If like most men these days you want to get in better shape then you have probably joined a gym and started a weight training routine. In order for your body to grow the way you want you need to change your diet and start eating healthy, nutrient rich foods. Making such a big change can be extremely hard to begin with and consuming the right balance of calories, fats, carbs and protein can be a bit of a nightmare. However if you don’t give your the body the right nutrients and right amount of these nutrients then your progress will be painstakingly slow.

Carbohydrates are like the builders of the body and protein are the building blocks, you need the right balance between these 2 nutrients to build lean muscle. When training for size the recommended protein intake is 1.2-1.5g per ld of body weight. For example a male weighing 175lb would need to consume at least 210g of protein per day to gain muscle. Getting all of this protein from food would mean eating a lot of meat and then you still have to make room for some carbohydrates.

By drinking protein shakes each day you can easily reach your daily target of protein. Most protein shakes will provide you with around 35g of quality protein and if you mix them with milk you will be getting around 40g of protein per shake which should help you to reach your daily protein target more easily and therefore give your body the important nutrients it needs to grow and build lean muscle mass.

For those of you that are new to training and have just started out in the gym, you may have noticed a lot of the guys drink protein shakes before or after their workouts.

The reason behind this is because when you work your muscles they break down and need to repair themselves. Protein is known as the building block of the body so by supplementing your body with protein you can help to recover faster and increase your lean muscle tissue.

You may be thinking you get a lot of protein from food already; well the recommended protein intake for someone who wants to gain muscle is between 1.1-1.5 g protein per lb. For example a guy weighing 165lbs will need to consume around 205+ grams of protein per day to gain anymore muscle (as well as working out at the gym obviously) Now a large chicken breast may only contain 40g of protein, a pint of milk only contains 19g of protein, a steak may contain less than 14grams of protein so unless you spend all day eating chicken and fish and drinking milk (don’t forget you need carbohydrates too) you will struggle to reach your daily target.

With a protein shake you can easily and quickly consume 35-40gram of high quality, easily digestible protein. Protein shakes are simply a drink made from a scoop or two of protein powder which is then mixed with either water or milk to create a shake.

It’s no secret that eating a healthy balanced diet is the key to a long and active life. The UK government recommends that we each eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. In today’s society however it doesn’t always seem that easy. Lunch is often taken on the fly with many of us grabbing something that’s convenient over something that is healthy. Convenience food is often loaded with high levels of fat and salt and rarely contains anything like fresh ingredients.

One easy way to up your intake of fruit is to start the day with a freshly made smoothy. It’s very easy to combine as many as three portions of fruit into one meal. This not only gets your day off to a great start but also fuels your body for the day ahead. If you are looking to lose weight then this will also help as it kicks your metabolism into gear and therefore maximises the amount of calories that your body burns.

There are many good quality specialist machines that you can buy in just about any high street that can be used and then stored away until the next morning. Experiment with different types of fruit until you find a blend that you love. You might also want to try adding a handful of oats which will help you feel full and satisfied for longer and therefore reducing your need to snack between meals.