Currently off cycle from late July, PCT has concluded no issues. Prob start another Test/Var cycle Nov 1.
Supplements are heart focused right now. Omegas, coq10, multi, vitamin d, creatine, basic post workout aminos
Any tips appreciated
I’d say my calories are 2500-3000 a day. Emphasis on hitting protein macros, cycling carbs high low depending on workouts, moderate fat…I’m not beating myself up over hitting precise macros.
Agreed on this. I buy Trader Joe’s organic peanut butter and there are two ingredients: peanuts and salt. Peanut frosting is a perfect way to describe Jif. Once you start eating real peanut/almond/other butters you will not go back to Jif.
But in general I find I can’t include PB in my diet if I am trying to drop weight. Way too calorically dense and easy to eat. Self control issue on my part, but I have to remove it in a cutting phase.
Fresh fish is delicious and easy to make. Serve with Indian pickle, tandoori spices, horseradish or low-fat mayo tartar.
Beef jerky is delicious. But so are pork rinds, which are low in carbs and high in protein. Chicharrones get no love because they are low carb but high in saturated fat. But saturated fat does not seem to be the villain that doctors thought it was.
Roasted edamame is very high in protein and fibre. Salty, filling and fairly tasty. Not hard to make fresh.
Hard boiled eggs. Cook them in batches using the “easy to peel” method suggested by Kenji from “Serious Eats”. Boil a big pan of water. Just before adding a dozen eggs, add a cup of ice. Cook for eleven minutes. Lasts a week on the fridge, and easy to peel and eat. I like mine with salt and Brazilian, Creole or Mexican seasoning.
Chicken drumsticks. Air fry a batch. Can make a serviceable healthier BBQ sauce by mixing low-fat Italian salad dressing with no added sugar ketchup, adding spices as desired.
Concur in whole. In truth, I don’t think peanut butter has a place in ANY diet, but especially in a fat loss focused one.
Big fan of pork cracklin in particular, but it’s worth appreciating that it’s actually an incomplete protein. It’s a source of fats for sure though.
Peanuts tend to be a source of mold and aflatoxins. Along with that, the sheer notion of eating nuts or legumes in a butter is so alien to human digestion and living. In nature, you’d have to go through SO much effort to collect enough nuts to be able to generate any sort of butter in significant quantity, at which point you EARNED the right to eat that butter. And even then, you’d get to eat that like ONCE a year, because at that point you harvested ALL the nuts in your area. As a species, we’d typically eat like 2-3 of these in a pop.
I used to eat a variety of nuts, and when I cut them ALL out of my diet, I really saw things turn around. And doubly so for peanuts, as a legume, because they REALLY suck.
I agree nuts are high in calories and you can easily eat too much peanut butter. But nuts themselves are very healthy. You might not eat old peanuts due to mold or toxin, but this is not exactly a big problem today.
Peanut butter is a reasonably good way to add extra calories if you wish to do so. This depends on your goals; classifying something as “healthy or not” is simplistic in this case. Sure, avoid peanut butter if cutting. How many pounds of nuts do you think it takes to make a pound of peanut butter?
Although the words to the camp song “Found A Peanut” are pretty persuasive, I’m going with PubMed.
Common nuts (tree nuts and peanuts) are energy-dense foods that nature has gifted with a complex matrix of beneficial nutrients and bioactives, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, high-quality protein, fiber, non-sodium minerals, tocopherols, phytosterols, and antioxidant phenolics. These nut components synergize to favorably influence metabolic and vascular physiology pathways, ameliorate cardiovascular risk factors and improve cardiovascular prognosis. There is increasing evidence that nuts positively impact myriad other health outcomes as well. Nut consumption is correlated with lower cancer incidence and cancer mortality, and decreased all-cause mortality. Favorable effects on cognitive function and depression have also been reported. Randomized controlled trials consistently show nuts have a cholesterol-lowering effect. Nut consumption also confers modest improvements on glycemic control, blood pressure (BP), endothelial function, and inflammation.
