I’m faced with this dilemma at least a few times per month, and I’m sure we’ve all been there:
It’s been 3 to 4 hours since your last healthy meal of oatmeal and chicken breast, and you’re stuck somewhere where the only food options are shit (i.e. maybe one of those snack machines filled with pretzels and potato chips, or at an office meeting where they’re serving hamburgers and fries), and you won’t be back home to your safe enclave of protein and healthy carbs/fats for 2 or 3 hours. Is it wiser to:
A) Wait until you get home to eat healthy food, and accept whatever catabolism comes with 7 hours of not eating.
OR
B) Eat the healthiest thing available to you, just to get some calories, even if it means a burger and a bag of pretzels.
Eh, I was in that situation yesterday and had 3 double cheeseburgers…I still ended up down a pound and my waist was the smallest its been. So…I figure, as long as the rest of the day is super healthy, eating one shit meal isn’t terrible…Also, I try to mitigate the carb content, so like sometimes if I eat crap, like burgers, I’ll toss the buns, etc…so I’m just getting mostly meat.
If you’re on a gaining cycle and you have a tough time gaining weight, then you might want to go with the junk food. But I would prioritize. Cheese burgers are better than chips.
If you’re not on a gaining cycle, however, then I would say skip it. Especially crap like pretzels, chips, and fries.
Personally, I would skip the crap no matter what, but that’s just me.
I would think the best compromise would be to find the best source of protein from what’s offered but don’t overindulge. Just take the hit for the one (or two) meals.
If they’re hamburgers, and you’re carb-scared, just ditch the buns and eat the meat. Throw some cheese on it. P+F right there.
I cannot stress enough that people would die if I didn’t eat for 7 waking hours.
eat the burger without the bun…problem solved. not a lean choice of protien, but better than pretzels.
carry MRP’s and a shaker with you…i have pre-made MRP’s frozen them in a sports bottle and then by the time I am ready for them they are defrosted enough to just reshake, drink and pitch the bottle.
Pack your own food and make no excuses for doing so…if it is possible.
If you know in advance that this is going to occur you should be able to plan ahead for it.
I can definitely relate to this question. Even though I always try to plan and bring some real food with me, inevitably a lesser-of-two-evils situation arises. I usually err on the side of caution, and either avoid the food entirely, or just try to eat a little of it. Maybe take a couple of bites, or just the meat part of the burger. Just to stave off the catabolism, while avoiding the sugar/starch+fat combo that ‘other’ people eat.
I agree with Ironmaiden…pre-pack your food ahead of time. On average, I bring upwards from 2-4 meals with me to work everyday. Yeah, it sucks to take the time at home to prepare them, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Granted I have the luxury of being able to keep my food in the fridge at work, and I realize not many people have that option, especially in an office. Some suggestions:
MRP’s…in a shaker bottle
Beef jerky
Mixed nuts
Apple/orange
Fiber One with scoop of Grow (add water and you’re good to go)
Protein bars
tuna (bring can opener to work…eat out of the can)
All the above can be brought to work without worrying about storing them in the fridge. If you do actually have access to a fridge. Suck it up and prepare your meals ahead of time! Hate to be blunt, but if you want to reach a goal, you’re gonna have to make sacrafices and work for em bro! If it means missing 10 minutes of SportsCenter to make your eggs for the next day, so be it!
Those new “pouches” of tuna are great, just rip one open, dump a little relish and non-fat mayo (or just salt, pepper, and olive oil), and eat straight out of the pouch.
Non fat mayo = miracle whip or some such product. I can also relate to this problem, but I usually have to eat crap food for 1-2 weeks at a time. I just make sure that every meal I have is clean, when I can. Will soon be taking massive amounts of jerky, nuts, grow bars, and whatever else I can get my hands on out to the field with me so that I don’t have to eat MRE’s all the time.
