Want to Create Good Fitness Habits? #1 is Protein!



Posted: Thursday, September 23, 2010

by Zach Hunt
Physzique

Do you struggle with hitting brick walls in your weight loss goals? Sometimes I feel like it's a constant battle to shed those pounds. But last week, I hit an exciting milestone. Could it be that after all that struggling, it was as simple as creating three good habits to kick my body weight loss back into gear?

How I found my three good habits

In June I decided to start losing the extra weight. As I began to research for a way jump start my new momentum, I threw myself head first into working out with a personal trainer. The workouts were great. My body was changing but I wasnt dropping the pounds as quickly as I desired. I began to ask my personal trainer questions about nutrition, cardio exercise and supplements. He was eager to help me. He answered each question with valuable information. It was then I began the first of my three good habits.

Good Habit #1 is protein!

I used to be a vegetarian. Not educated properly, I never ate protein. My trainer taught me that protein is used for the production of muscle tissue. When you work out, using resistance training, muscle tissue tears. Protein allows the tissue to heal quickly. This is especially beneficial in avoiding injury if you over train your muscles.

Some other benefits include:

Provide a source of fuel or energy for your body. As a result, you eat less. One of its awesome benefits is reducing your appetite while helping you feel full.

For women, high protein, low carb diets send the body into ketosis. This pushes the body's metabolism into fat-burning gear. That is because protein controls many of the important highways in the body that are related to the metabolism.

When you eat the proper amounts of protein you can maintain muscle tone and still burn fat. Proteins help repair most of the bodys cells.

High quality protein also contain amino acids. How I calculated the proper amount of protein for this good habit

I was unsure about how much protein I needed when I started. Endurance athletes, body builders and non active people, all need different amounts of protein. When judging how much protein you should eat, first look at how active you are and what your goals are.

Here is a formula to calculate your own protein needs:

Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 = your weight in Kilograms Your weight in kilograms x (1.2 1.8 g depending on your activity level) = the proper number of grams of protein you should consume

Support your new habit with protein shakes

There are many ways to increase your protein intake. By far one of the greatest ways is to create your own homemade protein shakes. You can use it as a meal replacement, or a post workout boost or to help your body recover at night. It, again, depends on your level of activity and what you want the protein to do for you.

My personal trainer helped me find a protein powder that would make a good post workout shake following my sessions in his resistance training program. I also wanted a powder that could double as a meal replacement if I needed it to. When I cant make them at home, you can find me at a local smoothie shop where all the shakes are completely customizable. Two recipes that helped me develop my good habit are below.

Berry Fantastic

cup soymilk

1 cup frozen mixed berries

2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder

2 tbsp flaxseed oil or Udos Oil

2 tsp liquid vanilla stevia

Zachs Power Shake

cup oats

tsp xanthum gum

1 tbsp instant coffee

1/8 cup ground flaxseed

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

My new habit is great. I have been using protein shakes since August and have seen a metabolism spike, decreased appetite, a weight decrease and more energy. Cultivate good habits to successfully support yourself on your way to a happier, healthier body.

Zach Hunt is a Spokane Protein expert and the owner of Physzique, a personal fitness coaching company in Spokane, WA helping people to look and feel great. Go here: Spokane Fitness Coach for more info on these services and more great fitness tips.
Zach Hunt is the owner, head fitness coach and Personal Trainer Spokane of Physzique. A high-end personal fitness coaching service in Spokane, WA which helps it's clients to quickly and permanently drop unwanted fat and transform their body in the quickest time possible. Go here now: Fitness Spokane to see how you can benefit from the Physzique services.
This Article has been viewed 230 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Jennifer Stewart
 1 year 246 days ago.
153 fans.
I've been thinking about the benefits of protein lately, so your article is very timely, thanks!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.