Tag: Diet

Resources by Conor HeffernanSep 18, 201711:34 am

Guest Post: The Best Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients for Joint Pain Relief

Joint pain can be extremely unpleasant, and in certain cases, it can be severe and insufferable. This condition prevents affected people from performing some of their regular daily routines, and although it’s most common in elderly people, all age groups can suffer from it. Various medical issues, including osteoarthritis, gout, bursitis, strains, sprains, simple inflammation, or rheumatoid arthritis, are responsible for joint pain. The knee is usually very prone to pain, but other joints such as hips, shoulders, or ankles are also susceptible to this medical issue. As some of these conditions trigger inflammation, it’s highly beneficial to use natural ingredients to relieve the pain as they don’t have side effects.

Is Portion Control as Hard as It Seems?

One of the main goals in weight loss (and nutrition in general) is to cut calories that are wasteful. We all have a recommended daily intake of calories and if you surpass it, then you’re in the territory of gaining weight unless you supplement your lifestyle with plenty of exercise to balance it out. Unfortunately, some foods that we eat are “empty” calories, meaning that they provide no real benefit to our bodies. In addition, some foods simply aren’t as nutritional as others, and it can be seen as wasteful.

Portion control is just another way of watching what you eat, but it goes a little beyond just cutting out wasteful calories. If you’re serious about managing your nutrition, then it’s important to keep an eye on the portions you eat so that you’re gaining as many nutrients as possible with the fewest calories.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanSep 4, 20174:55 pm

Changing Household Cooking: Jack Lalanne and the 1950s

“Most housewives have no idea what to serve in place of meat, potatoes, gravy, pie and coffee.”

-Jack LaLanne, “Your Health Cookbook,” 1954

A New Decade in American Kitchens

The 1950s were a turbulent period for America. Emerging from the refuge of WW2, the growing Superpower was faced with new economic, social and political demands. For the average citizen, this meant new pressures but also new innovations. In the culinary world, Americans were gaining their first exposure of ‘ethnic’ restaurants, TV dinners and new forms of sugary treats.

Cookbooks and magazines from the era were laden with recipes using pre-packaged meals. Advertisements aimed at the housewife convincingly argued that new appliances and convenience foods would help save her time and money and meal plans were adhered to the three square meals a day rule. The food of choice soon became prepackaged foods, fatty cuts of meat, canned fruit and vegetables and of course refined sugar. Whilst brands such as Betty Crocker presented this way of eating as nutritious, others had different ideas, notably a physical culturist by the name of Jack Lalanne.

Resources by Conor HeffernanAug 30, 20174:27 pm

Irvin Johnson’s Scientific Body Building and Nutrition Course (1951)

rheoblair

Better known as Rheo H. Blair, Irvin Johnson was one of the foremost bodybuilding nutritionists of the 1950s and 60s. Producing one of the most sought after protein powders in the Iron Game, Blair was lauded for his nutritional knowhow and ability to achieve seemingly unbelievable weight gain amongst his clients.

Bearing that in mind, today’s short post details a sample eating plan from Johnson’s ‘Scientific Bodybuilding and Nutrition Course’, a mail order course produced in 1951 which promised to increase reader’s weight and muscle mass if followed correctly.

Similar to the ‘Get Big Drink‘ previously covered, the diet acts as a timely reminder that calories are needed for muscle gain. And that a systemised eating plan is often the easiest method of going about this. Enjoy!

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 28, 20175:02 pm

Forgotten Bodybuilding Supplements: Desiccated Liver

27b8b4a865b7598bd1dadcf86ee032ce--health-care-health-fitness.jpg

At a time when anabolic steroids were in their infancy, bodybuilders were turning to an altogether different sort of wonder substance. Said to increase one’s energy, muscle mass and overall wellbeing, this product was cheap, easy to take and used by some of the top bodybuilders of the time.

I am of course referring to Desiccated Liver, a supplement form of liver, popularised from the 1950s onwards by a series of bodybuilding gurus. In today’s post we’re going to examine what exactly Desiccated Liver was, who used it and finally what benefits they believed it provided. We’ll then finish up with a brief discussion about whether or not it should form part of your own supplement stack.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 18, 20177:48 pm

The History of the Low-Carb Diet

William_Banting

Ah the low-carbohydrate diet, a form of eating that has become so ingrained in 21^st century culture that you could be forgiven for thinking it was a relatively new idea. The truth is that low-carb diets have existed since the 19^th century, when an Englishman named William Banting began promoting a low-carb way of life. Although clinical obesity is a relatively new phenomenon (it only really came to the fore in the 20^th century), people for centuries have dealt with weight issues. William Banting was one such man, who so impressed with the result’s of his diet, began to market the low-carb way of living.

So who was William Banting and how did he discover this diet?

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 14, 20171:08 pm

Guest Post: What “dieting” meant to people in the 1900s

Dieting in the 1900s

The concept of “dieting” has been around for a very, very long time. If historical data is to be believed, people have been convinced about the power of dieting for as long as 500 years now. Can people control their body weight and composition by controlling what they eat, when they eat and how they eat it? Most certainly!

Today, we have a number of facilities and fitness equipment like roman chairs, treadmills, and dedicated trainers to help us with our fitness goals. Back in the day? Diets were more sought-after. A lot of diets have been introduced and experimented with over the years. Some of them have been failures, some have been quite weird, and others have been recycled, given fancier names, and exist in the current scenario. Let’s take a look at a few of these:

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 6, 20177:45 pm

John McCallum ‘Get Big Drink’

SONY DSC

The quest for greater size has long plagued both the ‘hard gainer’ and the muscle bound hunk. At times it can seem that the need to ingest greater calories is almost as taxing as our workouts. A predicament that John McCallum, the focus of today’s article, was keen to address. As you’ll read below, McCallum devised a simple but highly effective weight gain drink for those seeking to put on weight in the shortest possible amount of time.

Training by Conor HeffernanJul 28, 20177:19 am

Guest Post: Cardio Exercise and its History in Health and Fitness

pexels-photo

Cardio is a form of exercise that results in an increased heart rate as well as improved muscular functioning which ultimately leads to general body fitness. Cardio as a form of physical exercise, involves engagement of larger body muscles, often referred to as gross motor activities. Apart from raising the heart rate during exercise, cardio exercise also enables our muscles to maintain a good shape and condition. This results in a more healthy and efficient functioning body, while helping us to achieve the primary goal of cardio exercise, which is a stronger cardio vascular system that is characterized with more capillaries carrying more oxygen to the muscular cells. Increased oxygen supply in turn allows your body to break down more fat during exercise as well as during resting period.

Low intensity exercise rates for an elongated period of time enables you to participate in the cardio form of exercise. For instance, engaging your body in rhythmic exercises for more than 15 minutes while maintaining 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate is an ideal way of taking part in cardio exercise. This leads to a number of health and fitness benefits such as increased stamina, control of body weight and other benefits related to psychological and mental functioning of the body including reduced anxiety and enhanced moods.

Training by Conor HeffernanJul 26, 20177:12 am

Guest Post: How To Effectively Use Cheat Meals

Our latest post comes from the wonderful and talented Samantha Olivier from Ripped.me. We’re delighted to have Samantha featured on the site again and know you’ll enjoy her latest piece.

Yes, I know, the word “cheat” sounds awful, but before you go all negative on cheat meals, you should know that they can be a valuable tool that can boost your metabolic rate. There are cheat strategies that people of all fitness levels and sizes can implement successfully. However, considering factors such as your previous dieting failure/success, daily eating habits, and fitness goals is a must as part of your self-evaluation.

Eating clean for the most of your week, staying active and rewarding yourself is at the heart of this matter. After a sudden intake of those extra calories, your metabolism starts burning hot, and the effects of enhanced fat loss and muscle gains are increased. Your body utilizes protein better, your cravings are reduced as well as metabolically damaging gut bacteria. So, there’s no need to feel guilty after consuming a cheat meal from time to time, because it actually helps you to become and stay lean.