How To Calculate Your Daily Calories

Here's a simple formula you can use to estimate your total caloric
needs for the day*

Change your weight in pounds to kilograms: Divide your weight by 2.2.

Your basal metabolic rate is approximately one calorie a kilogram
an hour. Multiply your weight in kilograms by the 24 hours in a day.
This is the number of calories you burn just being alive each day.

Now factor in activity: Multiply your calories needed a day (from #2
above) by the following factors, depending on your activity level:

Light activity: multiply #2 by 1.3
Moderate: multiply #2 by 1.4
Heavy: multiply #2 by 1.5

If you sit at a desk for your job, and workout 30 minutes a day, this is
considered light activity. If your job involves more motion, and you
are active in addition to your workout (you take stairs, walk to work, do
a lot of housework, etc.), this is considered moderate activity.
Construction work, athletic activity, etc. is considered heavy activity.
Most Americans are in the "light activity" level.

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How Children Feel on Psychiatric Medication

Low Carb Meal Idea

By Mark Giardini

I know for many of you who are on a high protein, low carb diet, that
meals tend to get boring. The same old meal of tuna, chicken breast
etc gets pretty bland.

Here's another idea I have.

Scrambled egg whites, with ham and tomato.

* 1/2 liter of frozen egg whites (thawed).

* 500g shaved adelphi ham.

* 1-2 medium tomatoes.

* low fat cottage cheese or low fat cheese (optional).

1. get your wok and heat it up. Add the egg white, ham, tomatoes
and cottage cheese or low fat cheese if you want.

2. stir, and continue to stir / blend until the mixture solidifies -
about 6-7 minutes, depending how runny / firm you want it.

I usually eat 1/2 what I just cooked for lunch and half in the
afternoon. In total there is about 80-90g in the total meal, so
you are looking at 40-45 g per serve.

Sometimes instead of ham and tomatoes I add corn, broad
beans, peas.

Sure beats tuna in spring water every day!

For more great recipes check out the Bodybuilders Cookbook

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Circuit Weight Training Workout

It is said that Cardio makes you lose muscle, sad as it is, it
is true and scientifically proven, what happens is that muscle
proteins are broken down and used for energy during aerobic
exercise, but the thing is that you are constantly breaking down
and re-building muscle tissue as you do your cardio workout, this
process is called "protein turnover" what's going on is that your
body is constantly alternating back and forth among anabolic
(building) and catabolic (breaking down) cycles. Reducing the
catabolic side just enough so that you stay on the anabolic side
will help you to gain muscle or at least will help you maintain
muscle.

But if you'd like to do cardio but you'd also like to build your
muscles or maintain them at least as they are I recommend Circuit
Training, because this is sort of aerobic weight training. And
since you use weights, although lighter weights, muscle is not
lost, sometimes some muscle is gained. So remember if you'd like
to do cardio but not lose muscle or gain a bit of muscle, do a
circuit training workout program.

A Sample Circuit Training Workout

1. Bench press
2. Squats (or leg press)
3. Seated rowing
4. Hamstring curls
5. Lat pull downs
6. Calf raises
7. Triceps extensions
8. Barbell curls
9. Ab Crunches

Move quickly from one exercise to the next, so as to maintain
your target heart rate. Begin by going through the complete
circuit (all 9 exercises) twice. You can build up to four times
as you improve.

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Got Milk?

Cycling champion Kristin Armstrong was recently asked the secret to
her success (she won a gold medal in the recent Olympics in China.
Her answer? She told Idaho Health that it was "chocolate milk."
Why? She revealed "I use chocolate milk as my recovery drink after
races and workouts. The carbohydrates fuel my muscles after
exercise. The protein reduces muscle breakdown and stimulates
growth. And milk’s natural electrolytes help restore fluid balance."
Is Kristin correct? And how does it pertain to hard gainers? Kristin
is right on target. The latest research indicates that milk is the
best post workout recovery choice. In spite of what Gatorade says,
milk is a far better post workout drink. Unfortunately Gatorade
lacks protein. Studies have shown that the availability of free
amino acids immediately after exercise increased muscle anabolism by
increasing protein synthesis and decreasing protein breakdown. It
turns out that protein is a vital recovery factor, and if you neglect
this factor you miss out on the full prospect that your exercise
session can provide.

Protein intake appears to be particularly important in exercises
which result in muscle damage, such as repetitive power workouts
to exhaustion and eccentric exercise (producing force during muscle
lengthening - as noted in the Training & Conditioning Journal).

In addition to getting protein, getting the right type of protein
is also enhances the recovery effort further. The right type of
amino acid intake for recovery includes a lot of leucine. Donald
Layman, University of Illinois nutrition professor, points out that
taking the amino acid leucine right after a workout can shorten the
downtime your body needs between workouts. Layman’s studies
demonstrated that when leucine was ingested within 15 minutes of
the completion of a workout, the leucine appeared to quick-start
the protein rebuilding process - exhibiting that muscles can
recover more quickly, and that the body can be better prepared for
the next round of hard core training. Guess what contains a lot
of leucine? Milk.

A study at Virginia Tech University found that circulating amino
acids rose for those who took milk after exercise (specifically
resistance training-weight lifting exercise) and decreased for
those in the carbo only and placebo groups. Sorry again, Gatorade!

The final factor in favor of milk as the perfect post workout
choice is the fact that it is liquid. Liquid gets put to work
quicker than solid food, and this gives it the edge on other
forms of protein such as steak, eggs, etc, for the quickest
action to start muscle recovery.

Milk is a simple but super effective post workout recovery aid.
Try some the next time you workout – within 15 minutes of the
completion of the routine.

Author bio

Dwayne Hines II is the Editor-at-Large for OnFitness magazine and
has written for a variety of national magazines, including Ironman,
MuscleMag, BlackBelt and Men’s Workout. He has acted as a
bodybuilding contest judge, is a certified personal trainer with
the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has
several bodybuilding and fitness books selling in major
bookstores such as Barnes and Noble.

Dwayne Hines II has just released "The Growth Zone"

Most People Fail To Work 50% of Their Muscle Tissue!

Did you know that even bodybuilders neglect half the
muscle tissue in the body?

It doesn’t take rocket science to build bigger muscles.
However, it does take a certain knowledge and application
of that knowledge in the gym and in your diet.

And the Truth is, the Sooner You Act, the Sooner Your
Muscles Start Growing!

Checkout "The Growth Zone" at Fast Muscle Growth

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