Ready to crush some nutrition myths?

I get extreme nutrition questions all the time. In fact, just yesterday I was asked about whether it was bad to eat carbohydrates and protein at the same time. I can't stand that type of obsessive- compulsive thinking. There's no reason to be worried about that kind of tiny detail.

So here are two nutrition myths I crushed while down in California hanging out with friends and celebrating my buddy Bedros Keuilian's birthday down over the weekend. (By the way, by ignoring these myths, I ate amazing meals and still didn't gain any fat!)

Myth #1) You can't eat late at night

I blew that one out of the water on the first night I arrived. My flight from Toronto to Orange County was at 6pm Thursday. I ate before I went to the airport, and then aside from a few almonds on the plane, I didn't eat until I arrived at 8pm California time.

So that's 5 hours past my normal dinner time.

But "nutrition experts" are going to tell me I can't eat now?

They are going to send me to bed without any supper?

Who do they think they are, some kind of evil villain from a Mother Goose nursery rhyme?

Some type of wicked step-mother nutrition witch, or something?

Well, I'll have my dinner whenever I want, thank you very much. And if that means eating at 9pm, then that's when I'll eat.

The bottom line: It's not WHEN you eat, it's HOW MUCH you eat.

By the way, just to horrify these so-called nutrition experts even more, I even ordered a pizza when I ate at 9pm last Thursday. Then again, I ate dinner with Mr. Cheat Diet, Joel Marion...

Myth #2) You must use protein shakes if you want to lose fat/gain muscle

Survey says, "Wrong!"

There has never been a scientific study showing that you'll build muscle or burn fat better if you eat more than 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

That translates to LESS than one gram of protein per pound of body weight.

So yes, it's fine to round up to one gram per pound, BUT that ONLY works if you are relatively lean.

If you are more than 20% fat, you do NOT need anywhere near one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Let's say you're a 175 pound guy or a 145 pound woman with 20% fat.

At most, you'll need one gram per pound of LEAN body mass (that's your total weight minus your fat weight).

So our man would need 140 grams of protein and our female would need 115 grams of protein per day.

That is SO EASY to get through REAL FOOD that you don't need to suck down the "swill" that nutrition stores sell you (aka - protein powder).

Just check out how much protein you get from REAL food:

• One cup of any dairy product = 8-10 grams of protein
• One ounce of meat = 7-10 grams of protein
• One ounce of fish = 6 grams of protein
• One egg = 7 grams of protein
• One cup of kidney beans or black beans = 15 grams of protein
• One tbspn peanut butter = 4 grams of protein
• One slice of bread = 5 grams of protein (!)

So you see, you don't need bad-tasting powders when you can eat real, delicious foods for all your protein needs.

Instead, keep your nutrition SIMPLE. Focus on whole, natural foods and limit high-calorie, high-sugar foods to just a couple of treats per week. Combine that with your favorite Turbulence Training workouts and you'll lose fat fast.

©2010 Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

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