BCAA vs EAA

Our body needs 21 amino acids to function properly. Out of them, 6 can be produced by the body, so they are non-essential (alanine, aspartic acid, asparagine, glutamic acid, serine, selenocysteine). 

Another 6 can also be synthesized by the body except for some conditions, making them conditionally essential (arginine, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, proline, tyrosine). However, the remaining 9 cannot be produced by the body, meaning you need them through diet alone, so they are essential. They are also known as EAA. (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, pyrrolysine, tryptophan, valine). 

Among these 9, these 3 (isoleucine, leucine & valine) are called BCAA (branched-chain amino acids). Leucine, in particular, is crucial for muscle growth. but consuming it alone won’t be enough. So just consuming a BCAA supplement without eating or completing your protein intake won’t be effective. And, if you get all 9 from your diet, you don’t need BCAA anyway. Right?

And foods that contain all essential amino acids mentioned above are called complete proteins, such as these non-vegetarian (chicken, fish, seafood, meat, eggs etc.) and vegetarian foods (soy chunks, tofu, paneer, milk, curd). Even whey protein falls under complete protein category.

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So the practical takeaway here is that if your goal is muscle growth, first priority is to complete your daily protein requirement (1.5-2g/kg of bodyweight), and secondly, most of this protein should come from complete sources to trigger muscle protein synthesis and lastly, if possible split total protein equally across meals. 

And as far as BCAA & EAA supplements are concerned, they’re just a marketing gimmick. The fact is, if you’re eating enough protein from complete sources you automatically get sufficient BCAA & EAAs needed for muscle growth. 

How To Burn More Calories By Eating?

Let’s assume you had chole chawal for lunch, which was around 500 kcal, and the thermic effect of food (TEF) for this meal is 20%. This means you’ll burn 20 percent of 500 kcal, which is 100 kcal, to digest and absorb nutrients from chole chawal. So, net net, you consumed 400 calories after accounting for the 100 calories burned during digestion.

Now, the 20% tef was just an example, but the concept of TEF is this…. foods that are harder for the body to digest and absorb will have a higher TEF. For instance, protein has a tef of 20%, carbs have a tef of 5 to 10%, and fats have the lowest TEF.

This is when you consumed any macronutrient in isolation however this isn’t the case always. And, in case of high protein mixed meals, the TEF could even be higher than protein. 

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On the other hand, foods that are easy to digest, have the lowest tef, like the ones made from refined flour and other processed foods.

So, the practical takeaway here is that if you want to maximize calorie burn through eating alone, opt for high-protein meals like soya pulao, chicken rice, tofu sandwich etc. 

However, even after doing this, the TEF accounts for just 10-15% of your total daily energy expenditure. 

This means that for fat loss, relying on TEF alone won’t be enough. You’ll also need to control your food intake (10-15% less than maintenance), aim for 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, and incorporate strength training into your routine.

Decoding Muesli – Health & Weight Loss

A muesli is made up of three main components: around 50-60% whole grains such as oats and flakes of other grains such as wheat flakes, barley flakes, rice flakes etc., 25-30% nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, and about 10% sugar or any other sweetener. This is not a standard template and may have slight variations from brand to brand. 

Nutritionally, 100 g muesli, will give approximately 8-10g of protein, 80g carbohydrates (including 10g of sugar and 7g of fiber), 8g fat, and roughly 400 calories (even more for some brands).

Now, from a health perspective, muesli can be a nutritious breakfast option due to the presence of whole grains and nuts/seeds, providing certain essential nutrients.

However, if you are looking to lose weight – consider that a 50 g serving of muesli alone provides around 200 calories, and when combined with a glass of milk (150 kcal), the total comes to about 350 kcal (if you top it up with banana or any other fruit, add another 60-70 kcal) – similar to any standard breakfast option like besan ka cheela, dalia, poha, bread omlette (some calories here and there obviously).

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Also, protein and fiber content is also not significantly different between these foods, infact some may even have a higher protein or fiber content.

In conclusion, muesli is not a magical health or a weight loss food. If your reason for consuming it is weight loss, it may not be a game-changer, if you’re not in a calorie deficit overall. However, if your reason for consuming it is – getting a quick breakfast or variety in your breakfast, feel free to include it in your diet while keeping an eye on your overall calorie intake to achieve your weight goals. 

How To Boost Metabolism The Right Way?

Let’s decode this & understand. Human metabolism is composed of four components. The first is BMR (basal metabolic rate), which represents the energy expenditure at complete rest. Meaning, if you don’t move an inch for an entire day, this is the minimum amount of calories your body needs to carry out its internal functions. 

It is different for different people and depends on factors like age, height, weight and body fat percentage. BMR accounts for approximately 60% of the total daily calorie expenditure. You can slightly increase it by building muscle mass.

Second, is the thermic effect of food (TEF), which refers to the calories burned during digesting and absorbing food. it makes up around 10-15% of the daily calorie expenditure. It is also different for different people and depends on factors such as body fat percentage & meal composition however, consuming high-protein mixed meals can increase the thermic effect of food. Some meal examples could be – soy pulao, tofu pasta, and bread omelette etc. from an Indian context.

The third component is physical activity, which is split into two parts. The first part is EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis), referring to planned workouts in the gym, park, etc. This not only burns calories while performing the workout but also increases BMR in the long run by increasing muscle mass. 

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The second part is neat (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), which includes all body movements other than EAT, like walking, household chores, etc. Combining all these components gives you TEE or TDEE (Total Energy Expenditure).

So, the bottomline is, if you want to boost your metabolism or TEE the right way,

  • start by incorporating strength training in your planned workouts (EAT). This will help you gain muscle in the long term and indirectly increase your BMR.
  • Second, to keep the thermic effect of food high, consume meals rich in protein and fiber. lastly,
  • find opportunities to stay active throughout the day such as walk & talk, walk & social media, use cycle instead of scooty for local work etc. and so on. 

Why protein is important for muscle growth?

In simple words, muscle tissue is made from protein, and this protein is made up of 21 different amino acids, and amino acids contain nitrogen. So, in a way, muscles are also made of nitrogen.

If this is clear to you, now just like a calorie surplus is required for weight gain, similarly, a nitrogen surplus or positive nitrogen balance is needed for muscle gain. This means that the body’s intake of nitrogen should be higher than its expenditure. 

Nitrogen expenditure or loss occurs through processes like urine, feces, and sweat, and for nitrogen intake, consume protein-rich foods such as soy chunks, whey, chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, paneer, tempeh, etc. and other protein foods.

If your daily protein intake falls between 1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight, your body will be capable of achieving a positive nitrogen balance, meaning, extra nitrogen left after subtracting nitrogen consumed from nitrogen expenditure, will then be utilized for muscle repair, maintenance, and growth.

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In addition to this, a small surplus of approximately 300 calories is necessary to support the muscle growth process, along with resistance training, providing the necessary stimulus for muscles to grow. 

Can you turn fat into muscle?

Let’s get to the basics to understand this. Now, muscle and fat cells are entirely different. It’s like comparing an apple to a banana. 

For example, the bicep muscle is made up of many muscle fibers, and each muscle fiber consists of several myofibrils, which are made up of proteins. 

Simply put your muscle is made up of protein and therefore, you need protein to build it. It’s as simple as that. 

On the other hand, a fat cell, also known as an adipocyte. It forms when there is extra energy or calories consumed which gets stored in the adipose tissue. 

To understand this clearly, each human being needs certain energy or calories to maintain weight which is known as maintenance calories. This is different for everyone. Now, if you consume more than this, that extra energy automatically gets stored as fat in adipose tissue.   

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So, since the locations of muscle and fat are distinct, it is not possible for one to convert into the other. However, if you are a beginner, training after a long break, overweight or obese, You can simultaneously build muscle and lose fat. This is also known as body composition.

To achieve this, you need a small calorie deficit, usually around 200-300 calories, a high protein intake between 1.5-2g/kg of body weight, resistance/weight training, hydration, optimal rest and patience. 

With these variables in place, you can attain both muscle gain and fat loss.

How to bulk the right way?

Bulking is an approach to weight gain where the main goal is to increase muscle mass, but some fat gain is inevitable with any muscle gain. the extent of fat gain will depend on the number of calories in surplus, but there will be some fat gain for sure. 

So, what can we do to ensure muscle gain while minimizing fat gain? 

Now, the amount of muscle you can gain over a certain period has a limit, which depends on factors like gender, genetics, nutrition, training experience, stress, hydration, hormones, sleep etc. However, there is no such limit for fat gain.

What does this mean? 

Eating in excess does not necessarily lead to more muscle gain, but it does lead to more fat gain. To put it simply, consuming excess calories beyond a certain limit will automatically get stored as fat. This is exactly what dirty bulking is – eating in excess and storing all that energy as fat. 

In a study, one group was on 300 kcal surplus and the other was more than 600 kcal surplus. While, both groups had equal strength & muscle gains over the 12-week period, however, the group in excess of 600 kcal surplus gained much more fat than the 300 kcal group. 

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So, the bottom line is, to bulk the right way, maintain a small surplus of around 300 calories, perform 15 to 20 sets per week for each major muscle group to provide a stimulus for the muscle to grow, and keep protein in this range of 1.5-2g/kg of BW for optimal gains. 

Can you build muscle with bodyweight training?

A muscle grows in response to any form of stress, tension or resistance applied to it, whether it’s through a dumbbells, a barbell, a resistance band or simply through bodyweight exercises at home. Body only cares about stress and as long as this resistance continues, muscle will continue to grow.

While, this is one factor of muscle growth, the other is for how long and how many times the stress is placed on a muscle.

Simply put, there are 3 factors that influence muscle hypertrophy – 

  1. Load – the resistance
  2. How many times – no of sets per muscle
  3. Repetitions – for how long is the stress placed

if this is clear to you, and you are a beginner who just wants to work with his/her bodyweight to grow your muscle the following three compound movements will get you started – 

  1. push-up, a classic compound movement targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. perform 4 sets with 10 to 15 reps per set. 
  2. squats, a lower body compound movement for overall leg development. also, do 4 sets with the same reps per set
  3. lastly, pull-ups or chin-ups. if you can’t do these, try inverted rows or bottle rows, again, compound exercises targeting the back and biceps. again, perform 4 sets with the same number of reps.

do these three exercises 3 to 4 days a week and gradually increase the difficulty by adding more reps, reducing rest time, or trying more challenging variations of various exercises and keep challenging your muscles for growth. 

Additionally, protein intake in this range of 1.5-2g/kg of body weight and a calorie surplus of 250 to 300 calories is essential. 

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Below is a sample bodyweight workout for beginners.

SAMPLE BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT

How to lose weight the wrong way?

Let’s assume that you study at miranda house and weigh 80 kilograms. Now, there’s your sister’s wedding in 2 months, and you managed to lose 10 kilograms by only consuming cumin water, fruit, vegetable salads and a single chapati daily. During this time, neither did you workout nor paid any attention to protein intake.

So, what do you think, you lost all that weight from fat? Well, no and it’s not just fat that you lost; you also lost water and significant amount of muscle. Because in the absence of strength/resistance training and optimal protein it’s really difficult to preserve muscle. But the happiness of losing 10 kilograms was way more important than losing muscle.

Nonetheless, after a few months of your sister’s wedding, you return to your old lifestyle that got you to 80 kilos in the first place, so obviously, you end up back at the same 80 kg mark within the next 3-4 months. 

So, what did you gain this time? Mostly fat and some water because without proper workouts and sufficient protein intake, it’s challenging for your muscles to recover quickly.

So you got back to the same weight within a few months, but this time with more fat, since you lost significant muscle during previous weight loss, resulting in decreased metabolism. 

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This, my friends, is the yo-yo dieting effect, where losing muscle loss gradually reduces your metabolism. To put this more simply, you lose fat & muscle, you gain mostly fat, again you lose fat & muscle, you again gain mostly fat, and this cycle keeps going on and on, until you decide to make changes to your lifestyle.

So the bottomline is, without strength training, increased activity level and adequate protein intake, long-term fat loss will be difficult to achieve.

Decoding Dark Chocolate

Any chocolate that contains 50% or more cocoa solids is considered dark chocolate. 

There are three popular types of dark chocolate available in the market 55%, 75%, and 90% dark chocolates, which means if it’s 55% dark, the remaining 45% is sugar, and if it’s 75% dark, the remaining 25% is sugar, more or less. 

Nutrition-wise, a 75% dark chocolate contains approximately 9 grams of protein, 40 grams fat (with 60% saturated fat), 45 grams carbohydrates with 25 grams sugar, 8 grams fiber, and almost 600 kcal (calories) (values are approximate and may vary among different brands). 

Additionally, it is a rich source of minerals like copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, etc. but the claimed benefits of dark chocolate, such as reducing blood pressure, lowering bad cholesterol levels, improving mood, and enhancing brain function, are attributed to the presence of flavonoids in it. 

We looked at some of those studies. Though, there was a good amount of evidence pointing to these benefits, however, there are still many questions regarding these benefits that are left to be answered in studies before it can be conclusively confirmed. However, in the meantime, if you want to extract some benefits from dark chocolate, start with 75% dark, and consume it in moderation (2-3 cubes) because dark chocolate besides nutrients is also high in calories & saturated fat. 

Those who do not eat dark chocolate can get flavonoids from other food sources such as green tea, apples, cocoa powder, berries, colored vegetables & fruits.

The bottom line is, instead of bingeing on just one food, bring variety to your diet, some dark chocolate and an active lifestyle is all you need to make your life more colorful. 

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Reference studies 

Effect of Cocoa Products on Blood Pressure: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

https://academic.oup.com/ajh/article/23/1/97/150091

Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/343/bmj.d4488.full.pdf

Effect of Cocoa Beverage and Dark Chocolate Intake on Lipid Profile in People Living with Normal and Elevated LDL Cholesterol: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0311/2/3/17

Does chocolate reduce blood pressure? A meta-analysis

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1741-7015-8-39

The effect of cocoa/dark chocolate consumption on lipid profile, glycemia, and blood pressure in diabetic patients: A meta-analysis of observational studies

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.7183

Effects of cocoa products/dark chocolate on serum lipids: a meta-analysis

https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn201164