Protein bars are total shit.
[quote]Petermus wrote:
Protein bars are total shit.[/quote]
Absolute statements like this are usually wrong.
I’ll agree to a point and say that most protein bars are glorified candy bars, but it’s foolish to claim they are all total shit when there are quality ones available from a source as near as this site.
@BigJay: Thanks for that, I’ll try it out.
@all: True that, I figured being natural juices it would have less in terms of carbs, but I haven’t really checked the back of the label beyond the “ingredients” section.
I’ll cut that stuff out this evening since i just had my shake this morning. usually I’d have 1 - 2 cups of juice in the breakfast and dinner shakes, the snack shakes tend to have water. Saves money on that, can move it to other things then. Like more meat.
Look forward to hearing the responses.
What I’ve been doing so far:
Breakfast:
- Protein Shake (3 scoops - 72g, Cranberry / blueberry juice, 1/2 oatmeal, handful of some random fruit (usually some type of berries).
Snack
- protein bar
Lunch
Sandwich on whole wheat (natures own brand - pretty basic not alot of added junk), ham, turkey, some days chicken, onion, mustard, some days mayo (1 tbsp)
or
Salad w/ chicken
Snack
- Protein shake (2 scoops - 42g)
Dinner
A) chicken, beef, fish with 3 cups vegetables (broccoli or normandy mix), ocassional slice of cheese on meat. Cook in coconut oil
or
B) protein shake (3 scoops w/ 1/2 cup oatmeal)
Night (occasional)
- 1 scoop protein w/ ZMA powder
You still have not stated your goals.
- Weight Loss
- Strength Training
What do your workouts look like?
It looks like you are heading in the right direction, but your diet could use a few adjustments.
- Get more whole meals in. 3-5 protein shakes a day is way too many.
- Drop the fruit juice (don’t drink any calorie containing beverages.)
- Add in more healthy fats in place of some of the carbs. For instance your better off having a salad w/ grilled chicken and olive oil then turkey on whole wheat. (take fish oil if you are not already)
- Try to eat some vegetables at each meal.
- Stop stressing about hitting you 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight and just focus on the basic for right now.
[quote]iampulse86 wrote:
@BigJay: Thanks for that, I’ll try it out.
@all: True that, I figured being natural juices it would have less in terms of carbs, but I haven’t really checked the back of the label beyond the “ingredients” section.
I’ll cut that stuff out this evening since i just had my shake this morning. usually I’d have 1 - 2 cups of juice in the breakfast and dinner shakes, the snack shakes tend to have water. Saves money on that, can move it to other things then. Like more meat.
Look forward to hearing the responses.
[/quote]
It’s not so much a question of it being “natural”, it’s just that you really don’t need the extra sugar if you’re trying to lose weight. If you’re set on fruit, you could try and use actual fruit, as opposed to juice.
I think a good place to start (although jlats gave some good tips) is to first figure out exactly how many calories you NEED before you worry about frequent protein feedings.
S
Damn. If this double posts my apologies. Never posted for some reason:
@Fabregas: My workouts are usually 40 min - 1 hour in length on my bowflex (yeah, i know not the best option but I’ve noticed considerable gains, and its already paid for), power tower, or dumbbells (25 Lbs). I have an elliptical bike i use every once in awhile for 20 - 45 min sessions. Workout 6 times a week.
@jlats: Thanks for that information. I’ll definitely look into modifying my diet as I figure out my budget for this month.
One of my BB friends here locally suggested I move to the 1 gram per body weight to help lose weight along with a 70% pro / 20% carb / 10% fat (not to enforce it, but to in general try and get near it).
@chimera: consider it done. I have a little bit of juice left, I’ll use that and be finished. With the savings, i’ll go buy real fruit and a bottle of Flameout to compliment my CLA.
@Stu: What’s the best way to calculate my calories? Using the online calculators and those on Tanita scales it says 5,400 calories per day to maintain my weight, but if i’m only hitting 2,000 calories a day, that would mean a 3,400 calorie deficit before I beat myself up on the workouts.
Okay, really important here,… if you want to lose weight, you don’t want to be eating enough calories to maintain it. You need to calculate how many calories you would need for how much you SHOULD WEIGH. Obviously you shouldn’t be eating 5,400 cals per day. Before I started dieting I was getting about 4K a day, and without sounding arrogant, I’d say it’s safe to say I have a good amount more muscle than you do. I certainly wouldn’t randomly try to get 2000 a day either, that’s ridiculously low for someone used to eating a hell of a lot more.
Start a food journal, and try to get somewhere in the middle, say about 3500 cal a day. Is it more than you need to support your lbm? most likely, but it will be a small step foward from what you have been doing.
S