Favorite "power" foods you purchase at the store.

[screwd01]

In high school, 2003, I weighed somewhere around 250+ for a 5'7" guy. Today, I'm at 153. Most of it was lost during my college years (a contradiction eh?) and now i'm left with some flab in my midsection. I know diet is the most important thing but I still get a great amount of exercise (treadmill running, light lifting, tennis, core ball exercises.) Long story short, I'm trying to see what you all buy from the store that you know is really good for you.

What I been buying lately:
Fiber One bars, all of these have 35% of your daily fiber and taste great. I also purchased Kellogs brand and noticed they're a little more fatty. Pretty much anything from Fiber One is good with me.
Kashi GoLean Crunch! cereal, Super protein and fiber in a great tasting cereal. It may have a bit more sugar and fat than others but I'm only using soy milk now.
Costco's Kirkland brand Vanilla Soy Milk, if you don't have a costco membership I think Silk has the same nutrional value. I used to hate soy milk when it first came out but now I can drink it on it's own.


I've also been reducing more red meat intake, I love steak and burgers but chicken and turkey burgers are good enough haha.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

All of those products are extremely processed and could be working against you. My power foods are natural - veggies, leafy greens, fruits, nuts, seeds, lean meats, etc. These have awesome amounts of vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc that help me function well.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: screwd01
Favorite "power" foods you purchase at the store.

Why?

Originally posted by: screwd01
I still get a great amount of exercise (treadmill running, light lifting, tennis, core ball exercises.)

Why?

Originally posted by: screwd01
I've also been reducing more red meat intake

Why?


I'm going to give you a bit of a reading list:

1. The fat loss sticky and the articles linked at the top of my diet experiment thread. These will teach you that what you need to eat is REAL, whole, natural food. Stop eating "food products" like those bars, cereals and milk substitutes. The health claims that are made on "power foods" are in no way regulated and most likely highly inaccurate.

2. Starting Strength so you understand why "light lifting" doesn't make much sense.

 

[mchammer187]

I like Fiber One bars but I don't eat them every day or anything. What is the logic behind Soy Milk as opposed to normal milk though.

My staples are

Cottage Cheese
Tuna
Peanut Butter
Beef Jerky
Salmon
Roast or Grilled Chicken
Spinach
Broccoli
Eggs
1% Milk

I still eat plenty of red meat though such as a burger, Ribeye, Pork Chops etc several times a week as there is nothing wrong with these as long as you are within your calorie range

avoid from stuff like Sausage, Hot Dogs, Bacon though I will have a hotdog every now and again but never more than 1 meal a week is a good rule to follow. They have transfats and disproportionate amounts of Saturated fat.

Fruits
Bananas
Peaches
Cherries
Blackberries
Black Rasberries

 

[spamsk8r]

A good rule of thumb is anything not in a box or bag is probably good for you. Usually if it has nutritional information on it it's not optimal (because it's not natural).

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

My power foods are canned chicken for chicken salad, eggs, peanut butter, honey, whole wheat bread, bananas, and Breyers ice cream. 🙂

 

[angminas]

I'm gluten and casein sensitive. I also have little time or money, so I keep my cooking simple and often one-pot. Here are some healthyesque things I eat. Season to taste, of course.


Crinkle fries (baked) with a can of tuna spread around on them, ketchup

Fat free refried beans, brown rice, diced tomato and onion, taco seasoning, eat it with chips

Sautee onions in olive oil, add eggs and diced turkey bacon, top with salsa, serve with baked diced hash browns

Soy milk, banana, peanut butter, soy protein powder, whirrrr

Boil frozen mixed vegetables, a couple of chicken breasts, chicken boullion or stock, diced onions, brown rice, black beans (rinsed)

Sliced banana with peanut butter spread on it, like cheese and crackers (messy but yum)

Wendy's chili with onions, sometimes dump it on fries, double stack deluxe with no bun or cheese

General Tso's chicken with half sauce, steamed rice, unbreaded chicken

One itsy bitsy container of Ben & Jerry's (have you seen them? like half a cup or something)


I try to always have these on hand:

Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen diced onions
Frozen crinkle fries
Frozen chicken breast
Canned beans (rinse)
Canned no-salt corn
Tomatoes
Onions
Tuna
Bananas
Peanut Butter
Eggs
Brown rice
Cooking oil and spray

And they have these frozen chubs of pre-seasoned ground turkey, $1 each at Wal-Mart. I keep one in the fridge (up to a week) and the rest in the freezer. Gotta drain em well, but very tasty and convenient.

 

[crt1530]

Oats
Blueberries
Fuji apples
Broccoli
Whole wheat bread
Sweet potatoes
Whey protein
Turkey
Beef
Chicken
Fish oil
Almonds
Whole milk

 

[screwd01]

Hah, my foods got slammed. But anyway, they've been helping me maintain my fitness goals and they're for the moments when you don't have time for food prep. But yeah, something natural like veggies n fruit would be better. I do get a good amount of fruits like plums, peaches n bananas but I do lack vegetable intake.
I've already switched from white rice to brown w/ quinoa in it. Same thing with bread, I always get something that's dark.
Like I said before, these "processed power" foods aren't my whole diet. What's the deal with real milk now...it's always changing in the news. It was good for you, then bad...n back n forth.

And to Brikis98 about the red meat, isn't it tougher to digest than poultry and such. The current recommendation is 4oz a week. Which is silly because it's such a small amount. I just eat a huge burger/steak once in a blue moon.

 

[screwd01]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: screwd01
Favorite "power" foods you purchase at the store.

Why?

Originally posted by: screwd01
I still get a great amount of exercise (treadmill running, light lifting, tennis, core ball exercises.)

Why?

Originally posted by: screwd01
I've also been reducing more red meat intake

Why?

I'm going to give you a bit of a reading list:

1. The fat loss sticky and the articles linked at the top of my diet experiment thread. These will teach you that what you need to eat is REAL, whole, natural food. Stop eating "food products" like those bars, cereals and milk substitutes. The health claims that are made on "power foods" are in no way regulated and most likely highly inaccurate.

2. Starting Strength so you understand why "light lifting" doesn't make much sense.

Dude you are hardcore with the whys haha. But yeah, I should have elaborated on the light lifting. I'll check out the book though. I lift lighter weights ranging from 10-20lbs with high repitions to build up the core and essential muscles for tennis. And it has greatly improved my play over the last year or so. I also use resistance bands for the same purpose. And these "power" foods are something I can grab on the run without really thinking about it. I'll let everyone know that I haven't gotten sick in at least the past two years, nor have had any health problems. Same with my weight training, no injuries or pains. So i have to be doing something near right.

 

[TripleAAA]

Here are a couple things I consume regularly:

Leafy greens = Kale...has tons of vitamins, tastes great with a little Bragg's liquid aminos or red wine vinegar and the kale lasts longer in the fridge then say something like Spinach does.


Protein/Carb blend = Quinoa = one of the best all-around grains that has the highest amount of protein. It's very versatile and can be cooked easily like pasta.


Straight Protein = I generally do a shake with a banana, ON natural chocolate whey (no fake or real sugar), an Acai frozen puree packet, a scoop of almond or peanut butter, and a few ice cubes. Amazing...


Carb : cheap and easy = OATMEAL..need I say more?

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: screwd01
Same thing with bread, I always get something that's dark.

I recommend not looking at just the color, but also the ingredients: there shouldn't only be a handful (wheat flour, water, yeast, salt) and it should use whole grains.

Originally posted by: screwd01
And to Brikis98 about the red meat, isn't it tougher to digest than poultry and such. The current recommendation is 4oz a week. Which is silly because it's such a small amount. I just eat a huge burger/steak once in a blue moon.

Red meat is fine. Enjoy it in moderation and you shouldn't have issues.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: screwd01
I lift lighter weights ranging from 10-20lbs with high repitions to build up the core and essential muscles for tennis. And it has greatly improved my play over the last year or so. I also use resistance bands for the same purpose.

Both of these topics are discussed in Starting Strength, but I'll mention them here anyway:

If you're training for sports, then high repetition work is definitely useful. However, its primary effect is to increase muscle endurance. It does little for strength or power, both of which are also very useful in athletics. In tennis, for example, building maximal power (which is most efficiently done with heavy olympic lifting) will let you accelerate faster (very useful for chasing down balls) and improve your lunge (very useful for playing at the net). Strengthening your hamstrings (for example, through heavy deadlifts) will give you a better vertical jump, which is quite nice for serving and smashing the ball. Therefore, feel free to keep up the high rep stuff, but you should know that you'd probably see even better results if you add heavy work as well.

It's also worth mentioning that even with your high repetition work, you need to progressively increase the difficulty. The body adapts exactly and specifically to the stimulus you present it with. If you always use the same 10-20lb weights, your body will adapt to handling exactly 10-20lbs and then go no further. That is, if you don't increase the difficulty of the exercise, your body won't make any more progress - no extra endurance, strength, power, etc. The guy that walks into the gym and does the same routine, with the same weights, reps, sets, etc. everyday is largely wasting his time.

Originally posted by: screwd01
And these "power" foods are something I can grab on the run without really thinking about it.

As I said, the health claims on these "power" foods are usually not at all backed by science. The fact that the ones you mentioned are all highly processed further casts doubt on how healthy they actually are. You'd be much better off sticking to whole foods and there are plenty of those you can eat on the run w/o much preparation. For example, almost any fruit, nut, seed and numerous veggies (carrots, snap peas, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers) can easily be eaten raw. Spreading peanut/almond/etc butter on something (bread, fruit) and many dairy products (milk, cheese, cottage cheese) can be ready to eat in seconds as well.

Originally posted by: screwd01
I'll let everyone know that I haven't gotten sick in at least the past two years, nor have had any health problems. Same with my weight training, no injuries or pains. So i have to be doing something near right.

Well, you're unquestionably doing FAR better than the average joe who eats fast food and sits on his butt all day, but there's always room for improvement 🙂

 

[gramboh]

Kashi is junk, I used to buy it thinking it was healthy (cereal and granola bars), it has a ton of sugar and processed fruit to glue the bars together, not good. Lately I've been eating

Chicken
Tuna
Steak (not very often, prefer chicken)
Salmon
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Bacon (once every 2 weekends)
Spinach
Avacados
Onions
Apples
Bananas
Humus/crackers (pre-gym or post-gym carb)

Also if you are going to lift weights, why not go heavy? The benefits of strength training are discussed in the fat loss sticky. You won't get HYOOOGE accidentally, but getting stronger is very useful for all athletic pursuits, injury pervention, body comp etc.

 

[angminas]

Dang, I forgot hummus. I've got cans of chickpeas sitting in my pantry, waiting for me to get a mortar and pestle or something. I hate using a blender- I can't get it as thick as I want, and it's expensive premade. I love cottage cheese, but it doesn't love me.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: angminas
Dang, I forgot hummus. I've got cans of chickpeas sitting in my pantry, waiting for me to get a mortar and pestle or something. I hate using a blender- I can't get it as thick as I want, and it's expensive premade. I love cottage cheese, but it doesn't love me.

If you are pouring the water in with the canned chickpeas, your hummus is going to be VERY watery. Start it out thicker and you can always thin it out later by adding that same water or lemon juice.

Personally I could not do without my muesli. My favorite at the moment is made by Bob's Red Mill and is $23.49 delivered from Amazon for ten pounds of the stuff. Low calorie, very filling - I usually either mix it with fresh berries or in the winter, throw in a bit of granola to keep it from becoming too boring.

Oh, and lentils. Made with balsamic vinegar and bay leaf they are terrific. Of course, they don't make my toilet too happy.