Whey protein is by far the most common on the market and is very effective, but don’t overlook Casein protein.  While you may have seen Casein in some form before, many people don’t know what it is or when to use it.  Casein can be found in many dairy products, most notable milk.  This is a slow digesting protein that releases into your body over a much longer period of time than Whey protein.  So when would you want to use such an item?  The answer is multiple times thoughout the day.  When you are between meals and just want some quick protein to drink, Casein can give you that full fulling until your next meal.  Because of its slow digestion, it is also great before bed and won’t leave you with a full stomach.  Research also shows that taking a scoop of Whey and Casein together post workout, has been shown to increase muscle more than either protein taken alone.

When trying to cut calories and follow a diet, alcohol is one item that is always tough to cut out.  While the best option is to not drink at all, for most people this is not reality.  There are now several low carb beers on the market with everything from Michelob Ultra, Bud Select, Etc. but your best options may be to stick to wine or liquor.  Wine is the best option at about 100 calories for glass and under 5g of carbs per serving.  To stick with liquor, Vodka, Gin, Whiskey and White Rum all have under 100 calories and 0g carbs per serving.  If drinking liquor straight is not for you, try a diet soda or even soda water.  Even with these diet friendly choices it is still key not to go overboard (for your diet or the hangover) but try these options next time rather than the Light beer.

Those of you who think starving yourself to lose weight are only hurting the cause by skipping meals – especially breakfast.  Getting a good blend of protein and carbs first thing in the morning is crucial.  Your body is coming off of a fast from the previous night and will begin burning muscle if it is not supplied with the right nutrition.  Also, the longer you wait to refuel your body, the more likely it is to store these calories as fat. 

If you want to maintain lean muscle, try taking a scoop of Casein protein before going to bed.  Upon waking, one of the best sources of protein is Whey as it will get into your body faster than any other protein source.  Try rounding it out with some oats or fresh fruit for a good start to your day.

While February is not normally the time of year that we begin thinking about pools and beaches, if you want to be in prime shape when the warm weather is here then it should be.  While low carb diets, weight training and cardio programs are all necessary to help in achieving this, a few supplements can help you along the way.  MHM offers many great fat burners that can be very effective but if you want to try creating your own “Ripped Stack” there are 4 key supplements that you must use.  Try the following stack from the December issue of M&F:

Carnitine–1-3g w/ Breakfast, Pre+Post Workout, Dinner

CLA–1-3g w/ Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Forskolin–20-50mg 2-3 times per day (1 Pre-Workout)

Green Tea Extract–500-1000mg 2-3 per day before meals.  (1 30-60 min. before workout).

The Bleacher Report has again put together another Best of the Decade list that is definitely worth checking out.  Their 50 Hottest WAGs (wives and girlfriends) of the Decade will make you even more envious of your favorite athletes.  No one can argue with Marisa Miller at the top, but there are several you probably aren’t aware of that can make a case of their own.

With the 2000’s coming to a close, you will be sure to see several of these Best of… the decade lists over the next few weeks.  One such list that we can get behind is Bleacherreport.com’s 40 Hottest Female Athletes list.  While some of their choices are debatable, they do include personal favorites Ana Ivanovic, Allison Stokke and a few of everyones favorite tennis players at the top.  One notable that they missed was WVU’s Amanda Cicchini.

In case you haven’t been around a TV, Radio, Computer, Phone or any other media device over the last few days, Tiger Woods suffered a big blow to his golden boy image.  Not to mention his face after his wife Elin was done with him.  This all started with one rumor of the sexy Rachel Uchitel hooking up with El Tigre.  Now other stories are emerging including a rumored hook up with a former Tool Academy star.  While Tiger has remained in hiding and canceled his appearance at his own charity tournament this week, he apologized for his “transgressions” today.

Check out this product presentation from BSN.  They profile their groundbreaking Volumaize technology.  Click the image above to watch.

That daily Diet Coke is doing you more harm than good.  Recent studies have found that drinking pop daily can be extremely detrimental to one’s health.  Drinking soft drinks in excess has been connected to heart disease, obesity, and even type-II diabetes. Many people fail to understand the process the body takes to digest carbonated soft drinks.  Below is an excerpt from Dr. Mao’s article.  Click here to read more.

Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!

Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let’s talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.

Continue reading at Yahoo.com

As Manny Pacquiao prepped for his fight against Miguel Cotto on November 14 in Las Vegas, he took a few minutes to talk about fighting the pay-per-view king, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao was adamant that Mayweather wanted nothing to do with the Filipino champion.

While this could be one of the biggest fights in boxing history, Pacquiao was outspoken in saying “I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight.”  Mayweather’s associates acknowledged that Pacquiao is on their radar, but no bout has been scheduled.

Check out ESPN.com for more