Not All Protein Supplements Are Created Equal

If you don’t do well with whey protein go for an organic vegan protein like Sun Warrior rice protein

Protein supplements have their place in fat loss and muscle building programs, but are by no means an essential component of a healthy and successful training and nutrition program, far from it.

Most people we talk to – particularly ‘want-to-be meatheads’ – are far to concerned, bordering on obsessed, with taking protein supplements in lieu of eating meals.  Let’s be clear, food should be chewed – and we would hands down recommend anyone eat real food rather than drink ‘faux’ powders, always.  The problem is that due to busy work-life schedules this is not always possible.

Protein supplements should be used as a crutch not a staple and should only be used when it is not possible to eat what and when is required.  The only exception would be post-workout when liquid nutrition might be more beneficial for helping lose body fat and add muscle – something we actually advocate at W10.

If you do use a protein powder it’s important to make a considered choice.  Most protein powders are simply mass produced rubbish made from grain fed, non-organic, artificially sweetened, processed dairy which for most people does little more than cause digestive disruption, inflammation and negatively hammers the immune system.  We strongly recommend that you avoid these or any food stuffs made from these sources.

Always go for a growth hormone and artificial sweetener free product.  They are of course more expensive, but they’re well worth it.  And if you don’t do well with dairy based products (bloating etc) go for a vegan protein powder (rice and pea etc).  Both are better for your health, which equally better results form your training.

Five fats you should have in your kitchen


Fat gets a bad rap – unjustifiably so.  (We blame the media and processed food manufacturers!)

Contrary to popular belief, consuming the right kinds of fats in sufficient quantities might be one of the top considerations when looking to optimise your health.  Fat does not make you fat and its key to just about every bodily function.  This applies especially to saturated fats.

We picked this article up from the Healthy Home Economist website (a very good resource for all things health and nutrition), which outlines some of the top fats you should include in your diet, when to use them an what role they play in health.

Follow the link to read the full article, but in brief the main points the articles makes are these:

  • Fat is good for you.
  • Every cell is made up of fat, and our brains are 60% fat.
  • Eat butter, it’s good for you.  And you should switch back to butter from processed spreads. (That, and it tastes better!)
  • Coconut oil is THE fat.  (My interpretation maybe!). Great for just about everything, especially cooking and boosting metabolism. A must for all of us.
  • Olive oil is a good fat, but don’t cook with it – it turns it rancid.  Save this for salad dressings and the like.
  • Animal fats form part of a healthy diet.  Use residual fat for stocks and baking; its healthier and tastes great. (Don’t forget your organ meats.  Most people only eat muscle meat, and too much of it.  Our views again!)
  • Cod liver oil is one of the key five. (We’d argue not for everyone, but certainly in some cases, yes).  We all need to get our omega 3 oils in.

Changing the perception of fat is one of the biggest challenges in helping us all get healthier and leaner.  If you’ve got any articles that you can recommend please let us and everyone else know.

Q&A: How much protein can I process in one sitting?

How much protein is can we actually use?

If you believe most things that you read, the most your body can digest in one sitting is 30g of protein. This is a myth – ask any serious athlete or bodybuilder!

From an evolutionary perspective it just wouldn’t have made sense.  We survived on periods of feast and famine (and functioned pretty well on it thank you very much), and without the ability to process larger amounts of food we might not be having this discussion today.

We must also consider that studies done to publicise this 30g theory were carried out on senior citizen groups and have little application to many of us.  This is because as you get older we lose the ability to process and digest higher amount of protein (due to decreased stomach acid).

How much can we process in one go?  We don’t know exactly.  It will very much depend on the individual and their specific circumstances (muscle mass, gut health, etc, etc).  But what we do know, is that increased amounts of protein help with muscle building and recovery during periods of high exercise volume, which would suggest that it’s being used!

Are Branch Chain Amino Acid’s worth taking to enhance my training?

BCAA’s are absolutely worth taking to accelerate your training, but only if you’re on top of the key areas such hydration, nutrition and basic supplementation.

We are all for anything that is both naturally occurring and will help you reach your goals, but only when there is a framework for it work effectively within.  Spending money on expensive supplements before you’ve get the basics (clean food and water for example!)  down pat is backward!

What differentiates BCAA’s from the other essential amino acids is how they are metabolised.  All other amino acids are metabolised in the liver, whereas BCAA’s are metabolised directly in muscle.  This means that they have huge anabolic (muscle building) and anti-catabolic (muscle breakdown) properties and are also an excellent fuel source – especially useful for those following fat loss training programmes.

The key is getting the timing and dosage right (you need to use them in high quantities to make it worthwhile).  And go for the capsule version as the taste of the powder will put most off!