Everyone loves a good shake and what more could someone ask for than an awesome shake that doubles as a weight loss product? Protein shakes have become increasingly popular throughout the years and if they are taken correctly, they can easily increase the amount of weight you are losing.

First and foremost, protein shakes offer many benefits. For example, many athletes use them to help the body recover after an intense workout or to help repair damaged muscle. Both of these scenarios demonstrate protein intake after a workout, however, depending on the type of protein in the shake, there are different timing requirements.

Listed below are some of the most common types of protein found in protein shakes. They are used differently and at different times.

Casein protein: Casein is a protein found in dairy products, such as milk and cheese. This protein clots and gels up inside of you stomach causing a very slow digestion. Protein shakes containing casein should be take right before bed, due to the slow digestion that it promotes.

Egg protein: Found in eggs obviously, egg protein normally takes anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours to absorb into your body. The egg yolks and the egg whites are used for different objectives. The egg whites, being most common, contain a variety of amino acids and many different types of vitamins. Other proteins do not have the advantage of the egg protein’s characteristics.

Soy protein: Soy protein has the most complete supply of protein when it comes to vegetables. It is also split into two types, kind of like egg protein. Soy breaks off into soy protein concentrate and soy protein isolate, although, soy isolate is the more expensive and more pure protein. Regardless, soy is a type of protein that is digested very rapidly.

Whey protein: Whey protein is also derived from milk. Like soy, it too, has two different types: Whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate. Like before, the isolate is more pure and more expensive. Whey isolate also contains less fat and lactose. Whey has the characteristic that egg whites possess, a wide range of amino acids. Those amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Likewise, the essential amino acids that we need are not made from within us. That is what makes whey protein so important.

There are still different types of protein out there; these are just the most common. Reading up on the type of protein you plan on taking is a good idea. Make sure that the specific protein will work to target what you need. Protein shakes allow you get into shape. In turn, getting into shape could result in weight loss and in many cases weight loss is the cause of healthily lowering your blood pressure, getting rid of acne, lowering cholesterol, and most importantly, increasing self-esteem. As stated before, protein shakes have become so popular among the fitness world.  So, whether you are a super star athlete, a body builder, or just someone who likes to get in a workout every now and then, there is a perfect protein shake out there for you.  All you have to do is find out which one suits you best.

I wanted to apologize for and explain the recent downtime to the site. If you're a regular reader (and why wouldn't you be?), you probably noticed some freakiness to the uptime (rather, downtime) of this site.

See, I switched webhosts. And it went well for many of my sites. But NOT this one!

For whatever reason, I couldn't get the files and databases moved. So I think I'll just keep the site with its original web host and call it a day…

I am extremely sorry for the screw up and if it affected you in any way, I truly feel terrible about it.

If you tried leaving comments or getting in contact with me the past few days, please hook up with me again and try another time. I'm afraid some stuff got lost in the shuffle.

Now, off to be productive for the first time in days!

Both strength training and endurance exercise will increase your energy expenditure at the time of activity, and for a few hours afterwards, when they are conducted at the same intensity (you all have experienced that increase in hunger after a good workout, whether it be strength or cardio work).

However, strength training is unique in that if you perform multiple sets of a challenging weight to failure, scientists have shown that the energy expended afterwards, known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) can be elevated for 24-36 hours. Some people call this the “Afterburn” effect of serious strength training.

For the rest of the post, check out Strength Training.

I sent out a note to my email lists this morning, and I want to say the same to you:

I wanted to take a little bit of your time today to wish you happy holidays, and if you celebrate it, a Merry Christmas.

This is the time of year where we spend a lot of our time sharing old stories with our families, eating good food, and perhaps partaking in a little celebratory wine, beer, or other adult beverage!

It's also a time where we reflect back on the year and determine if we've strayed from the path we want to be on. It's also when we thank those who have helped us.

Finally, it's a time where we all can pull out a little something extra for that young child in need of a warm jacket, a hot meal, or something else that she's lacking.

I sincerely hope that you had a productive 2009 and know that you'll have an even better 2010. Keep moving forward and you're bound to succeed!

Best of luck. Thanks for reading.

Bill