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7 reasons you’re not exercising

7 reasons you’re not exercising

7 Reasons You’re Not Exercising!

Want to start exercising but just seem to be able to get going or stick at it?

Take a look at our advice for ways to get round common stumbling blocks preventing you from getting more active:

‘I don’t have time’

This is a common one, but it’s like anything you want to do: you have to prioritise and manage your schedule so that it fits in. Put something in your diary and treat it like a job interview – something you have to do. You can also break your activity into 10 minute chunks: 10 minutes in the morning, 10 at lunchtime and 10 in the afternoon. That way, you’ll get 30 minutes exercise without too much disruption to your busy schedule. You can also try incorporating a workout into your day by things like cycling or walking to work, or taking the dog out for a long walk rather than a 3 minute saunter to the nearest lamppost and back!

‘I’m too tired’

I don’t think that I have ever said “I wish I hadn’t just done that workout”, so even when I’m feeling tired, I know I’ll feel better after I exercise – and you will too! Most people report feeling energised after exercise, so go and workout – you won’t be sorry!

‘I don’t have the willpower’

This is a really common problem. If you need help staying motivated, try exercising with a friend or family member, so you can encourage each other. Or come to BootCamp and you’ll find the motivation provided by us! Exercising in a group is always more fun than doing it alone. Try recording your workouts in a Training Diary to help keep you on track. You’ll find it quite addictive once you get going! See the next section for more on this.

‘I don’t like exercise’

Exercise can be uncomfortable and tough when you first start. But it does get easier and a lot more enjoyable if you give it time. After a while, you’ll enjoy pushing yourself and you’ll start seeing results too. But you have to give it a chance! Try doing this: Promise yourself you’ll exercise for 30 minutes, 4 times a week, for the next fortnight. That’s 8 workouts in total. Make the promise a solemn one and plan exactly when you’ll exercise. Now stick to it. If you do this, I bet you’ll want to keep going after the fortnight is up. Try it and see – it works!

If you haven’t had your Free Trial yet, just turn up and join in – there’s no need to book!

‘It’s hard work’

Don’t try to achieve too much, too soon. Ease your way into exercising and you’ll enjoy it more, see better results and avoid injury.If exercising feels too hard, you’ll be put off. Start slowly and build up gradually. You’ll still be making progress and become addicted to it! It’s also a important that you choose an activity you enjoy. Jogging around the block in the pouring rain isn’t most people’s idea of fun!

‘The weather’s bad’

It’s tempting to skip a session if the weather’s bad. But you’re less likely to use the weather as an excuse if you’ve arranged to exercise with a friend or if you’re following a training programme. You can also exercise inside of course! Our BootCamp workouts are outdoors in the summer and some of those workouts go indoors in the winter so you get the best of both worlds.

‘I’ve fallen off the wagon’

Christmas, summer holidays, pregnancy: life has a habit of derailing a well oiled exercise routine. Getting back on the wagon is never easy, so the key is to find a spark to get you motivated again. Try these to get your mojo back:

– Buy some cool new exercise gear

– Buy a FitBit or equivalent smart watch or use a new activity tracker app

– Start working out with a friend or loved one – it’s a great way to get things back on track.

– Signing up for a fitness event. It might be a 5k fun run or London to Brighton cycle ride – whatever takes your fancy. Once you’ve booked it, you’ll have to start training for it!

– Come to BootCamp! The first workout is Free and you’ll find a great bunch of people just like you to inspire you and help you along your journey.

See you at a Workout soon!

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

Porridge Power – A great way to start the day!

Porridge Power – A great way to start the day!

Porridge – not just for Scottish people..

Not this stuff Oliver, PROPER Porridge! We’ll show you how! 

Porridge is a great way to start the day for many reasons but not least because it is packed with energy. And that energy is released slowly so it doesn’t turn to Body Fat but instead helps you get through the morning. Porridge is full of fibre too, which is great for digestive health and leaves you feeling fuller for longer. Studies show that porridge can play a role in lowering Cholesterol (the stuff that can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease).

The best way to eat porridge, in my not so humble opinion, is with lots of fruit and a squirt of honey. You can also add nuts and seeds to give it a little bit more bite and to add some healthy fats too. I sometimes add a little protein powder but not too much as it can make the porridge less palatable.

Here are some of my favourite Porridge Recipes: 

Add about half a cup of oats and a cup of milk to a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for 2 minutes or so. That’s it! Now all you add the other bits to increase the goodness and yum factor:

Blueberry and Banana Porridge with Maple Syrup.

Add a quarter cup of Blueberries and a whole chopped banana then drizzle with a small amount of Maple Syrup to sweeten.

Blackberry, Cashew and Pumpkin Seed Porridge.

This is a great tasting breakfast – the Blackberries add a beautiful and fragrant taste to contrast with the crunch and flavour of Cashews and Pumpkin Seeds. Add some Honey to sweeten if needed.

Porridge with Tinned Peach Slices.

A quick and easy bowl of goodness. I’d always recommend fresh fruit where possible but tinned peaches are so easy and keep for ever. Make sure you have a couple of tins in your cupboard and you’ll never be without something to liven up your Porridge. Throw in some raisins to sweeten if needed, or use a (small!) sprinkle of Brown Sugar.

Let me know your favourite Porridge dishes! Email them to me: Felix@LemonBody.com

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

What to Eat before and after BootCamp

What to Eat before and after BootCamp

Some simple advice on what to Eat before and after BootCamp:

Eat too much and you’ll feel ill, eat too little and you’ll feel light-headed. So what is the ideal way to eat before BootCamp?

About 2 – 3 hours before a Workout you should eat a small meal (one that will fit on a side plate) containing about 50 – 70 grams of Carbohydrates and 20 – 30 grams of Protein, but not too much Fat or Fibre as these will slow digestion. You want the fuel and nutrients from your pre-Workout meal to be available for you as you train. Foods high in Fat and Fibre digest too slowly to be useful for your Workout. If you are slightly built or if you wish to lose weight, you should use the lower figures. If you are a larger build, you may wish to use the higher figures.

These pre-BootCamp snacks are perfect to help you get the most from your Workout:

  • Tuna Salad on a slice of Granary Bread followed by a Banana.
  • Chicken Breast Slices with Tomato on 2/3 Crispbreads followed by an Apple or Orange.
  • A bowl of Porridge with Raisins and Peach Slices and a small Protein Shake.
  • Quorn Slices/Chunks and a Crispy Salad with Low Fat Dressing followed by a Low Fat Yoghurt.
  • Mashed Banana on Granary Toast and a small Protein Shake.

Some people find Protein Shakes a great and very convenient way to ensure they get the Protein they need before and after a Workout.

After BootCamp, you need to refuel and repair your body so it gets stronger and fitter, as well as continuing to keep your metabolism revved up – which it will be after BootCamp. So what you eat is important and it needs to be simple and quick to prepare so you don’t eat too late.

You should try and eat as soon after your Workout as possible; ideally within 30 – 60 minutes. This will help you to recover more quickly.

Your post Workout meal should provide you with Protein to help repair and strengthen your muscles, Carbohydrates to replenish your Glycogen stores, Fibre for digestive health and some Unsaturated (good) Fats for taste if you want them. If you have a sweet tooth, now is the time for a treat – the sugar will replenish Glycogen stores rather than end up being stored as Body Fat (which is what usually happens to sugary snacks!).

How much you eat is up to you but as a guide, you should try and get about 30 grams of Protein, about 100 grams of Carbs (less if you are trying to lose weight). Remember that Vegetables and Fruit count as Carbs, so make sure you include them as they contain lots of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to recover from your Workout. Good Fats (the unsaturated variety, such as Olive Oil) are NOT your enemy. Your body needs Fats in your diet in order to function correctly and so you should try and include some of these in your post-Workout meal but opt for healthy unsaturated Fats from plant sources in preference to unhealthy saturated types. Evidence suggests that diets high in saturated Fats (the type found in animal fat like lard, butter, cheese etc.) are unhealthy and may lead to heart disease and other complications.

Try eating these meals like this after your Workout to boost recovery and replenish your body:

  • Chicken Breast stir fry with Spicy Brown Rice and steamed Broccoli followed by low fat Chocolate Mousse.
  • Cod baked in Tomato and Shallot sauce with Green Beans and New Potatoes followed by some Fruit.
  • Chicken and Pepper Kebab Skewers in Pitta Bread Pockets with Yoghurt Dressing followed by two Chocolate Digestive Biscuits.
  • Lean Mince Beefburger with Tomatoes, Lettuce and Pickle in a Sesame Bun followed by a Banana.
  • Six Scrambled Eggs (use only one or two yolks) with Spinach on Granary Toast followed by a small glass of Orange Juice.

Scrambled Eggs on Toast are a great post-Workout meal, especially after a Saturday morning BootCamp with us. Go easy on the number of yolks you use if you have any concerns about cholesterol.

Exercise primes your body to strengthen and increase your endurance and stamina but FOOD is what is needed to recover, repair and replenish after a tough hour of running around and lifting heavy things. Make sure you get the right nutrition and remember:

  • Eat Wholegrains 
  • Cut down on sugary Carbs such as Cakes, Biscuits and Deserts
  • Eat lean Protein
  • Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables 
  • Don’t cut out Fats but choose the good variety – the unsaturated ones from plant sources like Olive oil
  • Avoid processed foods – they’re usually high in Salt, Sugar and Saturated Fats

Come to BootCamp and bring your Friends too! Everyone gets a Free Trial – just turn up, no need to book!

See you at a Workout soon!

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

Super Simple, Super Food Salad!

Super Simple, Super Food Salad!

Superfoods are so named because…

Superfoods…they’re packed with good stuff that our bodies need and not the chemicals, preservatives, saturated fat and sugar that characterises so much modern convenience food.

So, here in the LemonBody kitchen, we’ve been getting in touch with our sandal wearing, organic lentil side and created a fantastic Superfood Salad that’s full of fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals – and will leave you feeling full and (very) self righteous for hours!

So what’s in it? 

1 cup uncooked Quinoa, 2 cups Kale, half a Red Onion, 1 cup Pomegranate Seed, quarter cup Lemon Juice, 1 chopped Avocado and 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, Salt to taste.

How’s it made?

First simmer the Quinoa for 15 minutes in 2 cups of water, drain and leave to cool.

Now chop the Avocado and Kale into bite sized chunks and finely chop the Onion. Place in a salad bowl and mix in Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and add a small pinch of salt to taste. Leave for 10 minutes and then mix in the (cool) Quinoa and the Avocado and Pomegranate Seeds and your done! You can eat this immediately or refrigerate and use the next day. 

How many servings?

You’ll get 4 main courses and 6 – 8 side dishes.

How many calories?

Just 350 Calories per main serving! This Superfood Salad has lots of fibre, releases its energy slowly, contains good fats and tastes great! Yummy!

How much £££?

If you buy the ingredients at Tesco, you’ll spend about £5 to make these 4 servings. Replace the Pomegranate with Raisins or a medium tin of Peach Slices (drained) and the cost is less than £4, or about £1 for each main serving. Not bad eh?

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

Five a Day FAQs

Five a Day FAQs

Five a Day Questions? Let’s get that sorted for you..

So what’s all this 5 A Day business about then?

In the UK, we don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and so the Government recommends that we eat more with a simple and easy to follow ‘Five a Day’ message. Some Countries go even further. For example, the Australian Government recommends 7 a Day – 5 portions of Veg and 2 of Fruit. But the message still hasn’t got through to everyone, so we’ve answered some of the most common questions to keep you on the right path.

Why are fruit and Vegetables so good for our Health?

That’s an easy one to start with:

  • Lots of Fibre for digestive health
  • Low Calorie (mostly), which helps with weight control
  • Low Salt, which is good for lower blood pressure
  • High in Vitamins and Minerals that our bodies need to function correctly
  • Can help to prevent Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes and some Cancers

Does the fruit and veg have to be fresh?

Surprisingly, no! Fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced fruit, and vegetables all count towards your 5 portions.  Aim for at least 5 portions (a total of 400g or one pound) of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day.

Dried fruit and juices and smoothies can cause tooth decay, so you should try and eat as part of a meal, rather than a between meal snack.

How much is one portion of FRUIT for adults?

One portion of fruit is approximately 80g, which is roughly half a large grapefruit, one apple or 2 small fruits like plums or tangerines. One portion of dried fruit is around 30g and this is the equivalent of 80g of fresh fruit. One 30g portion could be 3 dried apricots or 1 tablespoon of raisins.

A small glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice or smoothie counts as 1 portion

Portion sizes are different for children and depend on their age and size. As a rough guide, 1 portion is the amount that fits into the palm of their hand.

How much is 1 portion of VEGETABLES for adults?

One portion of vegetables for adults is approximately 80g.

This could be 3 heaped tablespoons of cooked carrots, peas or sweetcorn, or 1 cereal bowl of mixed salad.

Children require different portion sizes, but as a rough guide, 1 serving is the amount that fits into the palm of their hand.

Three heaped tablespoons of beans and other pulse vegetables, such as kidney beans, lentils and chickpeas, count as 1 portion. Beans and pulses count as a maximum of 1 portion a day, however much you eat. This is because they do not give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as other fruit and vegetables.

Do potatoes count as 1 of my 5 A Day?

Potatoes, yams, cassava and plantain are vegetables, but don’t count towards your 5 A Day. This is because they mainly contribute starch to your diet and tend to be higher in Calories, which may not be helpful if you’re trying to control or lose weight.

Other root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips, are usually eaten as a vegetable alongside the main starchy food in a meal. These count towards your 5 a Day fruit and veg portions.

Do juices and smoothies count towards my 5 A Day?

Unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should only be 1 portion of your 5 A Day. This is because a lot of fibre is lost during the juicing process and because juicing also releases the sugars in fruit and veg, which increases tooth decay and may also promote fat storage if too much is consumed.

Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than 150ml a day – which is a small glass.

Can I just eat 5 portions of my favourite fruit or vegetable?

Yes, but to get the maximum benefits, you need to eat different types of fruit and vegetables. This variety is important because different fruit and vegetables contain different combinations of fibre, minerals and other nutrients. You should aim to include a wide variety of fruit and vegetables in your 5 A Day to get the most nutritional benefit.

Do the fruit and vegetables in takeaways count towards my 5 A Day?

Yes, they can count towards your 5 A Day. But takeaways and other ready made convenience foods can be high in added fat, salt and sugar, so only eat them occasionally or in small amounts. To find out the fat, salt and sugar content of  ready made meals, check the label. Many labels in the UK are now colour coded, so look for labels with green symbols rather than amber or red – think Traffic Lights!

Do vitamin pills or sports and dietary supplements count towards my 5 A Day?

No. Taking dietary supplements does not have the same health benefits as eating more fruit and vegetables.  

Fruit and vegetables contain additional beneficial substances, such as fibre. For most adults, a healthy and balanced diet containing at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day will contain all the nutrients needed. 

Some people may be advised to take a supplement by their doctor, as well as eating a varied, balanced diet. For example, women who are trying to conceive or who are likely to become pregnant are advised to take a daily 400 microgram (mcg) supplement of folic acid until the 12th week of pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.

Can I give my baby fruit and vegetables during weaning?

Mashed or soft pieces of fruit and vegetables make ideal foods to give your baby when they start having solid foods, and are easy to prepare. 

Weaning is a good time to gradually introduce your baby to a variety of fruit and vegetables, so that by the time they are 1 year old, their diet is mixed and varied.

And hopefully, you’ll encourage lifelong healthy eating habits!

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

How Protein can help you Lose Weight..

How Protein can help you Lose Weight..

Is Fat Loss high on the list of your Health & Fitness goals?

If so, then you’re not alone. In the UK (and most of the first world) two thirds of us are either overweight or obese. That means that if you pick any three people at  random, only one of them will be at a normal weight. It is now abnormal to be normal! 

 

It’s not that people want to be carrying extra Body Fat around, it’s just that it’s almost inevitable for most of us unless we know what we’re doing and take action to prevent putting on the pounds.

We’re all really busy and we’re surrounded by convenient food that contains a LOT of Calories. Calories are the measure of energy that we apply to food. Lots of Calories means lots of energy, which is great if you have a really manual job like a labourer or grave digger that requires lots of energy expenditure. But most of us sit at desks and tap on keyboards five days a week. And because we’re busy, stressed and tired from working all week and commuting every day, at the weekend we like to relax – and for many of us that means lots of food and lots of drink too.

Over the last couple of centuries, and particularly the most recent decades, vending machines filled with cheap soda, chocolate bars, and candy have made their way into schools and work places, junk food has become available on every street corner, and driving has replaced walking as the primary means of transportation. Top that of with the fact that the levels of hormone-disrupting, pro-inflammatory toxins and harmful substances in the food we eat, the drugs we take, and the air we breathe have increased dramatically lately, and you can start to understand why the obesity epidemic has spread like fire in dry grass over the last couple of decades.

There are certainly some people out there who don’t really seem to care about what they eat or whether they’re carrying 10, 20, or 40 pounds of extra fat mass around with them, but these individuals are the exception rather than the norm. If you talk to a person who is overweight or obese, he’ll likely tell you that he wants to lose weight and that he’s tried numerous diets and supplements in his quest for leanness – but without sustained success.

One of the main reasons so many people aren’t able to achieve sustained weight loss is that they don’t know much about nutrition and body fat regulation, but rather just jump from diet to diet, often picking the nutritional strategy that’s trending at the moment or basing their food choices on what the latest edition of their favorite health magazine has to say about what we should eat. Many try to count calories, but when the cravings and fatigue get intolerable – which they usually do if you deliberately restrict your energy intake over long periods of time – they give up, often falling back into old habits.

Designing a slimming diet

To be able to achieve sustained weight loss, we have to acknowledge that the human body is a complex system that has its own mechanisms for regulating body fat storage, not just a passive vehicle that comes along for the ride. If we try to lose weight by consciously restricting the number of calories we eat – without making any changes to the composition of our diet – we can quickly end up feeling that we’re fighting against our own body. Calorie counting, at least by itself, rarely works over the long-term; it just makes us go around hungry and fatigued, until we finally succumb to the desire to eat to satiety again.

To achieve sustained weight loss, we shouldn’t just consider how much we eat, but perhaps more importantly, what we eat.  By eating the right types of foods, you’ll improve leptin and insulin sensitivity, turn down the inflammatory tone in the GI tract and the body in general, and “reset” your taste buds, all of which are critical to achieving a healthy body weight.

Several factors associated with contemporary Western diets and lifestyles come together to promote overeating and body fat accumulation, and as I’ve repeatedly highlighted here on the blog, I believe focusing on just one macronutrient (“Carbs make you fat!”) or a single lifestyle factor (“Adequate sleep is the key to weight loss!”) is way too simplistic. Rather, to achieve good health and a lean physique, we have to leave our many, if not most, elements of the typical Western diet and lifestyle behind us and return to the template provided by our primal ancestors.

That being said, “just” changing your intake of a single nutrient or dietary component can sometimes be enough to see major health improvements. One such nutrient that plays a particularly important role in body fat regulation is protein.

Our strong appetite for protein is written into our genome

Hunter-gatherers (both contemporary and ancient) typically eat a lot more protein than most people in contemporary, industrialized societies. Today, a diet in which 20-30% of total calories is derived from protein is usually classified as a high-protein diet, but from an evolutionary perspective, this intake level is actually not particularly high. Estimates based on interpretations of ethnographic data suggest that hunter-gatherers generally derived between 19 and 35 percent of their calories from protein, which is quite a bit more than the average protein intake of approximately 15 percent in the U.S.

If we place ourselves on the African savanna 2 million years ago, mark that as our baseline, and look at the types of diets that have been consumed by members of our genus, Homo,since that time, it becomes clear that it’s more accurate to describe the contemporary Western diet as a low-protein diet, while so-called high-protein diets (>20% of total calories from protein) actually should be classified as having a “normal” protein content.

The levels of protein consumed by hunter-gatherers (about 20-35% of total calories) are the types of intake levels that conditioned the human genome over millions of years, so it makes complete sense that a growing pile of research supports the use of “high-protein diets” in everything from the prevention of cardiovascular disease to weight-loss interventions to the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Protein can help promote weight loss through several different mechanisms

Studies consistently show that so-called high-protein diets offer superior weight loss benefits compared to diets containing low-moderate levels of protein (10-15% of total calories from protein), This makes complete sense, as we know that protein increases satiety and thermogenesis to a greater extent than the other two macronutrients.

Basically, protein helps you feel full and satiated, thereby making you less likely to “overeat” or get cravings for more food between meals. As for the thermic value, it takes quite a bit of effort for your body to break down and make use of the protein you got from the lean, juicy steak you had for dinner, meaning that the actual amount of calories you derive from the steak is lower than what you’d expect from simply looking at the nutritional information on the label.

Also, high-protein diets may improve leptin sensitivity in the central nervous system. This is critical, as one of the main reasons so many people have trouble losing weight is that their brain have become desensitized to the signals from the hormone leptin.

Leptin is secreted by fat cells in proportion to their size and is received by receptors in the hypothalamus. If we carry a lot of fat mass, the brain is supposed to respond to the high levels of circulating leptin by lowering our appetite and ramping up the use of stored energy. However, we don’t have to look far to see that this mechanism doesn’t always work flawlessly, as no one would be overweight if it did.

When the brain becomes resistant to the signal from leptin, it “thinks” the body carries more fat than it actually does and starts defending an elevated “body fat set point”. This situation makes it very difficult to lose weight unless leptin sensitivity is improved. As mentioned, eating more protein could help in that regard.

Top all of this of with the fact that several studies both in humans and animals have shown that our appetite for protein is so strong that we “keep eating” in an attempt to reach a targeted protein intake, and you can quickly understand why it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough protein if your goal is to lose weight.

This so-called Protein Leverage Hypothesis, which say that we “prioritize” protein intake over total calorie-, fat- and carbohydrate-intake, is  supported by studies which show that individuals given a diet with a low protein content (e.g., 10% of total daily calories) consume more total calories than individuals who are given a diet with a high protein content (e.g., 20% of total calories).

Boosting your protein intake

So, how can we transfer all of this into some real-life, practical applications? I think one of the biggest mistakes people make in their quest for weight loss is that they try to make it through the day by only eating salads, fruits, and other plant foods with a very low energy density. While I definitely think it’s important to focus on the energy density of the food you eat, it shouldn’t overshadow everything else.

If all you eat is a vegetable smoothie for breakfast and a salad with no added protein for lunch, you’re bound to crash later in the day, perhaps devouring everything in sight when you get home from work. However, if you consume some scrambled eggs for breakfast in addition to your smoothie (or better yet, start chewing your vegetables instead of drinking them) and add some chicken to your lunch salad, you’ll feel more satisfied throughout the day and improve your odds of losing the unwanted body fat that has accumulated over the years.

Perhaps needless to say, it’s not just the amount of protein we eat that matters, but also where we get it from. Steer clear of CAFO-produced meats, farmed salmon, eggs from chickens that live in crowded unsanitary conditions, and other similar animal products. Instead, seek out high-quality, organic foods and grass-fed meats.

Finally, I want to make it clear that there’s no reason to go overboard, such as by eating huge steaks every day or drinking raw eggs before bed. Rather, aim for a moderate intake of high-quality protein at every meal.

Personally, I typically derive about 20-27% of my total calories from protein, the exact level depending on how much strength training I do. I find that keeping my protein intake at this relatively high level helps me maintain a lean frame and avoid cravings for unhealthy food.

Now I want to hear from you: How much protein do you consume? Are you going to increase your intake after reading this post?

Felix

Felix

Founder

Captain Felix Deer joined the Army in 1985 and served in a number of Training Officer roles, qualifying as a Unit Fitness Officer in 1986. Since leaving the Army in 1994, Felix has sold property, built houses and flown airliners for a living, but has always maintained his keen interest in Fitness.

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