I’m about to begin a second go-round of the AD and I have a question which I was going to post on the board but instead will ask here first:
How do you guys save money when it comes to buying beef, and more specifically steaks (but also chunks for stews, kabobs,soups)?
We need to eat so much of it and its so expensive, I’d like to hear some tips and tricks. From what I understand, although its quite economical, hamburger meat is not as effective as steaks, possibly because its already been processed and broken down somewhat.
My situation:
-I have a Costco membership but I’m not impressed with their meat prices, although most everything else has great prices, esp fish. (Their frozen salmon burgers are great)
-I live next to a low-income neighborhood where everything is cheaper, especially at the supermarket. They have awesome prices on most things, but still the beef is expensive.
Expensive meaning if I want a decent steak, higher quality than a chuck steak, I’m spending minimum $5 dollars per steak.
So what do you do?
A) just buy whatever you want
B) buy cheap steak and tenderize it. If so, please tell me what you do to tenderize it.
c) Scan supermarket circulars and wait for sales so you can stock up
[quote]bricked. wrote:
You don’t have to eat red meat. Most people do because its naturally got fat in it, and it tastes awesome.
Ground beef will be fine, IMHO.
Maybe you could buy a huge roast for the week, and cut steaks out of it. I’m sure that would skim a few dollars off buying single portion steaks.
Also, buy in bulk when things go on sale.
But, you can survive not eating red beef. It’s just protein + fat. Tuna + Olive Oil. Eggs + Nuts.
edit cuz i was writing retardedly[/quote]
Problem with the roasts is that most of the time the cut for roasts is not a steak cut. It can be real dry and tough and a chore to chew. That’s why roast beef in the store is sliced so thin, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to chew it.
[quote]Kliplemet wrote:
some questions regarding this diet:
is it healthy?(enough veggies and fruits, not too much saturated fat etc)
is it expensive?
is it something you can follow for life?
are the claims scientifically backed up?
[/quote]
Is it healthy? There’s no reason it wouldn’t be. Read the thread, you’ll find youi should emphasize mono fats, fish oils, flax and vegetables.
Is it expensive? Again, read the thread, alot of us are po’ boys. There’ s a question above about cheap meat. Sams club has ten pounds of preformed frozen beef patties for 14ish bucks. That’s damn cheap and it’s awful handy because it lets you meter out your consumption very easily. It’s also terribly fatty, but I just cut out the bacon/sausage/other junk fats.
Is it backed up by science? Agin read the thread in it’s entirety. DH has gone into the science repeatedly. I like to think I’ve made a few pertinent if not insightful contributions myself. Also, read any of Dr. Di Pasquale’s books. Check out a Biochem primer if you need to familiarize yourself. I think when you take a critical look at the science, you’ll be confident in the AD. My one word of wisdom is to stay away from junk food. It’s not good, no matter what your eating regimen otherwise.
B) buy cheap steak and tenderize it. If so, please tell me what you do to tenderize it.
c) Scan supermarket circulars and wait for sales so you can stock up
or d) some combination of the above[/quote]
Definetely keep and eye out and hit sales, it can make a big difference.
I eat a fair amount of beef, because I like it, but I don’t eat a TON of it. You can incorporate a variety of protein sources which I think is healthier anyway. I also eat, pork, eggs, chicken, fish, lamb, buffalo, and turkey on a regular basis.
As far as tenderizing, I use a product called Adolph’s, if needed, usually it’s in the spice aisle. You can use in a marinade or sprinkle it on when you’re cooking, just use it sparingly or it will turn your meat to mush.
COnor- I know about the Costco products, including those dirt cheap patties.
However, I have read, multiple times and from multiple sources, including Poliquin and others who espouse this sort of diet, comments to the effect that slabs of red meat are Ideal for the diet. They are the preferred choice for meat intake. I’ve read Met Solu once, and some of Dr D’s articles, and I know I’ve read the same thing from him as well.
Anyway, I may have to post this on the board and see what others have to say.
I feel better when eating some sort of red meat at least 5x’s a week…Not really alot of it, sometimes just some ground beef or a steak.
Buy the chuck if you have to…Leave it in olive oil overnight…they should make it pretty good. Or, better yet, marinate with olive oil and red wine.
Overall though, don’t go nuts if you can’t eat red meat all the time. Buy what you can, and on the days you cant eat it, get your fat from olive oil, flax, fish oil, etc.
DH,
When you reccomend “quality” carbs for the midweek spike, are you reccomending low gi carbs such as oatmeal and yams? Since this is an intense short term load, would it make sense to incorporate quality high gi carbs such as white potatoes and rice here?
I too am going to attempt the midweek carb up for a few weeks. I’ll carb up for 12-18 hours on Wednesday, and 12-18 hours on Saturday. I’ll see if I like this approach.
I am sure it was stated in this thread somewhere as I remember reading it but I cannot seem to find it. How many grams of fiber per day are recommended on this diet, I am thinking 15-20.
I also just want to say that this thread is amazing. I began reading when there were 700 posts (which took me 1 week to read) and have been following ever since.
You were right, DH, it IS hard to supereat on the load, if your trying to gain. I put down 900~ carbs over 36 hours, and i was feeling fullllllll. I’ll have to plan it better next weekend. Are there any quality carbs that I can drink? What are some super dense carbs? I may have to try pasta.
Haha, I just had a crazy thought, maybe I could set an alarm up for like 3am during the load, wake up to a bowl of oats, and have a midnight carb feast
If by weekend binge you mean downing loads of pizza and donuts in an attempt to restore glyocogen, then yes, that is unhealthy. But if your taking in oats, brown rice, vegies, ww pasta, bread, potatoes, then it is very healthy. After you have your fill of good carbs, then you can have a donut or two, I think the general consensus is 75% clean, 25% garbage. Remember, the quality of carbs is directly correlated to a) the quality of your weight gain or loss, and b) the quality of your workouts during the subsequent week.
If you have issues with downing ton after ton of meat, then get a regular checkup from you Doc, but you’ll be suprised at how your body reacts to the ‘bad’ foods (sat fat etc) once your a fat burner. My fat breakdown is usually like 50% mono’s, 30% sat, 20% poly’s (all efas). Remember, mono’s are very healthy, sat fats, while potentially unhealthy in CHO burners, are great for fat burners (increased test, yummy foods are sat fat :D.) However, it has been stated that poly’s should be limited, as high amounts can have some negetive consequences. Disc Hoss might be able to shed some more light.
Intensity in the gym? I’m gonna let my logbook do the talking. It’s the goddamn beef, man, the beef!
Well, you may not crash at all, its purely individual. I would, however, if you are a high carber, initially drop your carbs to 30%~ for 2 weeks, (no carbup) then go on the AD starting with the 12 day initiation. See how you go. Trust me, the AD rocks.
Does anyone else have a problem with Gout? I’m barely eating over 1gm protien/lb of body weight. Averaging 3800 cal/day, but probably eating too much junk on weekends. If I have 1 alcoholic drink, or more than 2 cups of coffee, I get gout. Other than that, I love the diet. I’m on day 33. My weight has not budged, but my BF has gone from 25% to 21%, while adding 25# to my bench.
I’d like to answer the previous two posters questions, but keep in mind I’m no expert on the diet, this is just my personal experience:
During the carbup it is not required to up the calories. However, many of us have found added benefits (more energy, greater fat loss, greater muscle gain etc) when we eat more, sometimes much more, on the weekend carb up. I have tried both eating roughly the same amount during the weekend as I eat during the week, and eating a great deal more, and personally eating a lot more works much better for my goals right now.
2.While these are excellent sources of quality kcal, and should definately be included in the diet, meat; particularly red meat, should be a staple. I try to eat red meat at least once per day, if this is not cost effective for you, you can replace it with chicken, turkey, or something like that. However, some form of dead thing that previously walked should be consumed every day for optimum results.
3.Wow, gout? I didn’t know that was still around. I’d say scale back the coffee to 1 cup, and the alcohol to nothing until you get it under control. You really should see a doctor about it though. Are you eating a lot of organ meat?
-CA
