Biggest Loser Designer Whey Protein for Low Carb Diets

Posted by CarbStation | Posted on 05-01-2012

Category : Diet Thoughts, Product Reviews

As low carb dieters we consume a lot of protein…From meats and eggs to large quantities of cheese, low carbers are not shy of protein! Protein is very important to your diet especially if you follow an exercise program.  You may be surprised to know that you are probably not consuming enough protein! You may also not be consuming the right kind.

Why Protein is Important:

As we diet, our bodies consume fat as well as muscle to survive. Depending on your weight, age, and lifestyle, up to 40% of your weight loss could be from muscle loss! This muscle loss from dieting is a big contributor to the yo-yo effect. We lose muscle, which is a big calorie burner and it becomes easier and easier to gain weight with each diet.  Protein contains branched-chain amino acids. These amino acids, leucine in particular, appear to slow the breakdown of muscle tissue and promote the synthesis of new muscle fibers. In addition to assisting with maintaining your lean muscle mass, leucine helps to burn fat! If all of that has not sold you on protein, how about this:

Protein suppress’ appetite!

How Much Protein do We Need?:

Bodybuilder’s consume large amounts of protein, up to 4 grams per pound of body weight. Nutritionist typically recommend 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of body weight for dieters and those partaking in moderate exercise.  It is typically hard to consume this much protein in a day, even on a low carb diet. That is when it becomes important to supplement.

What Kind of Protein Should We Take?:

All protein is not created equal! Without going into the scientific reasons of why,  whey protein is the best for you. Whey is all natural, packed full of amino acids, easily dissolves and very affordable.

After testing 10 different kinds of whey protein, below are my top 2 picks. I based my judging on taste, carb content, and “mixability”. Both of my choices below have only 2 net carbs per serving! The biggest loser protein reminded me of drinking chocolate milk!

#1. Biggest Loser Chocolate Designer Whey Protein, Chocolate 

#2 EAS Whey Protein Powder

 I mix my protein with Vanilla Soy Slender soy milk. It gives me 6 more grams of protein at only one carbohydrate.

Enjoy!

Clayton
Low Carb Recipes

New Years Resolution – Low Carb

Posted by CarbStation | Posted on 02-01-2012

Category : Diet Thoughts

As another year has passed and the promise of a new year is upon us, a lot of us begin to think about our diet goals for the new year. I have been following the low carb lifestyle for four years now, losing over 100 pounds, but there are always areas I can tighten up. Below are some of the changes I would like to make to the “CarbStation” low carb diet in 2012.

Changes:
1. Add a V8 juice every morning
2. Add blueberries 5 times a week. My plan is to add to the one minute muffin that I eat almost daily. Blueberries have a low glycemic index and are great antioxidents
3. More excercise…Uggh, isnt this everyones!?!?!

Remember I am in the maintenance phase of my diet so V8 and blueberries may not be appropriate for your particular phase.

I find it helpful to plan out my menu for the upcoming week. I recommend this to all new low carbers as it helps to prevent straying! Below are my dinners for this week!

Monday – Low Carb Crab Quiche Recipe
Tuesday – Low Carb Salmon Patties Recipe
Wednesday – Boca burgers on flatout flatbread buns
Thursday – Chicken Caesar Salad (without croutons!)
Friday – Low Carb Fish Tacos Recipe
Saturday – Low Carb Pizza Recipe
Sunday – Low Carb Chicken Salad Recipe on Flatout Flatbread

Good luck in the new year!

Clayton

low carb new years resolution

Yikes! Accidental Carbs

Posted by CarbStation | Posted on 11-04-2011

Category : Diet Thoughts

When I first started the low carb lifestyle, I would constantly eat carbs accidentally. A few come to mind:

I made chocolate milk for my daughter and she said it wasnt “chocolaty” enough…So I tasted it :(

I made spiral noodles for the kids and brainlessly threw a couple in my mouth…oops!

Made oatmeal with brown sugar for the kids and tasted a big spoonful to see if it was hot

And 5 minutes ago:

I Drank 25% of a regular Sierra Mist. I thought to myself, ”oh they changed the can”, upon closer inspection it was a regular. I noticed no difference from the diet, luckily I noticed a different can.

These small accidental carb SNAFUs don’t have much impact on our long-term diet but they can certainly hurt motivation once you realize what you have done. Take solace in the fact that it happens to us all!

Clayton

Can You Gain Weight On A Low Carb Diet?

Posted by CarbStation | Posted on 08-04-2011

Category : Diet Thoughts

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I watched the BBC report on the Atkins diet yesterday (see CarbStation video section). It was the first in depth review of the low carb way of dieting that includes multiple studies. While there were no firm conclusions on the health impacts of the diet, it is clear that the diet does work. The reason the diet works, according to doctors in the video, is that low carb dieters eat fewer calories. I actually agree with this, but I think a huge benefit of low carb dieting was left off, weight gain prevention.

I have noticed in my own low carb dieting that as long as I didn’t go over 30 grams of carbs a day, I would not gain weight. I would also not lose weight if I was eating huge amounts of food. So, independent of any study, my own belief has been that to lose weight you must consume less calories than your basal metabolic rate and to gain weight you must consume more carbs than consumed on a standard low carb diet. This idea of not storing fat on a low carb diet can be supported by the impact of low dietary carbs on insulin production.

Not storing fat on a low carb diet is key to the resounding success of the diet. If a dieter sticks to the low carb lifestyle, they can expect to always be losing weight or staying the same weight. To me, this is actually more important than why we lose weight on the diet.

I would love to see a study where participants consume 3000 calories per day while consuming under 30 carbs per day. My guess is that after an initial water weight loss, their weight would remain constant.

Again, these are just my personal beliefs without much scientific basis. I would love to hear all of your thoughts!

Clayton
CarbStation
A Low Carb Network