Did you know that the type of food we eat, and how it affects our hormones, is more important than how many calories we eat?

Ask anyone about bulking and cutting, or losing weight, and they'll bring up calories and macronutrients.

“You have to count your calories and eat more than you need to build muscle, or eat less than you need to burn fat.”

And that's true… to a degree.

But there's more to it. Much more. And if you just follow the above, you'll more than likely miss your goals.

Yes, we need to measure the amount of calories to make sure we get enough energy, but not too much. And we need to make sure we get enough protein, fats, and carbohydrates so we can build muscle and have energy to power us through the day.

But which proteins, fats, and carbs? And how do they affect the hormones that will determine how they're used?

Because it's our hormones that decide how these foods will be used in our body.

Will these foods trigger fat loss hormones, or fat gain hormones? Will they trigger muscle growth hormones, or muscle loss hormones?

This is key to attaining and keeping a lean, muscled body.

So let's dive in and see how this all works.

Did you know that the official measurement of what is considered to be normal testosterone levels has been lowered? 

It has. And this was done because the majority of men no longer fall into the earlier acceptable ranges. 

Their testosterone levels are too low. 

Why is this? What's happening? And why would they choose to lower the acceptable levels instead of addressing why they are lowering?

In this article we talk about what testosterone does in the body, largely from the view of its anti-aging effects, how lowering testosterone levels, not just in the elderly, speeds up our biological aging, and what is causing this.

When working out, blood flow is very important for both muscle building and fat loss.

It’s how the nutrients, water and oxygen needed for energy creation and muscle creation flow to our cells.

If our blood flow is lower, our cells do not get these nutrients or oxygen fast enough and our energy levels go down during high intensity workouts.

And it slows recovery.

Achieving healthy blood flow then is important for maximum results and maximum overall health.

We know about amino acids, hormones, and how different foods affect our ability to build lean muscle, burn fat and stay healthy.

But if we want to achieve maximum levels of energy, recovery, health and performance, and build the most lean muscle, then we need to go down to the cellular level.

After all, our bodies are just one big mass of some 100 trillion cells all bonded together.

How well we're doing is an exact reflection of how well our cells are doing.

And they require a multitude of nutrients and biochemicals, all held in equilibrium, to ensure they can work properly, produce energy, build muscle, and keep our body going.

When these aren't properly balanced we can get headaches, brain fog, low levels of energy, muscle cramps, slower recoveries from workouts, and imbalances in hormones.

But when everything is in place, we have the most powerful you that you can be.

So let’s see how this works.

Water retention is swelling in some part of the body, usually the feet and ankles, caused by large accumulations of fluid in the spaces between the body’s cells or in the blood vessels.

But it’s a symptom of something, not a condition in its own right.

And, while it can be caused by specific physical conditions of the kidneys, heart or circulatory system, most cases are actually due to lifestyles or diet, and they’re pretty easy to fix.

But there are many things that can cause this, so let’s jump in and see how this all works so you know what to do to help you.

Do you ever have strong sugar cravings during the day, or when you start a diet to lose body fat?

Do you have a protruding stomach after you eat, or later in the day, that doesn’t make sense?

Do you get gassy or have bloating after eating certain foods?

Or do you ever feel like the food you ate in the morning is still floating in your stomach at dinner time, making you feel like you couldn’t eat more, but you’re still hungry?

These all come from a specific thing, or type of thing. 

It causes intense sugar cravings, a protruding stomach, gassiness and bloating, and makes us feel full or give us indigestion or heartburn.

It makes sticking to a diet a nightmare, raises cortisol levels, makes gaining muscle harder, and causes hormonal issues and energy crashes.

And it affects our mood and makes it harder to get good, deep sleep.

So let's see what these things are, how they work and what we can do about them.

Did you know whey powder can cause bloating? Or that it can cause poor digestion and even feed harmful bacteria?

It can. And many people using it don’t realize that some of that extra body fat they may be trying to get rid of isn’t body fat at all, but bloating from the whey they’re taking.

Many people use whey protein powders as an easy way to get in more protein to help them build muscle or just to keep their protein levels high.

In fact, it’s become fairly ingrained in the diets of many body builders and fitness trainers.

But does it help as much as most people think?

As of today, about 42% of Americans are considered clinically obese. This is a large rise from the 1970’s when only about 10% were.

To combat this, recently, many have turned to GLP-1s. These are medications originally approved for the treatment of diabetes, but which have shown results in lowering appetite and blood sugar levels, and so allowing for loss of body fat.

However, they work by bypassing the body’s natural systems and in some cases lowering the body’s ability to naturally perform these actions as the body gets used to receiving them.

And, for some, they can come with severe side effects to one degree or another: increased risk of heart attack, bowel obstruction, gallstones, thyroid cancer, vision loss, muscle loss and weak or brittle bones especially for those in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, and severe stomach paralysis.

So understanding how these work inside our body, and what to do to ensure we fill any necessary nutritional gaps they may cause, becomes quite important.

For the last few years a sort of battle has existed regarding protein.

Is meat or vegan protein better?

How much protein should I take? Is it too little or too much? Do people in general need more protein or less protein?

Beyond that, some say that meat proteins cause an inflammatory response in the body so we should get protein from plants.

Others say we need more animal protein, that it’s a superior protein source and provides key nutrients not available in plant proteins.

Some say too much protein is toxic and others say too little protein impacts our hormones, muscle, bones, mood, and immune system.

So how do we answer this?

Well, we don’t.

Because we’re asking the wrong questions.

And the reason we’re asking the wrong questions is because we’re starting from the wrong point of data.

Let's dive in.

In today's world, from the viewpoint of our bodies, they're under constant attack.

Harmful toxins come in through our air, food and water, and even our clothing and personal care items. And these are at levels over 50 times that of just a few decades ago.

And they are affecting us quite significantly.

On top of that, our processed foods not only contain harmful chemicals, but have key vitamins and nutrients processed out of them. The exact nutrients our bodies need to fight or neutralize the harmful chemicals coming in.

But what do these chemicals do in our body? How do they affect us?

When we look at the amount of physical conditions occurring in society today, these either didn't exist or were in most cases quite rare just four or five decades ago.

Look at stress levels, hormonal imbalances, and common allergies today.

And look at how fast aging is occurring in our younger generations.

This is a real thing.

So let's dive in and see exactly how these chemicals affect us and what we can do about it.

Today we want to walk you through a day in the life of someone using the PerfectAmino Performance Stack to build more lean muscle, increase energy and endurance, and improve recovery, all while slimming down.

Also, how it helps them to improve mental focus and clarity during the day and address stress levels, mood and the ability to relax in the evening and sleep deeply.

The PerfectAmino Stack includes: PerfectAmino, PerfectAmino Pre-Workout, PerfectAmino Creatine, PerfectAmino Electrolytes and PerfectAmino Strength & Recovery.

We're going to show when and how they're taken for best results.

And not just that, but what other actions do they take during the day?

What exercises do they do and when?

What foods do they eat and when? (And we include recipes.)

How do they get maximum sleep for recovery?

All of these points are important, so let's dive in.

Millions of people take pre-workout formulas every day, before workouts or runs or any intense activity.

They take these to increase energy, blood flow, endurance and focus, and get more out of their workouts.

But these formulas don’t work the way most people think they do. And what they do to a body over time, how they affect our overall energy, mood, stress levels, sleep ability and recovery, can often cause more damage than the benefits they seem to be giving.

While they appear to be giving energy, in reality, they’re forcing the nervous system into a high-output state by blocking the brain's natural fatigue signals and flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol — the stress hormones our body was designed to use in small amounts, not daily for hours at a time.

In the long term this causes lower energy levels, reduced endurance, poor sleep, mood and focus, and poorer recovery leading to not only lessened gains, but increased weight gain over time.

So let's dive in and see what's actually happening here and what we can do to improve gains now and in the long term.