Trade offs to getting that 6pack abs-> Costs of getting lean

[smackababy]

I remember a running back in the NFL saying that on game days he would drinks tons of liquids. Why? He can add 8 pounds to his body making it harder for others to tackle him and it gives him more momentum to break tackles. Point is, he wants to be heavier. So low body fat isn't really a necessity. Just raw strength.

NFL players are another type of monster. Darren Sproles is 5'5 and around 200lbs. Yeah, he is clinically obese and fast as shit.

 

[JEDI]

This kind of thing happened to me over the first week or two. I would have to do stuff like eat a bunch of tuna or plain meat at the end of the day. To compensate, I had to make different choices earlier in the day regularly like egg whites instead of regular eggs or skim/2% milk instead of whole milk. I started having fewer carbs and fat in the morning so I could have them at lunch or dinner.

been using myfitnesspal for the donut diet for 2 weeks now.

im not eating enuf protein. 😱
I am shocked at the carb/protein ratio of the stuff I eat.

 

[Kaido]

been using myfitnesspal for the donut diet for 2 weeks now.

im not eating enuf protein. 😱
I am shocked at the carb/protein ratio of the stuff I eat.

It is amazingly easy to eat ridiculous amounts of carbs. People have no idea what they're really eating until they measure, weigh, and track it. Even if you're popping protein shakes left & right, it's easy to mis-calculate the fats & carbs from just eyeballing it. You can see the difference in the Donut Diet lady's physique between just guessing with clean eating & paleo and legitimately tracking using IIFYM. Great way to get specific, visible results!

 

[JEDI]

omg.. 1/2lb of chicken breast has more protein than a pound of bacon?! (42g vs 38g)

uggg.. but bacon taste better, thus im eating bacon

 

[blackdogdeek]

Bacon has a lot of fat which makes it calorically dense. If you're not careful you could shoot through your calorie limit for the day without having reached your protein requirement.

 

[JEDI]

Bacon has a lot of fat which makes it calorically dense. If you're not careful you could shoot through your calorie limit for the day without having reached your protein requirement.

yeah.. and surpass my fat intake limit as well.
but its the fat that makes bacon taste so good.. thus bacon!

1lb bacon= 600 calories for 38g protein
1/2lb chicken breast = 240 cal and 42g protein

or not...

 

[blackdogdeek]

yeah.. and surpass my fat intake limit as well.
but its the fat that makes bacon taste so good.. thus bacon!

1lb bacon= 600 calories for 38g protein
1/2lb chicken breast = 240 cal and 42g protein

or not...

You could go with a grilled steak instead and get lots of protein with lots of flavor.

 

[Mai72]

been using myfitnesspal for the donut diet for 2 weeks now.

im not eating enuf protein. 😱
I am shocked at the carb/protein ratio of the stuff I eat.

Yep, I use MyFitnesssPal.

I had an everything pretzel. One medium pretzel had nearly 1,900 grams of sodium, and nearly 350 calories. For one pretzel!

 

[Mai72]

yeah.. and surpass my fat intake limit as well.
but its the fat that makes bacon taste so good.. thus bacon!

1lb bacon= 600 calories for 38g protein
1/2lb chicken breast = 240 cal and 42g protein

or not...

I wouldn't overdo bacon, but it's been shown to boost testosterone. Nothing wrong with eating bacon once a week. To boos testosterone I like to throw in a tablespoon of butter when I'm reheating chicken on the stove.

 

[Koing]

There is a HUGE difference between 9 and 12% for most people. You look quite a lot leaner but for the sake of the chart it would be a lot more work to split the bands closer.

But in general anyone with around 12% with some muscle will look fairly good period. Not amazing but they will definitely stand out in a group. If the person had more muscle around 12% and they would for the most part turn heads IMO. Well unless you are hanging around with guys that are 220lbs+ with 12% then you are going to look small lol.

Around 210 and 17% and kids just stare at you and think you are a freak.

Most people are TERRIBLE at gauging body fat percentages.

myfitnesspal is a really good tool at showing you how the macros of food. If you use it for 2-3 weeks solid you get a much better understanding of food.

Koing

 

[JEDI]

so im lazy and don't want to cook chicken. more exactly, time to cook + cleaning the pan. 😛
but precooked is expensive per lb.

then I saw Oscar meyer smoked turkey lunch meat.
1lb package on sale for $2, same price as chicken breasts.

I bought it and am entering the info into mfp.

wtf..
1slice = 1 oz = 3g protein? that means 1/4 lb = 4 slices = 12g protein.
1/4 chicken breast is 21g protein.

so chicken breasts is best bang for the buck in protein?
looks like im going to be doing some more cooking.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Tuna is even better. And, it's already cooked.

As for chicken: Grilling requires little prep, allows for cooking large batches and requires little cleaning. Baking requires little prep, allows for cooking large batches and if you use a foil-covered baking sheet, also requires little cleaning.

 

[JEDI]

Tuna is even better. And, it's already cooked.

As for chicken: Grilling requires little prep, allows for cooking large batches and requires little cleaning. Baking requires little prep, allows for cooking large batches and if you use a foil-covered baking sheet, also requires little cleaning.

thx for the tip about tuna!

ok.. whats the diff between regular tuna and chunk light?
and water or oil???


edit:
hm.. tuna is $3/lb, 50% more than chicken breasts 🙁

 

[Auric]

Parchment paper over the foil prevents sticking to and ripping the foil which itself better protects the baking sheet/pan.

Good quality (non factory farmed) chicken is available but all tuna is likely contaminated -especially with heavy metals including mercury. Generally the larger the worse due to bioaccumulation, so best to avoid albacore while also saving the higher cost. Not sure, but "regular" may be such solid white while "chunk light" is akin to trimmings or from smaller varieties like skipjack and yellowfin. Water packed allows the option of draining and adding your own oil whereas oil packed cannot practically be undone. That is an example of why I generally prefer unprepared/mixed/flavoured food since not limiting in making a variety of combinations or dishes.

Perhaps consider tinned salmon as an alternative. Pink salmon at Costco is cheaper than "cat food".

 

[blackdogdeek]

I think chunk light is like dark meat chicken while albacore/regular tuna is like white meat chicken. I usually get tonno/chunk light in olive oil and then put it in a frying pan to heat it up and then throw in some cooked rice and mix it all together. Sprinkle with garlic salt for flavor.

 

[smackababy]

Parchment paper over the foil prevents sticking to and ripping the foil which itself better protects the baking sheet/pan.

Good quality (non factory farmed) chicken is available but all tuna is likely contaminated -especially with heavy metals including mercury. Generally the larger the worse due to bioaccumulation, so best to avoid albacore while also saving the higher cost. Not sure, but "regular" may be such solid white while "chunk light" is akin to trimmings or from smaller varieties like skipjack and yellowfin. Water packed allows the option of draining and adding your own oil whereas oil packed cannot practically be undone. That is an example of why I generally prefer unprepared/mixed/flavoured food since not limiting in making a variety of combinations or dishes.

Perhaps consider tinned salmon as an alternative. Pink salmon at Costco is cheaper than "cat food".

For what it's worth, almost all fish contains mercury (farm or ocean raised). I think salmon is notoriously high in it though.


Mass baking on say Sunday is great, especially for lunches. I steam some veggies and bake some chicken every week. Not only does it save money, I don't eat out at lunch and can easily accurately log what I eat.

 

[Ackmed]

Congratulations to those who can count calories and watch what they eat so much. I just can't bring myself to do it. Cooking meals days in advance, weighing out food portions, etc. I keep telling myself I am going to do it one day, just don't really want to. I wouldn't mind seeing results though.

 

[JEDI]

hm.. Costco chunk light tuna is $2.50/lb
Costco canned chicken chunks is 2.50/lb
perdue uncooked chicken breasts 10lb bag@ Costco -> 2.30/lb
fresh chicken breasts (min 3lbs) = $2/lb at my local supermarket

bought the canned chicken

 

[bradley]

If you are looking for cheap protein, you will find none cheaper than the subsidized soy bean. Soy protein isolate (90% protein by weight) or 18,000 grams for only $190. That's 94 grams of protein per $1 or approximately half the price of chicken (at $2 a lb) as a protein source.

http://shop.honeyville.com/soy-protein-isolate.html

I like soy better than chicken in some ways for intermittent fasting cause it contains almost zero fat and carbs, so it's a great way to break a fast. And in some ways it's superior to whey and in other ways inferior, so one needs to become educated enough to compensate with any additives.

For instance, soy (unlike whey) is low in sulfur containing aminos methionine and cysteine, which aids in protein synthesis, immune function and the body's production of the body's master antioxidant glutathione. However soy is *whey* higher 🙂 in providing glutamine and arginine for instance and equal in the amount of BCAA.

The estrogenic effects are also overstated and actually soy helps stimulate new bone tissue formation and helps increase HDL cholesterol.

 

[Auric]

I think chunk light is like dark meat chicken while albacore/regular tuna is like white meat chicken. I usually get tonno/chunk light in olive oil and then put it in a frying pan to heat it up and then throw in some cooked rice and mix it all together. Sprinkle with garlic salt for flavor.

That seems a better analogy. There are more species available and specified on the labelling in recent years, presumably due to the high cost of albacore from overfishing. They have not been the "chicken of the sea" for a long time cost-wise, and flippin' airplanes are used to spot them (although pre-factory farming, chicken was not considered cheap either).

For what it's worth, almost all fish contains mercury (farm or ocean raised). I think salmon is notoriously high in it though.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...why-canned-salmon-is-better-than-tuna/243516/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=116

Congratulations to those who can count calories and watch what they eat so much. I just can't bring myself to do it. Cooking meals days in advance, weighing out food portions, etc. I keep telling myself I am going to do it one day, just don't really want to. I wouldn't mind seeing results though.

Eating less frequently is certainly simpler and may be easier to abide.

hm.. Costco chunk light tuna is $2.50/lb
Costco canned chicken chunks is 2.50/lb
perdue uncooked chicken breasts 10lb bag@ Costco -> 2.30/lb
fresh chicken breasts (min 3lbs) = $2/lb at my local supermarket

bought the canned chicken

Are breasts preferred for leanness or taste? Personally, I prefer dark meat for the latter and the organic leg and thigh are relatively cheap. Even with breasts (which are better for stirfries and curries), having the bone and skin on for pre-baking makes them tastier/juicier and they are cheaper than without.

If you are looking for cheap protein, you will find none cheaper than the subsidized soy bean.

http://shop.honeyville.com/soy-protein-isolate.html

I like soy better than chicken in some ways for intermittent fasting cause it contains almost zero fat and carbs, so it's a great way to break a fast. And in some ways it's superior to whey and in other ways inferior, so one needs to become educated enough to compensate with any additives.

Good for smoothies but how about firm tofu as a chicken substitute?

 

[bradley]

Good for smoothies but how about firm tofu as a chicken substitute?

Tofu likely isn't as good a protein source as it only has 1/10 of the protein amount as soy protein isolate.

Although I did find a pretty good deal that rivals soy protein isolate in price and bests it in nutritional value. Sunnysea Mackerel in brine for $1.25 with 98 grams of protein in each 15 ounce can. Unfortunately the mackerel is a product of China, so it probably toxic.... while the soy protein isolate is a product of Brazil, Canada and the US.