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How to Read Nutrition Facts, Information & Labeling

Choosing between McDonalds, Starbucks or Subway might be the toughest dietary choice you’ve had to make recently.  But for the rest of us who struggle with interpreting the nutrition information and data on a nutrition facts label at the super market, it often feels like we’re reading an ancient manuscript.  That’s why our expert nutritionist Jason Apfel, at Lucas James Personal Training, has broken down food labeling into a few simple steps so you can easily understand all that nutrition mumbo-jumbo!

If you’re concerned with maintaining a healthy body weight, the most important nutrition fact to note is proper serving size and portioning for each food or meal. With this in mind, the first place to look on the nutrition facts label is the serving size and the number of servings per package.  Why is this so important? Well, while you may be eating healthy foods, it’s just as important to eat the right amount of food to ensure healthy weight maintenance, weight-loss or growth, all of which depend on your total daily calorie intake.

Remember, when you take in more calories than your burn throughout the day, even when engaging in exercise, you’ll gain weight. Vis-versa, if you eat less than you burn, you’ll loose weight.  When weight-loss is concerned, you need to reduce your calories by a total of 3,500 calories per week, or 500 each day, to loose one pound of body weight.  You can keep track of calories through noting the proper serving size on any food product package.  Serving sizes are now standardized for similar foods to make it easy to compare like-products.  The measure for serving size is even provided in the same units, such as cups or pieces per serving, to make items easier to compare.                                         *American Heart Association Image

Aside from the obvious reasons, why is serving size important? It ultimately influences the listed amounts of everything else on the nutrition label such as carbohydrates, fat, protein etc. This is because the amount of each listed nutrient is based on the portion size.  For example: the larger the portion, the more grams of each nutrient listed. Often foods that are unhealthy, such as butter or processed chips, have relatively small serving sizes to make them appear healthier than they are! Ask yourself “How many servings do I consume”? To help you keep track of calories.

When you hear the term ‘calories’ you may think amount weight.  However, calories actually provide a measure of how much energy you receive from eating a given amount of a specific food. Calories come from the three main macronutrients Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins, not from micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Each of the main macronutrients contains a different amount of energy or calories per gram.  For example, carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 calories per gram while fats contain 9 calories per gram, making them more calorically dense.   Aside from the biochemical structure of fats and the way they are metabolized, fats are ‘worse’ for us when weight-loss is concerned, because they contain more calories –making it harder to loose weight.

Some foods are also higher in calories than others. For example, fruits and vegetables tend to be lower in calories, especially fat, and are devoid of saturated fats found in animal products.  Plant foods also typically contain more minerals and vitamins than animal products do.  On the flip side, animal products such as milk and meat tend to be higher in protein content and important minerals such as iron and calcium.

Since calories are really a measure of energy, the calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight through energy balance as previously described. It’s crucial to remember that the number of servings and portion size you consume determines the actual number of calories you take in.

Nowadays, when deciding on your favorite restaurant and fast-food items the calorie content and even nutritional information is available on the menu depending on where you live.  This may be startling, but recent legislation had required every large restaurant chain in the nation, including fast food chains, to provide caloric information on their menus and drive-throughs. This new federal law passed in 2011 by the Obama administration requires restaurant chains that are comprised of twenty or more locations to disclose the caloric content of their food items, as well as a description of the daily recommended calorie intake for a healthy person (~2000 calories per day. The legislation takes this one step further, requiring that vending machines also list the amount of calories in the food items they’re selling.

So next time you’re considering a Big-Mac at McDonalds, Frappucino from Starbucks, or tuna sub from Subway, you might just be staring down at a sign, reminding you how bad some of these food choices are.

Just how bad are some of these items & what should you eat instead? Well, just for fun we’ll fill you in!

At Subway:

AVOID- Their 6″ version of a Tuna Sammy has 530 calories and 31 grams of fat, and over 1000 mg of sodium (more than half your recommended daily intake).

The Healthiest Subway Options:

-6″ Ham Sub has 261 Calories, 4.5g fat, 17g protein and 39g carbs

-6″ Roast Beef has 264 Calories, 4.5g fat, 18 g protein and 39g carbs

-6″ Roasted Chicken Breast has 311 Calories, 6g fat, 25g protein and 40g carbs

-6″ Subway Club has 294 Calories, 5g fat, 22g protein and 40g carbs

-6″ Veggie Delight w/o cheese has 200 Calories, 2.5g fat, 7g protein and 37g carbs

-6″ Honey Mustard Turkey w/ Cucumber has 275 Calories, 3.5 g fat, 22g protein, 42g carbs.

At Startbucks:

AVOID – A Peppermint White Hot Chocolate has 730 calories, A Mint Chocolate-chip Frappucino has 680 calories, and a Tazzo Green Tea Frappucino even has 650 calories!

AVOID the Blueberry Scone with 460 calories and 22 grams of fat.

The Best coffee:  Drip coffee has only 5 calories! A little extra if you decide to add a splash of dairy.

The Best breakfast selection:  Starbuck’s ‘Perfect Oatmeal’ is fiber-packed with heart healthy oats and only has 140 calories. If you add their ‘Perfect Nut Medley’ containing almonds, pecans and walnuts add an additional 100 calories to the total.

At McDonalds:

AVOID – The Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese contains 740 Calories, 42g of fat (19g saturated fat) and 1380mg of sodium. Even their Grilled Chicken Club has  570 Calories,  21g of fat (7g saturated fat) and 1720mg sodium (almost a total day’s worth of sodium!!!)

The Healthiest McDonald Options are:

-The English Muffin with only 140 Calories, 2g Fat, 4g Protein and 25g Carbs

-The Chicken McGrill w/o mayo has 340 Calories, 7g Fat, 26g Protein and 45 g Carbs

-Their Hamburger has 280 Calories, 10g Fat, 12g Protein and 35g Carbs.

Ultimate 6 Pack Abs Workout & Diet

At Lucas James Personal Training, we know finding ab exercises and the right abs workout for a sick six pack and perfect lower abs can be tough.  We also know that an abs diet can help you achieve the most shredded physique because nutrition is seventy-five to eighty percent of accomplishing any fitness goal, 6 pack abs included.

Here we’ll make it easy and give you the break down of the different muscles that form your abdominals, the best exercises for each group, the best ways to work-out your abs, as well as nutrition tips for cutting down the ‘ab-flab’ and burning that pesky belly fat.

• The Abdominal Muscles: Form & Function

When you hear the term ‘6-pack’ abs come to mind.  But just like a case of beer, your abdominals are comprised of multiple muscle groups, each varying in function.  The muscles that form your abdomen include:

1- The rectus abdominis, which we know as the 6-pack, includes both your upper and lower abdominals.  The rectus abdominis is the most prominent and visible portion of the abdominals. It travels the full length of the abdominal region, from your pubic bone to right under your lower chest.  When we contract this muscle, as in a traditional crunch, we’re flexing our torsos.

2- The external obliques, commonly referred to as your obliques are the visible side abdominal muscles that run downwards diagonally from your lower ribs and attach to the top portion of your hips and your ‘6-pack region’ or rectus abdominis. Similar to your external obliques, your internal obliques travel diagonally across your torso, but in the opposite direction from the external obliques.  Together, they work to help rotate your upper body at the core. Both sets of oblique muscles also work to compress your torso when they contract simultaneously along with your rectus abdominis. The obliques primarily serve as rotators that help our bodies twist at the waist and straighten when bent over sideways.

3- The transverse abdominis, is the internal portion of your abdominals that is located within the abdomen. It lies underneath the oblique muscles and acts as a structural support for our organs. It also helps us with our respiratory functions, similar to the diaphragm.  Instead of helping with core rotation, it pulls the abdominal wall inward when we ‘suck-in’ our belly.

Together, each of these muscle groups provides structural support, aiding our movement as well as assisting with lung function and breathing. Aside from the obvious functions, our abs are a critical component of our ‘core’ working along with our back muscles to provide proper posture and physique.

• Specific exercises for each abdominal muscle group

When working out, its important to work smarter not necessarily harder to see the results you’re looking for and that perfect six-pack. When weight training for better abdominal muscles and improved core strength, its crucial to note that high repetition exercises will help burn abdominal fat, but you must also include resistance exercises to increase abdominal bulk and muscle size.  Here are some exercises specific to each goal, in order by each abdominal muscle group.

mens-6-pack-abs-six-ab-workout-diet

Upper & Lower Abs (Rectus Abdominis)

Upper:

*Fat burning: Swiss Ball Crunches, Bench Supported Crunch, Bosu ball chop, ab deck crunches, un-weighted ab-master machine crunches.

*Muscle bulking: Weighted Crunches, Lying Cable Crunch, Roman Chair Weighted Sit-Ups, Standing cable crunch, decline cable sit-up, resistance ab-machine crunches.

Lower:

*Fat burning: Reverse Crunch, Hip Thrust, Reverse Crunch on Decline, Hanging Bicycle Crunches, Scissor Kick, Swiss Ball Roll In, Hanging Leg Raise, Hanging Knee Raises

*Muscle bulking: Weighted hanging Leg Raises with dumbbell, weighted hanging knee raises with dumbbell.

Obliques (External Obliques)

*Fat burning: Side Oblique Crunch, Bicycle Crunches, Lying Resistance Ball Windshield Wiper, Cross-over Crunch, Side Planks

*Muscle bulking: Russian Twists w/ medicine ball, Windshield Wiper with medicine ball or dumbbell, Side Planks with weight-belt or dumbbell, Dumbbell Oblique Crunch, Standing Oblique Cable Crunch

Core Specific Work (Total Abdominals)

*Fat burning: Planks, Hanging Knee Raise w/ Twist, Double Crunch, Toe-Touches, Jackknife Crunch, Exercise Ball Transfer

*Muscle bulking: Cable Wood-Chop, Decline Medicine Ball Throw, Exercise Ball Transfer.

• Core Circuit Workouts

Due to the fact that both your abdominals and back muscles compose your ‘core’ and affect overall core strength, it’s important to build each muscle group gradually to ensure proper muscle growth and reduce the likelihood of injury.  When engaging in an exercise routine to increase core strength and muscle definition, try incorporating lower back exercises as well in your ab circuit.  Aim for one exercise for each abdominal and core muscle group i.e. One Upper Ab, One Lower Ab, One Oblique and One Lower Back exercise. Here’s an example for a complete core circuit workout.

1. Swiss Ball Crunches
2. Hanging Leg Raises
3. Bicycle Crunches
4. Roman Chair Back Extension

Your fitness level and progression will depend on the amount of reps and sets you perform, along with the types of exercises incorporated in your circuit and applied resistance.  Remember, as you progress from beginner workouts to intermediate and advanced programs the type of core exercises may change as well.

• Abdominal Workout Equipment  

As your Ab routine changes you may choose to incorporate various pieces of equipment such as an ab roller, bosu ball, swiss ball, medicine ball, cable machine, resistance bands, weight-plates or dumbbells.  Different equipment will help you with different goals as well as aid with flexibility, comfort, body positioning and the way you are training your abdominals.  For example, Bosu Balls and Swiss Balls help reduce hot-spots, pressure points and unnecessary strain on your back when performing core exercises, by adding a cushioned support. They also increase core strength due to proprioception training that requires balance to challenge an individual’s normal range of motion.  Ab rollers, resistance bands and added weight can be used to keep constant tension on your abdominals to train for a more well rounded physique and increase overall core strength.  You can find any of the above mentioned pieces of equipment at your local Scottsdale, Arizona fitness equipment store.

• Ab-Training for specific goals and body type

You should also choose exercises that support your personal goals and promote growth specific to your physique, body-type and frame.

For example, if you are lean, but lack definition focus on lower rep exercises with increased resistance using either weight-plates, dumbbells, medicine balls or resistance ab-machines.  If you are overweight, start with simple movements and core exercises to build strength before attempting to increase muscle size and bulk. This can be accomplished through timed intervals and high-repetitions such as a minute of scissor kicks, flutter kicks, bicycle crunches, standard crunches etc.  Remember no matter what your body type and training goals are, consistent fluid breathing is important to provide the high levels of oxygen your muscles need to perform at their optimal level, burn fat most efficiently and promote increased blood-flow and nutrient transport for energy.

• The Ultimate 6 Pack Ab Diet

“Abs are made in the kitchen not the gym” – Lucas James

When trying to achieve the perfect 6-pack abs, diet is key.  Since people tend to store fat on our torso, men especially, the only way you’ll see your awesome abs is to eat a high-protein, low-fat diet.  A lower body-fat percentage will increase your chances of noticing the abs hidden underneath your belly fat. The weight we store above our abs is primarily fat and water weight, so it’s important to eat the right amount of calories and the right types of foods to shed excess fat.

When shedding extra pounds to see those abs try incorporating more veggies and high-fiber foods in your diet. Here’s a few suggestions of ab-busting foods:

-Turkey
Turkey has one of the highest amounts of protein pound-for-pound of any lean animal meat. It also has less fat calories than red meat and is even leaner than chicken!

-Quinoa
Quinoa is a high protein, high-fiber and low fat grain. All properties of a fat-burning diet!

-Bok-choy
Like broccoli, this leafy vegetable has a crunch—and less than half the calories and carbohydrates of its cruciferous cousin.

-Persimmon
This sweet Asian fruit is a better source of vitamin C than your average apple.

-Edam cheese
This Dutch cheese is semi-firm, unlike the semisoft Muenster, and has more protein, fewer calories, and a richer, nuttier flavor.

Lose Belly Fat Fast!

Over 700,000 Phoenicians across Arizona search online monthly to find out how to loose belly fat and reduce the amount of body fat they carry around.  With that said, loosing weight and keeping it off can be two completely different challenges. We know that abdominal weight-loss can be one of the most difficult and challenging aspects of fitness training and maintaining your ideal physique.

Luckily, Scottsdale, Arizona based celebrity personal trainer Lucas James know’s just how tough it can be to shed those extra pounds, especially with the holiday season quickly approaching.

So here are a few exercise and nutrition tips from the pros to help you build the abs of your dreams.

In terms of exercise and belly fat, a consistent cardio regimen is crucial for burning those extra calories and slimming down in the midsection.  Whether outside or indoors, work through ‘intervals’ of varied intensity and speed while jogging, running or cycling. If you are resistance training or lifting weights, try to keep the pace quick.  This will help to increase your endurance as well as keep your metabolism elevated.  Aside from a high-intensity cardio program, its important to sculpt the abdominal muscles, obliques included, underneath to achieve the desired six-pack physique.   A few ab workouts include bicycle crunches, v-ups, toe touch crunches, stability ball crunches, planks and side planks.  Any combination of these exercises will help you target your core muscles including both upper, lower and side abdominals.

When belly fat is concerned, nutrition is key.  You can do sit-ups and crunches everyday, but unless you maintain a proper diet, you’ll be sporting a keg instead of a six-pack forever.

Nutrition Tips: Eat the right types of foods, with the right portion size, at the right time.

While eating low-fat, low-sugar foods is a must when fat-loss is concerned, eating them in the correct portions is just as important.   When trying to loose fat, especially around your abdomen, caloric restriction is important. This means eating fewer calories than you burn to create a deficit and burn fat.  Fruits and vegetables are perfect snacks, supplying your body with clean energy for exercise as well as nutrients and minerals for proper growth and development.   Aside from eating the right foods in the right amounts, its important to eat them at the right time. This means, if you’re engaging in strenuous or high endurance exercise, fuel your body at the right times before and after to maintain energy levels while promoting lean muscle growth afterwards by incorporating high-protein meals within half an hour after working out.

A few healthy foods for weight loss include:

Leafy greens, such as spinach, contain only about 40 calories per serving and satisfy 20 percent of your day’s fiber requirement. Most leafy greens are also a good source of calcium, an essential ingredient for proper body functions such as muscle contraction.  Shoot for three servings daily. Try adding a handful of spinach into soups, salads, sandwiches, buckwheat pasta dishes or stir-fry.  Other leafy greens include arugula, broccoli rabe, or broccolini.

Egg albumin is known to be a complete or perfect protein source because of the amino acids it supplies. Egg whites have a great balance of essential amino acids (the protein building blocks our bodies use to manufacture everything from muscle to neurotransmitters). We like them because they help curve your appetite when eaten in the morning!

2011 Thanksgiving Day Healthy Eating Tips

Thanksgiving Day 2011 is approaching next week and for eating healthy this Thanksgiving here are some tips to help with over eating and weight gain. Thanksgiving dinner is generally a time when friends and family indulge over delicious Thanksgiving turkey, apple pie, wine, stuffing, mashed potatoes and many other favorite foods and recipes. Keep in mind that it’s ok to indulge over these tasty foods, but it’s important to be able to control your portion sizes. Overeating is generally the number one problem that people have during Thanksgiving day dinner.

- Don’t skip breakfast. Eat a regular breakfast that includes dairy, carbohydrates, and sugars. For example, oatmeal with bluberries, four egg whites, low fat yogurt, coffee and a 8 ounce glass of orange juice.  First off all, remember to eat breakfast. Generally,  people tend to skip breakfast and even lunch so they can indulge in the annual Thanksgiving dinner.

- Start the dinner with a side salad. If there’s a salad available, eat it prior to the main course! A salad will help you out with your portion control and keep you on track for the rest of the meal. Remember to use light dressing and avoid heavy cheese and croutons.

- Drink a full glass of water or beverage after salad. Often at times people forget to drink liquids while eating special meals, such as Thanksgiving. Drinking liquids throughout the meals well help break down the food digested and help suppress your appetite.

- Stick to White Meat. 8 oz portion and the white meat has 368 calories and 8 grams of fat while the dark has 400 calories and 16 grams of fat.

- Gravy Train Will Wreck You. Limit your gravy servings to one or none your Thanksgiving dinner.

- Alcohol. Wine, beer and liqouer will add calories and sugars quick. Avoid excess amount of drinks and avoid fruity drinks.

- Bread and Buns Equal Tons of Rolls. Thanksgiving dinner rolls can be a life changing experience, literally. Eat your  dinner roll at the end of the meal and stay clear of dosing large amounts of butter on those buns, rolls and bread.

- Veggie Out! Veggies can be your life saver. Make sure they’re on 1/3 of your plate and avoid the cream and butter soaked vegetables.

- Instant Stuffing – Quick and healthy.

- Replace up to half the fat in baked goods with apple sauce or pureed prunes. For corn bread, use pureed sweet potatoes to replace some of the fat. Check the baby food aisle for purees. Or try ripe, well-mashed bananas in place of some of the fat.

- Replace cream or whole milk with evaporated skim milk, especially in mashed potatoes and cream soups. Make a lower fat, yet very flavorful turkey by slipping herbs or poultry seasoning under the skin and basting with nonfat chicken stock rather than butter.
Make twice-baked potatoes with nonfat ricotta cheese mixed and top with part-skim shredded cheese.

- Use whole grain bread rather than white bread for the stuffing. Try whole-wheat flour in your baking recipes (start with replacing a quarter of the regular flour and experiment with what works best for that particular recipe).

- Make low-fat roasted vegetables by spraying with a little bit of olive oil (rather than pouring it on), and sprinkling with dried thyme, salt & pepper.
When you’re mixing in ingredients such as sour cream or ricotta cheese, you can easily use the low-fat versions and no one will know the difference.
Cook your vegetables and grains in low-salt vegetable or chicken broth rather than butter. You’ll add lots of low-fat flavor.

- Butter. If you want to add butter to a recipe, add a small amount just before serving. It’ll be the first thing you taste and smell, so a little will have a big impact.

Lucas James is the top rated celebrity personal trainer in Arizona. James specializes in helping men and women achieve weight loss through 1-on-1 private personal training, custom meal plans, and the best fitness programs and routines!

How to Gain Lean Muscle Mass:

How to Gain Lean Muscle Mass:

Throughout the years I’ve been modeling and personal training the number one goal I’ve tried to personally achieve is bulding lean muscle mass and maintaining low body fat. One thing that’s very important in the fitness and modeling industry is to have good porportion throughout the entire body.  I’ve seen hundreds of guys who have a great upper body and lack mass in their lower body or vice-versa.   To have good solid mass throughout the entire body without looking unproportional can be hard to achieve, but pays out when done the right way! It takes time and consistency, but if you stick with it the results will show.

Building muscle mass the “Clean” way can be time constraining and maybe a little more expensive, but it shows better results from what I’ve done and taught. My clean way to building lean muscle mass is done by adding clean and healthy calories to your current daily meals. The average male needs to increase his daily calorie intake 500 to 2,000 calories a day depending on his goal. Some men get the mix up that they can eat whatever food to add for those additional calories, but really those calories should be clean and healthy foods eaten.

In order to keep your existing body weight you really should consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight. For example, if you weigh 175 pounds then you need to consume 175 grams of protein a day to maintain that weight. Ideally, if you’re trying to gain lean muscle mass you should increase your protein intake to your goal weight. So a 175 pound man who wants to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle to get to 195 pounds will need to intake 195 grams of protein. From my experience in gaining lean muscle mass it’s important to try to keep your daily protein and calorie consumption to 75-85% real non-processed or enhanced food. By that I mean don’t rely on protein powders, mass builders, supplements, or or other enhanced foods for the majority of your meals. Your body reacts and process real natural food better then going on the supplement bandwagon. In my experiences I’ve seen better gains in my mass and physical size by eating natural foods, but the downfall is that it will cost you more money. More food means more trips to the grocery store and more meat to buy. I know that it’s convenient to have an afternoon protein drink that is 300 calories and 40 grams of protein without having to make any food, but if you were to eat a large grilled chicken breast and some vegetables instead you would be better off.

Gaining Lean Muscle Mass Key Factors:

I. Set and Rep Count

Generally, in lean mass building sets and reps should be kept to a maximum of three to four sets with less than eight repititions per set.

Common Sets and Reps for Lean Gaining Muscle Mass:

8x6x4x2

8x7x6x5

9x6x3x1

8x6x4

8x7x6

II. Rest Time Between Sets:

A huge factor in building muscle mass is your rest time between sets. It’s better to wait longer than to start too soon.  Remember you want have to rest time between the sets to lets your muscles recover and avoid your heart rate getting to high. I recommend to rest 2-3 minutes between sets. At times it can be hard wait that long, but once you develop a consistent routine you’ll get use to it.

III. Hear Rate Monitoring:

Your heart rate should be at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. At this rate you’ll peak into a fat burning zone, but won’t burn to many calories during your workout. It’s a good idea to invest in a heart rate monitor that has a strap to go around your chest. To calculate your muscle building heart rate use this formula.

Click Here for Calculating Heart Rate Zone

IV. Breathing and Form

Breathing and form the one the most important elements for weight training. Breathing through the mouth is high recommended when participating in weight training, sports, and other cardiovascular activities. When breathing during your weigh training session you want to keep these tip in mind

- Breathe out when when pushing or pulling on reps.  Make sure that your neck is always up and never positioned down in your throat. When your chin is down you will cut off oxygen to your lungs therefore excreting more energy, lose stamina, and rick potential injuries.

- Inhale between with mouth open.

When lifting weight it’s very important to have full extension in movements in your reps. For example on barbell bench press, the bar should hit your chest on the way down and the on the extension up your arms should be fully extended out straight to remember to breathe out.
V. Nutrition and Protein Intake

Keep in mind that my lean muscle mass building program is used for men that are looking for a natural way to gain lean muscle and to look bigger porpotionately . This program is not designed if you’re looking to do “Bulking” for bodybuilding or competitions. Also, this program is not designed for strength training although you will see gains in your weights when lifting.

The protein your body stored is a process called protein synthesis—the larger your muscles grow. But your body is constantly draining its protein reserves for other uses—making hormones, for instance. The result is less protein available for muscle building. To counteract that, you need to “build and store new proteins faster than your body breaks down old proteins,” says Michael Houston, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Virginia Tech University.

In addition to adequate protein, you need more calories. Use the following formula to calculate the number you need to take in daily to gain 1 pound a week. (Give yourself 2 weeks for results to show up on the bathroom scale. If you haven’t gained by then, increase your calories by 500 a day.)

A. Your weight in pounds.
B. Multiply A by 12 to get your basic calorie needs.
C. Multiply B by 1.6 to estimate your resting metabolic rate (calorie burn without factoring in exercise).
D. Strength training: Multiply the number of minutes you lift weights per week by 5.
E. Aerobic training: Multiply the number of minutes per week that you run, cycle, and play sports by 8.
F. Add D and E, and divide by 7.
G. Add C and F to get your daily calorie needs.
H. Add 500 to G. This is your estimated daily calorie needs to gain 1 pound a week.

A 2001 study at the University of Texas found that lifters who drank a shake containing amino acids and carbohydrates before working out increased their protein synthesis more than lifters who drank the same shake after exercising. The shake contained 6 grams of essential amino acids—the muscle-building blocks of protein—and 35 grams of carbohydrates.

Since exercise increases bloodflow to your working tissues, drinking a carbohydrate-protein mixture before your workout may lead to greater uptake of the amino acids in your muscles,” says Kevin Tipton, Ph.D., an exercise and nutrition researcher at the University of Texas in Galveston.

For your shake, you’ll need about 10 to 20 grams of protein—usually about one scoop of a whey-protein powder. Can’t stomach protein drinks? You can get the same nutrients from a sandwich made with 4 ounces of deli turkey and a slice of American cheese on whole wheat bread.

Research shows that you’ll rebuild muscle faster on your rest days if you feed your body carbohydrates. Post-workout meals with carbs increase your insulin levels, which, in turn, slows the rate of protein breakdown. Have a banana, a sports drink, a peanut-butter sandwich.

If you don’t eat often enough, you can limit the rate at which your body builds new proteins. Take the number of calories you need in a day and divide by six. That’s roughly the number you should eat at each meal. Make sure you consume some protein—around 20 grams—every 3 hours.

Eat a combination of carbohydrates and protein 30 minutes before you go to bed. The calories are more likely to stick with you during sleep and reduce protein breakdown in your muscles. Try a cup of raisin bran with a cup of skim milk or a cup of cottage cheese and a small bowl of fruit. Eat again as soon as you wake up.