Eatin' sweet potato fries and gettin' buff

[Fluffyumpkins]

As the subject suggests (as they are often want to do) I'm trying to bulk up and start eating healthy. SDP, Merk, Dave101, and others are/were healthy at some point, and regularly swim in an ocean of sexy mermaids ready to go on hot dates. Throw out some diet ideas for meals that are easy and delicious, but are still full of healthy goodness. I'm much too lazy to wade through the forums of body building sites where everyone posts "dude u just GET jacked w/ chickn and sum metabolics LOL."

My favorite right now is some corn tortillas, black beans, chicken, and fat free mozzarella cheese.

[Merk]

Question for SDP - should I be more concerned with limiting carbs or calories? I'm doing both right now (keeping myself under 100 carbs and 1700 calories) but I'm curious if it even matters what my carbs are as long as my calories are low.

Also, any good powder suggestions? The shit I'm using now has 20 carbs a scoop and that seems like it's too high to me.

Anyway, as far as food goes, chicken breasts cooked on an actual gas/charcoal grill are fucking awesome. Throw some Frank's red hot on there and you have a tasty, healthy, and filling meal.

[DAVE101]

Here are my typical breakfast meals. Most of these have slow digesting protein so they also help keep you full.

Cottage Cheese and Fruit:
-Low Fat cottage cheese
-Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries work best (but any kind of fruit will do).

Yummy Yogurt:
-Plain or vanilla yogurt (large tub cost ~$3 at Kroger)
-Same fruit as above
-Granola

Oatmeal:
-Not instant
-add favorite jelly for flavor


Fish, even canned tuna and salmon, are a very healthy source of PROTEIN.

[Riot]

I cut out potato chips and had fruit instead, drank diet pop instead (still not good for you and probably worse), and started eating a ton of whole wheat tortilla chicken wraps instead of frozen meals and stuff.

[SoDeepPolaris]

Question for SDP - should I be more concerned with limiting carbs or calories? I'm doing both right now (keeping myself under 100 carbs and 1700 calories) but I'm curious if it even matters what my carbs are as long as my calories are low.

Also, any good powder suggestions? The shit I'm using now has 20 carbs a scoop and that seems like it's too high to me.

Anyway, as far as food goes, chicken breasts cooked on an actual gas/charcoal grill are fucking awesome. Throw some Frank's red hot on there and you have a tasty, healthy, and filling meal.

http://alanaragon.com/carbs-fat-friends-after-all.html

It's not directly related to your carb question but the concept of freaking out about carbs vs fats rather than focusing on proportions and caloric intake is bullshit. The most basic way to lose weight is to exercise, take in less calories than you expend in a day and space out your meals throughout the day. Carb cycling and ketogenic diets see more benefit with bodybuilding focuses and cutting the last few %s of fat for a show, not general weight loss unless you're really hardcore about it. If you feel like not hating life, just be sensible.

http://www.optimumnutrition.com/product ... p-201.html is what I use.
24g of whey isolate protein per scoop
3g carbs
.5g saturated fat, .5g unsaturated fat

I can post recipes when I get home but most of my protein comes from chicken breast, salmon, cod, shrimp, eggs and lean beef. Carbs from wheat bread, sweet potatoes, yams, pasta, brown rice and fruits/veggies. Fats from peanut butter, yogurt and incidental stuff.

The best thing you can do to make a mass-gaining diet work is pre-cook your meals. When I was training during school I would cook for 2-3 days ahead and put a full meal in each tupperware. I also worked at a hospital kitchen so I could get a free meal 4 nights a week. My training days looked something like:

Breakfast:
2 whole eggs
1 cup of egg whites
2 pieces of wheat toast or 1 cup of oatmeal

Mid-morning:
1 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup granola

Lunch:
8oz chicken breast
1.5 cups of brown rice
cup of broccoli/bell peppers

Post-workout:
1.5 scoops of ON Whey with water
1 banana

Dinner:
8 oz chicken or fish
1.5 cups rice/pasta
Spinach, greens, whatever

Evening snack:
2 pieces of toast
3 tbsp peanut butter

Sometimes I'd have some casein protein with yogurt or water about an hour before bed but that stuff can give you terrible gas. I drink a gallon of water at a minimum per day. Calories at 3k a day minimum but I've been missing that target since I moved home because parents cook as well and I haven't been as militant as I should be.

[Riot]

[Ho]

If you feel like not hating life, just be sensible.

Sage advice, sir. Sage advice.

[Merk]

http://www.optimumnutrition.com/product ... p-201.html is what I use.
24g of whey isolate protein per scoop
3g carbs
.5g saturated fat, .5g unsaturated fat

Thanks! I'll have to try this out once my protein runs out. Scoops.

When you eat egg whites, is it more economical to just buy a dozen eggs and manually separate out the whites or should I buy the little carton of egg whites that I see in the store? I'm not sure how many egg whites in fluid ounces you get out of a dozen eggs but I want to say it's about 1 ounce per egg or 12 ounces total.

Generally it's a dollar for a dozen eggs and I think $2.50 for the egg carton. I have no idea how many fluid ounces are in a carton.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you buy the dozen eggs, the carton of egg whites, or both?

Also, my ladyfriend said that when you eat your food is important in a diet. She mainly said that I shouldn't have a meal before bed because it [insert some shit she read in Cosmo here]. I said that it doesn't really matter at all but it's important to get a lot of protein in the morning to help with your metabolism. Mr. SDP, does my body generally give a shit about when I eat my food?

[Fluffyumpkins]

I read you should eat some protein before bed to keep that metabolism running strong. We'll see what SDP says.

[DAVE101]

Generally don't eat within a few hours before you go to sleep, especially carbs. It will be harder to fall asleep and just turn into fat. Bodybuilders consume slow digesting protein (Casein protein found in cottage cheese and yogurt (NOT WHEY)) before they sleep so their muscles have a constant source of protein.

See what SDP says.

[Fluffyumpkins]

Generally don't eat within a few hours before you go to sleep, especially carbs. It will be harder to fall asleep and just turn into fat. Bodybuilders consume slow digesting protein (Casein protein found in cottage cheese and yogurt (NOT WHEY)) before they sleep so their muscles have a constant source of protein.

See what SDP says.

That seems accurate form the few articles I've read. Dave vs. SDP in sexy-mans finals GO!

http://www.answerfitness.com/335/take-p ... efore-bed/

[SoDeepPolaris]

http://www.eggwhitesint.com/store.php?c ... how_detail
-srs. I don't have room in the parents' fridge for this stuff but it's pretty convenient. Depending on egg prices, it can be cheaper/more than doing it by hand. Since we/they buy mostly local farm eggs that are pricy as shit, I tend to just stick to 2-3 whole eggs and fill in the missing protein with a shake or whole foods later in the day. ADAPT.

I lessen but don't eliminate carb consumption later in the day/evening. I focus on macros for the day and I've done fine so far. I'm not an expert on all the "omg time your carbs" so check the sources for articles before you believe everything they say. Decent genetics and a fast metabolism helps.

I space my meals every 3 hours because it makes hunger a non-issue (impulsive junk food snacking is lessened), helps your metabolic processes, provides energy at a constant rate (body loves you long time), etc. etc. etc.

And fuck Cosmo. Most of the Men's Fitness, Cosmo, GQ, etc. advice that gets published is there to make you feel bad about yourself and to sell subscriptions. No one in the fitness/bodybuilding industry is reinventing the wheel. The basic concepts have stayed the same, but the market has expanded with so much snake oil and broscience that the magic pills have become more seductive than hard work and a sensible diet plan.

(I'm not a registered dietitian, nutritionist, personal trainer or anything that requires certification. I just like lifting heavy shit and eating a lot of chicken and sweet potatoes.)

P.S. Dave is probably sexier than me right now because I was at my brother's wedding Thursday-today so I've been eating and drinking a bunch of stuff I shouldn't have. But fuck it, I love margaritas and cake.

[Merk]

This is how I cook my chicken btw

[Merk]

Stepped on the scale this morning and it said 221. It's all water weight obviously but losing little pounds here and there is certainly addicting. Just like the first time I lost weight, it has really been painless this whole time so far and the weight loss sort of unconsciously happened.

Can DDR and chicken really be the diet that changes my life for a second time? Is it really the be-all end-all? Can I write a diet book and make millions?

[SoDeepPolaris]

Can DDR and chicken really be the diet that changes my life for a second time? Is it really the be-all end-all? Can I write a diet book and make millions?

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