Monthly Archives: July 2023

Recently, while researching for a video I observed that many brands have introduced protein supplement targeting beginners, named them as “beginner whey protein.” These products are priced between 900 to 1300 rupees per kg approximately, and the protein content ranges from 35% to 45%.

I found it a bit expensive, so I compared it to skimmed milk powder and discovered that every 100 grams of milk powder contains 35% protein, while beginner whey has 40% protein. 

Both have low-fat content, with slightly different carbohydrate levels—52 grams in skimmed milk powder and 45 grams in beginners whey —and nearly the same amount of calories. 

Skimmed milk powder costs 500 rupees per kilo, while beginner whey costs around 1000 rupees per kg. Therefore, the cost/gram of protein in milk powder is Rs 1.4, while in beginner whey, it is Rs 2.5. This means that beginner whey is 75% more expensive than skimmed milk powder.

Interestingly, when I looked at the ingredient list of a popular beginner whey product, skimmed milk powder was the first ingredient. they could have simply named it “skimmed milk powder”, why do some effort in changing the name? No? 

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Well, the bottom line is that beginner whey is just a product name to attract a new audience. 

if you choose to buy it, make sure it contains at least 50% protein at nearly the same price point mentioned above which is unlikely. Otherwise, you can include a scoop of skimmed milk powder along with other protein-rich foods such as soy chunks (52% protein), chicken/fish (25% protein), tofu/tempeh (15% protein), paneer (18% protein), other dairy foods, etc. in your diet to complete your protein requirement. 

Additionally, if your goal is hypertrophy important thing is to complete your protein intake (1.5-2g/kg of bw) and split it across different meals during the day over which protein brand you choose. This can include a meal that comprises of beginners’ whey or skimmed milk powder. 

Should girls lift weights? What kind of question is that? If this question comes up again, let me tell you… Alright, tell me this… Are girls a different species that they don’t need muscles?

In fact, girls need muscles more so that they perform their day-to-day physical tasks without friction & incidence of injury. And don’t worry… Your muscles won’t turn bulky just like those huge bodybuilders doing resistance/strength training. 

Gaining muscle takes years of hard work and is a difficult task to achieve naturally. Though, gender, age, lifestyle, and genetics do play a role but even if you saw those muscular girls, it must have taken years of work to achieve that. So don’t worry about the bulk.  

To put things in perspective, girls have very little muscle mass and high-fat mass to begin with and any loss of muscle and increase in fat mass puts you at a metabolic disadvantage. 

Now coming to why you need resistance/strength training – 

1. Increasing or preserving lean mass during periods of fat loss which improves your metabolic rate to a certain extent. 
2. Helps lose fat when resistance training, is combined with proper nutrition, can help you lose body fat. This leads to a more defined and toned physique. 
3. Better strength and posture as resistance training improves muscular strength, endurance, and functional fitness, making everyday activities easier and reducing the risk of injury.
4. Better aesthetic and if you have been looking for a toned and more sculpted look, strength training is your best bet. 

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Should you not do cardio then?

Cardio activities such as running, walking, cycling, etc. are great at building cardiovascular health. Additionally, during periods of fat loss or even while maintaining weight, use this as a tool to burn extra calories.

So overall, if your goal is fat loss or improving body composition, your workout should be a mix of strength training & cardio, with roughly 60-70% time devoted to strength and remaining to cardio activities and being more active throughout the day by moving more. 

Couple this with optimal protein, hydration, and rest, and with time & patience, this will help you get to your goal. 

When we consume food, the energy required to digest it and absorb its nutrients is known as the thermic effect of food.

Now, proponents of the false concept of negative calorie foods claim that these foods require more energy to digest than the actual calories they provide.

Let me explain. 

Take celery, for example, which appears to be like cauliflower. It contains only 16 calories per 100 grams. Based on many claims, it is believed to be a negative calorie food. However, the energy expenditure required to digest it accounts for only 8% of its calories.

In other words, to digest the 16 calories in celery, you would expend approximately 8% of 16 calories. Let’s do some math now. Subtracting 8% of 16, which is 1 calorie, even if you consider 2 calories, subtracting them from 16 still leaves you with a positive value of 14 calories, not negative 14 calories.

So, forget about these futile methods for weight loss. Instead, focus on creating a calorie deficit or negative energy balance by eating 10-15% less than your maintenance calories, include sufficient protein, fiber, and water to create satiety. Rest, increase your deficit by being more active such as walking, etc. and incorporate strength training to preserve muscle. 

Additionally feel free to include some low-calorie foods like celery, cauliflower, spinach, cucumber, watermelon, strawberry, bell peppers etc. as part of your overall diet.

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Purine is a compound that is derived in two ways in the body. Firstly, when old and damaged cells are replaced by new cells, the body produces purine, secondly, when we consume purine-rich foods.

Now, when the body breaks down this purine, a chemical is produced, this is called uric acid. 

Under normal circumstances, the majority of uric acid is filtered by the kidneys and eliminated through urine, bringing uric acid levels in the blood back to normal.

Normal levels for uric acid – 

Male – 3.4-7 mg/dl

Female – 2.4-6 mg/dl 

However, in some cases, either the body produces excessive uric acid or the kidneys fail to filter sufficient uric acid, basically, production exceeds excretion by a sizeable difference, resulting in an increase in uric acid levels in the blood. This is also called hyperuricemia.

Though Hyperuricemia can be influenced by various factors including genetics, diet, lifestyle, and certain medical conditions but more specifically, consuming purine-rich foods can also be a contributing factor.

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And protein-rich foods are not the same as purine-rich foods In fact, what needs to be reduced is high to moderate purine foods such as organ meats, seafood, various types of fish, mushrooms, and soy-based products in high category. chicken, lentils, beans, and spinach in low to moderately purine foods, while whey protein, other dairy products, and eggs, and peanuts despite being good in protein have negligible purine content and do not significantly impact uric acid levels.

So the bottomline is to eat purine-rich foods in moderation, drink sufficient water, make physical activity a part of your lifestyle (cardio & strength), and maintain a healthy weight to keep your uric acid levels in check. 

Treat this information for educational purposes only. 

Also, feel free to check this resource about uric acid https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6722549/ 

Hope it helps.

For those who have this question, first tell me who you are and why do you need to take protein? And do you think protein is some kind of drug?

Well, first understand the basics, protein is a macronutrient just like carbohydrates & fats that is needed in large quantities… for everyone without exception.

However, the quantity needed by each individual, will depend depending on weight or lean body mass and activity level.

If your weight is 60 kg and you have no physical activity… then the minimum requirement is 0.8g per kilogram of body weight, which means – 60 X 0.8 = 48g of protein/day.

So, you need this much protein everyday to avoid getting into a state where you start to lose muscle.

And if you are involved in sports, resistance training, or interested in muscle building… then this requirement of 0.8g/kg of body weight increases to 1.2-2g per kilogram of body weight… meaning 72-120g per day.

So first, figure out how much protein you are consuming through food… and if your needs are not met through food alone… then fulfill them with a protein supplement.

And stop asking this question… Should I take protein?? It’s not a drug… it’s a nutrient. Don’t take it if you don’t want to… but then don’t complain about sarcopenia later.

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Now, the exercise that comes first in the workout is the one in which you can perform the best compared to the exercise that comes at the end. Meaning you can either lift heavy, do more reps or sets or a combination of three for an exercise that’s placed early in the workout.

This is because as fatigue increases during the workout, performance tends to decline. This concept is known as fatigue carryover.

Keeping this as basis of exercise ordering, after warming up, the compound or multiple joint movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pull-ups, and so on should come first in the workout. These exercises require more energy and strength, making them the most fatiguing. That’s why they should be kept early during the workout.

Next, the larger muscles should be targeted before the smaller muscles. For example, if it’s a leg workout, the quadriceps should be worked before the calves, if it’s a push workout, the chest should be worked before the triceps and if it’s a pull workout, back should be worked before biceps.

And, towards the end, isolation or single joint exercises and smaller muscles such as biceps curls, leg extensions, leg curls, and so on can be included.

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However, if the goal is muscle growth, exercise order doesn’t have a significant impact on muscle growth as long as you’re completing weekly set volume for that muscle group (10-20 hard sets for each muscle for hypertrophy with 8-15 reps per set).

But if your goal is both strength and size, exercise ordering can be beneficial. Also, meeting weekly set volume split over atleast 2 sessions remains the key here too.

Although there are exceptions to this rule, such as prioritizing a weak muscle etc. or if you play some sport, target muscle that are involved in that sport first, but overall, a good workout will include a mix of compound and isolation exercises.