Not that long ago, bros in the gym talked about what they called the “anabolic window.” It was a magical-sounding 45-60 minute space where you had to have a protein shake, or else you’d risk your muscles wasting away.

We know better now. Most research has shown that your muscles aren’t in significant danger if you don’t have a shake right away, even if you are doing a tough program like V Shred’s Clean Bulk to pack on muscle mass.

But no, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to have protein powder post-workout. Here’s your best post-workout protein strategy, no matter if your goal is weight loss or pure muscle gains!

Should I Have A Protein Shake, A Meal, Or Both?

The science is clear that if you’re lifting weights regularly, a higher protein diet can help you achieve more fat loss, more muscle gain, and just better results in general. It’s also clear that your body is more sensitive to protein in the hours following a workout— somewhere around 2-3 hours, for most people.

Both of those sound like good arguments for consuming protein pretty soon after a workout.

But does it have to be a protein shake? What about chicken, fish, eggs?

They’re all great sources of protein. The real advantages to having a shake post-workout are more functional:

• Protein is more convenient than packing a meal around
• It’s also light enough in the stomach that you can eat soon afterward

One other benefit: your body uses it more quickly, since whey protein like Sculptnation Protein digests much more quickly than meat.

Our suggestion: keep some protein powder in your gym bag and go ahead and slam it on your way home from the gym. Then have your planned post-workout meal an hour or two later.

Need Some Additional Help Determining Your Protein Needs? 

If you’re not sure how much protein to eat, the macronutrient calculator in the V Shred App for IOS or Android can help you set a daily target to aim for. Getting systematic about this one macronutrient can be a game-changer!

And if this is all just confusing to you, or you are unsure if you need to have both a shake and a meal post-lift, you’re not alone! Our expert team of certified personal trainers and nutritionists at V Shred can create a custom meal and supplement plan that lays out everything you need to reach your goals faster and easier!

You can get your personalized meal plan here, or email coaching@vshred.com.

The post Should I Have A Protein Shake After Working Out? appeared first on V Shred.

How to prepare protein is a question we hear all the time. In terms of nutrition questions, it’s right up there with “What should  I order when eating at a restaurant” and “Should I have a protein shake post-workout.”

And just like those questions the answer depends on your goals.Here’s how to cook your proteins in a way that will keep you from getting bored and help you reach your goals!

Best Ways To Prepare Meat For Weight Loss

If you’re using one of our programs like Fat Loss Extreme for Men or Women or Move, it’s likely that you’re looking to lose or control your weight. If that’ the case, then battering or deep-frying your meat on a daily basis probably won’t help you much!

When weight-loss is the goal, stick with low-calorie ways of cooking your meat such as:

• Baking
• Grilling
• Boiling
• Pan-frying
• Air frying

All of these methods are great for cooking enough meat for a single meal, or even better, for “meal prepping” multiple meals– which we highly recommend. 

One other thing to watch out for if you are trying to lose weight is cooking oils. They can add a lot of calories from fats, and it doesn’t take very much for them to add up quickly, especially if you are cooking with them for several meals each day.

Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t use them. It just means you should use oils in moderation and, more importantly, track them if you are measuring your food and tracking calories/macros — which you can easily calculate in our V Shred App for IOS or Android.

Here are a few other cooking options besides frying, battering, and smothering with oils.

Cooking Sprays: Most cooking methods mentioned above don’t require additional oil. But if needed and you’re looking for places to cut calories, consider switching to a few spritzes of cooking spray.

Herbs & Spices: These will be your best friend if you want to flavor your meat without any additional calories! Change them around, and you’ll find you can prepare chicken or other meats multiple ways, all without adding any calories.

Rotate A Variety Of Lean Meats: Don’t feel like you need to limit your protein choices to fish and chicken! Lean ground beef, lean ground turkey, lean ground bison, and even pork tenderloin are delicious low-fat protein sources.

They are also  super easy to prep without additional oils. Just toss them in some spices, cook using one of the suggested methods above, and then serve them up alongside some vegetables and a healthy carb — and dinner is done.

If you get bored with meat, you can also use Sculpt Nation PROTEIN to make a delicious smoothie, or even something fun like protein pancakes! 

Best Ways To Cook Meat For Bulking/Weight Gain

If you are in a caloric surplus or looking for ways to add more calories to your meals without feeling overly stuffed (which is a common issue that we talk about in the article Should I Keep Eating if I’m Full?  — cooking oils and higher fat meats are a great way to sneak in calories.

That doesn’t necessarily mean “all butter, all the time,” though! After all, a bulking program like CLEAN BULK should be just that… clean!

And if it’s not clear where that line is, we can help you find it! That’s why we have a team of nutritionists at V Shred who make custom goal-oriented meal plans for people worldwide every day.

You can get your customized meal plan here or email coaching@vshred.com, and we’ll create a plan that you can stick with that includes the best ways to prepare your meals!

If you aren’t already, you should also get active in our Facebook Groups for Men or Women. Thousands of people — even our on-staff trainers and nutrition experts — are there every day offering cooking tips, recipes, and more!

The post What Are The Best Ways To Cook Meat? appeared first on V Shred.

How much protein to eat is a debate that people take almost as seriously as what workout to do. And with good reason! Having a protein guideline in mind for your diet is crucial for your results, no matter if you want to know how much protein to eat to lose weight, or how much to gain muscle. 

Lucky for you, the answer is pretty simple, and the right amount of protein for those two goals is a lot closer than you think! 

Let’s dig into how much protein you should eat! 

Most people are well aware that protein is an essential micronutrient and a post-workout protein shake is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think of muscle building. But the role of protein goes far beyond its post-workout benefits. 

Studies have found that higher-protein diets can help you reach your fitness goals — whether you want to lose body fat or pack on tons of muscle. But another key finding is proteins’ effect on satiety. Studies show eating more protein leads to greater feelings of fullness. 

Is protein “free calories?”

Here is an excellent example of the effects sufficient protein can have on reaching your weight loss goals.

Researchers at The University of South Florida found that for women who are resistance training, consuming extra calories above maintenance in the form of protein were… basically free calories. 

Free calories? Sounds crazy, right? Here’s what we mean…

The women in the study were given 500 calories above their maintenance level in the form of protein. Typically when you go over your maintenance calories for an extended time, you would start gaining a little fat, but not the ladies in this study. 

Even though the women were eating 500 extra calories from protein per day, they got leaner, gained muscle, and did not gain extra body fat.  

Now, this isn’t to say you can eat as much protein as you want and never gain weight. Protein still has calories, so you can no doubt eat too much. It means that while you can store protein as fat, it’s pretty unlikely. Especially if you’re controlling your overall caloric intake and exercising regularly. 

The biggest takeaway — don’t skimp on protein! And that’s especially true if you’re resistance training or exercising regularly. 

How much protein do I need in a day? 

If you aren’t sure how much protein your body needs, we recommend using the macro calculator in the V Shred app for iOS or Android. 

Use the “balanced diet” setting, and you’ll get a recommendation somewhere around 1 gram per pound of body weight per day — give or take 10-20 percent based on your goal. So it might be .8 per gram of bodyweight for one person, or 1.1-1.2 for another. 

Regardless of your ideal protein number, once you know it, make it a priority to hit that goal every day. Not just every once in a while. Not just on workout days. Every single day! 

This can be hard for some people. You can only choke down so many chicken breasts and egg whites — right? 

That’s where protein shakes, or even high protein treats using a quality protein like Sculpt Nation PROTEIN can be a life-saver! Along with around three solid meals a day and a snack or two, having a protein shake each day can be more than sufficient to get most people to their perfect protein daily goal. 

If planning all that eating out is a struggle for you, then maybe you need to let the experts help! Consider a custom diet plan created by our team of V Shred certified nutrition experts. They create plans for thousands of people every day, and we hear all the time that this is the thing that worked when nothing else would. 

Going custom takes out the guesswork! Our team will tell you how much protein, carbs, and fat you need to reach your goals AND even create a custom meal plan that works with your food preferences and lifestyle! 

Click HERE or email us at coaching@vshred.com to learn more!

Need more ideas of how to reach your daily protein goals? Make sure to join our Facebook Group For Women or Facebook Group For Men! Our trainer team and community members are always posting creative recipes and nutrition tips!  

The post HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD I EAT? appeared first on V Shred.

What if someone told you the reason you haven’t seen results, no matter what diet or training plan you follow, isn’t your fault?

What if there was a “biological hack” that could finally allow you to unleash and promote your full fat-blasting potential?

If researchers from places like Cambridge and Harvard are correct … there is!!

The struggle is real…
Trying to re-shape your body by building lean muscle and losing body fat takes time and consistency.

We all know that there is not a quick way to go about this.

But for some…
It doesn’t matter how hard they push, how many hours of cardio they log, or how many calories they restrict – the changes just don’t seem to happen. Or if they do – they are painfully slow.

If this is you or someone you know… the information in this article could be life-changing!

Some of the top researchers from around the world wanted to find out why some people can’t lose weight no matter what or how hard they try.

They made A MAJOR FAT BURNING DISCOVERY!!

What we are sharing with you is something even those that don’t struggle with weight issues need to know because… the culprit is something we all have circulating through our bodies… waiting to attack our fat cells.

The reason every diet you have ever tried has failed could be something in YOUR BLOOD.

We are NOT talking about genetics.

The genes your parents gave you and your body type aren’t all that matter.
Anyone can have too much of this circulating through their blood.

The blame could be because of excess protein.

Not the kind you eat. This is a protein that is flowing throughout your body right now even as you read this article, and its job is to BLOCK YOU FROM LOSING WEIGHT!

No matter what type of lifestyle change you make… if you have too much of this protein in your blood… you could still struggle to lose fat.

WHAT IS THIS FAT BLOCKING PROTEIN?!
It has a scientific name, but we are just going to call it THE FAT PROTEIN – because that is exactly what it does. It slows down your metabolism and sabotages your efforts to lose weight.

These proteins attach themselves to your fat cells and virtually force your body to hold on to fat for dear life! They stop your metabolism from generating the kind of heat it needs to burn fat.

Scientists discovered that people that are overweight have MORE of this protein in their bloodstream.

But why? And what can you do about it?
Keep reading!!

HOW TO STOP YOUR BODY FROM MAKING “THE FAT PROTEIN”…
You need MORE FAT!

Hold up .. we aren’t talking about the kind of body fat you want to get rid of.
We also aren’t referring to “healthy fats” you should eat.

You have TWO types of FAT CELLS in your body, and both play a role in your metabolism.

• White Fat: This is bad fat. It is responsible for storing excess fat to be later used for energy.
• Brown Fat: This is good fat. It creates heat in your body and revs up your fat-burning metabolism.

Researchers found that this fat protein is only made by your WHITE (bad) fat cells.

If this is true, then logic would tell us that you can help tackle this by making LESS white fat and MORE brown fat, right?

How in the world can you do that? Is it even possible? YES!!

HOW TO SUPPORT MAKING MORE METABOLISM BOOSTING BROWN FAT…
There are THREE things that researchers have found to help increase the amount of BROWN (good) fat cells that you have.

Unless you like being cold and hungry, you aren’t going to like the first two… they are extreme.

The third method is fast and easy. Researchers found that you can help support and restart your fat-loss engine with a single nutrient.

There is an herb that has the potential to promote the conversion of unhealthy white fat cells into fat-burning, thermogenic, brown fat cells.

WHAT IS THIS SUPER NUTRIENT THAT INCREASES FAT BLASTING BROWN FAT??
It is an ancient herb that very well may be the most effective nutritional supplement in existence. You can purchase it almost anywhere, and it is pretty inexpensive.

Not only is it said to increase the production of brown fat .. this power-house herb has been shown to ….

• Balance Mood
• Support a Healthy Inflammatory Response
• Support Carbohydrate Metabolism
• Ease Temporary, Activity Related Joint Pain/Stiffness
• Support A Healthy Metabolism
• Decrease Muscle Soreness

There is only one problem…
This nutrient is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream unless you consume it with other specific substances.

To see its benefits, you have to have a unique blend designed for maximum absorption, in specific ratios!

Quality also counts. Recent research found that some companies lace this ancient herb with pigments (many of which contained lead) – to enhance its color!

Everyone reading this could benefit from this herb…
But you must ensure the source is safe, and you use a blend that supports enhanced absorption. Otherwise, you are wasting your money.

If you want to support the rapid production of more fat-burning brown fat and help slow down
this fat protein in your blood …
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS SUPER NUTRIENT IS!!

We will also tell you about those other two methods that could help your body produce more thermogenic brown fat. But we already know… Tip #3 is going to be what you choose!

If you are…

• Sick of every diet failing.
• Can’t fathom eating any less or training any more than you already do.
• Fed up with putting in the work and not seeing results.

And you want to add support to…

• Ensure your body is producing GOOD (brown) fat.
• Limit the amount of “Fat Protein” flowing through your blood.
• Finally, see the results you are working hard to achieve.

You have to virtually “turn off” these proteins…
And go directly to one key root cause of all that unwanted fat accumulating in your trouble areas.

Support to ensure no more failed diets!!!
Get your hands on what researchers from some of the most prestigious schools in the world consider to be the most exciting biological hack in weight loss support history!

Sources
Turmeric VSL
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/

The post The Protein That Could Be Making You Fat (And How To Help Crush It) appeared first on V Shred.