If you’re someone who has set out to make any type of body transformation, be it losing body fat or building up lean muscle mass tissue, without a question of a doubt, assessing your current diet will be a must.

Having good nutrition in place is going to account for up to 80% of the results that you see with your approach so it’s something that must not go overlooked.

One of the key components of formulating a good fat loss or muscle building diet is making sure that your protein requirements are being met, so the question often arises as to whether or not you should be using protein powder.

You’ve seen many others using it in the gym before you but may have had this notion that protein powder was only for professional bodybuilders or guys who really wanted to get big and muscular.

So what’s the real deal with protein powder? Do you really need this for good results? Or can you do without it and still achieve your goals?

Let’s take a closer look into the protein powder controversy so that you can separate fact from fiction.

Point #1: Protein Powder Will Build Muscle Quickly

The very first point to address is the notion that using protein powder will help you build muscle fast. There are those people who think that simply by taking protein powder, they’ll build more muscle. After all, since muscles are made of muscle, by using protein powder you’re giving your body what it needs to build muscle quickly, right?

Not quite.  What you must remember here is that there’s no magical property about protein powder that’s going to instantly pack on muscle to your frame.

Protein powder, just like chicken, fish, or egg whites contains all the amino acids the body does require to build up lean muscle tissue, but there’s nothing amazingly miraculous about protein powder that sets it apart from the other sources listed.

So whether you eat three ounces of chicken breast or drink a protein shake, you’re still just delivering protein to the body.

Point #2: Protein Powder Is Rapidly Absorbed

Now, one thing that you must consider however that does give protein powder a slight edge over chicken, fish, or egg whites is the fact that if you purchase a whey isolate protein powder, this has been designed to break down incredibly rapidly by the body, thus it’ll be absorbed much faster.

Since immediately after a workout you want to get those amino acids to the muscle tissues as quickly as possible with no time to spare, this does make protein powder slightly superior in this instance.

Point #3: Protein Powder Offers A Convenient Way To Get In Protein

Third, also keep in mind the convenience factor of protein powder.  If you’re like most people, you don’t have time to prepare and eat six chicken breasts a day. That would just be a bit too much for almost anyone as you have a life to lead.

But, if you fail to reach your protein requirements, this will definitely influence your progress.

Since protein powder is incredibly quick and convenient – just shake and drink, this makes meeting those requirements much easier.  For many people, using protein powder can mean the difference between meeting their protein requirements or not, therefore also the difference between seeing results from their efforts or not.

So what’s the bottom line? Do you need protein powder to reach your goals? In short, no.  As long as you are sure to get protein from other great sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, egg whites, or low fat dairy products you certainly still could achieve dietary success.

But, your results may be slightly better using the protein powder due to that rapid absorption factor when used in the post-workout period.

If you’re someone who doesn’t get enough protein in with their diet unless protein powder is used though, then yes, protein powder will be a must for you.

So assess your situation. Realize that there’s nothing magical about protein powder that will transform your body but that it does offer many benefits that most people find highly appealing. 

The main point for weight loss is controlling the portions of food we eat. It is very tough to control when we have so many delicacies and varieties around us and the snacks we eat are often supersized. For some people food acts as a drug; and so to satisfy this addiction we unknowingly consume more and more food.

A ‘portion’ is the amount of food we consume at one time. Portion size implies the number of calories we consume. Dietitians say that portion control is the central key to healthy eating and keep our weight under control. Here are some tips to maintain the portion size under control.

ü  Increase quality not quantity: Consume fiber- rich foods like cereals and vegetables than fast- foods. Fiber- foods make us feel fuller for long time and so we eat less. Fast foods do not have nutrients and hence we feel hungry and tend to eat again thus consuming lot of calories.

ü  Cleaning the plates:  Completing the food in the plate is usually a good habit but a very bad habit for the people who try to lose weight. Skipping the leftovers in the plate can save a lot of calories.

ü  Reduce the size of dishes: The bigger size of the plate, the more we consume. So, if we can reduce the size of the dish, we consume a little lesser than usual.  Eat with a small spoon and savor the meal.

ü  Concentrate on eating:  Watching TV or working with the computer will distract us and that will lead to over eating. So sit down and focus on eating but not on any other issue.

ü  Eat regularly: Eating regularly at regular intervals will maintain the metabolism rate otherwise we may consume more food in the next meal thus gain weight.

ü  Water: Water keeps us full for a long time. Being hydrated avoids overeating; if you don’t like drinking too much water, drink green tea. Green tea thirty minutes before meals can curb the appetite.

ü  Eat slowly: Eating slowly gives the brain a message that you are full. Savor the meal; put the fork down between the meals to keep the portion under control.

ü  Avoid dine out: Eating out is the biggest enemy of weight loss. Avoid eating out while you are starving. Even if you eat outside make sure that you order fiber- rich foods which will cause less damage to the weight loss goal.

ü  Calorie count: measuring and weighing everything you eat can help you consume lesser calories. Read the labels on the purchased food for the amount of calories and make the measuring cup and scales an important part of your daily life.

ü  Share a meal: Sharing a meal has many benefits, apart from socializing, both of you can still be full after sharing the meal thus ensuring less calorie intake.

Though, cutting on a meal and maintaining the portion size is tough in the starting, later it would maintain very efficiently our weight and thus ensure good health.

Today, twenty four hours- a- day are not sufficient for us to match with the hectic life style because of which we are always on the toes to meet the deadlines and in the due course neglect the most important thing that keeps us healthy- Healthy food! We eat; eat anything that is fast to cook and tasty to eat but how many of us realize that these kind of eating habits are unhealthy? Even if they realize how many are changing their food habits from unhealthy to healthy?

So, eating is easy but eating healthy isn’t easy. But with little consciousness towards our health and little amount of planning we can be assured that we intake nutrient- rich food and help ourselves to stay healthy. Here are some tips and tricks to get started towards leading healthy life by eating healthy.

• Try New- Not fast foods but ‘Nutrient- rich’ foods:

Our body needs forty different nutrients to maintain good health and these can be obtained from various varieties like whole- grain products, fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, meat, eggs, fish and other protein- rich foods.

• Too little or too much can make it worse:

Eating too little or too much at- a- time will not help staying fit or healthy but still worsens the health. Eating moderate portions is the only option to survive healthy. We should be aware that eating a medium piece of fruit is equal to one serving but one pint of ice cream is equal to four servings. A recommended amount of cooked meat for a person is three ounces (eighty five grams) which equals to the size of a deck of playing cards.

• Cut down on Sugars, Salts and other Refined- Grain foods:

Sugar is the main ingredient of many varieties of foods; may it be donuts or desserts or even soft drinks. One soft drink (three hundred ml or nearly ten ounces) a day, which has about 130 calories per intake, can cause an increase of six kg (13 pounds) to your weight in a year.

ü  Instead of a donut and a highly sweetened coffee, eat whole- grain breakfast cereals like shredded wheat or wheat flakes, oatmeal, muesli and bran cereals.

ü  Choose whole wheat pasta over conventional pastas.

ü  Eat fruits and vegetables frequently as they contain less salts and sugars (unless preserved) than prepared foods.

ü  Turn it over to read the nutrition facts on a prepared food before consuming.

ü  Opt for fresh or frozen fish, poultry, meat and shell fish instead of canned or processed varieties.

• Do you have these included in your diet plan?

Have you noticed if you consume 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruits? Surveys scream to include 6- 11 servings of bread, rice, pasta and cereals and strongly suggest that any three of these ‘should’ be whole grains.

• Say ‘YES’ to Water:

Most of us are aware that 75% of our body is water. It plays a vital role in maintaining good health. Water flushes wastes and toxins from kidneys and bladder. Do you still want to say ‘no’ to water?

• Say ‘No’ to Fat:

The fat in animal products is saturated fat. Saturated fat when consumed turns into cholesterol, which increases the level of blood- cholesterol which, as we all know can have harmful effects. Small amounts of mono- unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may be beneficial to health but still do you want to say ‘yes’ to fat foods?

• Dieting is controlling of meals; not skipping them:

Skipping meals leads to out of control hunger thus leading to consume more than usual food. Skipping meals is skipping essential nutrients’ intake. Will you still skip meals?

• Limit but need not eliminate that food which you love:

Food is not just nutrition but pleasure to our taste buds too; but sometimes! Limit your favorite food if it is high in fat, sugar or salt and watch the consumption amount and frequency.

• Alcohol- Bottoms up is not fashion but is fatal:

Alcohol is definitely not for children and adults should also have control over their consumption. Two standard drinks for men and one standard drink for women is a high limit per day.

• Snacks:

Now what could be said about snacks?  Well, giving a treat to the taste buds is definitely fun and they even satisfy our sweet and salt cravings but foods that have high amounts of salt or sugar are not good for health so it better to reduce eating them often.

• Eat slow, chew more:

This is one of the best fitness mantras. We often tend to rush our food forgetting the flavor, texture and even the item that we are eating. Eat slowly, enjoy each bite, reconnect to the joy of eating.

• Say ‘no’ to stress while eating:

Watching TV (especially crime or other related disturbing programs) or arguing while eating may upset the digestion and can even cause problems like heartburn. Avoid these as much as possible.

• Early eating and eating often:

Jump start your day with a healthy breakfast and eventually consuming your food of day early gives the body enough time to digest them. Also, by eating often and moderate portions we can help our digestive system to digest the food without any complications.

• Food checklist:

The main tool to change the diet plan and lose weight is to have a checklist of what they consume. It helps in tracking what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat; which makes a great difference while trying to reduce weight.

Lastly, a child learns to walk by taking one step at- a- time; similarly if you are planning to change your diet take one step at- a- time. Remember ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Have a great day!

Like water, salt is important for our body. It is essential for the human body, without which we could never live. Salt was more precious than gold in the olden days since meats and other foods could be preserved using salts and not gold. Hence, salt was given extreme importance during the days without refrigerators and modern preservatives.

Why Salt Is Called ‘SALT’?

The word ‘salt’ is derived from the Latin word Sal, meaning salt. An interesting fact is that the English word ‘Salary’ is related to salt, as salt was the currency in the olden days in many parts of the world.

Why Do We Need Salt For, Other than Taste?
Salt has much more importance than just adding taste to our foods. We have salt flowing in our blood and other fluids without which our nerves and muscles won’t work properly. Salt is important to help our stomach in breaking down the food consumed. It also plays a vital role in transporting exhaled carbon- di- oxide back to lungs.

How Is Salt Helpful?
Salt is helpful to us in many ways.

- Salt is strong anti- stress element
- Salt is important and used to extract acidity from cells, especially brain cells.
- Salt is vital element for kidneys to extract excess acidity and pass it through urine without which body becomes highly acidic.
- Salt is essential in treating emotional and effective disorders.
- Salt is main element in treatment of diabetes and regulating the blood sugar levels.
- Salt and water play a vital role in reducing the secondary damage caused by the injection of insulin.
- Salt aids in communication and information processing of nerve cells right from conception to death.
- Salt is important to absorb food particles from intestinal tracts.
- Salt is used for cleaning lungs of mucous plugs and sticky phlegm mainly in the patients of asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis.
- Salt on tongue reduces dry cough while water enhances it.
- Salt prevents gout and gouty arthritis
- Salt is helpful in preventing catarrh and sinus congestion.
- Salt is helpful in preventing muscle cramps and excess saliva production during sleep.

How Much Salt Is Good?
4.2 grams is the ideal amount for an average adult per day while 1.5 grams is the minimum amount. Government advises 6 grams of salt intake for an adult and less for children but it is 10- 12 grams at the moment. Pro- salt arguers claim that kidneys pass out the extra amount salt over the needed through urine.

What Are The Effects Of Excessive Intake Of Salt?
as said earlier, it depends on our intake that makes salt a friend or enemy to our bidy. Excessive intake of salt causes hypertension and osteoporosis. Very young or very old people and people with kidneys disease cannot excrete extra salt and that may lead to health complications.

How to Control Salt Intake?
- Choose fresh foods over prepared foods that have high amount of salts.
- Flavor foods with salt alternatives like lemon, garlic, onion, herbs and spices.
- Make your own soups and pastas to cut down the salts
- Leave out salt while baking or cooking vegetables.
- Check for lower levels of salt during purchases.
- In snacks, opt for low salt varieties of crackers, chips and popcorn.
- Limit high salt pickles and sauces.

Many people feel that their food is tasty just because of salt and they feel so because they are accustomed to this kind of food. So if you cannot avoid salt then at least cut down and limit to minimum required amount.

The only way to stay fit and avoid falling prey to a disease is to exercise regularly. The food which we consume along with regular exercise could make a difference. Proper diet with exercise could enhance the benefits and improper intake ruins the benefits. So, it is important to understand which diet would better suit a gym goer.

Diet usually is not consuming a lot of food to compensate the energy spent in the gym. It is compensating the nutrition loss with respect to the type of exercise you do in the gym.

Pre- workout and post- workout nutrition supplement the energy lost during the workout. During workout, body undergoes a lot of pressure and it uses the nutrients to convert them to energy. There are higher chances of fainting if the nutrition loss is high and here pre- workout nutrition comes into picture. After workout body gets tired and desperately needs nutrients and this is the point, post- workout nutrition helps the body.

Every ‘body’ is different and the amount of nutrition needed is also different. Age, sex and BMR (basal metabolic rate) are also different and these play an important role while determining the workout nutrition. Everyone needs a different nutrition plan that suits them but to some extent we can have a basic plan that is common to all of us. Here we divide the nutrition plan into four parts namely: pre- workout, post – workout, during workout and cardio workout nutrition. Let’s see each of them in detail:

Pre- workout nutrition: A vigorous workout causes the energy resources to deplete and causes wear and tear of the muscles. Hence it is always a good practice to have adequate energy resources before workout. Here are some tips of pre- workout nutrition.
1. Take care of the meal timings. Large meals need at least 3-4 hour gap before workout and lighter meals need 1-2 hour gap.
2. The best energy fuels are the carbohydrates. Consume high and complex carbs prior workout which will breakdown directly into energy and help us during workout. Fats on the other side are slow digesting foods and there is no gain with these fats other than fat deposits which we do not want. Vegetables, fruits like banana, oranges, and apples could be consumed as a part of pre- workout nutrition.
3. Your diet should contain slow digesting proteins like eggs that will help during workout.
4. Keep yourselves hydrated. Drink adequate amount (400- 600ml) of fluids before workout and also carry a water bottle during workout.
5. Make sure you are not too full or too hungry.

Nutrition during workout: Hydration is the important concept during workout. Drinking fluids saves you from dehydration and sometimes there may be a need of carb and electrolyte (potassium and sodium) replacements. Consuming sports drinks could be beneficial and these drinks are broadly classified into three types:
1. Isotonic: These drinks supplement the electrolyte and carbohydrate loss through sweating during longer sessions of  workouts. Examples of these include gatorade, powerade etc.
2. Hypotonic: These fluids just replace the fluid and electrolyte loss but has no carbohydrates and best suit for rapid hydration. Example for this kind is lucozade sport.
3. Hypertonic: these have high carbohydrate level and pump up high dose of energy when consumed. These are often post workout drinks but if need to consume during workout; they have to be consumed along with isotonic drinks.

Post- workout nutrition: tear out in muscles occur after workout. Post workout nutrition helps the muscles to build the tears back, be strong and prepared for the next trauma (this process is called adaptation). The main aim of post workout nutrition is to refill the muscle and liver glycogen, fluid and electrolyte loss through sweat and damage caused by exercise. The tips for post- workout nutrition are:
1. compensate the energy loss quickly by fluids like water, coconut water etc.
2. Supply electrolytes, glycogens and carbohydrates to your body immediately after workout.
3. Post- workout nutrition will have its effect only if consumed within few hours after exercise.
4. Fast digesting proteins like milkshakes should be consumed immediately and proper food should be consumed within thirty minutes of workout.

Cardio Nutrition: As all other workouts, even cardio exercises need pre and post workout nutrition
1. Never workout with an empty stomach.
2. Keep your body hydrated and supply enough glycogens and carbohydrates.
3. Manipulate your diet according to the intensity of the cardio exercise.

Exercise and diet are both important to anyone whose goal is to stay fit. Neglecting either of these could have a bad impact on health. So with these tips one can effectively plan the workout and diet to stay fit.