Saturday, February 5, 2011

Get Lean With Lean Protein

You should have a diet that is rich in protein if your goal is to achieve a lean body with the lowest healthy percentage of body fat. The body needs protein as building blocks for muscle repair and muscle building. Our bodies can efficiently burn fat with a vigorous metabolism when we have adequate muscles. By learning as much as you can about protein you can take full advantage of its benefits in your diet. Make yourself knowledgeable about complete protein, lean protein and plant protein.

Complete protein is also referred to as whole protein. All the nine essential amino acids needed by the body for its biological functions, especially for muscle repair and muscle building, are contained in the proper amounts and proportions in complete protein. Tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine+cystine, phelylalanine+tyrosine, valine and histidine are the nine essential amino acids. Protein food that come from animals, such as meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk are complete proteins. Not all of them are lean proteins, though. Saturated fats are contained by some of them. Make sure you know how to identify the lean complete proteins.

Lean protein contains one to three grams of fat and 50 to 55 calories per ounce. Very lean protein contains zero to one gram of fat and 30 to 35 calories per ounce. Fish, in general, is a very good source of lean protein. You also gain Omega-3 fatty acids considered as healthy fat when choosing coldwater fish like tuna and salmon. For chicken and turkey to be considered lean protein, remove the skin. Choose beef without fat marbling and remove all visible fat. When preparing eggs, use less yolk to bring down fat and cholesterol levels. Only low fat dairy products should be eaten. Lean proteins should, of course, be cooked without added fat by roasting, grilling or baking.

Probably the leanest protein is plant protein, although these are incomplete proteins. Certain plant proteins can be combined, though, to be able to have a complete protein meal. Combine lentils and beans such as kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, soy nuts and other legumes with whole grains like brown rice, barley, cracked wheat, quinoa and millet. Vegetarians can, therefore, also create good food combinations that have adequate lean and complete protein content.

Make sure your diet has enough amounts of the highest quality of protein to be able to support your fitness goals. This means aiming for lean complete proteins. You should not, however, neglect complex carbohydrates with high fiber content as well as healthy fats in your diet. You can actually factor these in with plant proteins as well as coldwater fish.

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Stamina Pilates Premier XP Reformer