Tip #25
The Critical Meal
by Dr. John Berardi

Breakfast is a critical meal. After a catabolic overnight fast, a balanced breakfast helps to regulate blood sugar, helps to regulate energy balance, and helps to control late-day cravings that lead to overfeeding. Be sure to include a serving or two of lean protein like an egg white omelet (throw in a yolk or two), some cheese, some dairy like plain yogurt or cottage cheese, some lean turkey bacon or sausage, or even a protein shake on the side. Men should be shooting for 30-50 grams of protein and women should be shooting for 20-40 grams of protein in this meal.

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Tip #18
Protein/Carbs Before Exercise To Burn Fat?
by Dr. John Berardi

While nearly everyone nowadays knows that pre, during, and post exercise nutritional intake is critical for improving protein status and glycogen synthesis, most people fear that the ingestion of protein and carbohydrates during these times will decrease fat oxidation (burning).

Well, put simply, they’re wrong (sticking out tongue).

Studies have demonstrated that even in the presence of a relatively high carbohydrate intake (and large insulin response), the addition of protein to a carbohydrate meal can increase fat burning during exercise.

So it looks like a well-designed pre, during, and post exercise intake will not only improve protein status and glycogen resynthesis but it may actually increase fat burning. Bigger and leaner? Say it ain’t so.

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This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition – our pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.

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Tip #14
Protein for Fat Burning
by Dr. John Berardi

Protein is by far the most thermogenic of the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate, and fat). Due to the high metabolic costs of processing it, protein provides fewer storable kcal. The thermic effect of a mixed meal is about 10% of intake, while the thermic effect of protein per se is more like 25-30%. That could mean reving up your metabolism by 200 kcal just from your 200-gram (800 kcal) protein intake.

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This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition – our pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.

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Post workout nutrition has become an important topic in the past few years.

A typical recommendation is to consume carbohydrates and protein immediately following exercise in order to enhance glycogen resynthesis, promote an anabolic hormonal environment, enhance protein synthesis, and/or lessen the immuno-suppressive effects of intense exercise. The carbohydrate increase insulin levels which in turn promote glycogen restoration and an anabolic hormonal environment. Furthermore, the post workout carbohydrate stimulates protein synthesis. The carbohydrate-protein combination also causes a greater increase in growth hormone than consuming protein alone.

The study included 40 participants with at least one year of consistent resistance training experience. The participants reported to the laboratory after refraining from weight training for at least 48 hours prior and fasting overnight. Pre-exercise blood samples were taken, and then the participants performed a weight training session of 3 sets of 10 repetitions on several exercises.

Following the weight training session the participants received a supplement consisting of 40g of whey PRO with 120g of sucrose, powdered honey, or maltodextrin. The honey powder used contained fructose (31.5%), glucose (26%), wheat starch (25.3%), and maltose (4.7%). After ingestion of the supplement, blood samples were taken at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes.

The following observations were made:

• Consuming carbohydrate and protein following weight lifting promoted significant increases in insulin levels.
• No significant differences were observed among the different forms of carbohydrate on insulin levels.
• Glucose levels were maintained to a greater degree by using honey as the source of carboyhydrate.
• The post workout supplementation had no significant effect on testosterone, cortisol, the ratio of testosterone to cortisol, muscle and liver enzyme efflux, or general markers of immunity during the first two hours of recover following weight lifting.

I use Biotest Surge with a scoop of creatine monohydrate for my post workout nutrition. Surge uses whey protein hydrolysate, which is a fast absorbing protein, glucose, maltodextrin, and BCAAs. I really like the taste and it mixes extremely easily.

Reference: Kreider, Richard B., et. Al. “Effects of ingesting protein with various forms of carbohydrate following resistance-exercise on substrate availability and markers of anabolism, catabolism, and immunity”, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2007.

A new study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) suggests that high-protein, low-fat, and low-carbohydrate diets suppress hunger most effectively.

The study examined the relative ability of different nutrient types to suppress the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin. Circulating ghrelin levels increase shortly before meals and then decrease rapidly after eating.

The researchers found that protein consumption had the greatest suppression of ghrelin over a long period. When fat is consumed ghrelin levels remained relatively high, and carbohydrate consumption caused a strong initial suppression of ghrelin followed by levels rebounding well above baseline.

Reference: The Endocrine Society

The branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) constitute approx one-third of skeletal muscle protein. Research has shown that of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine plays the most significant role in stimulating protein synthesis. This suggests amino acid supplementation may be advantageous for the exercising individual.

A few studies have reported that when BCAAs were consumed at rest, protein balance increases by either decreasing the rate of protein breakdown, increasing the rate of protein synthesis, or a combination of both. Following resistance training in males it has been shown that leucine combined with carbohydrate and protein led to a greater increase in protein synthesis as compared to taking the same amount of carbohydrate and protein without leucine.

BCAA consumption has also been shown to be beneficial during aerobic exercise. When BCAAs are taken during aerobic exercise the net rate of protein degradation has been shown to decrease.

BCAAs occur in nature (i.e. animal protein) in a 2:1:1 ration (leucine : isoleucine : valine), one may consider consuming at least 45 mg/kg/day of leucine along with approximately 22.5 mg/kg/day of both isoleucine and valine to optimize overall training adaptations.

BCAA supplements can be very expensive. Complete proteins in whole foods, as well as most quality protein powders, contain approximately 25% BCAAs. A quality protein source, such as whey, should be sufficient to supplement any deficiencies in average exercising males.

BCAA supplementation may be of great help to those trying to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass. Since BCAAs have been shown to decrease the rate of protein breakdown, supplementation may allow those on restricted calorie diets to maintain their hard earned muscle. However, one should not be misconstrued into believing that he or she cannot eat at all.

Reference:

Campbell et. al., International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise”, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2007.

It is often rumored that soy protein consumption causes increased testosterone in men.

Previous work has suggested that soy protein is preferentially directed towards the splanchnic region (soft tissue organs) and milk proteins (whey and casein) to the peripheral regions such as muscle tissues. When compared to soy proteins, milk proteins provide greater amounts of the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine, as well as methionine and lysine. Recent work has identified the importance of the BCAA leucine in the activation of myogenic translation initiation factors, which are considered important for muscle hypertrophy.

Soy foods, including soy protein supplements, contain phytoestrogens (isoflavones), which are a group of natural estrogen receptor modulators. Soy isoflavones have comparable molecular weights and are structurally similar to 17-beta estradiol, which may enable them to exert estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities through their associated receptor-binding site. In-vitro studies have supported this relationship by demonstrating the ability of soy to inhibit a variety of androgenic and estrogenic hormones including testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), esterone, and testosterone/estradiol ratio.

The referenced study assessed the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training and dietary supplementation with soy, whey or a combination, on body composition and plasma sex hormone concentrations. Twenty young, healthy men (age 30.7 plus/minus 6.5 years; weight 82.0 plus/minus 12.3 kg (180 plus/minus 27 lbs) ) completed the 12 week study.

Subjects supplemented their diets with one of four protein powders: soy protein isolate (SI), soy concentrate (SC), whey blend (50% when concentrate, 50% whey isolate) (WB), or a 50:50 mixture of soy isolate and whey blend (SW).

Weight training was performed 3 days per week for 12 weeks with individual instruction once per week by a qualified personal trainer.

The results of the study showed no significant decrease in serum androgenic hormones following supplementation with any of the proteins. The authors concluded that both soy and whey supplementation in resistance training men results in lean body mass increases without negatively affecting serum androgen levels.

It appears that soy protein supplementation does not cause an increase in estrogen in men. Personally, I use a more high quality protein source such as whey or casein. This supplies more BCAAs and provides a more conducive diet for muscle growth. For more information on protein requirements check out a previous post here.

Reference:

Kalman, Douglas, et. al. “Effect of protein source and resistance training on body composition and sex hormones”, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2007.

Currently, the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein in healthy adults is 0.8 g/kg (0.36 g/lb) of body weight per day. Unfortunately, this does not take into account exercise, which adds several levels of complexity. Some factors that need to be considered include protein quality, energy intake, carbohydrate intake, mode and intensity of exercise, and the timing of the protein intake. The RDA for protein is estimated to be sufficient to meet the need of most (97.5%) of healthy men and women age 19 years and older.

For exercising individuals, this may not be enough protein to offset the oxidation of protein/amino acids, which is approximately 1-5% of the total energy cost of exercise, nor is it sufficient for lean muscle growth or for the repair of exercise induced muscle damage.

Protein recommendations are based on nitrogen balance assessment and amino acid tracer studies. Insufficient amounts of protein in exercising individuals may cause a negative nitrogen balance, which will lead to increased catabolism (muscle breakdown) and impaired recovery from exercise.

For endurance exercise, recommended protein intakes range from 1.0 to 1.6 g/kg (0.45 to 0.73 g/lb) per day depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise and the training status of the individual. For example, elite endurance athletes require protein intakes towards the upper end of the preceding range. Additionally, as endurance exercise increases in intensity and duration, there is an increased oxidation of branched-chain amino acids, which creates a demand within the body for protein intakes at the upper end of this range.

For strength/power exercise, protein requirements are thought to be even higher, particularly during the initial stages of training and/or sharp increases in volume. Typical recommendations for strength training range from 1.6 to 2.0 g/kg (0.73 to 0.91 g/lb) per day.

Popular media often mistakenly reports that a chronically high protein intake is unhealthy and may result in unnecessary metabolic strain on the kidneys. Another concern that is cited is that high protein diets increase the excretion of calcium thereby increasing the risk for osteoporosis. Both of these concerns are unfounded as there is no substantive evidence that protein intakes in the ranges suggested above will have adverse effects in healthy, exercising individuals.

The majority of scientific evidence cited was generated from animal models and patients with co-existing kidney disease. In a well designed prospective cohort study, it was surmised that high protein intake was not associated with kidney functional decline in women with normally operating kidneys.

As for increasing the risk of osteoporosis, it is now known that the phosphate content of protein foods (and supplements fortified with calcium and phosphorous) negates this effect.

To obtain supplemental dietary protein, exercising individuals often ingest protein powders, which are convenient and can be cost-efficient. Common sources of protein include milk, whey, casein, egg, and soy-based powders. Different protein sources and purification methods may affect the bioavailability of amino acids. The amino acid bioavailability of a protein source is best conceptualized as the amount and variety of amino acids that are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream after a protein is ingested. Consideration of the bioavailability of amino acids into the blood, as well as their delivery to the target tissue(s), is of greatest importance when planning a regimen of pre- and post-exercise protein ingestion.

The quality of a protein source can be determined by the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). Milk-derived whey protein isolate has the highest PDCAAS out of all of the common protein sources due to its high content of essential and branched chain amino acids.

Commercially, the two most popular types of proteins in supplemental form are whey and casein. Recent investigations have detailed the serum amino acid responses to ingesting different protein types. Using amino acid tracer methodology, it was demonstrated that why protein elicits a sharp, rapid increase of plasma amino acids following ingestion. Consumption of casein induces a moderate, prolonged increase in plasma amino acids that was sustained over a 7 hour period after eating.

The (International Society of Sport Nutrition) ISSN recommends that exercising individuals consume approximately 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg (0.64 to 0.91 g/lb) of body weight per day. An attempt should be made to obtain protein requirements from whole foods, but supplemental protein is a safe and convenient method of ingesting high quality dietary protein. When supplements are ingested, the ISSN recommends that the protein contain both whey and casein components.

Reference:
Campbell, et. al. “International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise”, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2007.