Rinse and scrub the potato with your hands in water at room temperature. Potatoes are grown in          the ground, so they usually have a little dirt on the skin, and they typically come in mesh bags,            they'll also pick up other contaminants along the way. Obviously cooking them at high                        temperature will kill the bacteria , but who wants to eat dirt?

 2. Using a knife or a fork, poke a few holes in each potato to ensure even distribution of heat                   throughout the whole potato.

 3. Place the potatoes into a microwaveable container and fill the container with water until it reach         approximately half of the potatoes. Cover the container with a lid but make sure that lid is not             fully sealing the container.

 4. The cook time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes and the settings of the microwave,
     but a rough estimation would be around 4 min each side.

Check the readiness with a knife; if you can put it through the potato with relative ease, you're good to go. If your knife stops or becomes hard to push, pop the potato back into the microwave for another couple of minutes.

Purple Sweet Potato with Wasabi sauce and baked chicken 

2. Oven

We all know how busy a university workload can get, which is why the oven is a must-have for me. You just simply wrap the tray with an aluminium foil and place your seasoned protein source and pop it in the oven and forgot about it.

Beyond being convenient time-wise, cooking with an oven makes your meats leaner; the fat will melt away into the juice/sauce you're cooking in. It also keep things interesting, because the combinations of meats and sauces are infinite.

My favourite meat by far to cook in an oven for a long period of time is the pork tenderloin, because it gets so tender and easy to eat as it just melt in your mouth. But there are thousands of recipes out there, so I encourage you to try your favourite meats and discover the ones you like.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin wrapped with Beef slices

This is the basic process:

1. Preheat your oven to around 200 deg and wrap the tray with aluminium foil so that the meat wont stick on the tray and you could avoid any washing. ( Fuck washing !!)

2. If the meat is too thick, make a few cut throughout along the meat so that cooking process will be even. Cover the meat with a thin layer of oil (optional) and spice it up with any seasoning of preference.

Chicken Breasts

3. Pop it in the oven and let it cook! The meat will take around 15-20 mins to be cooked at 200-250degs.

4. After your meat finished cooking, retrieve the meat with a fork and dump the remaining content down the drain.

Roasted Beef

Besides that, if you are craving for some fries, one of the best way to indulge in the healthy version of it by oven-baking with minimal oil and salt.

This is the basic process:

1. Wash and lightly scrub the potatoes with running water. Remove the skin of the potatoes because it may contain dirt or any contaminants.

2. Cut the potatoes into preferable sizes with almost similar thickness to ensure all the potatoes are cooked evenly at the same time. Use a fork to pierce the slightly thicker potatoes (optional).

3. Drizzle some oil (olive, canola, coconut- your choice) on the potatoes. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper and toss the potatoes around so that the seasoning are spread equally.

4. Pop it into the oven for around 20 mins at 200-250 deg. When the edges are golden-brown, it's ready to go!

Baked sweet potato + Steak 

3. Rice Cooker  

It is basically an electric pot that you just plug in. Follow the directions that come on the rice of your choice. A couple of tips:

1. Put a bouillon cube in with your rice and water. It will give your rice a better flavour without adding calories.

2. Dress your rice up with different vegetables and sauces.My favourites are red bean and pesto.





4. Electric grill / grill pan

It depends whether you have a stove in your apartment, but if you do, you could get the grill pan and if you don't, the electric grill would be your best bet. Get the biggest one you can get, so you can cook a lot of food at one time.

Some of my favourites to make on the grill are lean beef burger patties, steak, and chicken breasts. Because of the design, excess fat runs off, making it acceptable to use fattier cuts of meat.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Steak

That's my kind of salad ;) 

Stretch The Meat You Eat

This would probably cost around RM 60-70 if you were to eat out in Sunway Pyramid.

Buy what's on sale and plan your meals around that, rather than planning a meal and then buying the ingredients at full price. If you've space in your house or apartment, a small freezer can help you squeeze more than one meal out of a bulk buy.

Meat is the perfect item to buy big and freeze for a period of time. For instance, I would grab all of the meat at 50% off in Jusco and store them in the fridge/ freezer. Two pieces of 7-8 oz chicken breasts cost RM 8-10, originally, half the price would be RM 4-5 for two meals ! If you have access to any wet market or wholesale stores, that would be the best.

Canned Tuna in water or extra virgin olive oil should also be on your menu somewhere. It is low in fat, high in protein , and can be purchased at a normal price of RM 5.40 per canned with approximately 33grams of protein. That is relatively cheap compared to the price of food in Sunway which ranged from RM 7-10 per meal and it doesn't provide sufficient amount of nutrients for your building muscle-goal.

Make Cents of Carbs

The good thing about carbs is that they are relatively cheap.

You cant go wrong with rice. I eat a lot of it, probably almost every meal; a cup or more a meal. I don't really eat brown rice anymore because if you understand glycemic load- you would too. A bag of 10kg white rice costs around RM 30-40 and it could last for a month or two.

Potatoes cost RM 0.19 per 100 grams - perfect. 28 medium size potatoes cost me around RM 8- 9 and it will last about 2 meals a day for one week. 2 medium size potatoes consists of approximately 40 grams of carbs and about 160 calories.

Say Yes To Sauce

I've seen bodybuilders in magazines who eat their plain chicken breast, plain rice, plain everything. Honestly, you could do the same if you want to but I can't because I know it will be a matter of time before I breakdown and start to snack on other junk food. I need a little bit of flavour in my life, That means sauce, dressing or anything to spice things up a little.

I know what you're thinking, but sauce isn't a big deal. You've got to have a little salt in your food, or pepper, or whatever spices you want, You don't need to choke down that super-plain , dry chicken breast.

Remember, you have to enjoy the process and it's not all about suffering 24 hours a day. Spice it up.
 
Eating Big On A Budget

Meal 1

Meal 2

Meal 3

Whey Protein - 1 or 2 scoops

Meal 4

Meal 5

Note: You do not have to eat that many meals in a day, provided that you can ensure that you consume all the macro's that you need for your fitness goals. Personally, I can't eat like that all the time during the semester; sometimes I cook, sometimes I eat out. There must always be a balance.

Tonight We Squat in Hell

Finally exams are over and I am BACK!!

I decided to cut down on my calories by around 400cals during my study break and it felt terrible especially when I study, I will go on for 4-5 hours straight. 

Planning my workout schedule was one of my major concern during the semester because classes can start at 8-9 am to late evening around 6 with little breaks in between. I will save this for another article on how I managed to maintain my strength and my grades ;) ;)

Today was the first day after my exams that I trained my legs and I always incorporate major compound movements like Squat in my workout regime. 

The Squat requires great strength throughout all the prime movers and great technique. Great squatters have tremendous strength from head to toe; the quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, core and entire back must be well developed for a successful lift.

Key technical points in the squat are:

1. The closer you can put your hands to each other on the bar, the easier it will be to have a tight setup. Make sure your elbows are inside your hands to maintain tightness. Using a thumbless grip often improves the comfort of a close hand position. 

2. Squeeze your elbows towards the middle of your body to enhance upper back tightness in the setup . Once you squeeze them towards your body as hard as possible, force them forwards under the bar. There will be very little movement of the elbow forward if you are doing a good job of squeezing them in. 

3. Get some air into your midsection by focusing on breathing into your low back, this will eventually create 360 degrees of pressure. Besides that, get air before you bring the bar out of the rack with your hips. 

4. The walkout should normally be achieved in 3 steps max and it also can be achieved in 2. Step back with your off foot, set your dominant foot and then make any re-positions of your off foot necessary to find your stand. 

5. Once your feet are set, take more air into your midsection by breathing into your low back before descending, while also flexing your glutes hard to neutral your spine and squeezing the bar hard in your hands.

6. Focus on maintaining 3 even points on contact at your feet throughout the lift. Weight should be evenly distributed through big toe, little toe and heel. There will be some forward movement on the knees in the lift and that is fine. 

7. Focus and commit to the descent of the lift. Going down as fast as possible is critical to take advantage of the stretch reflex and avoid expending unnecessary energy on the way down. This doesn't mean you should drop the weight in an uncontrolled manner. You need to descend as quickly as your TECHNIQUE can hold up to. 

8. Keeping the knees in line with the toes or slightly outside is valuable to create torque in the hips. "Knees out" though is often not the proper cue to achieve this as it causes the lifter to shift the weight to the outside of their feet and lose the 3 points of contact. 

9. The last thing to move during the descend is the lift, so it should be the first thing to move on the way up. Keep your chest up out of the hole by driving your head and shoulder back into the bar. Also drive your elbows forward under the bar as you initiate the drive out of the hole.

10. Focus on accelerating the bar throughout the concentric movement all the way to the top of the lift. The bar doesn't need to actually jump off your back but the intent should be there.

Muscle Memory

What Is Muscle Memory?

We all know that if you lift weights and stop lifting for a few months (3-6 months), you will eventually lose strength and muscle. However, if you start training back again, you will gain back the lost muscle or strength within a few weeks- as if the muscle remembers where you left off. This phenomenon is called muscle memory.

Past

We used to believe this is largely due to the nervous system mechanisms in our body. Well, the nervous system mechanisms may explain the strength gains, but it doesn't explain how you can gain back the muscle size so quickly. 

But recent studies show that we might have finally solved the mystery of muscle memory.

 

How did they solve it?

Unlike other cells, muscle cells have more than one nucleus (probably thousands). So why do muscles need so many nuclei? This is due to the fact that nucleus is basically what controls the cell and since your muscle are a lot bigger and way more complex than other cells in the body, one or two nuclei just won't do the job. So, when your muscles get bigger, you have to add more muscle nucleus. The increase in nucleus with muscle growth has been shown in quite a number of studies. It has been shown that people who take steroid and people who grow muscles easily have a lot more muscle nuclei than normal people do. 

Just like muscle growth, we believed that when we lose muscle, the opposite happens- we lose some muscle nuclei since there is no reason for the extra nuclei to sit around. This was also supported in studies which showed as muscle shrinks in size, the number of nucleus decreases too. 

Now here comes the surprise. 

However, recent studies using different animal models showed that as muscle atrophies or shrink due to inactivity or detraining (until 3 months), there is no loss of muscle nuclei as we previously thought! As shown in the picture below, the muscle size decreased b 50% (lines) but the muscle nuclei count (stained with green dye) remained the same.

Since now the muscles has the same number of muscle nuclei after we stopped training, it is relatively easy to build the muscle back to its previous size. So these muscle nuclei seems to acts like 'memory cells' due to the fact that they know how much muscle you had before you stopped training. 

But why did we think muscle nuclei die with muscle loss?

The recent studies used a different approach and technique to study these nuclei. In previous studies, they were actually counting nuclei which belonged to the connective tissues and other cells (satellite cells) and these nuclei do in fact die with detraining. So researchers mistakenly assumed that the muscle nuclei die with muscle loss. But these weren't actual muscle nuclei as the missing nuclei are those belonged to the connective tissues as explained above. The recent studies only counted the actual muscle nuclei and showed no loss. 

Carbohydrate: Glycemic Index

What Is The Glycemic Index

Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (their conversion to glucose within the human body). GI uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose serves as a reference point and is give a GI of 100.

Some foods raise blood sugar more than other which means they have a relatively high GI compared to other food of equivalent amount. Our bodies respond to high blood sugar with a high dose of insulin (negatively feedback mechanism) - a hormone which takes sugar out of the blood stream and delivers it to the cells. High level of insulin (besides it makes you craving for more food and fucking sleepy when you want to study) can enhance the risk for a number of undesired health conditions, like Metabolic Syndrome and Type II Diabetes,

As you can see from the figure above, meals containing carbohydrates-rich foods with a high GI tend to give a more rapid and higher rise in blood glucose then meals with a low GI. Moreover, the low GI meal result in a moderate increase in blood glucose that is prolonged compared to that seen after a meal with a high GI food, thus providing a steady and continuous supply of energy for the body. 

How to lower the GI value of your meal

• Combining high GI foods with low GI foods
• High protein content
• High fiber content
• Lemon (2 tablespoon of lemon may reduce GI of a meal by 30%)
• Fat (however it isn't the best way for decreasing GI if you are looking for a low calorie solution).

We don't have to worry too much about consuming high GI food (especially you're an undergraduate who is trying to balance your university workloads, your nutrition and workout), because combining it with low GI foods levels out the overall GI value and results in an average GI value. The overall GI value of different foods in a meal is what really matters. For example, eating potato (high GI) with salad (low GI) lowers GI to an average value, so it is better to eat them together rather than eating potato in itself. Another good solution is to consume high GI carbohydrates with proteins (low GI) in order to decrease the GI of our meal.

Make sure you're clear that even though you're consuming low GI foods, it doesn't mean that you are in the correct path to weight loss provided the total calories consumed is less than the total calories used.  

Why Is Glycemic Index Important?

Your body performs best when your blood sugar is kept relatively constant. If your blood sugar drops too low, you become lethargic and experience increased hunger. If your blood glucose level goes too high, your brain signals your pancreas to secrete more insulin and it will bring your blood sugar down, by primarily converting the excess sugar to stored fat. Also, the greater the rate of increase in your blood sugar, the more chance that your body will release an excess amount of insulin, and drive your blood sugar back down too low. 

Therefore, when you eat foods that cause a large and rapid glycemic response, you may feel an initial elevation in energy and mood as your blood sugar rises, but this is followed by a cycle of increased fat storage, lethargy, and more hunger!

Although increased fat storage may sound bad enough, individuals with diabetes (diabetes mellitus, types 1 and 2) have an even worse complication. Their bodies inability to secrete or process insulin causes their blood sugar to rise too high, leading to a host of additional medical problems.

Should All High-GI Foods be Avoided?

For non-diabetics, there are times when a rapid increase in blood sugar (and the corresponding increase in insulin may be desirable. For example, after strenuous physical activity, insulin also helps move glucose into muscle cells, where it aids tissues repair. Because of this, it is recommended to consume high-GI foods immediately after exercise to speed recovery

Also, it's not Glycemic Index alone that leads to the increase in blood sugar. Equally important is the amount of the food that you consume. The concept of glycemic index combined with total intake is referred to as "Glycemic Load".

How Glycemic Load (GL) Improves the Glycemic Index (GI)

GI is calculated based on food food servings with 50g of carbohydrate and those serving sizes are nt the amount a person might normally eat, thus the concept of the glycemic load (GL) was created. 

The formula for calculating glycemic load is as shown below:

Example:

• Spaghetti (GI= 40): 1 cup contains 52 grams of carbohydrate. The glycemic load of spaghetti is :     (40 X 52)/100= 20.8
• Apple (GI=40): 1 medium size apple contains 15 grams of carbohydrate. The glycemic load of an apple is : (40 X 15)/100= 6

This shows how a high GI food can have a low GL in the amounts normally eaten. 

Low -GI foods may be a good choice before endurance sports, while high-GI foods could aid recovery after strenuous participation in any activity. 

Conclusion:

GI and GL have equally important influence on how fast the food is digested, thus affecting our blood sugar in our body. We must also be aware that there are numerous factors that comes into play when affecting the total GI of our meal, hence don't be that person who feels that it's the end of the world when he/she could only have white rice instead of their brown rice. Moderation and Improvisation is key.  

Creatine Monohydrate: 101 guide

For as long as I'm concerned, there's still confusion surrounded Creatine Monohydrate and people have linked it to getting naturally unattainable physiques with harmful side effects. So the question here: Is creatine safe and effective, or is it dangerous and over-hyped?

Crea-What?
Let's begin at the top. Creatine mono isn't some super chemical created by a bodybuilding Tony Stark. It's actually an organic acid found naturally in food, and it exists in significant quantities in poultry and fish.

Creatine is nitrogenous, which means it's nitrogen-containing and is made from a combination of 3 amino acids: Glycine, Methionine and Arginine.

In humans, approximately 95% of creatine is stored in our skeletal muscle where it exists as creatine phosphate and they are also known as a phosphate donor during certain metabolic processes. We'll discuss the importance of this in greater detail soon.

Crea-Who?
If you're wondering whether you can benefit from creatine supplementation,consider your fitness goals. Creatine will give the extra edge to people who are looking to maximize muscles, strength and performacne gains.

So, if you're trying to get bigger, stronger and maybe even lift heavier, creatine can help. If you're not trying to do any of these things, go take a nap and come back when you're ready.

Read more on How Creatine Boost Brain Power

The Energizer
Creatine support these goals because it can be used as a source for anaerobic work, which includes high-intensity weight training or any HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) like sprinting.

Supplementing with creatine has been shown to significantly increase the concentration of creatine in the muscle. Recall that, creatine is found as creatine phosphate in the muscle and can act as a phosphate donor. Our body's energy currency- a molecule called Adenosine Tri-Phosphate or commonly known as ATP- happens to use phosphate to power certain cellular processes.

During exercise, ATP is broken down to Adenosine Di-Phosphate (ADP), where it loses one of its phosphate molecules. The loss of the phosphate essentially provides the energy to power your cells during any activity.

As the training prolonged, your ATP stores become depleted, performance can suffer. Creatine Phosphate can help restore ATP by donating its phosphate to ADP to reform ATP. In this way, creatine can help improve performance and has also been shown to increase strength and power.

Size Matters
While all this performance and strength stuff sounds great, I'm sure you may be wondering what creatine will actually do to your body.

Creatine has also been shown to increase lean body mass, mostly through increasing the fluid content of muscle cells. While this may seem like an artificial increase in lean body mass, keep in mind that muscles cells that are better hydrated are also more anabolic.

Additionally, creatine has been shown to increase the activity of muscle satellite cells, which may increase the overall capacity for long-term muscle growth.

Read more here

So Many Options!
Every few years, it seems like the latest and greatest form of creatine comes out. Creatine monohydrates is the most common, and the most studied, form of creatine on the planet. It has proven its worth in research time and time again.

Fortunately for you, creatine mono is generally the least expensive form of creatine available, so it's good for the muscle and the wallet.

How Much, Man?
There are two traditional ways of taking creatine monohydrates. You can take 3-5g per day (depending on muscle mass), which will saturate your intramuscular creatine stores in a few weeks. Or, you can load creatine at 15-25g for the first 45 days, which will saturate the muscle cells more rapidly.

While the latter (loading) saturates the muscle cells at a rapid rate, the downside is that you do not assimilate the majority of that creatine, so those on a budget may consider it wasteful.

Timing is...

Numerous people consune creatine post-workout since it's been speculated that taking creatine after training will lead to better uptake of creatine into the muscle.

In all likehood, however, this is splitting hairs. Consistent supplementation of creatine at 3-5g per day has been shown to saturate the muscle cells, mostly regardless of time consumed, so you can consume your creatine whenever it's most convenient. Personally for me, I would consume around 10g pre- and 10g post-.

What To Choose
Based on current research, It appears that creatine monohydrates is the most effective creatine product available on the market today. If you are going to spring a few extra dollars for anything, then go for a micronized form of creatine monohydrate to improve mix-ability.

Other Sides To The Story
When creatine was introduced to the market as a supplement in the early 90s, many anecdotal and theoretical side effects were brought up as potential concerns- including kidney and liver problems, dehydration and cramping. Thus far, short- and long- term research studies have demonstrated no side effects of recommended creatine use on kidney, liver and/or the heart. Additionally, creatine has not been shown to increase the incidence of cramping.

There is some evidence that creatine can increase dihydrotestosterone levels. Some have theorized that this may cause an increase in acne, but his has yet to be demonstrated.

Finally, strong anecdotal evidence exists that some users may experience gastrointestinal distress when loading creatine. This is likely caused by excess creatine intake exceeding the GI tract's capability to absorb it, which could lead to gas and cramping due to the excess creatine.

If you experience GI distress during creatine loading phase, try reducing your creatine intake until you reach a comfortable level of intake.Alternatively, skip loading entirely.

Lastly, If your physician has advised you against using creatine, then you should avoid it.

Getting Certified

Sorry guys if you're following my fitness blog and hoping to read new stuff everyday. The thing is when I decided to open up this blog, I wanted to make it a regular thing to constantly post up fitness advice/tips or anything related ;), but 24 hours in a day is just not enough for me to sit down happily scratching my balls and write up a post.

Early this year, I decided to sign up for the ACE (American Council on Exercise) PT certification and I could say that it was one of the best experience in my life to be sitting in a room with people who share common lifestyle as I do.

In the first part, this course basically brief you through the code of ethics of a personal trainer in which greatly emphasize on the word "Rapport". Any personal trainer could explain the scientific theories or demonstrate a movement to their client but what separate them is the relationship formed when conducting the personal training session. Saying that, people could just search for workout routine splits online without the help of a personal trainer. So, one of the main focus of personal trainers is to form a bond with their client, motivate and guide them through their fitness journey.

I could briefly list out the Personal Trainer course outline so you guys will get a rough idea on what to expect if you decided to sign up. You will be introduce to the IFT model and various Exercise Techniques, Health Psychology, Initial Investigation and Physiological Assessment, Anatomy and Movement Fundametals, Functional Assessments, Nutrition and Weight management, Essential of Bioenergetics & Cardiorespiratory Anatomy, Cardiorespiratory training, Stability-Mobility Training, Movement Training, Load Training, Performance Training. ( purely based on my memory so I might missed out some O.o )

To be honest, if you wanna learn more about how your body move, utilize energy or respond to different forms of training, dont hesitate to visit FIT Malaysia and acquire about this course or just contact them here. The coaches and staff at FIT Malaysia just makes you feel at home and they will answer any questions or help you in any way they can.

I hesitated for over a year before taking up this course so stop giving yourself excuses in life and start stepping out of your comfort zone and explore all the possibilities.

Whey Protein: 101 guide

"Boy, you got drink the protein powder ah? How much you drink ah? "
"Yeah, depends on my food intake"
"Boy, I tell you ah, protein powder is an artificial protein and not good for your body. Next time when you're old, you will regret for not listening to me........blah...blah."

"Boy, people Chinese New Year, got new clothes but you got bigger than last year. Not bad ah, but you got take protein powder right?"
"Yes"
"That's why lah you got so big, it's because you take protein powder"

*I don't really know what's the reason, but people generally associate protein powder with anabolic steroid. They are two very different substances that have different functions in the body. People must know that protein powder will not increase lean muscle mass without training, while anabolic steroid taken on its own will increase your muscle mass even without training and it will give the best result when it is combined with resistance training.

*Protein powder can generally classified into Whey, Casein, Soy, Egg, Hemp. I will only be focusing on Whey protein in this post.

What is Whey Protein and Where does it originated from?

Whey protein make up about 20% of the protein content in animal milk, with the remaining of the content being casein fraction (~80%).

Whey protein is a complete protein source as it contains all 9 of the essential amino acids (obtained through diet).

In contrast to casein protein, whey protein remains readily soluble in liquid environment and overvarying pH ranges. This is the basis for production of every dairy products such as defatted milk,cheese, cream, etc.

For example, whey protein is the by-product of cheese production due to the precipitation of casein fractions after the treatment with acidic solutions (since casein is insoluble at low pH, acidic environment). Thus the gelatinous property of cheese is primarily due to casein coagulation.

Analogous to the production of various dairy products, digestion of milk in the human body is initiated with the separation of casein and whey protein via hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Production of Whey Protein  

Whey consists of whey protein, lactose, minerals and minute amount of fats.

The production of whey protein from whey itself can proceed via several membrane filtration methods depending on the desired protein content (process such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, etc).

After the protein is filtered, it is sprayed dried to give the desired powdered product which may then be utilized by supplement manufacturer for further modifications like flavoring/colouring, etc.

What Types of Whey Protein are There?

• Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) - produced via ultrafiltration of whey, this refers to whey protein that contains <90% protein concentration, but could be as low as 20%. The rest of the concentration is made up of lactose, minerals and fats.

• Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) - produced by a variety of membrane filtration techniques with the goal of reaching >90% protein concentration and removal of most (if not all) lactose. \

• Whey Protein Hydrolysates (WPH) - a relatively new technique in whey protein production, whey protein hydrolysates are produced via enzymatic hydrolysis of either WPCs and WPIs. This means that the protein molecule are "pre-digested" by separating the peptide bonds; hence the time for digestion and absorption of amino acids will be reduced. 

Overview of Whey Protein's Benefits:

• Is a complete protein source (all of 9 essential amino acids), with a particularly high L-leucine content for positively regulating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway (which regulates muscle protein synthesis).

• Is rapidly absorbed/digested.

• Is easy/convenient to add to one's diet.

• Increase anabolic response to resistance training.

• Helps maintain muscle mass and prevent age-related muscular atrophy. 

• Provide anti-catabolic properties during prolonged aerobic activities.

• Boosts insulin sensitivity and may boost metabolism/ enhance fat loss.

• Enhances immune system functioning, especially in those who are physically active.  

Do Any Foods Contain Whey Protein?

• Cottage cheese

• Animal-derived milk

• Some dairy butters and creams

• Yogurt

• Baked goods such as bread, cracker and cookies,etc that use whey during preparation. 

Does Whey Protein Have any Side Effects?

Whey protein is generally well tolerated by the majority of users, but in the special circumstances there is the risk for certain side effects such as:

• Bloating/ Cramping/ Upset stomach
• Nausea
• Increased bowel movements/ Passing gas 
• Allergic reactions

These minor side effects can generally be easily alleviated by monitoring your total protein intake and making sure that you are aware of any possible food allergies that you may have. If a nominal dose of whey protein consistently causes stomach issues, consider trying a different whey protein supplement and/or adding a digestive enzyme to take along it.

How Much Whey Protein Should I Use?

There is no universal answer to this since everybody;s protein needs will vary. The first thing to do is determine your caloric and macro-nutrient allotments. A general calculator can be found here.

After you have done that, simply use your whey protein supplement accordingly to reach your intended macronutrient goals of the day. 

Choosing The Right Whey Protein Supplement for You

Pros and Cons of Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC):

WPC are generally the most economical whey protein supplements are are fairly well tolerated. Depending on the concentration of the powder, WPC can be a excellent option for individuals on a budget who don't mind a bit more fats and carbohydrates in their whey supplement. Users must be aware of any lactose intolerance beforehand as it contains a small amount of lactose in most WPC.

The other slight drawback of WPCs are they are less bioavailable than WPI. WPC also have lower protein concentration.

Pros and Cons of Whey Protein Isolate (WPI):

WPIs are great option for individuals who are lactose intolerance or looking for lactose-free way to increase their protein intake. WPIs are highly bioavailable, easy to digest, low in fat and carbohydrates and contain a high (>90%) protein concentration.

The main disadvantage of WPIs are they are slightly more expensive than pure WPCs and are sometimes a bit blander in flavour due to the lack of fat and carbohydrate content. Beware of/avoid some product line which added artificial sweetener to improve the taste

Pros and Cons of Whey Protein Blends

Blended whey protein are the most common protein supplements as they aim to create a balance between cost, flavour, and protein quality. These blends will var in cost generally based on the actual ratio of whey proteins in the supplements (more WPIs and WPHs will generally increase cost).  On the same token, you get what you pay for and more WPI/WPH content measns higher bioavalaibility, less fat/carbohydrates and often a more efficient anabolic response to resistance training.

The primary drawbacks to whey protein blends is that they can sometimes be misleading as far as the food label is concerned since they often omit the ratio of WPC:WPI:WPH.

Whey Protein- Common Questions

I am lactose intolerant, can I still use a whey protein supplement?

Yes, but it may be wiser to invest in a pure whey protein isolate supplement if you have digestive issues with lactose since whey protein concentrate supplements tend to be slightly higher in lactose content. 

I am allergic to milk, is a whey protein supplement safe for me?

You will have to consult with your physician first to make sure your allergy is not due to the whey fraction of the milk. If you're allergic to the casein fractions of milk but not the whey fractions then yes, whey protein supplements should be safe. 

Is it true that whey protein is bad for the kidneys?

No, whey protein itself is not bad for the kidneys. This myth stems from the issues of existing renal impairment in individuals who have chronically unnecessary amount of protein intake in their diet. It has nothing to do with the source of the protein once it's broken down into amino acids, whether it's from whey protein supplement or chicken. In the end, 50g of whey protein is the same as 50g of protein from solid food. 

Doesn't cooking/baking will denature the protein?

Yes, but this has little ramification in regards to how your body utilizes the protein since denatured protein is essentially "hydrolyzed" protein. You're still ingesting  

  

Does Soy Protein Consumption Reduce Testosterone Levels in Men?

Tuan Tran

Soy products have a profound impact on a vegetarian diet as it is associated with little of the saturated fat compared to meat and none of the moral indigestion that comes with meat.

 The problem arises when soy protein is correlated with reducing testosterone levels and increase in estrogen. Asian are typically in focus as - they are known to have a typically high soy intake in their diet.

 *jump into conclusion, if you're too lazy to read Soy and its relation to Testosterone part (proven studies)

Brief Introduction to Soy Protein

Soy protein is known to be one of the vegetables proteins with the best biological profile. having a significantly rich aminogram, especially in Leucine. However, soy also contains isoflavones, which are compounds that mimic some of the effects of estrogen in the body.

Isoflavones are often called phytoestrogens due to their potential in reducing the symptoms of menopause such as Osteoporosis.

Soy and its relation with Testosterone 

The main reason that makes soy protein notorious in the world of bodybuilding is the belief that soy consumption may lead to an increase in estrogen levels, while reducing testosterone levels at the same time. But what does the scientific research have to say?

• While it is true that certain studies have associated reductions in testosterone levels due to soy consumption, however it is necessary to put them in perspective. For example, one of the tested individuals in one of the studies was a vegetarian whose daily diet included large amounts of soy.

• Another study demonstrated an average reduction of 19% on testosterone levels on individuals who had a higher soy intake. Only one of the tested subjects had a significantly higher reduction. In the beginning of the this study, the individual was registered to have testosterone levels of 200% above the average among tested subjects, and 50% above the general average. With this in mind, and determining that this subject is an exception, we can establish that soy consumption did not negatively affect the testosterone levels in the blood. 

• There are other studies that point towards an inverse relation between soy consumption and testosterone levels in the blood. The studies are suggesting that a reduction in meat consumption, while simultaneously increasing soy consumption, also lowers the testosterone levels. In the study, the reduction in testosterone levels was already expected, since meat was replaced by soy. 

•  When considering the available empirical evidence, we realize that Asian- who are known to consume large amounts of soy- don;t seem to display any fertility problems, which suggest that the high soy intake does not affect sex hormones. 

• A recent research analyzed several studies in which subjects consumed products derived from soy, in a total of 51 tested groups, and found no evidence indicating that soy protein or isoflavones, reduce testosterone levels and increase estrogen in the body.

•  A more relevant research study than the ones previously mentioned - as this one considers not only sex hormones, but also the effects different types of proteins have on the body mass- showed no significant differences in terms of performance, lean mass gains, body fat percentage and levels of hormones in the blood between the subjects who consumed more soy and the ones who limited its consumption. 

Conclusion:

Soy protein has been considered a villain for a long time, However, what the studies show us is that unless we are talking about significantly large daily dosage (50 grams, at the very least), there are no reasons to believe soy protein will reduce testosterone levels and increase estrogen levels. 

Despite of the fact that soy beans and isoflavones have estrogenic activity, the amounts one usually consumes in his diet are insufficient to negatively impact testosterone.

This means soy should be considered a source of complementary protein and not be used to replace meat as a main source of protein in our daily diet.  

Weight Lifting Myths Debunked !

#Myth 1 :Weight Lifting Makes Women Bulky.

"Do you workout or go to the gym?"
"Yeah, I spend most of my time at the cardio machines"
"What about weighted- resistance training ?"
"But I don't want to look big and bulky"








Those muscular women you can find in magazines had to use steroids to get to that point and level and I mean no disrespect to them as it is the preference they made for their body.

As a woman you can build muscle, get strong and improve your physique. But you'll never build as much muscle mass as men can because you have significantly lower testosterone levels. You'll always stay feminine unless you use steroid.

Brazilian Fitness Model : Alice Motos

#Myth 2 :Weight Lifting Stunts Growth.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Shaquille O'neal, David Robinson, Karl Malone, etc. They all started lifting weights in their early teens with an average height of 1.82m tall.

"Boy, I tell you, weighting lifting like make you short."
"Why will it make me short?"
"You see those olympic weight lifters are so short."
"Urrrrmmm....ok" *walk away










The only way weight lifting can stunt your growth is if you damage your growth plate located at the end of your long bones by letting the bar fall on you. But if you use proper technique, you will be safer than with Rugby or Soccer where collisions are common.

Supervise youth lifting weights. Enforce proper technique and leave your ego behind at the entrance of the gym. Note that some believe weight lifting can actually stimulate growth because it increases bone mineralization.

And the reason why olympic weight lifters are generally (at all) short or have short limbs is due to the physics behind it. Those with shorter limbs and more muscles are better to get the bar moving through a shorter distance, thus lifting heavier weights.

Lou "The Hulk" Ferrigno- 1.96 m and 130 kg

#Myth 3 :Muscles Turns To Fat If You Stop Lifting Weights. 

"Boy, you don't workout too much now because later on when you're old, you're muscles will turn to fat."
"WHAT ?!......oh....ok. " that's my usual response when someone says that because I just couldn't comprehend what they are thinking.






On a serious note, muscles will never turns to fats and vice-versa as they're two completely different things. Muscle will, on the other hand, help you to burn fat (insignificant) due to the amount of calories muscles demanded from our body to maintain it compared to maintaining fat.

If you stop weight lifting for a period of time, you also have to eat less than before because your body do not need as much macro-nutrients as before otherwise you'll get fat. The problem is people continue with their weight lifting diet even though they have stop lifting, thus creating a surplus in calories that resulted in the conversion to fats.

Research has found that intense strength training results in more calories burned in the 16 to 24 hours after your training session ends. Some believe that if you train long enough your muscles will never come back to their pre-trained state (not proven). But this is probably linked to muscle memory as even though the you lost your muscle mass when you stop resistance training, you still maintained the muscle nuclei. These nuclei give the muscle a head start when training resumes.

Ulisses Jr. 

#Myth 4 :Weight Lifting Decreases Flexibility. 

"Boy, don't workout so much, too much muscles will make you stiff and not flexible."
"What do you mean by not flexible?"
"If you have too much muscles, you cant scratch your ass when you bathe."










One of the realizations people who initially get into weight lifting have is how inflexible they are. Years of sedentary lifestyle may have tighten your hips, preventing you to Squat correctly (full ROM).

You must strengthen your weak muscles and stretch your tight muscles before any weight lifting is done. Weight lifting will make you regain your flexibility and maintain it. Especially the Squat will give your hip muscles a full stretch. But increasing your muscle mass or strength won't reduce your flexibility at all.

#Myth 5 :Weight Lifting Makes You Slow.

"Boy, don't workout so much, too much muscles will make you slow."
"how slow is considered as slow?"
"Boy, you are slow compared to the runners"
No shit right, comparing a weight lifter and a runner is like a comparison between a monkey and fish on who could swim at a higher velocity.







Weight lifter could not be as fast as a sprinter because sprinters are specially trained to run. But it doesn't mean that weight lifters are slower because strong muscles contract faster and generate more power.

In fact, sprinters incorporate weight training into their program because it will stimulate the fast twitching Type II b muscle fibres and convert the Type II a muscle fibres to behave like the Type II b muscles. These muscles will propel the sprinter to the finish line at remarkable speed.

#Myth 6 :Weight Lifting is Bad for Your Joints. 

"Boy, how's your knee after the surgery ? "
"It's good, I have been doing some squatting now."
"Don't do any weight lifting! It will make your joints worsts. Better go jogging or run at the park."










Weight lifting is less stressful on your joints than running (high- impact activity) : weight lifting involves controlled, non-impact movements. This is true unless you are replying on momentum by swinging the weights around and locking your elbows in pressing movements, in which might take a toll on your joint.

Weight lifting- and especially strength training will increase the health of our joints by strengthening the muscles and ligaments that hold them together.

Squatters have healthier knees than non Squatters. Studies performed on top Powerlifters confirm that their knees are in better health than those of the general population.

Speaking from personal experience, I feel that my knees are in greater conditions even before I did the surgery to replace the cartilage under the patella. And the reason is I did endless heavy Squats will control movement and initiating from the hip rather than from the knee.