Tag: Vegetarians

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Weight Loss Exercise

A new type of Canada Food Guide?


Earlier I mentioned how I like the idea of the Canada Food Guide but I really do not like the ratios of foods. Here is how I would change things if I had the choice.

I am not sure how much you know about the Canada Food Guide but the idea is that the Canadian government has come up with a list a lot like the US food pyramid that list a type of guidline of what you should eat every day. There has always been arguments from people that the meat, milk, and grain lobby all have too much influence as well as the fact that a lot of people that have problems with lactose or gluten intolerance, as well as vegetarians are not really recognized in the Canada Food Guide.

Last year Health Canada radically revamped the Canada Food Guide and it is much better as it looks at age, sex, and other factors. Anyway I have my own ideas of what I would like to see as basics of the Canada Food Guide even though they have done a great job at Health Canada I think lots of people will not follow the more complex guidelines and are instead looking for a set of simple rules.

My Canada Food Guide

A new type of Canada Food Guide?8 glasses of water a day
I don’t care that water is not food. Water is still a nutrient that people need for a healthy diet and most people do not drink any water let alone a little bit. Adding water to the food guide would be a great addition

3-5 small servings of meat or fish
I know that meat and fish are not th only place to get protein but at least mentioning fish again would add to the options. Also most people think that a serving of meat is an 8 ounce steak, not a can of tuna but the can of tuna is just as good. Your body just can not metabolize a big steak.

3-5 servings of vegetables

3-5 servings of fruit
Why is it that fruits and vegetables have always been lumped together? Fruits are great for their high water content and antioxidants and Vegetables are great for minerals including iron and Calcium. I know that this is a generalization but it would be nice to see people eating more of both fruits and vegetables. Oh, and tater tots and french fries are not a vegetable no matter what my brother in law thinks.

2-3 servings of high fiber grains
The idea of lots of breads I believe is outdated as a nitritous food group, instead I beleive it would be good to have reference to high fiber foods and to have examples.

Serving sizes for My Canada Food Guide
Come on governments on both sides of the border, it would be nice to have a better idea, not just in print but in news papers and TV, of what a serving size really is. The biggest poblem facing most people is not the junk and misplaced nutrients but instead it is a lack of idea of what serving sizes really are. A bowl of food or cup of coffee is a great sized breakfast but a giant plate of food is not quite enough for dinner? We need to get the word out about what is a good meal morning, noon, and night.

I know that there is a lot more to a good diet than these few things but I look at this as a guide, a way to look at a days food, not the everything that we eat in a day.

Do you have better ideas? Let me know. I would love to add a few more things to this list of my Canada Food Guide in a follow up.


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Weight Loss Exercise

Bodybuilding Revealed


I am not a bodybuilder, nor am I destined to become one in this lifetime. However, when I started reading “Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed“, I could not put it down.

What is BodyBuilding Revealed?

Bodybuilding Revealed

Bodybuilding Revealed

This 632 page book is very well-written and full of useful and interesting information. You get virtually everything you could possibly want to know about bodybuilding, whether you are a beginner, intermediate level, or advanced.

Will Brink is responsible for the majority of this book. His focus is on new bodybuilders and more intermediate level guys and gals.

The topics Brink covers  in Bodybuilding Revealed include:

Bodybuilding Revealed Chapter 1 – Nutrition – which explains fat, protein and carbohydrates, goes into detail about the glycemic index, includes the “Brink Pyramid”, Brink’s Top 10 Bodybuilding Foods, and a section entitled Vegetarians vs. Meat Eaters.

Bodybuilding Revealed Chapter 2 – Constructing Your Muscle-Building Diet – this is the core of his diet and nutrition plan, and he goes into detail on resting metabolic rate, the thermic effect of a meal, and the energy expenditure of physical energy. This Chapter also includes the Meal Planner and how to use it.

Bodybuilding Revealed Chapter 3 – Getting Organized – in this Chapter, you learn how to set up your kitchen, dine out, and how to use the Diet Planner and Food Database.

Bodybuilding RevealedChapter 4 – Completing the Picture – in this Chapter you learn how to work smarter, track your progress and use the Accumeasure to measure your body’s composition.

Bodybuilding Revealed Chapter 5 – Supplements – this Chapter reviews a number of popular supplements and reminds you that you can find over 440 supplement reviews in the Members’ Area Forum.

Bodybuilding RevealedChapter 6 – Training – this Chapter covers the three and four days splits that most bodybuilders use. More advanced information can be found in the articles by Charles Poliquin and in the Members’ Area Forum.

Bodybuilding RevealedChapter 7 – Cardio – Brink goes into detail on cardio and answers the question, “Does Cardio Help…Or Hinder Muscle Gain?”

Charles Poliquin has a great section – towards the end of the book – called “Individualization of Mass Building Programs” – which is targeted to the more advanced body builders. In addition, this section also includes:

  • Poliquin’s 21 Training For Mass Principles
  • Introduction to ‘Sample Training Programs’
  • Sample Training Programs
  • Are You Delusional About Your Fiber Makeup?

One very convenient feature of the ebook is the hyperlinks in each Chapter that lead you to videos and other information on Brink’s website that explain each exercise.

And, there’s more – this isn’t only an ebook. At the website you will find:

  • A Members’ Area Forum, with paid professional moderators to answer all of your questions
  • An exercise database
  • Meal Planners, recipes, and shopping tips
  • Good foods and foods to avoid
  • And, much, much more

If you get confused at all the bodybuilding terms, never fear. Brink includes an appendix with a “Glossary of Bodybuilding Jargon and Slang” and another appendix with “Brink’s Top Mass Gaining Foods.”

As a bonus, included are three training reports by Evan R. Peck, M.D.:

  • Overcoming Training Plateaus
  • Misconceptions of Muscle Soreness
  • Weight Training Injuries

In another very useful bonus, Brink gives you more than ten pages of “Brink’s Hybrid Training System” that “attempts to utilize all of the energy pathways by varying rep ranges, volume, tempo, etc. without over emphasizing any one pathway”.

Should you buy Bodybuilding Revealed?

This is an excellent ebook with access to many bonuses on Brink’s website. Anyone truly interested in bodybuilding should own a copy. Even couch potatoes like me found it full of useful information I could apply to my life.

Whether you are a bodybuilder – or not – you can improve your fitness and health with the information in this well-written ebook Bodybuilding Revealed.


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Weight Loss Exercise

Is Creatine The Best Body Building Supplement?


Choosing a body building supplement is not always easy, just because there are so many possibilities. Before you go to the store or go online with credit card in hand to order a truckload of products, check out our guide to creatine. Who should take it and who should not?

Why Take Creatine Body Building Supplement?

One reason for taking creatine is that it gives many of the same benefits as a protein supplement. It is excellent for increasing muscle mass. It is also a natural substance that occurs in the body, so we are not introducing anything new to the body here.

Vegetarians tend to be low on creatine so this is definitely something to consider if you are a vegetarian bodybuilder. Of course you would want to find a vegetarian form of this body building supplement. But it is not only for vegetarians! Anyone wanting to increase muscle mass may benefit from this if not contraindicated for medical reasons (see below).

How Does It Work?

Creatine increases the availability of ATP or adenosine triphosphate. This is the main energy source that muscles use for their power. So if you have more ATP available, you can perform more reps and lift more weight than you otherwise would. This means that you can grow your muscle faster.


Turbulence Training

In other words, creatine does not directly bulk the muscles, but allows your training to be more effective.

How To Take It

Creatine is found in significant quantities in red meat. It would be possible to increase your creatine levels by eating a lot more steak, but of course that comes with a lot of fat and other substances that you might not want in your diet. For this reason, many people prefer to take it in isolated form as a body building supplement. In many cases it comes with aminos, dextrose and other good substances for increasing muscle mass.

There are several different types of creatine body building supplement. Creatine monohydrate was the first type to be developed and is still very popular and effective. Creatine phosphate and citrate are newer variations that are usually more expensive if you compare creatine content gram for gram. That does not necessarily mean they are more effective.

Whatever type you get, it is usually best in powdered form. It is flexible when you want to experiment with your dosage (difficult to do with tablets or capsules) and easily absorbed. You will see liquid creatine on the market but be aware this can be very unpredictable in terms of the amount of creatine that it contains.

The best way to take creatine is to cycle it. Four weeks on and two weeks off is a recommendation that you might want to try.

Who Should Not Take It?

Creatine is not recommended for people with kidney or liver disease. It may affect insulin action so it is best not taken by those with diabetes or other blood sugar related disorders. Like many supplements, it is not recommended for pregnant women or nursing mothers because it cannot be proved safe for them.

Early fears that creatine was dangerous for the general population have been shown to be unfounded by a large volume of research now. It has been shown to be safe for normal healthy individuals. However, anybody considering taking a body building supplement should check it out with their medical advisor.