So every morning for breakfast, I eat 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese with 1/2 apple cut up into it. I noticed yesterday, however, that 1 cup of cottage cheese has ~500mg of sodium, or about 40% of my daily value (daily value = according to the back of the package).
I’m worried that, between the creatine I take and the huge amount of meat I eat, eating that much sodium in one meal might be a really bad idea.
First of all, is it?
Second of all, if it is, what should I be eating instead? I live in a dorm with a zero-tolerance policy on cooking appliances, so, since I can’t have a microwave, oatmeal isn’t an option unless it’s instant (I do have a hot water spigot on my water fountain). Any suggestions?
You can get low-sodium cottage cheese. It is very hard to find but it is out there for sure. Other ideas, obviously canned tuna. If there is any way you can hard boil eggs elsewhere and keep a bunch of those in a fridge. Besides that you are just going to have to go to the cafe because it is really best to get mostly real food protein, dont use too too much powdered whey.
I don’t think that low sodium cottage cheese is that hard to find, but I think it is very hard to stomach. After trying it I found that most of the taste in “normal” cottage cheese is salt.
If boiling eggs is not a possibility then you can buy the pre-boiled packs of them, kind of spendy though. However, you should be able to have a hotpot in your dorm, which will boil eggs.
First of all, thanks for all of the help, guys. I really appreciate it.
Still have a few questions, though:
So we agree that the salt is bad? I’ve seen so many other people on this website who eat cottage cheese that I feel sure that some people eat their cottage cheese along with meat and creatine, so if it is, what’s up with them? Should we be telling them to stop? Otherwise, I’d just as soon stay with my cottage cheese.
The tuna seems like a reasonable idea, though I’d heard that tuna is sky-high in mercury and shouldn’t be eaten every day. How true is that?
The eggs also seem reasonable (I think one of my friends has a hot pot I could borrow), but what about the cholesterol?
Also, I suggested instant oatmeal, and I know that while it’s not as good as real oatmeal, how bad is it really? Is it not worth even considering?
As long as you take notice of sodium content of other foods i wouldnt be too concerned with the content in the cottage cheese. some believe that if your exercising alot you can get away with a higher intake of sodium because of the loss through sweating, although i’d take that with a grain of salt (get it) because you cant really tell how much you are losing.
with the tuna, in an article written by mike roussell, he comes to the conclusion that its not worth worrying about the mercury in tuna (to an extent). furthermore he says that 1 can of tuna a day (for a 200lb man didnt show any adverse side effects.
article can be read http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=753983
dietary cholesterol isnt the ugly monster it was once seen as, many articles on here that include explanations on this. cholesterol is one of the basic structures of testosterone and is needed. i make sure that i dont ingest high G.I meals near large amounts of eggs just incase it has an effect on the amount that stays in the blood.
stay away from instant oatmeal, its processed and has a high g.i why not have oatmeal cold like a cereal or have it in a shake.
As far as I know cottage cheese has mostly casein protein, which is digested very slowly. So it’s not ideal for a breakfast.
I usually eat my cottage cheese before going to bed.
salt-free cottage cheese is what i have. 1/2cup a night with a shake. i can stomach it jsut fine. it will depend on the person.
i eat 7oz of tuna a day (comes in a famly pack) and its awesome. 210 calories, 45g protien, no carbs, 3g fat. stinks like a bitch and my co workers don’t like it;oh well.
Eggs, you can switch to “Egg Whites” liquid stuff…its a bit more expensive then buying normal eggs; but there is no cholest. and they taste fine.
Alright, thanks a lot for the help, guys. I just read Scott Abel’s article on sodium, so I’m less worried about it than I was.
Though thanks for the advice on not eating it for breakfast. I used to be somewhat into cheesemaking, and it is true that cottage cheese consists mostly of casein, though I never really thought about it that way. (Though I wonder if the rennet in large-curd cheese affects the speed at which you digest it? Who knows…)
Anyway, I think the way to go here might be to sneak in a crock pot and try one of the overnight oatmeal recipes I’ve seen around here. Keeping a supply of eggs around seems like it’d be both difficult and expensive, and since I generally eat tuna for lunch and I’d like to keep it for that meal, I’m going to avoid it for breakfast.