JavaPro Whey Protein Complex Drink, Nature's Best

Introduction...

When someone first told me about the JavaPro Whey Protein Complex drink with real coffee blended in, I immediately thought of the Reese's pieces commercials about mixing peanut butter and chocolate for a tasty treat.
While I don't personally drink coffee, I do love the smell of it and it does taste good. I do however, take in caffeine through other forms of supplements.
As for protein supplementation, I have always taken two protein drinks a day in order to fill in the holes of what my normal  daily nutrition plan calls for.

Protein and Coffee together...

So imagine a product blending whey protein and coffee together! Well Nature's Best did just that with the JavaPro Whey Protein Complex drink.
It comes in five flavors within a 1.5lb package. The flavors are Mocha, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Caramel and Latte.

It also has great nutritional value as well. One serving gives you 20 grams of whey protein, 4 grams of carbs (1 gram of sugar) and 2 grams of fat (0 trans fat and .5 grams of saturated).

Add to that an ample supply of Vitamins A, C, E and K, B complex and assorted minerals and not to forget, 80mg of caffeine!

Each 1.5 lb bag has 22 servings, with each serving providing 110 calories.

 

For that extra kick, double up your serving (no different than having that extra cup of coffee) and you now have 40 grams of protein along with the caffeine.

 

 

How does it mix and taste?

 

 

I was skeptical at first on how easy it would be to mix this product. I was pleasantly surprised. In 12 ounces of water you add 1.5 scoops of this good stuff.  It can actually mix well using a spoon or a shake container. If you want that extra coffee foam top, just put it in a blender.

 

 

 

 

 

The taste? Outrageously delicious! The one I tried was Mocha.

Now depending on how you like your coffee, hot or cold, doesn't matter.

Once blended, I added ice and it was as good as any ice coffee I have had before.

Winter days? Just stick it in the microwave, heat it up and enjoy that nice cup of protein induced java before your morning workout.

How cool is that!

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to know where to get it, just leave me a comment, send me an email or PM me on Facebook...

 

 



Food labels 101...

Why do I need to know how to read labels?

As in everything you do in life, whether at work or at play, there is a foundation that must be established in order for it to be effective.
Athletes in all sports need to learn the proper technique of the movements they practice before they can improve, otherwise injury will result.
The same is true in a nutrition program.  One of the most important components of a strong nutrition foundation is knowing how to read labels.  Without this understanding, you will wander without guidance and be misled on what you think is good for you.
Understanding to read food labels is not a diet. It's the language that you learn in order to follow any type of diet or nutrition program you undertake.

The history of food labels...

Food labels has evolved over time but its' origins can be traced back when in 1862 President Lincoln launched the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Chemistry which was the predecessor of the Food and Drug Administration.
In 1906, a very famous book called 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair which exposed the unsanitary and working conditions of the meat packaging industry led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act.  Foods were now being forced to meet standards.
Between 1906 and 1965 many acts and standards were passed in order to improve food quality. They came about due to lack of regulations in the food industry.
In 1965, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act required all consumer products to be honestly and informatively labeled, including food.

The fight between government standards and food industry...

The following is my opinion based on articles, news and documentaries that I have read or seen over the years.
Government standards started for a reason. With zero regulation you could package food in any form possible, state any claims for that product, and have zero liability for its' consequences.  Through consumer outrage and unfortunately, deaths along the way, regulations were born and have evolved along the way.
There has always been an adversarial relationship between the food industry and the government. Although not a food but a product that is consumed by the public, one is very familiar with the battles between government regulators and the tobacco industry on warning labels for cigarettes.
Another example is when the government required foods using the sweetener saccharin to caution of it possibly being a cancer causing agent back in 1977, the need for that label was repealed in 1995. This was through constant lobbying efforts by the food industry.
The bottom line is this, the food industry is in business to maximize profit. It's big business. Their business model sometimes conflicts with what may or may not be safe for human consumption and claims for their products can be stretched in order to be misleading to their benefit.
The FDA stands in the way many times, in maximizing their profits and therein lies the problem.
Trust is earned. We already saw what happened back in history when there was no regulation.  There is no doubt in my mind that if we went back to zero standards we would be back to where we started.
This history between government regulation and the food industry is important to understand because to this day, what is required by the FDA in terms of labeling is heavily influenced by the food industry to their benefit. They accomplish this through strong lobbying efforts.
This is why understanding how to read food labels is so important so you can learn where they try to mislead one.
For a detailed look at food label requirements, here is a link to the FDA:

FDA Label Requirements

So what do I need to know about food labels?

This is a standard food label. I  have broken it down into the sections that are important to read and understand:

1. Servings: Each package will tell you how large is a serving for that product and how many servings this package contains.  CAUTION: this is where some companies will mislead. They will get a package that the normal person will consume and say that this is for two or more servings. The reason is that the rest of the nutrition information given, items 2-4 primarily, will look better when in fact you will probably eat or drink the entire content!
2. Calories: This is the calories this product delivers PER SERVING. If you eat/drink the whole thing and it had more than one serving you have to multiply the calories by the number of servings to get the true calorie count.  This also gives you the calories derived from fat. VERY IMPORTANT!
In this example you have a product that has 250 total calories and fat calories are 110 of those 250. To get a fat calories percentage, you divide 110 by 250 to get 44% of all calories come from fat.
As an example, I try to get NO MORE than 20% of my calories from fat. So this is more than double the percentage of fat that I like to consume.
Also note if you were to eat/drink the entire contents in this example, you would have taken in 500 calories and 220 of those were fat calories since you have to multiply everything by two since there are two servings in this product.
Items like potato chips, cookies, drinks, etc are famous for lowering the size of a serving in a container. There are multiple servings yet everyone consumes the entire product in one sitting.
3. Total Fat:  This is the total amount of grams of fat (by fat type) in this product by serving and also note that it shows '% Daily Value'.  This CAN be very misleading.
In this example it shows the % Daily Value for this to be 18%.  But in section 2 above I said this product was 44% fat calories. What's the difference?
Daily Value of anything is an acceptable amount as stated by the FDA of certain items such as fats and carbs. It is usually explained at the bottom of the label in this case where I have marked it 6.
In food labels, it is shown that if you consumed this product, you would have met x% of that Daily Value. This is far different than how much fat calories you are consuming. Many people do not calculate the percentage of fat calories because they think the % Daily Value is doing that for them.
Two more things on fat. First there are good and bad fats. Bad fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3s. So in this example, this product has 100% of bad fats!!!!
Secondly, fat % is measured in calories but some food products advertise their fat % by volume. This is a HUGE difference.
So lets take Milk for example. It is advertised as 1%, 2%  and whole milk. This is by volume! Almost everyone thinks that 1% milk is 1% fat...WRONG!
When you take the fat calories in a serving of milk and divide it by the total calories, this is the reality:

1% milk is about 20% fat calories

2% milk is about 34% fat calories

Whole milk is about 50% fat calories



4. Total Carbs: This is the total amount of carbohydrates, in grams, contained in this product by serving.  It is usually broken down into the two types of carbs, complex and simple.  This is shown in several ways such as fiber (complex carbs), and sugar (in this example which is a form of simple carbs).  The key you are looking for here is fiber and sugar content.  The more fiber and less sugar the better. Read my blog post on fiber and sugar in a diet for a more detailed explanation.
Sometimes you will also see something called 'Sugar Alcohol'. This is the artificial sweetener such as aspartame or sucralose.
5-7: These gives you additional nutritional values of what you are eating such as vitamins, minerals along with the % Daily Nutritional Value and how this is based.

So what do I look for?

Well that all depends on what type of diet or meal plan you are following.  You want to pay special attention to the amount of fats you are taking in as well as sugars and fiber. This would be true in most diets.
Sodium is another important factor since there are some medical illnesses where you have to control your sodium intake.  Canned and frozen foods can contain high amounts of this since it helps in preserving the food so extra caution in reading the labels when buying that kind of product.
A great site I have found that has just about anything and everything that you would find in a grocery store and it gives each product a grade based on the actual food label that must be posted on the product is Calorie Count by Food Label.
Everyone I have trained and given nutrition advice too I have sent to this link. It is truly a wealth of information. Once you have learned to read labels then fact check it on this site, you will become totally fluent in making proper food choices.
This process takes time but it is probably the most important thing you can learn to a healthier lifestyle.

 

Gluten free, what is it and who needs it...

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat, barley or rye. Gluten helps dough rise and helps it maintain it's shape and texture.  This is why it is used in many bakery and pastry products.
It is also used in beer and soy sauce. It may be used as a source of protein in products that are low in protein.

Gluten Free Diet...

As stated, this type of diet is free of foods that contain gluten.  Some forms of this diet also excludes oats. It is the only known diet that is medically accepted to treat celiac disease. 
THERE IS NO MEDICAL EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT A GLUTEN FREE DIET IS BENEFICIAL TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, however, it is starting to become a very popular diet and many products are being produced touting they are 'gluten free'. 





What's funny is that products that never contained gluten to begin with are now marketed as if they are being produced without gluten!  The food industry does the same thing about products that are cholesterol free, etc.  Anything to fool the public.

The buzz word of the day is to check your 'gluten sensitivity' to   determine if you should be on this form of diet. What's funny is that many people will form all kinds of 'opinions' as to why they need to go gluten free.

Personal Commentary...

Over the decades I have seen gimmick diets come and go.  Most diets are just that, a gimmick to lose weight over a pre-determined amount of time. That is why they don't work. If you want life long weight control, you don't need a diet, you need a lifestyle meal plan or form of eating.
For the vast majority of the population it is a pretty basic equation, calories consumed versus calories burned. This would never sell many books, so you have nutritional experts trying to complicate it in order to sell books.  I could add a few more paragraphs about the type of calories one should consume but that still wouldn't be glamorous enough to sell books.
I remember the Atkins and South Beach diet. Carbs were the devil.  I was considered Satan when I said those diets were nothing but bullshit and carbs are good for you.  Those diets just tricked the body for a short period of time to lose weight but they were not sustainable. How many people do you know that have been on the South Beach or Atkins diet going on years now????
People are starting to now see what a bunch of crap those plans were.  However, now everyone is jumping to the gluten free diet. Everyone seems to be sensitive to gluten! Guess what? Gluten intolerance is found in about 1 out of every 133 people!  It's just that the diet industry needs to re-tool their strategy in order to sell more books.
The gluten free craze has taken over like the low carb hysteria, so I guess I will be Satan again when I say this is bullshit too.  Everyone is falling into a 'placebo effect' and feeling much better when they go gluten free. Unfortunately it's just their minds playing tricks on them.
I will write in a later post the basics of a sustainable meal plan.  It will work for most people. The only people that really need a specialized diets are those with certain severe medical conditions that a regular meal plan may not work but again, this is a small minority of folks.

Newton's Law or "Gravity never has a bad day"

It is safe to say that Sir Isaac Newton was not a gym rat otherwise the Law of Gravity would have taken on a whole new meaning!

Technically, Newton's law of universal gravitation states that every mass in the universe attracts every other mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

In laymen's terms this means if an apple breaks away from a branch it will drop to the ground.

In gym terms this means if you drop a weight, it will fall towards the ground AND land on you!

Now that we got the science (and pain) out of the way, lets talk more about gravity.

Gravity is always easy in the beginning...

Just like in a relationship where things are going great in the beginning, gravity plays the same role. 
When you first start working out, your body is quickly adapting to the exercises by building muscle size and strength.  Gains are seen almost workout by workout, or at least week to week. 
You begin to extrapolate your progress and boldly and confidently predict you will be a world champion weightlifter by the end of the year!
Gravity is an afterhthought since you smash its barriers every time you train. How much easier can this get? There is absolutely no stopping me.
Then like in a relationship, things can start to get sour. Your progress slows down, you start feeling down and you start not to like or appreciate gravity as much!

Dad drops reality on me...

My dad must have been really amused with my predictions.  He would just smile as if he knew something I didn't!
My 5lb per week progress in lifting soon slowed down to 5lbs per month. It was then that he let me in on a secret that although Newton put it in mathematical terms, he could not understand in practical terms...

Gravity never has a bad day!

It just doesn't! Ever! My dad would tell me that what separates weightlifting from other sports is that you are fighting against a foe that is always consistent...gravity. It never comes in tired from staying out all night, it doesn't come in depressed because it just broke up with it's partner. It is always there, a constant force to be reckoned with.
Thus the term he burned into my head........... GRAVITY NEVER HAS A BAD DAY!

Over the years...

I have come to respect gravity.  Like in a relationship that has developed over time you gain a respect and understanding for each other.  On a good day where everything feels light I always tell everyone to 'go for it' and hit it as hard as you can because those days become fewer and farther apart.  Not because gravity is having a bad day, it's because you are having a great day so why not take advantage of it and enjoy it!
The consistency of gravity now serves as a checkpoint of when I am doing great. How everything feels light. This in turns sets the mood for me the rest of the day and week. If I am kicking gravity's ass, how hard can it be to kick everything else I encounter at work or life as well?!
So gravity now has become a friend I have learned to accept.  In good times and in bad, we have learned to work around and with each other!

Fit

Protein; what, how much, and when...

What is protein?

Protein is an essential part of ones diet, lack of it and you will barely survive.  Your body uses protein in order for the muscles to function and get stronger. It is also used for cardiovascular function as well as immunity from diseases.
The value of a protein is based on it's amino acid makeup.  Proteins are made up of 21 amino acids broken down into three types:

• Essential amino acids, which human body doesn’t produce in sufficient amounts so they have to be obtained from food or supplementation. There are 8 essential amino acids.
• Conditionally-essential amino acids, which your body cannot produce in proper amounts during the periods of illness, injury or emotional stress. There are 7 of these types.
• Non-essential amino acids which your body can synthesize in sufficient amounts.   There are 6 of these types.

The 'value' of a protein source is based on how many of the 21 amino acids they contain.  This is known as BV or Biological Value. Thus, proteins are broken down into two types:

• Complete Proteins: contain all of the essential amino acids.
• Incomplete Proteins:  deficient in one or more of these amino acids.

Examples of complete protein sources would be whey, casein (contained in cottage cheese),  milk, eggs, beef, chicken, fish, turkey, cheese, and yogurt.
Examples of incomplete protein sources are vegetables, fruits, rice, grains, oats, pasta, some nuts,   bread, sunflower seeds.
It is possible to combine two or more incomplete protein sources to get a complete protein source. Below is a good chart representing the value of protein sources based on amino acid compositions.

 



How much is needed?

You will find articles all over the place on this subject. Most will agree however, that if you are a fairly sedentary individual, you need about .8 to 1 gram of protein to every kilogram (2.2lbs) of bodyweight or .36 to .45 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. So a 200 pound man would need between 72 to 90 grams of protein.

If you are physically active, trying to put on muscle or are a high caliber athlete, these amounts increase but still vary wildly from expert to expert and study to study.  I have read articles that suggested .65 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight to as high as 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.

This post addresses people that are very physically active; lift, run, cycle, swim, etc.

Too much protein is very hard on the kidneys especially for prolonged periods of time, ie decades so I definitely would not recommend the high end of 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.  After competing for many years and lifting weights for a few decades, I would also not recommend the low end of .65 per pound of bodyweight. I found I lost muscle mass and weight.  So my sweet spot that I recommend would be in the .85-1 gram per pound of bodyweight.  It is also very realistic to attain within six meals.

When should I consume protein?

For starters, you will need to consume it with every meal in order to get the minimum daily amount required.  Although there are some studies that claim no value in having a quick digesting protein drink after a work out, there are many more that says it is beneficial. Protein consumed 30 to 60 minutes after a long or intense workout promotes muscle recovery and synthesis if it’s paired with carbohydrates

Is there a difference in what type of protein to consume?

For post workout recovery, I recommend whey protein powder mixed with water. Whey not only has a high biological value but it is digested much quicker than all other proteins.  Whey comes in standard form or Whey Concentrate and Whey Isolate for those that are lactose intolerant and wants something with a little less fat content as well.

Another form used in shakes is Casein protein powder. This is also a milk product but is much slower in digesting. This is recommended in bodybuilding magazines to be taken at night in order to allow the body to have time to digest it properly while you sleep. Another way to ingest casein protein would be a bowl of cottage cheese for example.

Conclusion...

I keep things simple. I am a very active person hitting the gym six times a week and lifting fairly heavy weights. I stay lean year around. At a bodyweight of 180lbs I try to take in at least 150 grams of protein a day and no more than 180 grams.  I take this in 25-30 gram meal increments or basically, protein at every meal.

I use Whey Concentrate with nothing fancy added to it. It is cheap to purchase. There are other Whey proteins with 'secret' mixtures added to it in order for increased efficiency so says the manufacturers.  I have tried many of them and found no added cost to benefit value in them.

If you are lactose intolerant then a whey isolate is highly recommended.

 

Leave me your comments or any questions you may have......

 

Fit