10 Reasons Why You’re NOT Building Muscle

Posted on 21/03/202317/04/2023 by Benoit Labrunhie

Building muscle is a common goal for many people who are interested in fitness. However, even with the best intentions and hard work, some people may find it difficult to see significant progress in their muscle-building efforts. In this article, we’ll explore 10 reasons why you may not be building muscle and offer tips on how to overcome these challenges.

10 Reasons Why You're NOT Building Muscle

Not Eating Enough

One of the most important factors in building muscle is consuming enough calories to support muscle growth. If you are not eating enough, you will not have the energy and nutrients needed to build muscle. Make sure you are consuming enough protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats to fuel your workouts and support muscle growth.

Not Eating Enough Protein

Protein is essential for building muscle as it provides the necessary amino acids to repair and rebuild muscle tissue. If you are not consuming enough protein, your muscle-building efforts will suffer. Aim to consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Not Lifting Heavy Enough

To build muscle, you need to challenge your muscles by lifting heavy weights. If you are not lifting heavy enough, your muscles will not be sufficiently stimulated to grow. Make sure you are using weights that are challenging but still allow you to maintain proper form.

Not Resting Enough

Rest and recovery are crucial for muscle growth. If you are not allowing your muscles enough time to recover, you may not see the progress you want. Aim to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night and take rest days as needed to allow your muscles to recover.

Not Varying Your Workouts

Doing the same workouts over and over can lead to a plateau in muscle growth. Make sure you are varying your workouts and incorporating different exercises and techniques to keep your muscles challenged and growing.

Not Pushing Yourself

If you are not pushing yourself during your workouts, you may not be stimulating your muscles enough to grow. Make sure you are pushing yourself to your limits and lifting weights that challenge you.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Water is essential for muscle growth as it helps transport nutrients to your muscles and removes waste products. Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day to support your muscle-building efforts.

Not Getting Enough Sunlight

Vitamin D is essential for muscle growth as it helps regulate muscle function and repair. If you are not getting enough sunlight, you may be deficient in vitamin D, which can hinder muscle growth. Aim to get at least 10-15 minutes of sunlight per day or consider taking a vitamin D supplement.

Not Managing Stress

Stress can have a negative impact on muscle growth as it increases cortisol levels, which can lead to muscle breakdown. Make sure you are managing your stress levels through techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises.

Not Having Patience

Building muscle takes time and consistency. If you are not seeing the results you want right away, do not get discouraged. Keep pushing yourself and making progress, and eventually, you will see the muscle growth you are after.

In conclusion, building muscle is a complex process that requires a combination of proper nutrition, challenging workouts, rest and recovery, and patience. If you are not seeing the muscle growth you want, consider these 10 reasons and make adjustments to your fitness routine as needed. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve your muscle-building goals.

Ben – Iron Fit Food
www.ironfitfood.com
instagram: ironfitfood
www.facebook.com/ironfitfoodth

What are the benefits of isometric exercises?

Posted on 24/11/202030/11/2021 by Benoit Labrunhie

What are isometric exercises?

Before getting into the the benefits of isometric exercises, let’s define what they are. Isometric exercises is a form of low-impact resistance workout. This type of workout helps by promoting gain of muscle or strength. Isometric is a stationary workout, which forms exercises that work the muscles by pushing them against other muscles while remaining fixed or against the muscles, which strengthens the muscle. Thus, the isometric exercises are a stimulus added to stimuli, which force the muscles to respond.

Simple yet efficient

Isometric exercises are about keeping the muscle contracted and still rather than making any movement during the contraction. According to studies, the isometric exercises can give results, such as enlargement of the cells growth, which resizes the muscles, rather then the cells. In other words, one of the main benefits of isometric exercises, is the the muscles fibers building through resistance. According to studies the isometrics also help to gain muscle, while consistency works to augment the muscles relaxation and contraction points.

How to perform isometric exercises?

Isometric training requires that you balance joint spaces amid diverging rows of muscles. Isometric exercises do not require weightlifting, yet they will increase the muscles strength, however if your aim is bodybuilding, you must understand that isometric exercises cannot stand alone to build or sculpt the muscles. In other words, anyone can benefit from isometrics, but you need to workout with other types of exercises incorporated to the isometric routines if you want to sculpt your body the way it meant to be! Weight training when employed with isometrics can help you to sculpt the muscles sooner. Yet, at what time you combine isometrics with progressive resistance training, thus the chances of restoring the body’s natural physique increases.

Anyone can benefit from isometric workout — Anyone can benefit from isometrics

When should I do it during my Fitness session?

One of the golden rules of thumb while isometric training along with training in other areas is to apply flexor isometric exercises after working out in your normal routine. In other words, at what time you finish lifting weights start the flex isometric routine. We bodybuilders incorporate this routine in weightlifting, which claims state the builders muscles improved in vascularity and overall muscle detail.

In a nutshell, what are the main benefits of an isometric training?

Fast strength building
Joints protection
Fat burning
Lowering blood pressure
Low risks of injuries
Becoming fast and explosive
Improvement of the posture
Overcoming a plateau

Resistance bands can be a great addition to isometric exercises

In addition, you can easily modulate the level of difficulty to meet your needs and experience.

Simply by extending the duration of the contraction. To help you perform flex isometrics we can consider a few exercises. Again, always warm up and stretch before starting a full-scale workout.

Flex kicks is the process of seating on the floor, while reading to flex the legs. As you rest on the floor, use your hands, lower arms, and buttocks to support your weight. Once in position, kick with the knees bent, kicking up high, and out, spreading the legs. Next, bring the legs inward, repeat and then inward again.
The side flutter kicks are another type of isometric exercise. While performing the tactic kick the legs in a stride, while position self on the floor, and speedily kick back, and to the sides while pointing your toes, and kicking wide.
Single flex kicks include positioning self in the floor, while balancing the body with the buttocks and hands behind the back, at the same time kicking the right leg upward while learning back. Repeat the steps on both legs.
Leg flexes include sitting on the floor with the elbows and knees bended upward, and the legs flexing. Now, straighten the legs and arms, while extending the arms over the head bending the elbows. And then extending upward as far as you can while pointing the toes.
The flex and hold incorporates the point and hold workout. Sit in the floor in a comfortable position. Now, point the toes forward as you face down with the head touching the knees and the hands grasp about the feet. Count to eight, start the flex and hold. Thus, flexing the toes backward while holding in position. The head show go center down while the points of the fingers touch the toes. Count to six and release.

Should I do isometric exercises?

Various other types of isometric flexes are available; thus it takes you to learn and apply. Indeed, when it comes to fitness you must try, try and try in order to find what work the best for you. Also, if you want to progress you need a variety of training. I am not just talking about changing weight, increasing your reps, varying sets or exercises… but changing training techniques. This means completely different techniques, from the classical workout with dumbbells and weights. Whether you’ve just had injury or you’re simply want to vary your fitness routine, if you intend to do a complete isometric session, you should just use it like any regular strength training. At this end of the day, by activating nearly all the available motor units, isometrics are simple and efficient forms of workouts.

Identifying your Fitness goals is the key

Yet if you are new to workout, I recommend you to identify your goals, whether it is building lean muscle, losing belly fat etc. and learn all you can before starting a workout. Especially because, like I just mentioned earlier, the limits of isometric workout is that they cannot stand alone to build or sculpt the muscles.

Ben – Iron Fit Food
www.ironfitfood.com
instagram: ironfitfood
www.facebook.com/ironfitfoodth

What Is The Best Diet For Building Lean Muscle?

Posted on 31/10/202016/06/2023 by Benoit Labrunhie

How important is a good diet in order to build muscle?

Did you think building a lean muscle is unachievable for you? Do you want to know how you can build lean muscle with a perfect and healthy diet? Then continue reading … First of all, a good diet is helpful to the body, helping to grow the body in all ramifications. At Iron Fit Food, we believe a healthy diet is one that will help your body and improve your overall health. It provides the body with essential nutrition like fluid, macro, and micro-nutrients and more than enough calories to help the body function correctly. Also, a healthy diet will help build your muscles and keep you in shape. In this article, I will show you some of the best diets that will help you build lean muscles and put your body in perfect shape, but before getting into the best diet for building lean muscles, let’s get to know what Lean muscle is.

What is a Lean Muscle?

This is a term used to describe body composition. It could be both aesthetical and for overall health reasons. A lean muscle simply doesn’t contain fat. However, beware not to confuse lean muscle with lean body mass. Indeed, lean body mass includes muscle mass, body water and bones! In getting lean muscles, both nutrition and physical activities, especially muscle building workouts are needed. You need to challenge your body by doing physical exercises as well as eating a good diet. A diet for building lean muscles is focused on muscle development, which enables you to perform better in the gym. It also helps you to physically recuperate and progress much faster. I will show you the best diet to build a healthy lean body that you so much desire. Lean muscle can be achieved; I meant you can gain lean muscle; having lean muscle is not an impossible task. In fact, all you need is an excellent diet to complement your training. Like we say 30% of muscles are made in the gym, the rest 70% are made in the kitchen.

Below are 3 best diets that can help you to build lean muscle:

Counting Calories:

To maximize muscle growth and minimize excess fat, you need to take the right amount of calories and do ensure that you don’t abuse it. Why? Because if you eat more calories than your body needs you will to gain weight, mostly under the form of fat. Research showed that in order to gain muscles most active men (with a physical activity 4 days a week) need an average of 40 kcal per kg of body weight and per day. While most women need 29 kcal per kg of body weight. In Other words, if you are a man and your body weight is of 75kg then you will need 3,000 calories per day to build muscles. If you are just starting out Fitness 40 calories is enough for you. If you are intermediate you may go for 45 calories. Counting calories can be an efficient diet to get lean muscle. But simply slashing calories won’t get you there. In fact don’t skip the gym and do your best at each workout session, so you burn fat and get the maximum pump from your muscle.

High Protein Diet:

A diet for building lean muscles need protein because they play a vital role in muscle building and recovery. Like calories, you wouldn’t like to go overboard with it. That being said, if you take 2g of protein per kg of body weight and per day it is enough for optimal muscle growth. Since protein is the main component of your muscles, it is the key to succeed in building up lean muscles. The advantage of a high protein diet is that it can help you build lean muscle and torch fat without calorie counting or portion control, as long as you eat enough vegetables alongside your steak. However, with this type of diet you will have to limit your carbs and eat enough lipids with good fat. So your body can use them to fuel your muscles during your workout. For this type of diet 50% of your daily calories should come from protein, 30% from fat and 20% from carbs. Finally, always chose animal proteins, such as meat, milk, eggs, because they are complete proteins that contain all the essential amino acids your body needs. The Iron Fit Food Natural Protein Bars, can be of a great help here. Indeed, they provide protein from several ingredients such as: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed, cashew nuts etc. you can easily buy our protein bars in our store.

Iron Fit Food. The Best Natural Protein Bars In Thailand

Keto Diet:

The traditional nutrition and Fitness protocol assumed you need to take enough carbs to help enhance your gym performance and workout. Indeed, carbs are converted into glycogen, which is stocked in your muscles in order to fuel your workouts and create an anabolic response. The truth is, it is possible to build up lean muscles on a low carb diet, by doing a ketogenic diet. For it to happen, you have to teach your body how to use fat instead of carbs as a fuel. 75% of your daily calories should come from fats, 20% from protein and 5% from carbs. As scary as it sounds, this is a very efficient and long-term diet. And it takes time to manage because of the “keto adaptation” phase! During this period, you may see a decrease of strength. You may even get tired, because your body will ask for a dose of carbs in order to get the job done at the gym. This is when most people give up! When you are on a keto diet good fat and protein snacks are your best friends. It is then crucial to get a good amount of protein at the right time, especially after a workout. The Iron Fit Food protein bars contain protein and good fat (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanut butter…).

build up lean muscles with a Ketogenic Diet — Build up lean muscles with a Ketogenic Diet

Different metabolisms means different diets.

We are all different, with different metabolisms, lives, potentials, ages and experience. So the best diet for building lean muscle will depend on each person. You must experiment and try which diet will fit you the most. However, no matter which diet you chose, the keys to build up lean muscle and more generally to be healthy is to do exercise and to eat good food. Indeed, exercise and diet is the way to go for building lean muscles. You will also need to change your lifestyle, as well as work toward progression and consistency. In harmony, you will definitely need balance in dieting and exercise.

Ben – Iron Fit Food

www.ironfitfood.com

instagram: ironfitfood

www.facebook.com/ironfitfoodth

How many meals per day should I eat?

Posted on 20/10/202030/11/2021 by Benoit Labrunhie

20 Oct

How many meals per day if I just want to lose weight?

Many people think that if you want to burn fat efficiently, you have to eat little and often. However, there is a faster and more convenient way to do it. First of all, you shouldn’t focus on meal frequency. Instead, focus on how much food you eat per day and based on the goal you want to reach. If you are in a calorie deficit (5-10% below the amount of calories to maintain your body weight), eating 8 smaller meals per days instead of 3 bigger meals, would just have a tiny effect on the speed at which you torch fat. On top of that it may cost you a little fortune. So let’s stop with this myth, eating several small meals is not a magic solution to burn fat quickly. You can eat how often you want whether it is 3 big meals a day, or just a several meals. In short, what matters the most if you just want to lose weight is the number of calories you consume over a period of 24h. Why? because the total calories consumed count more than frequency.

What about eating to build muscle?

What if your goal is maximum muscle gain? Thinking that eating more meals will systematically increase your metabolic rate is just a myth. When it comes to diet, nothing is that simple, because we all have different metabolisms, schedules and lifestyles. So, you better eat the number of meals that fit your lifestyle and only your lifestyle. Not the one of those bulk up guys you may see posing on YouTube, magazines or Instagram. If you have normal life with a job, daily transportation, a family etc. you may think that it would be beneficial to eat a constant stream of nutrients. Yet the spacing of meals is in fact more beneficial for muscle gain. This is due to the way fall and rise of amino acids prime your system. In that case, eating more than 3 meals a day, will bring you no extra benefits, based on the total amount of calories eaten daily. Keep in mind that what you want is to feed your muscles, not your belly! So focus on your calorie and protein intake (between 25 to 30 gr per meal) and train hard to increase your strength in order to improve your muscle growth. You should also consider adding a pre-workout and a post-workout snacks in order to fuel your muscle.

Iron Fit Food Natural Protein Bars to build muscle the smart way — Iron Fit Food Protein Bars to build muscle the smart way.

What about eating to burn fat?

If your main goal is to only burn fat, go for a 5-10% calorie deficit diet. The most efficient way would be to eat 3 meals per day. However, on the long run you may also lose muscular mass. This is due to a catabolic effect, especially if you have high intensity workouts several days a week. This is why you must make sure your ratio carbohydrates, fat and protein are structured and adapted to your training and goal. Indeed, calorie deficit is great to burn fat, but it is just a short-term solution if you want to keep your muscular mass. Beware if you eat fewer than 3 meals per day you may end up overeating and choosing unhealthy foods. If you seek long-term, go for carb cycling with long periods of carbohydrate restriction coupled with short windows of carbohydrate referring. In that case eat high-protein, high-fiber foods because they will help you to feel full longer. On a low carb diet, eat a maximum of 3 times per day and add good fat to your diet. This way you can teach your body to become “fat adapted,” meaning it will burn stored body fat for energy.

To burn fat, don't starve! Just eat the right thing at the right time. — To burn fat, don’t starve! Just eat the right thing at the right time.

What if I want to increase my lean body mass?

In a nutshell, to increase lean body mass eating 4 to 5 meals per day is not a bad thing. However you must keep an eye on the macro-nutrients and remember that your lean protein intake is one of the keys. Please have a look at this interesting list of the 43 High Protein Food For Weight Loss. If you workout regularly, like 5 days a week, you will need about 2g of protein per kilo of body weight per day. This is the reason why protein bars can help you. They can provide you calories, protein and good nutrients, as long as they are made with natural ingredients like the Iron Fit Food Protein bars. They are convenient and easy to carry on so that you can eat them anywhere anytime. Especially after a workout, when the body is stimulated to increase muscle protein synthesis. Burning fat, is not just about “calories in calories out”, but about eating the right food at the right time! Regarding the amount of calories, increasing your daily calories by 5 to 10% would be sufficient in promoting lean muscle growth.

The Iron Fit Food Protein Bars can help you get enough protein and complex nutrients for your diet.

Different goals, different diets.

At the end of the day, how many times per day you should eat depend on your goal and of your metabolism. So to get the best answer, you must test, test and test ! If you are looking to gain lean muscular mass, you may need to eat 4 to 5 times a day by promoting protein and avoiding carbohydrates that stimulate too much insulin secretion. As long as you do your Fitness session with enough intensity and you do enough cardio on a daily basis. On the other hand if your aim is just to gain mass, let’s say you’ve trained hard so you created a higher demand for nutrients. So you need to eat enough carbohydrate, fat, protein and food that will help you get the mass you need. But it doesn’t mean you have to eat sweets and junk food! Try to focus on a source of quality animal protein associated with a source of slow carbohydrates: pasta, rice etc… Whatever your goal, metabolism, training frequency or Fitness experience, keep in mind that the main key is the quality of your food more than the quantity.

Ben – Iron Fit Food

www.ironfitfood.com

instagram: ironfitfood

www.facebook.com/ironfitfoodth

8 best ways to lose belly fat

Posted on 04/05/202030/11/2021 by Benoit Labrunhie

04 May

Losing weight, in general, is difficult, but to lose belly fat in specific can feel insurmountable. It is not all in your head. It is importantly impossible to tell one specific region of your body to accelerate the fat metabolism. Yet, it is a worthy aim to lose belly fat because it is, unfortunately, the most dangerous location to store fat. Because belly fat also called visceral fat, stubborn fat or the deep abdominal fat that surrounds your organs is further temporary, it circulates throughout the bloodstream more regularly and is therefore probably to increase the amount of fat in your blood, increasing your blood sugar levels and putting you at a great risk of heart disease and kind two diabetes. The following article is dealing with the 8 best ways to lose belly fat.

1. Think eating plan, not a diet

You should pick a healthy eating plan that you can strictly stick to. The advantages of a low carb approach are that it easily involves learning the best food choices no calorie-counting is essential. This make it a weapon of choice if you want to lose belly fat. In general, a low-carb way of eating shifts your intake away from issue foods those high in sugar and carbs and without much fiber, such as sodas, bread, and bagels, and toward high-fiber or high-protein choices, such as healthy meats, vegetables, and beans.

2. Track your calories

The most basic approach to weight loss is burning further calories than you consume. For instance, since 3,500 calories are 1 pound of fat, a weight loss app or a paper and pen will help you decide how many calories you desire to cut from your diet or burn at the gym for meeting your aims. If you were to burn 500 more calories per day 7 days a week, then 3,500 calories in a week with 1 pound of weight loss. I am personally not an advocate of tracking calories to loss belly fat, because it can make you daily life quite infernal if you don’t have a strict discipline. That being said, this is a pretty basic and efficient approach.

3. Eat more fiber

Foods that are high in refined sugar and carbs do not really tame your hunger, so you end up reaching for more. Refine sugar and carbs are your worst enemies if you want to lose belly fat. This is the reason why at Ironfitfood our protein bars are made with no sugar and contain low carbs and fibers. Try to eat further fibrous foods such as whole-grain bread, chia seeds, oats, vegetables, legumes, fruits, and beans. They fill you up more, as fiber slows your digestion.

A 2015 study from the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that for those who have a difficult time following a strict diet, simplifying the weight loss approach by just increasing fiber intake can yet lead to weight loss. Women will goal for at least 25 gm of fiber per day (based on a 2,000-calorie) diet, according to the most recent United States Dietary Guidelines.

4. Keep moving

Physical activity aids burn fat and so abdominal fat. Before going further and say a few words about exercise, please always keep in mind that you cannot target fat loss. Like I said in my article Could you get slimmer by doing crunch exercise? to lose your belly fat by doing exercises you must lose fat all over your body. I hope I made myself clear and I will not find you at the gym trying to do half an hour of abs just to lose your belly fat. One advantage of exercise is that you get various bangs for buck on body composition. One of the reasons exercise work off belly fat in specific is because it reduces circulating levels of insulin, which will otherwise signal the body for stopping to fat and make the liver to use fatty acids nearby visceral fat deposits. The amount of exercise you require for weight loss depends on your aims. For most people, this can mean 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise nearly every day.

5. Embrace healthy fats

If you need to lose fat, you’ve to eat fat, the right type, that’s. Adding healthy fats, in the form of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, can aid you to feel more satisfied with your meals. Fat sources in the diet come from unsaturated fatty acids discovered in foods such as olive oil, nuts, avocados, fatty fish, and eggs, as they can help raise satiety while offering a variety of health advantages when consumed in moderation. Ketogenic diet is one of the best examples of how healthy fat can help you lose belly fat. Plenty of healthy fat ingredients can be found in our Ironfit Food protein bars, such as cashew nuts, sunflower seed, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and so on. This is the beauty of our protein bars and this is what make them unique not only in the Thailand Protein Bars Market but also in the World.

6. Load up on protein

There is a reason everybody harps on about protein. And here at Ironfit Food we will never repeat if enough: Protein keeps you full, it is responsible for repairing the small tears by strength training in your muscles and it the bricks that help you bulking up. Protein aids your muscle to grow big and strong, nudging out body fat in the procedure. As a rule of thumb, get a minimum 70 gm of protein in the day or if you are looking for seriously bulking up, I recommend 2gr of protein per kilo of body weight per day. This is particularly important before you exercise if you want to bulk up and after your exercise for recovery. We are going to the gym and then eat afterward as we are hungry. The result? You eat more calories and wind up with belly fat. To avoid feeling hungry after a workout, eat a snack having at least 15 grams of protein before you exercise. Please have a look at our article How to use Ironfit Food Protein Bars to Lose Weight.

7. Try to limit your stress

Stress can mess with each part of your body, but how you deal with it may break or make your weight loss goals. Most stress effect is behavioral instead of neurochemical. It makes us eat more since we use food as a substitute for stress. Without mentioning the effect of cortisol on staking up fat right on your belly. Yea, you heard that, you cannot target fat lose, yet this evil stress hormone that is cortisol can stack up fat right on your belly.

The truth is, eating food to make yourself feel perfect is typically a whole lot easier than really facing the stress head-on. People gravitate toward something that does not need anyone else to do it, is instantly satisfying, and does not take a whole lot of effort, particularly if you are opening a box.

Stress eating can only lead to one thing growing your belly fat instead of whittling it. If you are eating due to stress, take a step back and think about it. Why I’m having stress, and what can I do? Find a way to remedy the solution or talk through it with a therapist instead of turning to a bag of Doritos. You want to lose belly fat, but you can’t make it happen? Then always keep in mind that everything happens for a reason.

8. Prioritize quality sleep

Like I said in my article Could sleep deprivation make me fatter? sleep is big when it comes to your weight loss success and that both if you sleep too little or too much. Scientists even said that a 4h sleep a night could increase the risk of obesity by 73%. So, skipping a night of sleep isn’t the best thing for losing belly fat isn’t it? Besides, if you are only getting the least amount of sleep every night, that leaves extra time for you to snack and make otherwise unhealthy decisions that can affect your weight loss. Though it’ll differ from person to person on how much sleep you really need to be most efficient (and therefore make progress toward your weight-loss aims), I would say the ideal number is 7 or 8 hours. But here again, if will differ from person to person.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, losing belly fat is not just a matter of doing exercise or following the right type of diet. It is a long-term discipline on your daily life that include sleeping time, stress, quality of the food you eat and so on. But for this discipline to take place, you must ask yourself the right question, a simple and short question: “WHY”. This is it, why do you want to lose your belly fat? Find within yourself the real answer that will lead to an unstoppable motivation and you will reach your goal. Because like I said previously everything happen for a reason and you will lose your belly fat only for a reason… this is the essence of goals and resilience, this is the essence of success.

Ben – Iron Fit Food
www.ironfitfood.com
instagram: ironfitfood

best ways to lose belly fat often start with a good nutrition — best ways to lose belly fat often start with a good nutrion

How to use The Iron Fit Food Protein Bars to Lose Weight

Posted on 04/01/201730/11/2021 by Matteo Iannelli

Lose Weight with IronFit Food Protein Bars

04 Jan

Many people are willing to try our protein bars in order to lose weight.

The Iron Fit Protein Bars are perfect if to lose weight. We keep getting a lot of questions regarding how to use our protein bars to drop weight. Here is how.

First of all, we recommend doing sport in order to burn excessive calories. This shouldn’t be an issue, since it is quite easy in Bangkok and more generally in Thailand to find a gym or even a park where you can run or do some outdoor workouts. Second, we advise you to keep your diet under control and add the Iron Fit Food protein bars in a proper, balanced diet.

For example, assuming that your daily caloric intake is 2000 calories, which is most likely the daily caloric intake of an individual of about 170cm per 70kg that is moderately active, you should try to reduce it by about 500 calories per day to lose half a Kg per week. Consider also that losing more than this amount of weight per week is not healthy, can give you permanent stretch marks and will be very easy to revert, so take good care in planning your diet for long term results. Hence, the following is a good example of a 1500 calories daily diet plan that can make you lose the above-said weight:

Ironfit food protein bars to lose weight

This is what we care about: your nutrition and your fitness goals!

1 meal (Breakfast):

4 Egg Whites 14.4 Proteins 68 cal

1 Whole Eggs 6g proteins cal 78

100g Uncooked Oats 2.4 proteins 68 Calories

22.8 Proteins 214 Calories

2 meal (Snack):

Iron Fit Food Performance Protein Bar

21 Proteins 178 Calories

3 meal (Lunch)

150 g of Chicken Breast 46.5 g Protein 248 cal

80 g Brown Rice 2g Protein 88 cal

75 g Mixed Vegetables 2.2 Protein 37 Cal

1 tablespoon olive oil o protein 45 calories

50.7 Proteins 418 Cal

4 meal (Snack/Post Workout)

Iron Fit Food Original Plus Protein Bar

24 Proteins 260 Cal

5 meal (Dinner)

140g Tilapia or any white fish 40 Protein 191 Cal

100 g Steamed Broccoli 3g Proteins 34 Calories

1 tablespoon olive oil 0 protein 45 calories

43 Proteins 270 cal

6 meal (Pre-sleep Snack)

20g Almonds 4g Proteins 115 cal

100g Greek Yogurt 10g Protein 59 cal

Protein 16g 174 cal

TOTAL 177.5g PROTEINS | 1514 CAL

As you can see, this plan really focuses on splitting the daily caloric intake into several meals, 6 to be precise, in order to increase the nutritional intake and boost your metabolism. Also, it provides a big amount of proteins, which are the “bricks” that your body needs in order to build muscles and burn fat.

If your goal is to lose weight, also consider to add some aerobic exercise in your routine (treadmill, running, riding a bike are great options).

By the way, the above plan can be modified and integrated depending on your needs, personal caloric intake, goals and requirements.

Moreover, The Iron Fit Food Protein Bars and Snacks contain BCAA and glutamine that help your body to recover faster from a workout and to be active during your daily routine! What else? It sounds like the best protein bars you can get in Thailand isn’t it?

In a nutshell, taking an Iron Fit Food Protein Bar always with you is the key to avoid eating junk food and follow your diet plan everywhere to lose weight in the most convenient way possible.

Good Luck and remember, the 30% happens in the gym, the other 70% happens in the kitchen!

Thai dishes with the most proteins

Posted on 21/12/201630/11/2021 by Matteo Iannelli

Thai Barbeque, or MooKrata หมูกระทะ, often comes in the All You Can Eat mode

21 Dec

How to survive the protein deficit in Thailand

For anyone who leaves in Thailand, eating enough protein without exceeding in calories and all sort of trans saturated fats or refined sugar can be challenging. In fact, street food in Thailand is available everywhere and at cheap prices, so there is always something for everyone. But most of the times it is full of oil, sugars, processed food that are fattening and almost useless from a nutritional point of view. As long as your aim is to seek high protein and clean food.

Beside Thai Food, do there is any other protein high protein food option?

Indeed, there is another option. If you are looking for a good and healthy protein source, the Iron Fit Food Protein bars, brownies and cookies are an outstanding alternative to junk food or food with a poor amount of protein. And more than anything, you can easily carry them with you and they can be of a great help if you are somewhere where you have not much healthy choice when it come to food. Without mentioning the fact that they are made with natural ingredients. They may not be a meal replacement, but they provide an easy option for dieters who don’t have the time or resources for extensive meal planning, especially after a workout session at the gym!

Thai Food healthy and protein rich dishes

However, there are also some valid alternatives in the Thai cuisine (restaurant and street food) that can be considered healthy and protein rich. As previously mentioned, you want to avoid dishes full of carbs, sugar, trans fat and go for high protein, low carbs and good fat Thai dishes… This requires you to carefully pay attention to the recipes. Indeed, many Thai dishes contain hidden sugar, processed food and carbs.

Hidden sugars and unhealthy processed ingredient

Takes the example of a Som Tam (Papaya Salad), it is often, not to say always, cooked with sugar and GMO. Well, this is how a simple and basic vegetable Thai dish can ruin your diet, because of sugar, and health because of this toxic GMO. So when you order such a dish, just ask for no sugar and no GMO.

A Non exhaustive list of Thai dishes with the most protein

Now, let’s back to rich protein Thai dishes and get together through an non exhaustive list of the best and most flavorful you can find in Thailand. Here’s the list:

1. Gai Yaang ไก่ย่าง: The undisputed king of Isaan cuisine: grilled chicken. Better if in the form of chicken breast เต้านมไก่ย่าง, you can find it almost everywhere and at almost every Isaan street stall, even though usually Thais eat it in the morning. You can ask for ข้าวเหนียว kaow niaw, sticky rice, that fits perfectly with the chicken and make it a very balanced meal with good carbs and high protein. They usually drumstick + thigh, half a chicken, or just the whole chicken breast.

Gai Yang One Of The Thai Dish With The Most Protein

Gai Yang Grilled Chicken. One of the Thai dishes with the most protein

2. Moo Krata หมูกระทะ A solid second place is held by the infamous Thai Barbeque, often coming with an All You Can Eat option, so pay attention not to overeat. They usually offer beef, pork, chicken and seafood that you will need to barbeque yourself. Prices start from 150 thb all the way up, depending on the place and the poultry and fish offered. The only problem here is not to put too many unhealthy sauces on the food and not to eat all the fried and greasy side dishes and dessert that come included in the price. The biggest amount of proteins you can get, that’s for sure. We suggest going for Thai Barbeque after a long, intense training. It the perfect way to refill your body with protein, fibers and good fat!

Moo Krata หมูกระทะ Thai BBQ High Protein Dish

Moo Krata หมูกระทะ Thai BBQ. Often come in an all you can eat set.

3. Plaa kapong nung manao ปลากะพงนึ่งมะนาว: A healthy, not too greasy, filling Steamed fish with Lime and Garlic. For this, you’ll need to go to a proper restaurant, as street stall usually don’t have it. The price is around 350thb or more depending on the kind of fish and the level of the restaurant. Delicious! Check at this awesome recipe by clicking here

Plaa Kapong Nung Manao Thai Dish WIth Protein

Plaa Kapong Nung Manao. A Healthy Thai Dish With Protein

4. MoFai หม้อไฟ If you like soups, you are lucky because the Thai Hot Pot is one of the dishes richest in protein in Thai cuisine. Similarly to the Thai Barbeque, you can order the kind of meat and fish that you want with the soup. Prices are similar too. Remember not to drink too much broth, as is going to carry all the fat from meat and fish that melt as you cook them.

Thai Hot Pot A Protein Rich Thai Dish

5. Kai Satay ไก่สะเต๊ะ One of the cheapest and colorful chicken dishes is the Chicken satay with peanut sauce and served with a refreshing cucumber and onion salad. The chicken is first marinated in coconut milk and curry powder and then grilled. The sauce made with peanuts is really good, but don’t abuse of it as it is very caloric. You can find the Chicken Satay in street stalls as well as in restaurants and it’s usually very cheap (10-20thb per meat stick). Are you hungry yet?! Have a look at this yummy and easy recipe by clicking here

Chicken satay with peanut sauce and served with a refreshing cucumber and onion salad ไก่สะเต๊ะ

That’s it for now, we’ll continue in the next post with our bits of advice on nutrition for active people. Nutrition for Bodybuilding, Fitness, Crossfit and related sports in Thailand is possible even without spending an excessive amount of money with our suggestion. As you can see, finding Thai dishes with the most protein is easy, as you just need to take a closer look at the recipes. However, you may need a high protein, convenient and quick-eat solution, especially after your workout session. This is why we created the most convenient and healthy protein bars you can get in Thailand, made only with the best natural ingredients and whey protein, to help you achieving your fitness goals. Also, at the opposite of most protein bars that you can find on the market in Thailand, our protein bars are made with natural ingredients. This make them a good and convenient alternative to Thai dishes with the most protein. And this is what you want for your body. You want to avoid protein snacks, full of sugar, carbs and with a list of ingredients that you don’t even know the name because they are artificial.

Iron Fit Food Natural Protein Bars health benefits

Posted on 18/10/201630/11/2021 by Matteo Iannelli

How Iron Fit Food Protein Bars can greatly help you to lower your cholesterol, keep blood pressure in check while helping you losing weight and gaining muscles

You are having troubles finding good quality natural protein bars in Thailand? Iron Fit Food is THE solution. Indeed, Iron Fit Food Protein bars, cookies and brownies are made only with top ingredients and, most of all, they are all of natural and sugar free. This means that all the Iron Fit Food Protein Snacks are loaded with the best whey protein, but also with healthy super-food such as nuts, seeds, raisins and coconut oil to achieve their high content of proteins, vitamins and mineral. Our bars are therefore a great help to maintain overall health at a top level, boost the immune system, lower bad cholesterol, keep blood pressure in check and of course promote weight loss and muscle building.

Let’s take a deeper look at the benefits of some of the ingredients Iron Fit Food food Protein Bars are made with:

Peanuts:

Peanuts contain vegetable protein, unsaturated fat, fiber and minerals. In particular, monounsaturated fats are the type of fat that lowers LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. The US Food and Drug Administration performed a study showing that a handful of peanuts at least five times every week can help lower your risk for heart disease by more than 25%.

Peanuts are also a healthy source of vitamin E, folate, niacin and manganese. They are also rich in resveratrol, a phenolic antioxidant present in red grapes used to make red wine.

Pumpkin seeds:

Pumpkin seeds contains an incredible variety of antioxidants . Starting from a good dose of vitamin E composed by several forms of it such as Alpha-tocopherol, alpha-tocomonoenol, gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, and gamma-tocomonoenol, making the bioavailability of Vitamin E greater than other forms. Moreover, Pumpkin seeds are rich in mineral antioxidants like manganese and zinc. Also Phenolic antioxidants are provided by pumping seeds in a variety of forms such as phenolic acids hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, syringic and protocatechuic acid.

To summarize the benefits, Pumpkin seeds are good for:
-Maintaining Heart Health because of their Magnesium content.
-Boosting the Immune Support because of their Zinc content.
-They are rich in Plant-Based Omega-3 Fats.
-Good for maintaining Prostate Health.
-They have Anti-Diabetic Effects.

-Rich in aminoacids
-They contain Tryptophan that help provide a Restful Sleep.

Health benefits of iron fit food protein bars

Pumpkin seeds present in ironfit food bars present a long list of benefits

Sunflower seeds:

Sunflowers seeds improve bones, skin and are full of minerals

Sunflower seeds contain vitamin E, an important antioxidant for neutralizing free radicals that would otherwise damage molecules, such as cell membranes, brain cells, and cholesterol.

Sunflowers seeds have anti-inflammatory effects that can help with symptoms in asthma and arthritis, where free radicals and inflammation play a big role. They contain Phytosterols, compounds that when present in the diet in sufficient amountscan reduce blood levels of cholesterol.

They are also a good source of magnesium that can help with asthma, lower high blood pressure, and prevent migraine headaches, as well as reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.Magnesium is also needed for healthy bones and energy production.

Dried raisins:

Having a few raisins every day is good for your stomach and can help your Digestion as they contain fibres.

They are rich in potassium and magnesium in good levels.
They also can help against Anaemia as they have a good amount of iron and B-Complex vitamins. Their copper content also promotes the production of red blood cells.

Raisins are rich in polyphenolic phytonutrients, which are well known as anti-inflammatory antioxidants, therefore helping to boost the immune system and to treat Infections. Raisins contain phenol, collagen and elastin that promote healthy skin.

Dried raisins promote healthy skin and will give you an energy boost

Sesame Seeds:

Sesame seeds are rich in copper and manganese, also containing calcium, magnesium, selenium, vitamin B1, iron, zinc, molybdenum, phosphorus, and dietary fiber. Also, they contain 2 substances that are totally unique: sesamin and sesamolin, Those have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and prevent high blood pressure. Sesamin has also evidence to protect the liver from oxidative damage.

Practical Tip:

To lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy 1 natural snack from Iron Fit Food, rich in healthy nuts, seeds, raisins and proteins at least 4 times a week.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, at the opposite of most protein snacks in Thailand, the Iron Fit Food Protein Bars are more than just products made with whey protein and some fillers. Indeed, they are made mostly with high protein natural ingredients, so you get get protein from different sources plus a good variety of macro nutrients, which literally make them the best protein bars in Thailand.

How can I train if I am traveling regularly?

Posted on 12/03/201630/11/2021 by Benoit Labrunhie

Body weight workout routines are one of the keys for training when you travel

I often hear people telling me that they can’t be fit just because they are constantly traveling around. Well, when we travel, we all agreed it is not convenient to carry in our luggage some dumbbells and barbells. However, we can tailor our very own body weight workout routines. In that case it is important to master some basic exercises that you can do anywhere such as the planks, body weight squats, mountain climber, lunge, triceps dips, flutter kick, push-ups etc… If you want to go furthermore with your training and you think body weight exercises are too limited in term of variety and results, then I suggest you to buy a packable workout gear such as a resistance bands, a skipping rope, a foam roller or even a sling trainer (e.g. TRX), this kind of equipment is light, easy to carry on, easy to use and it can be installed quickly everywhere on the doors, walls etc…

Chosing a hotel with Fitness Facilities

When you are traveling, the best solution is definitely to go to a hotel with a fitness facility, so before booking any room always have a look at the list of the facilities of your hotel. And if your hotel don’t have any fitness facility? Then you can always search on the internet (e.g. Google map) for the closest gym to your hotel. So don’t let a simply nasty trip being an excuse to stop your training, you have to be motivated more than ever, especially since traveling can also mess up with your nutrition and your sleep habits, both necessary for a good recovery, maintaining your muscular mass burning fat and so on.

What about the nutrition?

And regarding the nutrition? As stated above, traveling can also mess up with your nutrition, too much carbs, not enough protein, tiny portions and late meals. One of the solution is to take supplements. There is several supplements available on the markets, all made for different purposes, fat burning, bulking up, sleeping etc…. However, the most important thing is to make sure that your intake of protein is high enough. Please see more details and figures about the daily protein intakes in the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information here. To make it simple I suggest your daily protein intake to be of 2g of protein per kg of body weight in order to maintain your muscular mass. It is often a hard task when we travel and this is the reason why protein bars such as the Iron Fit Food bars are an outstanding solution. If your aim is to low down your carbs intake then you will go for the Performance bars, if your aim is to bulk up you will go for the Brownies or the Energy, if you are in between and need an all-rounder then you will go for the Original bars. Anyway, always keep in mind that being fit requires discipline and motivation, it is like anything else in life, just a matter of priority.

Ben – Iron Fit Food
www.ironfitfood.com
instagram: ironfitfood

Could you get slimmer by doing crunch exercise?

Posted on 10/03/201630/11/2021 by Benoit Labrunhie

Could you get slimmer by doing crunch exercise?

When I go to the gym I am strike by the amount of people who are spending some 10min or more just doing stomach crunch. Many of them think that they will get slimmer or perhaps get “the six pack” should I say, by hammering their stomach for several minutes in a row. Well, I will never say it enough, we cannot target the fat loss!

So just doing crunch exercise in order to burn out the intramuscular abdominal fat will not bring you any kind of six pack. By the way the scientific team from the University of Virginia recently discovered that we would have to do some 250,000 crunches to burn some 450g of fat. This is the equivalent of doing 100 crunches per day for 7 days.

We also know that to burn fat cardio is a good solution however if you go for a long cardio, such as more than 10 minutes, you take the risk to also lose some muscular mass on the way. Therefore, one of the method I suggest is to work out all your muscles especially the big muscle groups (chest, legs…) and the lower back muscles because they are the muscular group which burn the most calories. And regarding cardio? Well I suggest you to go for a daily cardio of 10 minutes maximum using bicycle or elliptical. Yes, you heard it, 10 minutes maximum, I personally go for 7 minutes sharp and 5 to 6 days per week. That way it will strip of the fat and prevent the lactic acids to make you losing that precious muscular mass.

Finally, don’t forget that doing crunch is a good way to strengthen your abdominal muscles and to give them a nice shape. If you want to have sharp and fit abs, then I suggest you a combination of cardio, diet and abdominal exercise. The nutrition is also important because abs are muscles. So keep in mind that to maintain your muscular mass you need about 2g of protein per kg of body weight and per day. The Iron Fit Food products are here to help you reach that goal: http://www.ironfitfood.com/shop/

Reach your goals and push up your limits with Iron Fit Food

Ben – Iron Fit Food
www.ironfitfood.com
instagram: ironfitfood