We have a fantastic product available which is a great alternative to Vital Greens. The Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens product will get you started in the right direction. Read on and find out what it can do for you.

What is Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens?

Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens is a scientifically-formulated combination of over 62 phytonutrients from herbal extracts, prebiotics, probiotics, plant enzymes, essential fatty acids (EFAs), super green foods as well as land, sea and cruciferous vegetables. It is dairy-free and a perfect fit for vegetarians.  This product also stands out because it has no artificial flavours, colors, sweeteners and hidden ingredients.

Benefits of this Vital Greens Alternative

1. You will look good, feel better and have more energy— since this product packs a wallop because of its high vegetable content, you would be also wise to pair consumption of our product with regular exercise. The result?  Lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower obesity and decreased risk of heart disease.

2. It is a rich source of essential fatty acids (EFAs)—these essential fatty acids are what you can call a jack-of-all-trades in that they are major role players in carbohydrate metabolism, proper immune system function, brain health, cardiovascular health and energy production. EFAs increase the fluidity of cell membranes and by doing so, help toxins out and bring nutrients into your cells.

3. It gives you well-established, health-enhancing effects—since Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens boasts a wide array of power-packed vegetables such as barley greens, wheatgrass, spinach and aloe vera that balance the body’s pH level. This offsets the acidity caused by many environmental factors.

4. Regular consumption helps prevent cancer—the land vegetable ingredients of Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens are rich in vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that are potent in antioxidants and can neutralize free radical damage. What this simply means is that this powerful product is cancer’s worst nightmare.

5. It cleanses your system—Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens is loaded with fiber that sweeps away all the toxins and free radicals in your colon. It also boasts of inulin, a fiber blend that improves or maintains colon health by increasing the absorption of minerals, particularly calcium.

6. Enzymes promote absorption and assimilation—the presence of enzymes in Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens helps your body absorb nutrients from the food you eat. As a digestive support ingredient, black pepper extract enhances the absorption process through the intestines. Because of this,  Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens also makes sure that you get the greatest possible nutritional value from foods.

Perhaps you have denied yourself the nutrients that can only come from vegetable greens all these years. You don’t have to anymore. While it is always going to be improtant to consume a balanced diet full of fruits and veggies, if you are unable to get in your daily serves then this phytonutrient supplement could be a great alternative to Vital Greens.

For more information, check out Ultimate Nutrition Vegetable Greens from our online store!

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Almost every supplement company has a protein powder. Many have multiple protein powders designed for various uses.

One of the most common queries we are asked (both within our supplement store and within our personal training arm) is the following:

“What is the best protein powder to build muscle?”

Put simply, there is no “best” protein powder to fuel muscle growth. Sure, there are varying qualities between brands, differences in popularity, ratings and availability, but none of these in isolation will determine what the best protein powder for building muscle will be.

So let’s narrow the question down a little and I’ll run through some protein powder basics. Dietary considerations aside, and generally speaking, the best type of protein powder is going to be a protein powder derived from milk, of which there are two primary types available in protein powder form:

• Whey Protein
• Casein Protein

Generally speaking, whey protein is a very high quality and faster absorbing protein type. You’ll typically find whey proteins in your pre- and post-workout shakes, which are quite important to facilitate recovery and hence muscle growth.

Caseins are very widely used in night-time proteins due to their slow absorption rate and yet still high quality. Because they are broken down quite slowly, you can be assured of a slow release into the system to prevent muscle breakdown while you’re sleeping.

Of course, there are all different proteins in between these two extremes, often utilised throughout the day, but for the purposes of this article, let’s stick with the best protein at the most important time of the day – before and after your workout.

Whey proteins are broken down into various types. If you’re after the absolute best type of protein to utilise before and after your training session, go for a hydrolysed whey protein isolate. This is the best quality protein with the highest rate of absorption.

There are a number of hydrolysed WPI’s available on the market today, all with varying degrees of hydrolysation. Worth noting, WPI’s are never “fully” hydrolysed. Marketing tags may imply otherwise, but 100% hydrolysed typically refers to 100% of the protein has undergone the hydrolysation process, which results in only a fraction of this protein actually being hydrolysed. (Yes, semantics).

It’s hard for me to recommend a specific brand of product to be the absolute best. This is where your preference comes in with respect to taste, value for money, mixability and so on. What I can recommend are two key products that are extremely popular and highly rated by our customers:

Optimum Hydrowhey: A relatively newer product on the market which is a hydrolysed WPI. In Australia there are limited flavours available (presently only 4) and the product is fairly expensive.

AST Sports Science VP2: Also has four flavours currently available within Australia and has long been respected as a leading quality hydrolysed WPI on the market.

No matter how good the protein powder is, it is imperative to ensure that your nutrition and training strategy supports optimal results. Never rely on a protein powder alone to deliver maximum muscle gains.

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Of course there is always going to be a bit more to it than that. One thing of particular importance is that a calorie from one food isn’t going to necessarily equate to the same amount of energy digested from another food.

For example, let’s consider 20g of jelly beans (practically all glucose) and an apple. Both foods are high in sugar and both are approximately 80 calories (roughly 334 kJ), from about 20g of carbohydrate (in the form of sugar). But the net effect of the jelly beans will have a much greater impact in preventing your weight loss as compared to the apple.

Why is this so?

A jelly bean is predominantly glucose, a simple sugar that is naturally found in the blood stream. Our body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose in order to feed vital organs and muscles. When consuming a jelly bean, it’s already in a very simple form and therefore the body doesn’t really have to do all that much to digest the food. Think about it – minimal chewing is involved (which does expend energy) and then the stomach quickly and easily breaks this jelly bean down into a form that can be easily absorbed into the blood stream.

Conversely, an apple is comprised of a much more complex structure, full of fibre too. The apple is much more difficult to break down into your body. Much more chewing is involved and then the stomach has to work much harder to digest the apple for absorption into the body.

If we compare the glycaemic indexes (GI’s) of these two foods, you can easily see the contrast in the rate of absorption of both foods. A jelly bean will have a GI close to 100 (very fast to absorb), while an apple will have a low GI around 40 depending upon the variety and region of growth.

These GI’s, by definition, advise us that the 20g of carbohydrates are absorbed very rapidly in the jelly beans, in contrast to a very slow rate of absorption with the apple. The jelly bean sugars will be in your blood stream within an hour (give or take), while the apple will take about 2-3 hours. What this means is that the glycaemic load (GL) is much lower in the apple than in the jelly beans. A serving of food with a lower GL will be less likely to provide you with a surplus of calories at any point in time and instead provide a sustained release of energy into your body. Ultimately this means that it will be more effective for weight loss by avoiding fluctuations in energy being utilised by the body.

Although this is only just one example, the morale of this story is that a calorie from one food is not the same as a calorie from another food. Sure, it all ends up as energy, but it is very important to understand how foods will impact your body differently.

Generally speaking, you should be aiming to consume foods that are natural in nature. The more processed a food is, the more likely it is to be absorbed quickly into the body. Instead of confectionary, have whole grains or fruits. Instead of fatty fried foods, have seeds or nuts. And instead of highly processed deli meats, have some turkey or chicken breast. Not only will these foods contain better “quality” calories, they will also generally contain higher quality nutrients too. And of course ensure that your diet is well balanced with an array of foods including plenty of vegetables too!

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I have spent the past five and a half years (since Amino Z’s inception) writing about the benefits of a healthy, well-rounded diet. There are numerous articles explaining the benefits of wholefoods (foods which are not processed) and why you should avoid high sugar, high fat, processed foods (AKA junk food!).

But then I pondered, why not bring some balance to this site. Being the optimist that I am, surely there is some good to junk food! And after some thought, I am now a firm believer in the power of junk food…and in particular, the power of “too much” junk food.

If you eat a healthy well-rounded diet, it’s commonsensical that you’ll feel great, full of energy, look great and improve the quality of your life significantly. The complete opposite is true when you eat too much junk food. If you fly right off the rails and over-indulge in fat-riddled sweets, you’re likely to feel one (or all) of the following:

• Guilt
• Lethargy
• Nausea
• Disgust
• General unhappiness with yourself
• A lowering of self-esteem
• …and possibly even a physical manipulation of the body into a fetal position

These are all powerful feelings – powerful enough to motivate you to make the decision never to put your body through this torture again.

From a health and well being point of view, junk food is poison to the body. But if you’re a compulsive junk food eater (or binger), maybe you do need to go overboard just to realise the long-term damage you are doing to your body. For some, this is just what you need to do in order to create an emotional trigger to intrinsically motivate yourself for long-term success.

I’m sure that there are going to be a bunch of people out there who would completely disagree with what I’m suggesting here, especially considering the counter-intuitive nature of “eat crap to get healthy”. Although it would be wonderful if everyone could just flick a switch and eat healthy all the time – but not many people have the ability to do this (especially after having eaten junk food consistently for years where both the body and the mind are addicted to it). Interestingly, in my experience, a bout of over-eating (not by design) has often resulted in some phenomenal achievements and long-term lifestyle changes.

Ultimately the point of this article really has nothing to do with eating junk food. Rather, junk food is merely one example of an experience that can be used as an emotional trigger to instill long-term positive change in one’s lifestyle. (And no, I’m not suggesting that we all go out and eat as much greasy take-away as possible until we end up in the emergency room!).

Whether you’re after weight loss, toning, muscle gain, or just a general improvement in health, the key is consistency. To be consistent over a long period of time will yield significant results. Being consistent for a few weeks in a row with a short-term mindset will only lead to dissapointment. You may not need to feel so disgusting from a junk food binge to motivate you to make a long-term change – but you need to find that trigger that will yield long-term sustainable results.

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Many men and women alike wish to tone up without adding “bulk”. Before we get into how protein powders can (or can not) help you to accomplish this goal, let’s actually define what the goal is.

What is toning?

Toning is a term synonymous with sculpting, defining and shaping.  Although we all understand what the end result of toning is, the processes behind accomplishing this goal is often not completely understood. Toning is effectively the combination of two processes:

1. Fat loss
2. Muscle Gain

The degree to which these two processes are required depend on the individual. For example, someone who is naturally strong yet quite overweight may need more fat loss than muscle gain. Meanwhile someone who is very skinny may require minimal fat loss and more focus on muscle development.

Because the processes required to accomplish a toned physique will vary greatly between people, the actual training and nutritional approach will vary greatly too. The focus on resistance training, cardiovascular training and diet will vary greatly.

Protein Powders and Toning

Now that we’ve defined exactly what toning is, let’s consider how protein powders come into the equation.

Protein powders are simply the protein extracted from foods and made into a powdered form. They help to boost your protein intake, which is particularly useful if you are unable to consume adequate protein through dietary methods.

Further, protein powders have the unique ability to be absorbed extremely quickly by the body relative to food. This makes them particularly useful to aid in recovery after a high intensity workout.

If your toning goal is more muscle gain dependant (we’re not talking bulk though), protein powders are almost a necessity.

Immediately before and after your weight training session, consuming a serve of high quality protein powder can provide your body with the essential nutrients required to develop muscle mass. Without consuming a protein shake, you will not obtain optimal muscle development results.

During the day time, you will have a heightened requirement for protein due to the focus on muscle development. A protein shake in the morning is very important (having gone all night without eating). For this reason, a slow absorbing protein in the night time is also a good idea to deliver a steady protein source into your body.

During the day, if you are unable to obtain adequate protein from food alone (which is often the case), it is a good idea to be consuming a protein shake to bump up your protein intake.

Don’t be concerned that you’re going to bulk up (whether you are male or female). Muscle growth occurs very, very slowly. It can take years to gain significant bulk for a male and even longer for females due to differing hormone levels. Remember, protein is only an extract from food – you’re simply consuming a higher quality protein source, since it has been processed in a way to optimize absorption.

If your toning goal is more fat loss dependant, protein powders can be very effective in a number of manners.

Following an intense training workout (whether cardio or weights), you will require a high quality protein source to facilitate recovery. Without recovering effectively, your body will secrete stress hormones as a protective mechanism which can actually inhibit fat loss.

Also, protein powders can be a very effective tool during the day to utilize as a convenient low calorie meal. One scoop of protein powder is generally about 100 calories, so this can help you keep your calorie intake down and thus facilitate weight loss.

Protein powders, when used correctly, can have a profound impact on your toning goals. It’s important to be smart about your protein powder intake so you obtain optimal results. You may wish to speak to your personal trainer to help advise you more specifically.

If however you’ve made the decision and are now looking to purchase a protein powder, look for a whey based protein powder. Whey protein powders are of the highest quality. Here are some recommendations from our store:

Toning geared toward muscle development:

Before/After workout protein powder: Optimum Nutrition Hydrowhey

Breakfast: Optimum 100% Whey

During the day: Optimum 100% Whey

Before bed: Optimum Casein

Toning geared toward fat loss:

Before/after workout protein powder: BodyScience Hydroxyburn Pro

During the day: Dymatize Elite Gourmet

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But is dietary fat really all that bad? While popular culture seems to associate fat as something worth avoiding “AT ALL COSTS”, many of us don’t actually know why this stigma exists and how relevant it is to our eating habits and goals.

“Why” Fat is “Bad”

Dietary fat is common in our typical westernised diet. No doubt you’ve persistently been bombarded with messages purporting to reduce your dietary intake to lose weight, improve your health and feel better. Why is it that fat is almost always recommended to be reduced in your diet?

The first reason is because the western diet is very high in unhealthy fats. Saturated and trans fatty acids are highly present in processed foods, such as in common snacks, confectionery, take-away and restaurant meals. For the typical person reliant on convenience foods (which is many of us!), it is very easy to consume a significant amount of fat in our daily food intake. Often, this is more than our body’s require and hence there are several side effects associated with an overload of fat.

The second reason is that fat contains more than double the amount of energy than both proteins and carbohydrates (weight for weight). Fat contains approximately 9 calories per gram, while proteins and carbs contain approximately 4 calories per gram. Many weight loss diets out there support a low-fat intake simply because fat is so dense in calories (and to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit which can be accomplished by decreasing your energy intake through food).

The third reason is that there is a general assumption that fat consumed through diet is necessarily converted straight into body fat. While there is no truth to this, it is misunderstood “knowledge” that is commonly passed from one dieter to the next.

Why Fat is Good

Unfortunately, the three above-mentioned reasons to avoid fat overshadow the very important reasons to consume fat.

Dietary fat is a nutrient by definition. A nutrient is defined as “a source of nourishment”. To nourish is “to sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health and growth”.

Therefore, fat is an essential part of a healthy and well balanced diet.

Here are some of the functions of fat in your diet:

• Providing a source of energy
• Assisting in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
• Aid in maintaining healthy skin
• Maintenance of normal hormonal activity
• Absorption and distribution of vitamins A, D, E, K

Why Eating a Low-Fat Diet Could Inhibit Weight Loss

Although the benefits of fat consumption are often overlooked when it comes to weight loss, you could actually be doing yourself a disservice by cutting out fats altogether.

The reduction of dietary fat is greatly advantageous in terms of calorie reduction. After all, you need only reduce your fat intake by about half that of proteins and carbohydrates in order to obtain a similar energy reduction.

But optimal and healthy weight loss will require you to incorporate a healthy balance of fat in your diet. There are a number of reasons for this, but two very important considerations are:

1. By reducing your fat intake excessively, your energy levels will be impacted. Lower energy levels mean that less energy is able to be expended through any physical movement (such as prescribed exercise, or incidental exercise). This means that your energy expenditure will be impacted negatively.
2. Abnormal hormonal levels can significantly impact fat-loss. By reducing your dietary fat intake in an unhealthy manner, your body may actually begin breaking down other tissues (particularly muscle tissue) as a priority over the fat that you’re seeking to lose!

It is important that the fat you do consume is rich in “healthy” fats, such as mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, while aiming to exclude saturated and trans fats as much as possible.

To accomplish this, aim to eat natural sources of fat. Some very healthy choices include:

• Avocado
• Fish
• Olive Oil
• Nuts
• Seeds

Supplementation can compliment a healthy diet. Three very effective fatty acid supplements that can help with weight loss include:

• Flaxseed Oil
• Omega-3 Capsules
• CLA

If you’re interested in finding out more on this topic, I highly recommend you sign up for our free weight loss course.

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But the fact of the matter is that, the most sustainable, long-term and healthy approach to losing weight is not necessarily any of these. Rather, you need to consider all aspects to nutrition (and lifestyle).

We discuss this within this video blog below. Enjoy!

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The trouble that most of us have is actually putting this theory into practice!

Within this video blog, I discuss methods that you can implement into your routine in order to maximise your weight loss results. This discussion builds upon my blog from last week, Practical Tips for Losing Weight & Dieting.

Enjoy!

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The food that you consume accounts for your energy intake – the calories (or kilojoules) that provide the energy necessary for your body to function. Any additional calories that are consumed (on top of what is expended) contribute to weight gain. Thus, you must ensure that your calorie intake is less than what is expended in order to facilitate weight loss.

Although we have discussed exercise extensively within this blog, and the many benefits that exercise can bring to your weight loss results, weight loss can be accomplished through diet alone. This is not to say that diet in isolation is the most effective way to lose weight; far from it, but you can certainly lose a substantial amount of weight by improving your nutritional intake.

In prior articles, we have looked at how to manipulate your calorie balance in order to create the necessary calorie deficit required for weight loss. So within this discussion, let’s get into some more practical methods that you can employ in order to improve your diet.

Objectivity with Weight Loss and Diet

From my experience, one of the most vital aspects to dietary improvement is being objective. You must know exactly what you are consuming in order to improve your results. This means facing the ugly truth and identifying exactly what you are currently doing presently that results in your current physique.

For most, this is a confronting exercise. While many of us like to think that we eat in a healthy manner with the occasional treat, I have found that this is often challenged once objective measures are put into place. Our westernised diets, are, as a society, atrocious; accounting for 60% of our population being termed “overweight” according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Seeing as though the term “healthy diet” is highly subjective, this conclusion is often drawn relative to societies eating habits. To eat in a healthy manner relative to the typical Australian diet is, unfortunately, not very healthy at all.

What you must do is commence a food diary, immediately. Assess your eating habits over the course of an entire week. Identify which meals contribute to your weight loss efforts and which do not.

More often than not, Monday through Friday are likely to be the healthiest. We are in a work routine and it’s easy to adhere to a regular eating pattern, maybe with the occasional treat. From my experience, I have found that most clients struggle over the weekend when ones routine is highly variable. In particular, events such as social gatherings or trips away can really throw a spanner in the works, so to speak.

Once you have confronted your eating patterns in an objective manner, you can then take steps to improve your diet.

Planning your Diet for Weight Loss

In almost any endeavour, the most effective people have a plan of action. Your diet is no exception. If you wish to permanently modify your eating habits, it is important to begin with a plan of attack. You can only do this effectively once you are acutely aware of your current eating habits.

Previously we have discussed the importance of taking a “lifestyle” approach to your diet. This ensures that you maintain a healthy balance between your weight loss goals and your lifestyle. So to attempt to adhere to a strict diet all week long is, for most, unrealistic.

At the beginning of each week, determine what events are planned and how you will implement these into your week of eating. For example, if you are going out on Saturday night for drinks, commit to maintaining a healthy approach throughout the remainder of the week. If you have multiple outings planned, determine at which one you will have a drink, have a dessert, or have a slightly more “calorie rich” meal.

You may choose to avoid “treats” altogether and opt for an overall healthy approach. A healthy eating approach does not necessarily entail eating undesirable and unsatisfying foods all week long. There are many healthy meal choices that are tasty and filling.

Ultimately it’s all about balance. If you can structure your week so your average daily energy intake results in a calorie deficit, you’ll experience weight loss.

Accountability with your Diet

Most people know exactly what to do to be successful. Just as though many of us know that investing our money long-term will provide a great chance of financial freedom, so too do many of understand what is required in order to lose weight. The problem is that not many people put the theory into practice.

Of course, you require commitment, determination and motivation to make permanent changes to your lifestyle. Something else that will increase your chances of success is having someone (or some people) to hold your feet to the fire.

What I passionately believe to be the most effective approach is to acquire the services of an experienced professional personal trainer. Friends and family cannot hold you accountable to your weight loss goals effectively, simply because there is a personal relationship that gets in the way. Hiring a professional removes the emotion involved, and he or she can thus help you more effectively.

A very effective approach is to announce your goals to the world. Tell your friends and family that you will accomplish your weight loss goal of (so many) kilograms. Proclaim this with desire and enthusiasm. A half-hearted “mention” simply will not do. By advising others, you are placing some positive pressure on yourself, because no one wants to be perceived as a failure.

Further, announce this to yourself with emotion. Repeat this on a daily basis that you “will” lose (so many) kilo’s. That you will accomplish this goal. By performing self affirmations often enough, you will drive this desire right down into your subconscious, so your internal thoughts and feelings begin to influence your behaviours in a positive manner.

Measuring your Weight Loss Progress

Finally, be sure to measure your weight loss progress. Just as it is important to be objective with your diet, it is also important to be objective with your results. Nothing is worse than living in denial and “hoping” that your efforts are being successful.

I concede that it can be a scary thought to jump on the scales. But try to realise that your weight is going to be exactly what it is, whether or not you do decide to be confronted with your current bodyweight. Ask yourself, what is worse – identifying your current weight now, or continuing to be unhappy with your bodyshape indefinitely?

Your chance of accomplishing your weight loss goals will be significantly increased if you understand how your current efforts are affecting your bodyweight. You can then take the necessary steps to adjust your eating habits and accomplish your goals.

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Throughout the discussion we touch on topics such as:

• What is a calorie or a kilojoule?
• Calories in versus calories out
• Food energy density
• The three macronutrients and their energy composition.
• Forms of energy expenditure (or calories out)
• Cardiovascular training versus resistance training
• Tracking your weight loss progress

In later blogs we’ll be expanding this topic and getting a lot more specific about the area’s introduced in this discussion.

I hope you enjoy it!

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