Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Lean, Mean Eatin' Machine


In my perfect world, you would lose fat by bathing in melted chocolate and gain lean muscle mass by gorging on banana cake that's topped with cream cheese icing. Crater face and folds of flab be damned - for I would become more beautiful and ripped with every morsel. 

Funny how life works...if only I craved an extra chicken breast with the same intensity that I crave cookies.

So to that end, here are the foods that best serve the body which prefers lean over lard:

1. EGG- yes, with yolk, is the perfect protein, plus is full of riboflavin, folate, iron and vitamins B6, B12, D + E. 

2. ALMONDS - busting with vitamin E, a vital anti-oxidant that helps prevent free-radical damage after a heavy workout.

3. SALMON - great source of protein AND omega-3 fatty acids, which helps to improve recovery by decreasing muscle-protein breakdown.

4. YOGURT - offers a perfect balance of protein to carbs that stimulates muscle recovery and growth.

5. BEEF - clearly a necessity for its valuable protein, it also contains two crucial muscle building nutrients, zinc and iron...plus the best food source for creatine (ie energy supply).

6. OLIVE OIL - helps prevent muscle breakdown by lowering levels of necrosis factor-a...plus! you can smear it on your muscles and flex in the mirror.

7. WATER - your muscles are 80% water, therefore a wee bit of dehydration, as little as 1%, affects protein synthesis, the process by which your body uses protein to repair its muscles.

8. COFFEE - helps you lift longer. 'Nuf said.

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