The Chocolate Milk Diet

For years, we’ve advocated chocolate milk as a post-workout recovery drink — there’s always a jug of it in the fridge at our facility.  Backed by science, more than 20 studies support the benefits of recovering with the high-quality protein and nutrients in chocolate milk after a tough workout (to discover the science behind refueling with lowfat chocolate milk, click here).

Along those same lines, here’s an article from Eat This, Not That! titled, The Chocolate Milk Diet: No kidding, it really works.

The article touts calcium‘s role in building strong bones and the impact it has on blocking your body’s ability to absorb fat; the effect of vitamin D in calcium transport and its support of bone and muscle health; chocolate milk’s ability to provide a metabolic boost; and the relationship between protein (and muscle) and body weight.

As if any of us really needed a reason to drink more chocolate milk.

Your thoughts?

WE BUILD STRONGER ATHLETES!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Training Table 101: Protein and Complex Carbs

Fall sports season is just around the corner, which means training camp time for football, soccer, and volleyball players, among others.

For most of these athletes, August will be the most active and physically demanding few weeks that they have.  One of the challenges facing these athletes is that many of them have not maintained healthy eating habits needed to complement their energy expenditure.

During training camp, many players actually struggle to keep weight on, rather than off.  Understanding the importance and impact of appropriate calorie consumption — as well as specific intake of fats, carbs, and proteins — is a must.

Basically, calorie consumption should take (at least) two factors into consideration: Body weight (desired) and physical activity (duration, frequency, intensity level, ambient temperature).

A typical meal or snack should be pretty simple:

• Protein, such as steak, chicken, or fish
• Vegetable
• Healthy starch, including sweet potato, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.

The focus should be on protein and complex carbohydrates.  Additionally, adequate fluid intake — before, during, and after physical activity — is critical to prevent dehydration.

Athletes burn a lot of energy during training camp.  Most of these players have invested considerable time and effort training during the off-season to prepare themselves for the rigors of the upcoming season.  Proper nutrition is important to prevent weight loss, and loss of muscle mass.

Your thoughts?

WE WILL HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops

I’m always looking for fun and creative ways to get more protein in my diet.  And since, invariably, most of my clients can also benefit by increasing their protein consumption, they often ask me for suggestions.

One of my favorite treats is chocolate protein pudding.  I prepare it by blending one packet of sugar-free chocolate pudding mix with 16 ounces of Fairlife milk and one scoop of chocolate protein powder.  This simple recipe makes four – 4 ounce servings, with about 14 grams of protein per serving.

I recently came across a recipe for Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops.  This frozen treat is delicious, nutritious, and perfect for summertime.  Here’s how to make them:

• 3 scoops chocolate whey protein powder
• 4 cups nonfat vanilla (Greek) yogurt
• 1/2 cup Fairlife milk

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and mix thoroughly. Pour into popsicle molds and place in your freezer overnight. Enjoy!

Makes eight – 4 ounce popsicles

Nutrient Content (per serving): Calories: 90, Total Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium : 97mg, Total Carbohydrates: 9g, Sugars: 7g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 16g

Your thoughts?

WE WILL HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Get Your (Whey) Protein

If you’re not already using a whey protein supplement, what are you waiting for?

In addition to its post-workout, muscle-building potential, whey also helps direct glycogen into fatigued cells, reducing muscle soreness and improving muscle function the day after you train.

Most experts agree that active men and women should consume 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of their target body weight, daily.

Athletes and more experienced weightlifters may require more protein, as much as a gram (or more) per pound of their target body weight, daily.

Here’s a previous blog post with a simple strategy to increase protein consumption, throughout the day.

Our country is notoriously “over-carbed” and “under-proteined.”  Reduce the carbs and increase the protein intake to look better, feel better, and perform better.

Your thoughts?

WE WILL HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Spread Out Your Protein

If you want to build muscle, you need to get more protein.  Active individuals should aim for 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, daily.  Athletes may need even more.

So, how should you distribute your daily protein intake?

Scientists at Skidmore College (NY) found that individuals who divide their daily protein among six smaller meals, instead of three larger ones, build muscle faster.

Start your day with protein, and try to get more than half of your recommended intake by lunch.  Eggs for breakfast are a quick and easy way to get your morning protein.  Add a mid-morning protein shake, and grilled chicken (or other lean meat) and Greek yogurt for lunch.  Peanut butter is another good way to get your protein with any meal or snack, any time of day.

I like preparing a protein shake — 10-12 oz. of chocolate milk and a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder — and sipping it, throughout the day.  It’s an easy way to add 30-40 grams of protein to my daily intake.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Don’t Overlook Cottage Cheese

If you’re looking for a nutritious protein source, don’t overlook cottage cheese.

Once considered a bland, boring diet food, lowfat cottage cheese boasts a whopping 28 grams of protein per one cup serving, only 163 calories, and goes well with lots of foods.

Cottage cheese provides all the amino acids you need, making it a source of complete protein.  It’s also a great source of nutrients like calcium (bone, heart, and muscle function), phosphorus (bone health), riboflavin (helps convert food into usable energy), and vitamin B12 (brain function, red blood cell production).

Use cottage cheese as a healthier alternative to sour cream; stir it into dips and soups; or add it as a dessert ingredient.

Try this Cottage Cheese Pancakes recipe.  These pancakes are not only packed with high-quality protein, but also lighter and fluffier than the classic version.  Serve them with a bit of butter and sugar-free syrup.

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)

In a large bowl. stir together the cottage cheese, eggs, butter, and milk.  Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and blend lightly until just mixed.  Grease a griddle with cooking spray and place over medium heat.  Put a large scoop of batter on the griddle and use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly.  The pancake is ready to flip when you begin to see small air bubbles form, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Flip and cook for another minute or 2.  Makes about 12 4-inch pancakes.

Per pancake: 97 calories, 5 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates (1 g fiber, 2 g sugar), 5 g fat (3 g saturated)

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Fuel Your Body After Your Workout

Your muscles do not grow during exercise, regardless of the intensity of your workout.  Exercise is important, but it’s only the stimulus — or trigger — for growth.

You’ve got to rest and refuel your body, following a workout, in order to strengthen your muscles, and post-workout nutrition is essential for growth.

When you eat protein after your workout, your body breaks it down into amino acids, which are used to repair and rebuild muscle fibers, a process known as protein synthesis.  One amino acid, in particular, warrants special mention.

Leucine is a natural amino acid that is found in your body. Leucine and the branched-chain amino acids, isoleucine and valine, make up almost one-third of your muscle protein. Simply stated, leucine triggers muscle growth.  Leucine breaks down faster than other amino acids, and works to stimulate the production of protein and energy molecules in your muscles.  For this reason, synthetic leucine is often used as a food supplement to help athletes rebuild muscle and increase their physical endurance and strength.

When you’re buying a protein supplement, check the label to make sure it has a full complement of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Aim for 30 grams of protein per meal, including post-workout.  As long as you’re eating enough calories overall, you’ll get enough leucine to optimize muscle growth.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

The Chocolate Milk Diet

For years, we’ve advocated chocolate milk as a post-workout recovery drink — there’s always a jug of it in the fridge at our facility.  Backed by science, more than 20 studies support the benefits of recovering with the high-quality protein and nutrients in chocolate milk after a tough workout (to discover the science behind refueling with lowfat chocolate milk, click here).

Along those same lines, here’s an article from Eat This, Not That! titled, The Chocolate Milk Diet: No kidding, it really works.

The article touts calcium‘s role in building strong bones and the impact it has on blocking your body’s ability to absorb fat; the effect of vitamin D in calcium transport and its support of bone and muscle health; chocolate milk’s ability to provide a metabolic boost; and the relationship between protein (and muscle) and body weight.

As if any of us really needed a reason to drink more chocolate milk.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Training Table 101: Protein and Complex Carbs

Fall sports season is just around the corner, which means training camp time for football, soccer, and volleyball players, among others.

For most of these athletes, August will be the most active and physically demanding few weeks that they have.  One of the challenges facing these athletes is that many of them have not maintained healthy eating habits needed to complement their energy expenditure.

During training camp, many players actually struggle to keep weight on, rather than off.  Understanding the importance and impact of appropriate calorie consumption — as well as specific intake of fats, carbs, and proteins — is a must.

Basically, calorie consumption should take (at least) two factors into consideration: Body weight (desired) and physical activity (duration, frequency, intensity level, ambient temperature).

A typical meal or snack should be pretty simple:

• Protein, such as steak, chicken, or fish
• Vegetable
• Healthy starch, including sweet potato, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.

The focus should be on protein and complex carbohydrates.  Additionally, adequate fluid intake — before, during, and after physical activity — is critical to prevent dehydration.

Athletes burn a lot of energy during training camp.  Most of these players have invested considerable time and effort training during the off-season to prepare themselves for the rigors of the upcoming season.  Proper nutrition is important to prevent weight loss, and loss of muscle mass.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops

I’m always looking for fun and creative ways to get more protein in my diet.  And since, invariably, most of my clients can also benefit by increasing their protein consumption, they often ask me for suggestions.

One of my favorite treats is chocolate protein pudding.  I prepare it by blending one packet of sugar-free chocolate pudding mix with 16 ounces of Fairlife chocolate milk and one scoop of chocolate protein powder.  This simple recipe makes four – 4 ounce servings, with about 14 grams of protein per serving.

I recently came across a recipe for Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops.  This frozen treat is delicious, nutritious, and perfect for summertime.  Here’s how to make them:

• 3 scoops chocolate whey protein powder
• 4 cups nonfat vanilla (Greek) yogurt
• 1/2 cup Fairlife chocolate milk

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and mix thoroughly. Pour into popsicle molds and place in your freezer overnight. Enjoy!

Makes eight – 4 ounce popsicles

Nutrient Content (per serving): Calories: 90, Total Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium : 97mg, Total Carbohydrates: 7g, Sugars: 6g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 16g

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?