Do Vegans Get Enough Protein Intake?

It’s very well know that, when someone brings up that they are vegan/vegetarian, one of the first questions is “Do you get enough protein?”. Unfortunately, there is big a misconception regarding this kind of diet/lifestyle, but that’s only because people don’t have easy access to information regarding nutrition.

When you search about nutrition, you are probably end up in a page trying to sell you some kind of product, which could vary from cooking books to online stores. That, in my opinion, tends to lead you to buy their products, taking you away of your primary interest: education.

So, let’s simplify this subject approaching 3 different main questions: 1- is it possible to live a healthy life without non-human animal protein? 2-is the quality the same? 3- can you build muscles with only plaint-based diet?

First of all, it has been proved that humans do not need non-human animal flesh to be healthy, we can get enough protein and vitamins (except for iron and vit. B12), though a plaint-based diet. The act of embracing a whole food kind of diet has been proved to cure diabetes type 2, hypertension and high cholesterol levels. 

When it comes to the quality of the protein intake between non-human animal flesh/eggs to plain-diet protein, is has been proven that the second one is by far better in quality than the first one. The difference is in the quantity you need to intake to have the same result. You would need smaller amounts of non-human animal flesh to get the same amount of protein as you would on a plaint-diet, which doesn’t mean that flesh is better, once their molecular composition is different.

But can you get lean or bulky being vegan/vegetarian? YES!! As I said before, you can have all the protein your body needs to build muscles just from plaints, veggies, grains. All you need to do is improve the quantity of your protein intake, in other words, eat more. And that won’t comprise your slim objectives, because you would need monstrous amounts of food to gain weight if you eat a healthy vegan diet.

As you can see, there’s no need to worry about the protein intake of an vegetarian/vegan. Actually, this lifestyle is the healthiest on the planet, if supervised by a health professional. It prevents a great amount of cancers, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndromes. This are just a small percentage of the benefits of going vegan.

Hope you like it.

-xox

Why is my kid fat?

            Nowadays, it has become extremely common for us to see fat and big kids everywhere, even babies are obese. And we don’t even realize it anymore. But if you compare the current young population to that of a century ago, you would be surprised of how many kids now are overweight. If your kid is part of this statistic, please, consider what I have to say.

         I am not here to judge you or say our not a good parent, on the contraire! I am here to help you! I can only image how hard it is to raise a child, and how everybody is always pointing finger! Especially if your child is a little overweight… then the horror show starts.

            But wait, this is something you can change. And trust me, when it comes to kids, the solution is just so enthusiastic! These little creatures are amazing! Do you want know why? Well, they have this really easy ability to adapt (even the stubborn ones).

            For them it’s really easy to create new habits! They are on the top of development, so everything that is new, is interesting and magical. So, if you want to help your child to lose weight and prevent from so many chronic diseases (kids now are having so many problems to due obesity!), you need to keep them active.

            Motivate them to go play outside with their friends for 30 min – 1 hour, everyday. Besides the physical activities, which promotes social skills and boost intelligence, your child needs to be nourish in order to have a great development.

            When it comes to food, there’s where the problem lives. Parents are easily tricked by the food industry, which takes advantage of the fact not everybody understands the labels of their industrialized food. The thing is, even if something in a box screams, “DIET” or “LOW CALORIES”, usually there is LOTS OF SUGAR.

            So, sugar is addictive… then you are giving an addiction to your child (EVEN THOUGH YOU DON’T WANT TO). Then.. want can we do? Well, the answer is simple, but the solution requires dedication and willpower (and I know you’ll do this, because it is the best for your family… which includes YOU too!!).

Stop buying these labeled food. Go to a fruit market. Buy veggies, grains, nuts, bananas… anything you like. Learn how to cook real food. It is amazing to know exactly what you are giving to your family. If your child have lunch at school, be aware of what they serve, most of the public schools’ cafeteria are sponsored buy the big food companies in the US. The solution is to pack your own food.

            Besides, you are your child role model. So if you truly want to help, you need to change your bad habits too. They won’t eat something you don’t. Also, you want to be alive and healthy to see your child success, don’t you? See, this will not only help in the weight loss, but also promote health and wellbeing. It is your child and your future we are taking about!

3 bentos for sons

            This will help in your child development: he/she will grow well, this boosts intelligence (he/she will have good results in school), it will have a positive impact on his/her self-esteem, and it will prevent chronic diseases.

            This will lead to healthy adults, and will also have a positive affect in his/her professional and love lives. So this is how you are going to raise a child who is conscious about nature, recycling, heath, and who is comfortable in his/her on skin.

xox

I KNOW WHY YOUR DIET ISN’T WORKING

               There is a mistake I see people committing every time they say “I’m on a diet/I’m eating clean now”: their supermarket habits. What they consider “healthy” foods when they are “dieting” are pretty much the same – anything in box that screams – SUGAR FREE, 0% LACTOSE, GLUTEN FREE.

            First of all, if you’re not intolerant to any of these ingredients, suppressing them from your diet won’t change anything. And second of all, and the most important: IF YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND EAT CLEAN, YOU NEED TO EAT REAL FOOD. NOT SOMETHING THAT COMES FROM A BOX! This false “diet” version of food is FULL OF SUGER (chocker, I KNOW! But it’s true! >.<’ ).

            Sugar is a drug. It works in our brains like a drug. A very powerful one. It is more addictive than cocaine. It is 18x more addictive than cocaine. So, that is why you are going to cheat on your diet. And it’s okay. You are addicted. What can you do? Realize you don’t really need a huge amount of it (50g per day, accordingly to W.H.O).

            The truth is: most of the foods in the supermarket aren’t really real food. So, what is “real food”, anyways? Well, it is the thing no one wants to eat (at first) when you’re used to junkie food… fruits, veggies, grains, lettuce, nuts, beans, rice… the list on & on & on. But, NONE of them comes from a sugar added box.

            I’m not telling you to be radical or something like that. NOOOOO. I’m just saying that the best solution for your heath and your family’s is eating things you can find on nature. All you need is to do this for 21 days strait, that’s how long it takes to create or destroy a habit.

            So, go clean. Eat well. Real food. You don’t need to diet, count the calories (but please, don’t go eat like a crazy person.. otherwise you won’t lose any weight). But the truth is that, once you create this habit, your body is actually will start to be nourished from your alimentation (as it is supposed to be) and the process of losing fat mass and feeling better are 100% guaranteed.

You don’t need to suffer to be heathy!

            The results are fabulous! Your skin is going to shine; you won’t have those horrible outbreaks; you won’t have those digestion problems anymore; and you will feel more dispose to do stuff you love. Besides, this IS the first approach to many chronic diseases and some kinds of cancers! There are NO contraindications to a healthy lifestyle! So enjoy it!

xox

Being skinny isn’t the same as being healthy

Our society has the very wrong idea that being skinny is the same as being healthy, but that’s wrong! There are plenty people that tend to be very thin even though they eat a lot. Why does that happen? Simple: they have a very fast metabolism, which their genes determine pretty much 80%. Of course there’s a difference between being skinny and being fit.

In this post we are going to discuss a little bit about people who are genetically very thin and all the healthy problems they are more predisposed to have.

First of all, why do thin people need to worry about their health?

Well, most people think that, because of their lack of body fat, they won’t have similar problems to obese people, but that conception is very wrong. When you have a fast metabolism, in which you don’t gain much weight even though you eat a lot… you tend to eat a lot of garbage… and there’s where the danger lives! These kind of food are incredible unhealthy and they tend to increase cholesterol (LDL, triglycerides and total), decrease HDL (the “good cholesterol”), and increase your blood pressure… which means you might have dyslipidemia and hypertension.

The dyslipidemia in thin people tend to be must worse then the ones in obese, that’s why it is recommended to do blood exams routinely (if you have someone in your family who has died or had an heart attack/stroke at young ages, you should visit your doctor regularly since young ages as well to prevent it).

Another problem is the malnutrition you are susceptible, once you eat a lot of junk food, you don’t ingest all the vitamins and minerals your body requests to be alive… making you more predisposed to not only chronic diseases (dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure), but infections as well.

Also, these diseases are trigged when you have a sedentary lifestyle… Well, when society says your body type is ideal and you don’t even have to make any effort to have it… why would you workout? Healthy problems seems only to affect older people… BUT that the problem: it doesn’t only affect you when your older… it shows itself at young ages, making it possible for you to die at age 40 if you don’t take of your body!!

As you can see, the healthy problems in thin people are must worse than those in obese because it is taken for granted. So, even though you don’t need to eat properly and exercise to “look good” (aesthetic speaking), you need it to feel good, live longer and avoid diseases.

Obesity is not only a self-image problem

It is well known that one of the biggest problems of been “fat” is all the negativity surrounding people self-esteem due to all the social media pressure saying your body type is inadequate. The problem is that, nowadays, obesity has become an epidemic problem… which means this is a public health issue, and not only a social one.

Besides all that media influence, there is a fundamental basis to discourage people to engage an unhealthy lifestyle thanks to all the publicity of easy ingesting and ready-to-go food. In our century, it has become incredible easy to ingest hipercaloric foods which means that there is a lot of food offering, and most of it has tons of empty calories and almost none nourishing ingredients.

This means that people are not eating properly, even though they tend to eat a lot during the day. This will result in weigh gain and minerals/vitamins deficiency. So, even though one person may be obese, (s)he my suffer from some level of malnutrition.

Why is this happening? Well, the junkie-food-industry is each day more present in our lives through propagandas, inducing people to buy their products everyday, especially kids. And to make it even worse, their prices may be lower then the ones on the “healthy food department” in the supermarkets, making it even easier for people to buy it, especially those who can’t afford much.

This is leading the population to a road of chronic diseases, affecting younger people each day. Now there are lots of kids with “adult diseases”, including diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis.

Why are these diseases being triggered earlier?

Well, we all have a baggage called DNA (our genetic influence) that we can’t change, but there are some diseases that required environment influence as well (especially those mentioned before). When we provide this sedentary and hipercaloric lifestyle, it triggers these genes and it is manifested as diseases, which do not have a cure, but a life long treatment to prevent all the complications, especially early deaths.

So, how can I prevent or chance it?

The genes are there, but you can prevent them from trigging if you engage a healthy lifestyle, which includes at least 150 min of cardio per week + resistance training + healthy food habits. You don’t need to live like an athlete; you just need to make right choices.

xox

How can I boost my basal metabolism?

Well, you might know by now that people who exercise often tend to eat more without gaining much weight. Why does this happen? It’s very simple & logical actually… they have a faster basal metabolism. The basal metabolism is the energy we require to execute essential/vital basic body functions in absolute state of rest just to keep us alive, such as breathing, heart beating, oxygenate our cells, digest food, keep our body temperature … it is the energy we spend doing absolutely nothing.

There are 2 different types of mechanisms used to keep basal metabolism: catabolism & anabolism. The catabolism is the mechanism our body uses to generate energy from particles we ingest from the food we eat, being necessary to break them into very small nutrients, releasing energy through an oxidation process. However, the anabolism is the mechanism used to create constructs organic complexes (FYI: muscle mass); it is necessary a series of chemical reactions that build or synthesize molecules from smaller compounds; & in order to do so energy is required.

So, now that got a better understanding of what is basal metabolism, we can discuss what affects it. We all know that one person who eats EVERYTHING & never gains weight… & that poor creature who doesn’t eat much but still can’t lose a single pound. Well, this happens because there are people genetically “blessed” (the flawless VS models ❤ ) & those who don’t (the rest of the population 😦 ), especially ‘cause around 80% of our basal metabolism is determined in our genes.

Besides, men usually spend more energy then women, which happens simply because they have more body mass & composition. Age is also another factor; the younger you are the faster is our basal metabolism… The temperature we are exposed to also influences; the colder or hotter the more calories we spend to keep the normal body temperature.

However, the nutrition you give your body is fundamental to help the metabolic functions done by your basal metabolism. Eating better, clean & each 3h helps your body to spend more energy, especially because it won’t feel the need to “stock” it for later (which happens when you spend hours without eating). Water is essential: it is used in the process of generating energy (burn calories), so the more you drink the easier it is to create & spend energy (2-3L per day). Also, there are some thermogenic foods you can eat to give it a boost: green tea; ginger; fibers – vegetables, whole grains & fruits; omega 3 (fish); spices.

Another thing we can change is our body composition (the amount of fat & muscles we have). Muscles burn more calories then fat (around 3-5x more!!), even in absolute rest!! YAY!! So, how we gain more muscles? It’s simple: exercising. It is recommended to workout 3x a week performing against gravity exercises, such as circuits or bodybuilder. Cardio is also fundamental. But they need to complement each other, especially ‘cause different stimulus helps in boosting basal metabolism.

The faster your basal metabolism, more energy is necessary, allowing our body to burn more calories… helping you to lose weight faster. The changes you make also help in preventing a series of conditions & diseases simply ‘cause you engage a healthier lifestyle.

xox

How to engage a healthier nutrition

First of all, congratulations on willing to change your diet! It takes a lot to understand all the risks unhealthy habits provide, and the willpower to do something ‘bout it! If you are reading this, it means that you did the very first step: get motivation! Yay! Now, let’s get to business!

In my personal opinion, the base for a lasting lifestyle change is knowledge. If you know why you’re eating something, it becomes easier to adapt and enjoy it. Okay, now, if you are the kind of person that only eat junk food – I am happy that you WANNA change it – BUT the changes need to be slow. Why? Because if you change your eating routine completely in a heart beat, it won’t last! And you know this – it will be just like another HORRIBLE diet that we always cheat. And it’s almost humanly impossible to keep it! You gotta take baby steps, sweetie. 😉

I recommend you to go to a nutritionist and get a physical performance evaluation before engaging any changes. Why? Simply because you might have had developed a subclinical condition that could be very dangerous if not taken any precautions. But the good news is: the changes you wanna make are the same to prevent and treat these conditions. So, yay, let’s get to it!

First of all: a proper diet plan (read it as: nutrition, NOT restriction), you need to start nourishing your body, not your mind. There are lots of food that tastes delicious but don’t have enough ingredients necessary for your body functions, they are “empty” calories. The only thing they do is to add (+) Kcal in your daily balance, without the benefits.

To lose weight you need to keep a negative (–) daily nutrition balance, and the mechanisms for this are very simple, it’s math one-o-one: you need to ingest less kilocalories than and you use. Besides that, it is very helpful to ingest foods that fasten you basal metabolism (the amount of energy you use just to be alive), so you can achieve your goals earlier.

It is proven that, when you eat each 3 hours, you boost your metabolism (read it as: you start to use more energy to keep you alive). This is a basal condition you can actually change. Do you know those people that eat EVERYTHING and NEVER gains weight? Yeah, they have a fast metabolism… & so can you! 🙂

It takes time to adjust to healthier foods… at first sight they don’t look as delicious as a cheesecake, ice cream, pasta, chocolate, burgers… BUT wait, there are secrets to slowly adapt to this “weird healthy world” that everybody talks about.

First, you need to stop eating at fast food restaurants. That’s a fact. Trust me, you gonna thank me later. It is all junk, you feel hungry after just 1-2h, than you eat more & just have the impression of being full and heavy, like you can’t do anything afterwards… & than the hungry comes back… so you eat again… circle goes on & on.

Another thing, stop buying any kind of soda, THAT IS NOT WATER. You need to drink water to lose fat (water is essential in the break and use of energy stored in your adipocytes/fat cells) & nourish your body. Your kidneys will thank you… they need water to filtrate all the nutrients & electrolytes circulating in your blood flow, & also eliminate the damaging residuals in order to keep your cells alive. There’s a tip: buy sparkling water and add juice, it takes just like it… without all the sodium & sugar.

Also you need to start ingesting full food. Why? Because it takes more energy for you body to break the molecules, meaning it boosts basal metabolism (you spend more energy in doing something essential.. & you don’t even realize it). Yay, another way to help a negative balance! 😉

There is a sample of what your plate should look like. I know that it doesn’t look so pleasing at first sight, but there is something I can tell you: buy lots of salad. Green leaves are the key. Why? Well, they have essential vitamins, fibers & cellulose.

The vitamins are absorbed and used by our cells, while fibers and cellulose can’t be digested. This means that your gastrointestinal tract works faster, making it harder for our body to absolve more than the necessary ingredients from the other food components in that meal (meaning that you won’t full you fat cells with energy).

Likewise, you can eat lots of green leaves without guilt, because they are almost insignificant calories. So they is a tip: if you are really really really really hungry… you can exaggerate in the salad & it won’t damage your diet plan! Haha, nice hun? 😀

Hope this could help explain a little more about nutrition. See you next time!
xox

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How working out can increase your education?

When it comes to fitness, by the time you make the decision to change your body image, you engage a whole life change without even realizing it (yeah, you know the deal: change our eating habits and start working out on a regular basis, andddd you’ll start to see changes in your body). BUT what you don’t expect is to boost your brainpower. Not following me? Just bear with me.

Once the decision to merge a healthy lifestyle is made, you must challenge you mind & adapt to a new routine. Disciple is required. You have to push yourself to the limit… & as the time passes by… you end up bringing it into your life OUTSIDE the gym.

Still don’t believe me? Just think w/ me: the same way you schedule your workouts during the week, you can program the topics you’ll study during the week and make yourself commit to it. See? Easy peasy. Now just do it.

Really? I could do it even if I wasn’t working out.. I know lots of people that don’t workout and are very dedicated to studying.

Yeah I know them too. BUT there are OTHER benefits from training…I mean… there are soooo many.. like the hormones released during exercise, such as beta-endorphin; constant liberation of serotonin and, increased blood flow.

Hun? Wait.. what?

Okay, first of all, beta-endorphin is neuropeptide produced in our bodies responsible for analgesia (by binding to opioid receptor and by inhibiting the release of tachykinins – responsible for pain). As results, we have a good feeling after exercising, reduce of stress and anxiety and, improve in sleeping. Sooo we get more motivated to study & relax ourselves from the craziness caused by college/work.

Exercising also helps in the constant liberation of serotonin, a neurotransmitter produced in our bodies, responsible for sleep regulation (circadian cycle), limbic system (oh la la, sexy!), temperature control and appetite. This substance is responsible for synapses between neurons (electric transmission between brain cells), which means it’s to our brain to communicate fully (improving our minds!).

Besides, there’s also intensification in blood flow, leading to increased oxygen and glucose (brainy food – yummy!!) to the brain and faster carbon dioxide removal. When we provide our brains a smoother blood circulation it becomes easier for our bodies to remove substances that could harm us as much as it helps to feed our cells optimizing substances. See? Working out makes you smarter! YAY!! ❤

xox

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