BCAA is a term which any fitness enthusiast can swear by. Branched Chain Amino Acids make up 35% of your muscle mass and are a must for molecular growth.
BCAAs are taken by almost all bodybuilders and athletes to help shape up their bodies and get the extra kilos out of their systems. If maintaining muscle mass while losing body fat and the extra weight is what you are looking for, then BCAA is the perfect answer to all your queries.
- BCAA or Branched Chain Amino Acids are scientifically found to be vital for our overall health. Without their presence we won’t be able to survive. When taken in the form of supplements, these increase the pace of your fat and weight loss. Typically, these should be taken 30-40 minutes before workout.
Before knowing about the usage and benefits of BCAAs, let us understand what actually do they mean.
- BCAAs are a collection of three amino acids Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. Leucine is an anabolic factor which prevents muscle loss and as a matter of fact helps promote muscle gain when the body is low on calories and protein.
- The three amino acids should be ideally present in the ratio of 2:1:1.
Indirectly imbibing BCAAs in your diet is one thing but catering to the protein requirements of body builders for muscle gain and fat loss is a completely different story. This is what calls for the intake of BCAA supplement.
The important equation to be followed is:
Muscle Mass Growth= Rate of Protein Synthesis – Rate of Protein Breakdown
Now let’s see how the BCAA works its way through your extra body fats-
The pre requisite for fat loss workouts is that the calorie intake should be less than the calories burnt. This calls for a low calorie diet. And no wonder we all face some common issues during this period:
- The low calorie diet further intensifies our carb craving
- The less energy makes workout sessions a continuous dread
Both these are poison to our weight loss goals. BCAA is the key to these issues. Let us have an insight into what really do they do to save us these troubles.
- Kill those Carb Binges: Imbibing BCAAs in your diet can really work wonders towards reducing that constant munching you crave for as they have overlapping mechanisms to help carb cravings. BCAAs stimulate the production of the neurotransmitter, reduction in whose level makes you feel the pangs of hunger.
Leucine in particular has been proven to activate the brain signalling molecules (mTOR and AMPK) that regulate hunger in the brain. Being precursors to two important chemicals of the brain (glutamate for stimulating brain chemicals and GABA for relaxing), it helps you cut out on your food cravings by balancing the chemical and neurotransmitter levels of our brain.
Scientific research backs the fact that by lowering the levels of Cortisol, BCAAs reduce the stress induced binges.
- Workout Sessions no more a Dread: We all know the importance of every single workout session and the laziness that follows in case even one is skipped.
But accept the truth-we all fall prey to the weakness and energy loss we face on account of our low carb diet which contains atleast 250-500 calories less than the routine diet.
Glucose and Ketones are the two fuels which drive our brain. The ability of BCAAs to easily convert into glucose and ketones helps maintain balanced blood sugar levels. In addition to making you feel less hungry, it also has a perk of keeping you high on energy, thus making those workout sessions a lot easier to take.
Many studies and researches have shown that intake of BCAAs reduces the instances of being obese and helps lose weight more quickly by eating less and exercising more rigorously.
A Branched Chain Amino Acid that found its way into my itinerary and still continues to be there is-
MFF BCAA 5000: This one though slightly more expensive is the best example of value for money. It outperforms many other products as every 5g serving of MFF BCAA 5000 provides 50 servings with three essential amino acids-Leucine, Iso-Leucine and Valeine in every serving. These aren’t produced in the body and need to be supplemented for if you really want a good result of muscle gain with weight loss.
- It has 2500mg pure Leucine per serving
- The best part is that apart from recovery, it also prevents muscle breakdown.
- It has the medically recommended ratio of 2:1:1 of the three amino acids.
The choice is entirely yours. I am sure that the awareness about BCAAs combined with the vast variety of tried and tested My Fit Fuel products which have given wonderful results would definitely go a long way in helping you achieve your fat loss and weight loss goals. Trust me when I say these worked wonders for me!
