Tag: Nutrition Tips
The Top 20 Simple Weight Loss Tips
toIf you want to lose weight, you need to eat less and exercise more. This creates a calorie deficit that forces your body to burn fat for fuel. There are no ways around this – you must reduce your calorie intake and increase your calorie expenditure. Period! But, as simple as this process looks on…
Binge Eating – Causes and How To Overcome It
The cause of binge eating and how to get past it.
What is binge eating? Binge eating is defined as the consumption of an unusually large amount of food in a short period accompanied by a sense of loss of control. An eating disorder can lead to obesity, depression, hypertension, and many other physical and mental problems.
Overweight people give various reasons for their weight gain like having heavy bones, bad genetics or some unique disease which is limited to them but they never admit that they are binge eaters.
The Causes of Binge Eating
Self-judgment
A negative self-image is largely based on one’s shape, weight, and self-control. When an individual starts believing that they can never lose weight and get in shape, they start to take comfort in binge eating.
Mood Fluctuations
The more volatile your mood, the more you’re prone to binge eating. The reason for this is that eating highly palatable foods makes us feel better during that brief moment of sadness, happiness, loneliness, frustration. Binge eating also serves as a temporary distraction from negative emotions.
Many people also fall upon binge eating because eating acts as an escape from their current situation. Finally, there are some people who can’t tell the difference between being hungry and being bored.
Following a Barbaric Diet
There is a high probability that you know someone who got in shape for a brief period before returning to their old selves. These people can’t keep the weight off because they follow too strict a diet to achieve their goal. Once their program ends, they tend to eat everything they can get their hands on.
Overcoming Binge Eating
Eating Small and Frequent Meals
If your goal is to lose weight, you should consider switching to a diet plan where you eat 5-8 small meals in a day as compared to the usual three big meals. These meals should come at a gap of three hours.
Eating frequent meals will not only limit your chances of binge eating by keeping you full throughout the day, but it can also help you in your weight loss journey by spiking your metabolic rate. It means that you’ll be burning fat even while you’re Netflix and chilling.
A Little of Everything
While on a diet, many people make the mistake of having a forbidden food list. These foods turn into “trigger foods” in that their consumption can cause considerable anxiety and can prompt binge eating.
Instead of going cold turkey on them, you should limit them to cheat days or a couple of days a week – if your diet plan allows. Once there are no forbidden foods, you don’t have to worry about random binge eating encounters.
Join a Physical Activity
Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to get a gym membership or train for a marathon. Research shows that working out for at least three days a week can help improve and maintain your health.
When you put in the effort to improve your physique, you’re less likely to let that hard work go to waste by picking up a donut with the coffee. Make a list of physical activities that bring you some pleasure and follow them for at least three days a week.
What is your favorite cheat meal? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
BCAAs vs. EAAs: Will They Help With Muscle Growth?
Don’t let the old way of thinking turn you away from a great supplement for muscle growth.
Much debate has been had over the use and benefits of BCAAs and EAAs in the world of bodybuilding and sport. Studies and research have looked hard into the effectiveness of these products as a way to boost athletic performance and the necessity over others. With confusion running high around the topics of BCAAs and EAAs, it is more than understandable that you would gloss over them and move down the line. Why buy what you don’t understand?
BCAAs have long sat on shelves with great popularity for athletes of all kinds, but as more and more studies come out on these products, many people question if they are really worth it. With so much flip-flopping, it can be difficult to make that choice on something that could ultimately boost your training to a new level. It is important to know the differences between the two and the benefits surrounding them for you to make an informed and educated decision on which BCAAs supplement or EAAs supplement to buy.
Let’s dive into the differences between these two vital components for growth, both EAAs and BCAAs. What we will find is that in order for protein synthesis to begin, and ultimately that much sought after development to be fully completed, we need both BCAAs and EAAs for this to take full effect. Let’s jump into what they are, how they can help you, and why you should be taking them as part of your workout to really maximize all of your goals and that better bodybuilding physique you work so hard for.
What are BCAAs?
Branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential amino acids (EAAs). While this may seem confusing, the differences come from their chemical structures. To start, amino acids are organic compounds that provide the foundation for protein and serve as building blocks. Protein helps to build muscle and also aid in recovery, so amino acids are more than important when it comes to seeing gains in the gym.
There are 20 amino acids that make up protein, but of that 20, only nine are considered essential amino acids (EAAs). They include: histidine, isoleucine, lysine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, threonine, and valine. Three of these essential amino acids are branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) being isoleucine, leucine, and valine. What separates them from the rest is that their side chain branches out allowing for a different metabolic rate.
BCAAs are found in foods that contain large amounts of protein and what the supplement can do is stimulate protein synthesis and increase mass to really maximize all of those gains you’ve worked so hard for while pumping you with leucine, isoleucine, and valine. When you exercise, your body uses your glycogen stores for energy and as your fuel source starts to run low, the body turns to proteins and amino acids for that boost. BCAAs are a quick way to prevent fatigue and offer that much needed better energy boost.
Benefits of BCAAs
BCAAs are known to have many benefits for the body. Leucine, one of the three BCAAs, can stimulate muscle protein synthesis by activating certain pathways in the body (1), resulting in the production of muscle. However, when the muscle breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis, your body starts to lose that hard work you desperately fought for and BCAAs can help with this. The balance of muscle protein breakdown to muscle protein synthesis must remain stable for it determines how much muscle you put on (2). So while BCAAs stimulate that muscle protein synthesis, it will prevent muscle breakdown and allow for those gains to better show as well.
Along with the pros of packing on the muscle, BCAAs are known to aid in recovery and decrease muscle soreness (3), allowing for ample recovery to keep you going strong. Reducing damage will further development and not pull you away from that valuable training. BCAAs have been shown to also reduce fatigue during exercise. While so many of us experience exhaustion at some point during our workout, BCAAs improve mental focus and convert certain brain chemicals to reduce fatigue (4), ensuring you stay at that high level. The benefits of BCAAs are evident, but the debate over them never seems to let up.
Why EAAs Are Important
While BCAAs may seem like that catalyst to boost protein synthesis, prevent muscle deterioration, and ultimately lead to insane development, you cannot forget about EAAs. Without EAAs, BCAAs alone cannot actually drive progress. Although BCAAs will do their best to prime the muscle to grow, you need EAAs to build actual tissue and all nine essential amino acids need to be present for muscle protein synthesis and energy to fully take place (5).
This is crucial to note for those looking to put on more muscle mass, for BCAAs alone will not get the job done. EAAs are considered essential because your body cannot produce each essential amino acid. Only the proper consumption of better nutrients can ensure you fill your body with the right amount of EAAs and people have started to push this supplement for that reason.
The best option you could get is an essential amino acid supplement that contains a high amount of EAAs with the added bonus of extra BCAAs. This will ensure that proper growth becomes a reality and you start to really see an increase in your size and muscle mass. By combining both into one supplement you will save money and the convenience of multiple supplements which can just be an all around pain for you. The truth is you must have both BCAAs and EAAs, so make sure you are getting both with a great supplement that won’t pump you with anything other than the essentials that you get.
Should You Take Them
It seems as though both are needed to ensure you make gains in the gym. BCAAs will activate protein synthesis and reduce muscle fatigue to ensure you stay strong and complete a training session at maximum capacity. EAAs come to their aid by providing the right benefit to actually see those muscles come to fruition. While these can be helpful for that added benefit in the gym, they aren’t entirely necessary. While many people do still use them, it is critical to recognize that getting these nutrients from whole foods is always better than getting them strictly from supplements and other forms of supplementation.
With the right diet, you can already have an abundance of both in your body. Most protein rich foods have a high percentage of BCAAs in them. Foods like eggs, salmon, peanuts, and cheese contain high amounts, and if you are one to take protein powder, you get a healthy dose in that as well. To save money and see big gains occur, your grocery list may be enough to kick start your muscle regiment into gear. If you do feel as though you must take this supplement to enhance your gains and keep you working harder in the gym, then look into quality brands and see what works for you. It may take some trial and error, but you will ultimately find one that will work wonders for you.
Conclusion
A lot of debate is had around taking BCAAs and EAAs as supplements and it all comes down to the individual and what they seek to accomplish. While studies and research show many pros in taking these two, others show they may not be as useful as original thought. If you already run a strict workout regiment and have a solid diet, continuing with whole foods offer plenty of advantages to boost performance. Meeting your protein intake and thriving in the gym offer enough components to see that sought after growth. If you feel comfortable and want to experiment with BCAAs and EAAs, they do have the ability to help with muscle growth, so look into reputable brands and give them a try. While they can certainly be beneficial, you may already have what you need to succeed without them for your pre workout, intra workout, or post workout muscle building goals that stimulate muscle and tackle all of your protein needs.
See our Top Rated BCAA Supplements. Also, see our Top Rated Most Effective BCAA Supplements.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Blomstrand, Eva; Eliasson, Jorgen; Karlsson, Hakan K.; Kohnke, Richard (2006). “Branched-chain amino acids activate key enzymes in protein synthesis after physical exercise”. (source)
Tipton, Kevin D.; Hamilton, D. Lee; Gallagher, Iain J. (2018). “Assessing the Role of Muscle Protein Breakdown in Response to Nutrition and Exercise in Humans”. (source)
Howatson, Glyn; Hoad, Michael; Goodall, Stuart; Tallent, Jamie; Bell, Phillip G.; French, Duncan N. (2012). “Exercise-induced muscle damage is reduced in resistance-trained males by branches chain amino acids: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study”. (source)
Newsholme, Eric A.; Blomstran, Eva (2006). “Branched-chain amino acids and central fatigue”. (source)
Borsheim, Elisabet; Tipton, Kevin D.; Wolf, Steven E.; Wolfe, Robert R. (2002). “Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise”. (source)
Tips To Avoid The Dreaded Holiday Weight Gain
On average, most people gain 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
Tis the season! The season for spending time with family and friends; for attending an endless sea of holiday parties; and for avoiding tipping that scale. On average, most people gain 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Will you be one of them?
1. Choose Success
As the great Buddha has said, “What you think, is what you become.” Consciously decide to remain committed to your fitness plans through the holidays. Contemplate your inevitable success! Success is a choice, and it all begins with your thoughts, and results with your actions.
2. Never Attend a Holiday Party Hungry
Arriving at a holiday gathering with so many tempting food choices when you are famished is lethal. Plan ahead. Eat 5-6 healthy, well-balanced meals each day. Make sure you eat one of those small meals or have a protein shake about 30-60 minutes before attending a holiday party, even if the party is a meal!
You’ll be far less likely to overindulge and you won’t be inclined to eat everything in sight. With both your appetite and your conscience in check, you’ll find greater enjoyment and satisfaction in the modest amount of food that you’ll consume.
3. Don’t “Bank” Calories
You simply CANNOT starve yourself all day, then eat and drink whatever you want at a holiday party without consequences. It doesn’t work that way. If you starve yourself in anticipation of overindulging, you’ll ensure storing every single morsel as FAT. Yuck.
4. Locate the Veggie Tray
Every holiday spread includes some kind of fresh fruit or vegetable tray. Fill your plate with fresh veggies and eat those first, fruit second. And skip the dip! The bulk and water in the veggies will satisfy your appetite and you’ll eat less “junk.”
5. Drink a LOT of Water
Before you grab an alcoholic drink or make a beeline for the food, get a glass of water and sip on that first. For every beverage or holiday treat you consume, drink one glass of water. The water will keep you full and will definitely curb your desire to over-eat in food. Just stay near a restroom!
6. Bring Eucalyptus
Huh? Yes, It’s true…if all else fails and you’re having a hard time making good decisions at a party, suck on a sugar-free Halls Eucalyptus drop. I can assure you, absolutely NOTHING tastes good after having that flavor in your mouth!
7. Stay On Schedule
Plan your workouts every week. Treat your workouts as a regular appointment for work that you cannot and will not miss. Book it in your iPhone calendar, your planner, whatever. Remain consistent and you will enjoy an elevated mood and have MUCH more energy for the holiday season.
Finally, January 1 2015 WILL arrive, and I can promise you this: It will be much harder to get back into workout-mode after the New Year, than it is to remain consistent throughout. Your fitness goals need not be a casualty of the holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
Geo is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist whose mission is to educate and empower his clients to live healthier and happier lives. Geo has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition/ Biochemistry and is RD eligible. Geo Has maintained a thriving practice in New York City for more than 7 years. He brings the triple threat of education, experience, and passion to health & fitness for his clients.
You can visit his website here: geometrxnyc.com
5 Tips For Staying Lean And Mean This Holiday Season
This Santa’s got abs for days.
So the holiday season is upon, and you know what that means. Trips to aunts and uncles houses we only talk to once a year quickly followed by a large overindulgent meal washed down by alcohol and a nice little nap to top it off. What’s on the agenda for the next day? rinse, lather, and repeat – just with leftovers.
The holiday struggle is real, so we’ve taken the liberty of comprising a list of 5 things you can do in order to break the vicious cycle that is late December. The list is practical guide of mental and physical things you can do when the going gets tough and the tough get eating. Check out our list below.
Drink Water
Hydration is key. Though this can go for anytime of the year, it’s especially important during the holidays as you’ll probably be consuming a lot of no no foods. Try having a glass of water before and after each meal to rev up your metabolism and cleanse your system.
Moderation
Hey, we get it. It’s the holidays, you’ve been busting your hump all year long, plus your geeky little cousin is finally getting married. You want to get down and have a little fun. We’re cool with that but there’s a right way to do it. Try to fill your plate with mostly healthy options and then smaller portions of the not so healthy ones. If you’re going to cheat, cheat once with your favorite of the unhealthy options.
Drink Alcohol Early
Drinking alcohol early is imperative. It gives your body time to break down the extra calories before going to bed – a time when you can really pack on the pounds. Alcohol also disrupts your sleeping pattern as it will wake you up as soon as the alcohol has burned through your system. Try to have a glass of water for every drink you consume (key term here is TRY).
Take a hike
No really, take a walk. Walking after a meal boosts your metabolism as well as helping with the digestive process. In addition, it just feels good. A brisk evening walk with your favorite half drunk family member is a cool experience – you’ll wonder why you never did it before. Try it!
Shoveling Snow
Usually reserved as a punishment or chore, shoveling snow actually burns a lot of calories as well as keeping your drive way clean – win win! As long as you’re dressed for the weather and remember to take frequent breaks you can turn this into some well needed personal time. Back breaking labor never felt so good.
Keep your routine
Tomorrow’s Christmas…so what? We know your text message and Facebook inbox are blowing up with invites to different holiday bashes but you’ve got to put the horse before the carriage. Don’t neglect your workout to go to a party, instead work out before or after the festivities. Working out before will give you the boost of energy you need to party all night long and setting up a training session for the next morning will keep you honest. If you know you’re going to get your ass handed to your by a personal trainer the next day you’re probably going to skip on that last whiskey sour – just sayin’.
7 Unhealthy Foods That Are Surprisingly Good For You
Dietary Myths That Need Busted
When it comes to health, it often feels like nothing is simple. There seems to be a never-ending stream of conflicting recommendations from a number of health writers.Far too often the advice they provide comes in the form of blanket recommendations based on science from years gone by which is often riddled with inconsistency.The main demonstration of this is seen in the way that many foods are labeled “bad” or “unhealthy” when in actuality, a number of these unhealthy foods may be beneficial to our health.This article will look beyond much of the 2-dimensional thinking of many of the writers and highlight 7 unhealthy foods that could actually be good for your overall health.
The 7 “Unhealthy” Foods
This section will provide details on the health qualities associated with the 7 unhealthy foods – a number of the foods on the list may surprise you!
1) Fried Food
The recommendation for years has been to avoid fried food as far as possible due to its perceived negative impact on health.While cooking food in oil will certainly add calories, a number of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E & K) and substances such as beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene require fat to be absorbed (1).While consuming fat is important, it is crucial that a number of guidelines are followed when cooking with fats and oils.Look to use oils that have a high smoke point; this is simply the temperature at which the oil will begin to smoke.Allowing the oil to smoke will negatively alter the chemical make-up of the oil and the food that is then fried be detrimental on health (2).Ideally use olive, avocado, peanut, walnut or sesame oil for frying as they all have a high smoke point.Butter, coconut, and extra virgin olive oil are three examples of oils that have a lower smoke point and therefore are not a great option for cooking at high temperatures.It must be stated that for low-temperature cooking, butter, coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil are perfectly suitable options.Some have suggested that cooking oil at high temperatures can change the chemical composition so much that oil becomes an unhealthy trans fat.It is important not to reuse your oil time & time again as this is more likely to cause this change into trans fat.
2) Trans Fats
Trans fats, which are a type of unsaturated fat, are very uncommon in nature and are typically formed during the manufacturing process of specific foods.Trans fats are commonly found in our favorite junk foods and many believe that they can clog the arteries and onset a host of medical problems.In particular, there is an association between consuming trans fats and the lowering of good cholesterol (HDL) & the increase of bad cholesterol (LDL).However, it is not commonly known that trans fats can have a positive impact on your heart health. Furthermore, it has even been suggested that trans fats may have fat-burning and cancer-fighting qualities!There is a particular type of trans fat, known as conjugated linoleic acid or CLA which is believed to be responsible for these positive effects.CLA is found in a number of food sources, such as meat and dairy, and our bodies produce a small amount of it too.Studies looking at the impact of CLA have found the substance to be effective for reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even reducing the growth of tumors (3).
3) White Rice
Over the years, brown rice has emerged as the ultimate food choice for the health-conscious individual, believing it to be a better option than white rice.Brown rice is consumed by many as it contains more protein and fiber than white rice. Furthermore, white rice is associated with a large blood sugar spike whereas brown is not.While it is true that brown rice contains more protein than white, it is an insignificant amount difference.In terms of fiber, brown rice does contain more but you’d be better of getting your fiber through more nutrient-dense sources such as fruit and vegetables.And while brown rice doesn’t raise blood sugar levels as much as white rice, once again this is not significant or detrimental to health in any way.The final consideration that should be made with brown rice is phytic acid which is the acid which gives the rice its color.The issue with phytic acid is that it can inhibit enzymes that are required for the breakdown of food and prevent the absorption of key minerals (4).White rice meanwhile has an abundance of easily digestible vitamins and minerals which are essential for maintaining health.
4) Ketchup
There was once a day were ketchup was classed as a portion of veg however, nutritionists didn’t take this well.Ketchup was quickly given “junk food” status and that is where it has remained since. Providing you use a brand of ketchup that is low in sugars (like fructose), ketchup has good properties for health.Ketchup may be specifically healthy due to the high amounts of lycopene it contains which is an antioxidant found in tomatoes.It is easily absorbed by the body when tomatoes have been cooked and therefore, products like ketchup are a great source of bioavailable lycopene.Lycopene is associated with reducing the chances of developing a stroke, diabetes, heart disease, infertility, osteoporosis, and prostate cancer.
5) Bacon
There is no doubt that bacon is one of the most heavily demonized foods in existence as a result of the amount of saturated fat associated with it.Considering that recent research has busted a number of myths surrounding saturated fat and quelled many fears about it, it’s time to revisit bacon.The fat contained within bacon is mostly healthy saturated and mono-saturated fats, primarily in the form of oleic acid which is the same type of fat found in olive oil.Furthermore, when you consider the nutrients that are most important in human health, many of them come from organ meats as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and seeds.In addition, pork is also well known to contain a range of important nutrients for improving health and maintaining function.
6) Potatoes
A study by Harvard University first cast doubt on the consumption of potatoes. The research investigated a large population of individuals and their disease rates.One of the many conclusions that the researchers came to was that eating potatoes regularly causes spikes in blood sugar levels and therefore contributes to being overweight.The issue with this research is that the study included potato products such as french fries and potato chips which evidently skewed the results.No other studies on this topic have found a link between potato consumption and being overweight.Potatoes contain a large number of phytochemicals, carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals which all have an important role to play in promoting health (5).
7) Beer
When it comes to alcohol and health, many focus on the negative impact that overconsumption of alcohol can have on health rather than the positives.Wine and beer both contain polyphenols which may have heart-protective qualities. Furthermore, both drinks contain an array of vitamins and minerals.Beer has been found to have a higher amount of niacin, B5, B12, selenium, folate, silicon and selenium than wine does.When selecting a beer, the darker, full-tasting beers tend to be greater in nutrients rather than light and watered-down beers. Wine, on the other hand, has a greater amount of calcium, zinc, potassium, magnesium, iron, and manganese than beer does.Beer is typically lower in calories than wine which is due to the fact that wine generally has greater alcohol content than beer – therefore, if weight loss is the goal, beer may be the better choice.
Key Points to Take Away
1) By using the right type of oil or fat, fried foods are not necessarily bad for your health2) Although demonized, trans fats can actually promote cardiovascular health, leanness and fight cancer 3) White rice may make a better choice than brown rice as a number of nutrients found in brown rice are not bioavailable.
4) Providing that ketchup has not been sweetened with sugars (such as fructose), it is an excellent source of lycopene.
5) The majority of fat found in bacon is oleic acid which is a mono-saturated fat. This is the same kind of fat that is found in olive oil.6) While wine and beers both contain a number of nutrients, beer may be a slightly more advantageous choice as it contains fewer calories than wine.
Final Word
While many will continue to label produce as either “good foods” or “bad foods”, hopefully, this article has highlighted that often foods that are considered unhealthy actually may have a positive impact on health.
References:
1-Albahrani, Ali A.; Greaves, Ronda F. (2016-2). “Fat-Soluble Vitamins: Clinical Indications and Current Challenges for Chromatographic Measurement”. The Clinical Biochemist Reviews. 37 (1): 27–47. ISSN 0159-8090. PMC 4810759. PMID 27057076.
2-Vieira, Samantha A; McClements, David Julian; Decker, Eric A (May 7, 2015). “Challenges of Utilizing Healthy Fats in Foods123”. Advances in Nutrition. 6 (3): 309S–317S. doi:10.3945/an.114.006965. ISSN 2161-8313. PMC 4424769. PMID 25979504.
3-Lehnen, Tatiana Ederich; da Silva, Marcondes Ramos; Camacho, Augusto; Marcadenti, Aline; Lehnen, Alexandre Machado (September 17, 2015). “A review on effects of conjugated linoleic fatty acid (CLA) upon body composition and energetic metabolism”. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 12. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0097-4. ISSN 1550-2783. PMC 4574006. PMID 26388708.
4-Gupta, Raj Kishor; Gangoliya, Shivraj Singh; Singh, Nand Kumar (2015-2). “Reduction of phytic acid and enhancement of bioavailable micronutrients in food grains”. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 52 (2): 676–684. doi:10.1007/s13197-013-0978-y. ISSN 0022-1155. PMC 4325021. PMID 25694676.
5-King, Janet C.; Slavin, Joanne L. (May 6, 2013). “White Potatoes, Human Health, and Dietary Guidance12”. Advances in Nutrition. 4 (3): 393S–401S. doi:10.3945/an.112.003525. ISSN 2161-8313. PMC 3650512. PMID 23674809.
The Benefits Of Creatine: 5 Reasons To Boost Health & Performance
Creatine’s popularity remains on the rise, but some still may be skeptical of the benefits despite this being a widely researched and effective supplement for serious gains.
Creatine has become a staple supplement for those looking to get big and see great results when it comes to strength and lean muscle mass. Creatine has been researched extensively for its benefits on both recreational and professional athletes and while those looking to get big are comfortable with it, those seeking more growth with exercise performance remain skeptical even with many forms of creatine.
While creatine is a supplement known to increase muscle growth, the other benefits of this mighty supplement suggest its effects go far beyond simply bulking up for muscle mass or muscle building from taking creatine without weight gain like other supplements for better muscle production that can cause increases in muscular development for the best results when taken by men and women.
As an incredibly efficient supplement, creatine is loved by serious lifters and bodybuilders, and sought after by those looking to boost short and powerful exercise performance, like sprinting. Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid naturally found in muscles and nerve tissue and aids in supplying energy to your body. The fuel source provided is for Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) which offers short bursts of power, so during high intensity training, creatine stores in your cells get used up quickly.
By using this as a supplement, you help restore what is lost in a grueling workout and can support a longer, stronger workout to take you to, or keep you at, an elite level from taking creatine for muscle strength and resistance training and creatine can increase benefits in healthy people like other supplements.
Safety & Effectiveness Of Creatine Supplementation
Although creatine has created some cause for speculation as a potentially harmful product, through research and proper dosing, it has become one of the safer supplements with minimal side effects, even while more research is needed. Along with a solid exercise routine and healthy diet, creatine can give you that much needed boost to maximize your potential in the gym.
The benefits of this supplement go far beyond what people imagine and these top reasons why creatine is helpful for you should be reasons to have it on your shelf for long term gains from this and other supplements that can help.
Increase Athletic Performance For Results
Creatine increases strength and power output, but also aids in performance, in particular those athletes who use high amounts of energy during short, high interval intense training sessions or who need energy stores for prolonged exercise (1). For those who need the most output with as much power as possible, creatine offers that explosive benefit of bringing energy to the forefront.
On top of the physical benefits associated with it, its ability to resupply those energy stores can support recovery and get your muscles to where they need to be to see growth and increased energy from certain levels of creatine to enhance workouts from the effects creatine has. A good creatine supplementation can also reduce muscle damage (2) during training to keep you as healthy as possible during complex, high intensity training sessions for the long term from the use of creatine to help for safe and effective gains from reasonable doses.
Promotes Strength For Serious Big Lifts
The most widely accepted benefit of creatine is its ability to promote strength and muscle growth from those who use creatine for increased body mass. Consuming creatine helps your muscles build phosphocreatine which allows for better workouts with intense strength-building exercises. Creatine has a great effect on muscle growth by causing the cells to inflate improving muscle pump.
Since creatine contains L-arginine, your blood flow and circulation improve (3) and your muscles retain more water. It allows you to push through that extra rep or two and maximizes your time in the gym to lift more safely and effectively while providing that big, toned aesthetic you want. The benefit creatine has on your myogenic satellite cells is important for muscle regeneration and the overall maintenance of your skeletal muscle and health (4).
Improves Metabolism For Enhanced Calorie Burn
Creatine can improve your insulin sensitivity and improve glycemic control (5) to help boost your metabolism. With an increase in metabolic rate, you can increase the number of calories burned also aiding in fat loss. Since creatine allows for prolonged activity, your ability to burn more calories comes from the fact you can train longer.
This will allow you to better control your weight management as well as energy control to benefit your optimum strength and weight loss goals without sacrificing that hard-earned muscle from exercise for weight and the intended effect from supplement loading.
Boosts Mental Capacity To Improve Overall Focus
A grueling workout can be draining both on your body and your mind. Creatine helps boost mental capacity by improving your working memory and processing speed (6). For those struggling to stay focused and alert to get the most out of training, creatine offers great benefit to brain power.
As you become more fatigued, creatine can enhance brain function (7) by increasing oxygen utilization in the brain. Creatine’s ability to reduce mental fatigue makes this a great supplement to keep you grinding harder so you stay alert and building muscle without the sluggish, lazy feeling throughout the day for your daily dose of energy.
Elevates Testosterone To Spike Energy Levels
Those who know the feeling of low testosterone understand the frustrations that come with it. A decrease in energy levels, endurance, mental sharpness, and sex drive can all be unfortunate side effects of low testosterone which can negatively affect your training.
What creatine can do is convert testosterone into a more active form, known as dihydrotestosterone, to increase the effect (8) and aid in elevated levels of testosterone and the benefits it provides. You will find that your energy, endurance, and mental capacity all improve to keep you running at maximum capacity without worrying about a crash in the middle of your workout to ruin your day.
Wrap It All Up
While creatine is widely accepted as a strength building supplement, some athletes still shy away from it for fear of getting too big. Those looking to pack on lean muscle tend to lean towards other supplements to keep from gaining too much muscle. But the benefits of this supplement on the body and the mind are hard too ignore.
Creatine is a great supplement for those looking to get bigger and see substantial muscle growth, but creatine’s ability to increase athletic performance, boost metabolism and testosterone, and promote cognitive function are all solid reasons this supplement should be on your shelf. Look into the benefits of this supplement and feel comfortable in knowing that your supplement is providing so much more than what you originally thought. Supplemented with a great workout regimen and healthy diet, creatine will give you that boost for gains and the ability to train at the highest level for weeks to come with minimal to no symptoms.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Graham, A. S.; Hatton, R. C. (1999). “Creatine: a review of efficacy and safety”. (source)
Wang, Chia-Chi; Fang, Chu-Chun; Lee, Ying-Hsian; Yang, Ming-Ta; Chan, Kuei-Hui (2018). “Effects of 4-Week Creatine Supplementation Combined with Complex Training on Muscle Damage and Sport Performance”. (source)
Bode-Boger, Stefanie M.; Boger, Rainer H.; Galland, Andrea; Tsikas, Dimitrios; Frolich, Jurgen C. (1998). “L-arginine-induced vasodilation in healthy humans: pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship”. (source)
Vierck, Janet L.; Icenoggle, Deri L.; Bucci, Luke; Dodson, Michael V. (2003). “The effects of ergogenic compounds on myogenic satellite cells”. (source)
Pinto, Camila L.; Botelho, Patricia B.; Pimentel, Gustavo D.; Campos-Ferraz, Patricia L.; Mota, Joao F. (2016). “Creatine supplementation and glycemic control: a systematic review”. (source)
Rae, Caroline; Digney, Alison L.; McEwan, Sally R.; Bates, Timothy C. (2003). “Oral creatine monohydrate supplementation improves brain performance: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial”. (source)
Avgerinos, Konstantinos; Spyrou, Nikolaos; Bougioukas, Konstantinos; Kapogiannis, Dimitrios (2018). “Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials”. (source)
Arazi, H.; Rahmaninia, F.; Hosseini, K.; Asadi, A. (2015). “Effects of short term creatine supplementation and resistance exercises on resting hormonal and cardiovascular responses”. (source)
4 Best Post Workout Meals To Ensure You Make Healthy Gains
Consuming the right nutrients after a workout can make or break your gains in the gym, so don’t let poor planning hurt you.
We all think hard about what we eat before a workout, right? We need energy and fuel to lift big and maintain the gains we worked hard for. After all that effort under the bar, it would be a shame to lose it all due to a poorly planned pre workout or post-workout meal. Eating carbs and protein after your workout are the keys to rebuilding the glycogen stores and repairing those strained muscles. With the right nutrients, you will decrease the breakdown of your muscle protein, increase growth, and ultimately enhance recovery all while seeing your hard work come to fruition with what you eat after a workout.
Often times in our busy lives, we just do not have the time to sit, plan, prepare, and cook a full dish from scratch. This causes us to resort to supplements and replacements to get all of those vital nutrients. While this may be enough to get us through the day, we may not be maximizing our gains to the fullest extent of what they could be. By working to plan post workout meals ahead of time, we will be able to eat well and enjoy a wonderful dish we took time to create for ourselves. Don’t throw away your protein supplements or replacements just yet. Use them sparingly for those times you really don’t have enough energy to cook to eat after a workout.
Timing, timing, timing. Many suggest eating your post-workout meal within 45 minutes upon completion of your workout as your window for protein restoration begins to diminish after that. Of course, this depends on person to person, but that 45 minute window will help your body rebuild the glycogen stores faster, thus ensuring those gains do not fall short. This also gives you enough time to get home and prepare a solid dish without feeling rushed to get something done. For bigger gains, have a protein shake immediately after to really flood your muscles with those nutrients and then top it off with a solid home cooked meal as a good idea for your muscles to use those nutrients.
Thinking of fun and easy ways to create healthy options all while enjoying the meal can be difficult. The benefit is that there are so many alternatives and new ways to try different dishes with other variations which can make for fun and interesting dishes. Don’t let the same old monotony bore you into eating the same foods or not enough of the foods you really need. Here are 4 easy post-workout meals to ensure those gains keep rolling and your hard work does not go unnoticed. Oh, and they taste good too.
Benefits Of Meals After Training
You should be sure you eat a post workout meal because the benefits are undeniable for a host of physical and mental reasons. All of your hard work in the gym will go completely unnoticed if you decide to not eat properly post your workout and what will be the point if that all goes to waste. Getting these vital nutrients can improve recovery and lessen the amount of muscle soreness you may feel, thus keeping you primed for whatever workout comes next and enhancing your sports nutrition and diet.
By improving bone mass and building muscle, you will start to get that toned aesthetic you have been seeking and will be able to properly lose body fat to use it for energy in the process of muscle protein synthesis. This will help change your body composition. With other benefits like assisting in immunity, it is no wonder why these meals post training are so important with some of the best foods to eat for pre and post workout nutrition to build muscle and assist in weight loss.
#1 High Protein Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake
Who doesn’t love a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup? This milkshake will curb that sweet tooth all while giving your body the proper nutrients to recover. Blend this up at any time of the day for that sweet treat feel minus all the sugar. Take on the go or enjoy on the couch, but either way, this milkshake is sure to be right up everyone’s alley. For an added bonus, toss in your favorite protein powder and combine a post training meal with your protein shake into the perfect meal for your post workout nutrition or post workout snack for weight loss and muscle growth.
Ingredients:
¼ cup peanut butter
2 medium bananas
1 ½ cup of low fat milk or almond milk
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Add ingredients in a blender with desired amount of ice. Blend until smooth or desired texture.
Top with any desired topping of your choice such as mini dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or cinnamon.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 250
Protein: 11g
Fat: 12g
Carbs: 29g
#2 Protein Pancakes
Everyone loves a good, thick pancake, but that burden put on by carbs can be quite the deterrent. These protein pancakes are sure to give you all the feels of those thick, fluffy pancakes we all know and love without the guilt attached. Packed full of protein, these are great for those trying to get lean without sacrificing all the gains. For that extra love, find some sugar free syrup (or cheat a little) and enjoy pancakes the way you used to as a kid, just with a little extra health boost. The bonus: add whatever toppings you love on top for that sweet craving and high quality meal.
Ingredients:
4 eggs whites
½ cup of oats
½ cup of cottage cheese
1/8 teaspoon of baking powder
½ tsp of vanilla extract
Method:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Add mixture to a frying pan and cook on medium heat. Once the pancake reaches a golden color with bubbles on top, flip over to the other side. Once cooked through, add whatever desired topping on top and enjoy.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 421
Protein: 51g
Fat: 6g
Carbs: 39g
#3 Black Bean Egg White Omelette With Avocado
A good omelette is the perfect post-workout meal to ensure those gains stay right where they are. Everyone has their favorite add-ins to an omelette, whether it be peppers, onions, spinach, or a host of any desired topping. This black bean omelette is great because with the added protein of the beans, your overall protein intake is met without a second thought. Feel free to add whatever else to this hearty meal for your favorite omelette.
Ingredients:
4 eggs whites
¼ cup of black beans
1 cup chopped tomato
1 avocado
1 ounce of low-fat cheese
Method:
Pour egg whites into a frying pan on medium heat. Add black beans, diced tomatoes and low-fat cheese (or whatever desired toppings) on top of the egg whites. Once cooked through, flip half of your egg whites over to create the perfect omelette. Add diced or sliced avocado to your dish and enjoy.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 431
Protein: 29g
Fat: 24g
Carbs: 31g
#4 Beef and Squash with Marinara
For those who enjoy a workout later in the day, this dish is sure to satisfy your afternoon, or even dinner, cravings. Satiate your desire for a hearty protein with beef and add that perfect pasta substitute of butternut squash or zucchini to feel great while enjoying this fun spinoff of pasta and meat sauce. Between the beef and the squash, your energy stores will feel recharged and your hunger will be suppressed offering a great post-workout meal.
Ingredients:
8 oz of lean grass-fed beef
1 butternut squash
4oz marinara sauce
Salt and pepper for taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut one whole butternut squash in half and place in oven for 45 minutes, or until soft. Cook 8oz of lean grass-fed beef with salt and pepper if desired for taste. Once squash is done, carve out into a bowl. Add your beef inside and pour desired amount of marinara on top to create the perfect post-workout dish.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 628
Protein: 70g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 38g
Wrap Up
So, while these post-workout meals are sure to keep your hunger at bay, provide the much needed nutrients for recovery, and ensure big gains, it is important to remember to eat within a 45 minute window upon completion and to load up on carbs and protein for maximum benefit. If you are someone who has to have a protein shake after every workout, that is fine as well. You can do both. Having a protein shake right after will get you all those much needed nutrients and keep you full while you prepare and cook a quality meal for yourself instead of just a workout snack after training.
Fat is not bad to consume post-workout either, and although it may slow the absorption of the meal, the benefits still stand. It is best to maintain a 3:1 carbs to protein ratio, but if some fat happens to find its way into your post-workout meal, so be it. Your gains will not be disrupted. The idea that fat will ruin you should not deter you or keep you from enjoying certain foods because it isn’t true. Everything in moderation is just fine for your health and fitness goals. This macronutrient is just as important as the other two for your diet.
Whether it be a quick snack like tuna and crackers or pita and hummus, or something more elaborate like beef and squash with marinara, the important thing is to give your body ample recovery so as to not lose the hard work you put in. Hydration and nutrition are key to a healthy body and a healthy mind so give these post-workout meals a try and let us know what you think. You should love the food you eat and love the process of making something you love to eat, especially if on a diet. Do not just suffer through a meal because you have to. Treat it as part of your training and really work to better your health, fitness, and performance overall as you drink plenty of water and eat the best foods.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
Why Every Bodybuilder Should Take Probiotics For Overall Performance
The benefits for a probiotic go far beyond better digestion and every bodybuilder should consider taking them.
Many associate probiotics as simply a supplement to aid in digestion and keep you running regularly. But the pros of probiotic supplements, especially for bodybuilders, goes far beyond simply that. Research has proven that bacteria found in your gut has great benefit to your health and athletic performance, making this a staple for a bodybuilder’s diet when paired with food. Probiotic supplements are great for gaining size and with a regular source of them, your chance at optimal mass growth greatly increase with these products.
What Are Probiotics?
Your body is full of good and bad bacteria. Probiotic supplements are considered to be the good guys and are live bacteria and yeasts that have a plethora of pros, most notably in your digestive system to help keep it clean. By keeping your gut clean, probiotic supplements have been proven to increase muscle growth as a result of providing your body with the essential tools to absorb nutrients from your food. So, a cleaner gut equals more nutrients which equals more mass. Stress is known to damage your muscles and probiotics aids in the regulation of the production of stress as well. While you can get probiotics from supplements, much of the food we eat also contains plenty of this bacteria to aid in gut health and probiotic products can really help.
Types Of Probiotics
Two of the most common groups of probiotics are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Each of these has different species, resulting in different strains, so it is important to find the right one for you. A general rule when choosing a probiotic is that more strains are preferred. This will increase the chances that at least one, or several, will colonize in your gut. The label will also have a number in the billions, which is the number of bacteria that form colonies, also called Colony Forming Units (CFU). Roughly three billion CFU’s is a reasonable starting number for a healthy adult, but again, it all depends on how you feel and adjust to taking healthy probiotic digestive products.
Benefits Of Probiotics
The pros of choosing a probiotic are what bodybuilders will love. A solid ratio of beneficial bacteria to other bacteria has been shown to improve blood lipid levels, reduced damage, and assist recovery. It can influence a bodybuilders body mass composition, which is the proportion of fat and non-fat mass in the body. Through this, the ability for growth is increased and those gains will come to fruition. The impact on recovery is due to the fact it can reduce inflammation so that stress endured during the workout won’t punish you later and digestive health and overall gut health will ensure no nutrients go to waste.
Helping to boost your metabolism is key for you can eat more frequently and without worrying about packing on the pounds, keeping your body fueled and engaged. With its well-known benefits of promoting digestive health, your body is able to absorb more of those essential nutrients and provide you with the much-needed energy to fuel those grueling workouts.
Probiotic strains have also been shown to increase mental health including attitude, mood, and your level of pain tolerance. These are important to training for how you feel is how you act. If you feel great, you are more likely to work hard in the gym and those gains are sure to show. While it could go without saying, all of these benefits are connected to complete a well-rounded training cycle. A boost in your metabolism will keep your body regularly absorbing those essential nutrients and allow for increased growth. Reducing inflammation will aid in recovery and your mindset will be there to work hard and improve endurance to make those lasting effects count.
Food With Good Bacteria
Yogurt
Yogurt is a great source of probiotic benefits for it starts as milk and is then fermented using the live cultures of solid bacteria probiotic strains. Even after processing, many of these beneficial bacteria stick around. The probiotics that exist in yogurt will promote a healthy gut and the high calcium count is a benefit for strong bones and will promote digestive health and weight loss.
Kombucha
Kombucha has been on the rise as a health trend and the reasons are obvious. It is a drink created from fermented black or green tea along with sugar, yeast, and bacteria. It promotes solid digestion and is also linked to being an immune booster and can support joint health. It also aids in the natural detoxification of your liver and support your immune system and digestive health, as well as weight loss.
Sauerkraut
This sour and salty cabbage is a great source of probiotic benefits and is rich is lactic acid bacteria. Although high in sodium, sauerkraut has good levels of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Dark chocolate
While chocolate does not contain probiotics, it can help them survive the high levels of acidity in the digestive tract making it a solid carrier. Probiotics can be added to dark chocolate and it will help them survive. Dark chocolate is an antioxidant rich superfood which is beneficial to your overall health and wellness.
Tempeh
Tempeh is a popular meat substitute derived from fermented soybeans. Since fermentation requires adequate levels of live bacteria, tempeh is full of them. As a great alternative protein source, tempeh is full of probiotics and vitamin B12.
Cheese
Cheese is a great source of probiotics because bacteria can survive the process of cheese-making. As a solid source of protein, cheese is a great food to add to your diet for more than just the beneficial bacteria. Whether it be mozzarella, cheddar, cottage cheese, gouda, or feta, all contain probiotic properties to give you that solid boost of this beneficial bacteria for your immune system.
Wrap Up
Probiotics are a great way to boost your training and bring you to the next level. With so much to offer, the pros should make you want to try them and see for yourself what they can do. With their ability to promote solid digestion, absorb those much needed nutrients, support growth, and help your overall mental state, probiotics are worth looking into if you’re a bodybuilder seeking big gains. Try as a supplement or incorporate more of these foods that have good bacteria into your diet and help yourself look and feel great.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
The Body’s Resilience To The Occasional Binge
Despite how you feel after an unhealthy binge, your body copes with it better than you think.
We all know food is part of our survival. It provides us with those much-needed nutrients to optimize our ability to function. Too often are our intentions good when it comes to wanting to and actually eating healthy. The first few days we feel great about making that change and that gives us confidence to keep going.
But life gets in the way. Whether it be the stress of a job, relationship, family, societal issues, or personal problems, we often abandon that mentality we had at the beginning of the week and turn to our vices, one being comfort food. While comfort food can be exactly what we crave in that moment, it can lead to an unfortunate binge keeping us from achieving our weight loss or gym goals and putting us in a self-loathing pit of guilt.
But the body is better at adapting to these binge days than we may think. So, while we feel terrible that next day, or even two days, our mind is not matching what our body is doing. It is important to note that this isn’t a license to overeat, for continuous and frequent overeating can be detrimental to your training and overall health. But the occasional binge during a holiday or a special occasion is okay. Maintaining a healthy diet and solid workout routine provides some flexibility for the occasional binge without totally destroying all of your gains. But again, the keyword there is some.
Why A Binge Occurs
Binge eating occurs for a number of reasons. Dieting, believe it or not, is considered a gateway to binge eating. An unhealthy diet, or one not properly done, can lead to skipping meals or not eating enough during the day (1). With this, your chances of binge eating increases significantly because once hunger strikes, you are most likely not going for a head of lettuce. That first stop is the snack drawer to see what salty, sugary, high carb foods hide inside. While people diet for any number of reasons, the main one is for weight loss. It is important to not get stuck in the vicious loop of negative body image (2). With continued workouts in the gym, you may be burning a large amount of calories and won’t need to deprive yourself of your favorite foods.
Stress is something all of us suffer with. The stress of succeeding, of perfection, and of achieving that desired toned physique in the gym are just a few examples of countless things that stress us out. When stress strikes, one of our unfortunate coping mechanisms is called “emotional eating”. This can turn into a binge quickly (3) and ultimately lead to a period of depression. From depression, that leads to a negative body image, which leads to us committing to a diet, where unfortunately the risk of binge eating is high, and the cycle continues all over again.
How It Affects The Body
Binge eating causes your stomach to stretch and the hormone leptin is released, which is your body starting to tell you that you’re full. Your insulin levels spike with the uptake of glucose and your blood pressure increases (4) as a result of glucose moving into the blood stream. After the initial binge, you may feel insanely full, or even nauseous, and sleeping can be quite difficult as a result of post-binge discomfort.
How It Affects The Mind
The idea to indulge in a binge usually starts with the mind. To use dieting as an example, if you are too low on calories, the mind starts to crave food which elicits a response to find food your body is missing. Other mental health factors like guilt, shame, anger, anxiety, and depression (5) all play into the decision to indulge in an occasional binge. Sometimes it can be boredom, but it can also simply be a holiday where the host has prepared an illustrious feast and you decide today is your day. When you start, both dopamine and serotonin are released (6) and offer you a sensation of pleasure until the meal is finished. Once they begin to come down, you start to feel the negative effects of the binge.
The Body’s Resilience
With all of this said, it is important to know that this occasional binge will not totally knock you off the gain train. While you may feel like it did, your body is much better at handling this occasional gluttonous event than you may think. In the short-term, you will find that no significant increase in fat mass or overall weight occurs (7). For the occasional binge, your body deals with it by using additional carbohydrates and shifting your metabolism to use the excess carbs. Moreover, your blood sugar levels and insulin production remain unchanged (8). Much of this is dependent on an already healthy lifestyle with a good dietary plan and solid workout routine already in place. Don’t beat yourself up for enjoying the holidays too much and trust that your routine and your body can handle it.
Wrap Up
We all love to eat. Some of us love to cook and create amazing dishes while others of us simply like to eat and enjoy those amazing dishes. Sometimes that love of eating takes over and we end up indulging in the occasional binge. Whether a result of stress, poor diet control, or simply a fun night out that ends in a quick binge, it can make us feel down about ourselves for potentially putting all of that hard work in the gym at risk. But it is important to know your body can handle the occasional binge fairly well and can bounce back from the gluttonous endeavor. It is crucial to have a good diet and workout plan already in place to keep your body moving at its optimum capacity, but if that occasional binge does strike, know your body is resilient enough to handle it.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Foulds Mathes, Wendy; Brownley, Kimberly A.; Mo, Xiaofei; Bulik, Cynthia M. (2009). “The Biology of Binge Eating”. (source)
Duarte, Cristiana; Pinto-Gouveia, Jose; Ferreira, Claudia (2014). “Escaping from body image shame and harsh self-criticism: exploration of underlying mechanisms of binge eating”. (source)
Harvard Mental Health Letter (2012). “Why stress causes people to overeat”. (source)
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (2015). “Mechanisms that link compulsive binge eating with hypertension identified”. (source)
Ely, Alice V.; Cusack, Anne (2015). “The Binge and the Brain”. (source)
Volkow, Nora D.; Wang, Gene-Jack; Baler, Ruben D. (2011). “Reward, dopamine and the control of food intake: implications for obesity”. (source)
Hengist, Aaron; Edinburgh, Robert M.; Davies, Russell G.; Walhin, Jean Philippe (2020). “Physiological responses to maximal eating in men.” (source)
Hengist, Aaron; Betts, James; Edinburgh, Rob (2020). “Here’s how to body reacts to one-off overeating-new research”. (source)