Cutters Corner

[mtns]

I find it very hard to get that much protein. For me that would be about 140 grams of protein. I have tracked mine and the most I get in a day is 100 and that is when I eat tofu that day. What do you all eat to get your protein up? What does one of your days look like?
Kathy

[wannalift]

I find it very hard to get that much protein. For me that would be about 140 grams of protein. I have tracked mine and the most I get in a day is 100 and that is when I eat tofu that day. What do you all eat to get your protein up? What does one of your days look like?
Kathy

It depends on how many calories you consume in a day and if you are aiming for a specific ratio. Often you are better off back-calculating your protein needs that way. If you diet is 2000 calories and you wanted 30% to come from protein, then 2000*(0.30)/4 = 155 grams. Likewise, 1500 calories would be 113 grams. Here is everything I ate for today with the calories and grams of protein listed:

1. Shredded oat cereal w/ soymilk - 600/18
2. 4 oz orange juice - 50/0
3. Shake (rice/pea protein, 1/2 cup oats, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 3 tbsp shredded coconut, 1 banana) - 750/51
4. 1/2 lb fried tofu w/ 1/8 cup (dry) brown rice & peanut sauce - 500/33
5. 8 oz/ vegetable juice - 50/2
6. Carrots - 35/0
7. 5/8 cut TVP - 150/30
8. 24 almonds - 200/10
9. Brussel sprouts - 40/3
10. Clif builder bar w/ 1/4 cup peanuts - 450/26 (post workout meal)
11. Shake (rice/pea protein w/ 1 tbsp flax oil 3 tbsp shredded coconut) - 400/41
12. 2/3 cup peas - 100/4
13. 5/8 cup TVP - 150/30
14. BCAA & Glutamine - 32/8

Total: 3500/256 (29% protein)

Activity for the day:

Lunch break: Weighted pull/chin ups, shrug rows, grip medley complex
Gym: Heavy front squats, Hungarian hang clean to RDL complex, 1-leg press (heavy 20 reps), abs, metcon (deadlift, box jump, 1 arm row 7:10)
Mountain bike: (intense 1-hour conditioning ride)

This is a very typical day for me as I tend to eat the same things everyday. The calorie intake closely matches my activity level for the day. Might be a little light actually? Let's see how my legs handle this ride coming up. It could be considered too heavy on soy protein, but I don't buy that pseudo-science about soy protein being bad for me. I feel stronger than ever on this diet in terms of my overall work capacity. I am coming back from shoulder tendinitis, but it looks as if I may catch up with my pre-injury bodyweight & strength levels by the end of April (if not sooner). This time though, despite coming back from injury, I will do so with almost 1" reduced from my waistline (~ 2mm less on the skinfold calipers).

[JP]

after lowering the carbs and upping the protein/fat are much much better.

did you keep the cal intake exactly the same?

usually people tend to drop the cal intake when they make this change...

For beginners/intermediates makes little sense to adopt diets which are a pain in the bum for long run, but for advanced guys like yourself i cant see the harm if it works for you.

[wannalift]

after lowering the carbs and upping the protein/fat are much much better.

did you keep the cal intake exactly the same?

usually people tend to drop the cal intake when they make this change...

For beginners/intermediates makes little sense to adopt diets which are a pain in the bum for long run, but for advanced guys like yourself i cant see the harm if it works for you.

I actually INCREASED my average calories by 200-300 per day after making the switch to this diet. I also added in the metcons 3x/week which is why I increased the calories in the first place. Now I may have to slightly increase them again to compensate for some of these mtn bike rides. All I can say regarding the possible confounders is that these are the same adjustments in calories I have always made when doing complexes and or mtn biking.

Regarding the diet, I don't think it's that much of a pain. I of course am a meticulous planner so I guess it's easier for me than most people. I'm obviously not very attached to food either, emotionally. I'm most proud though of finally getting 5 servings of vegetables/day since I have always hated vegetables (the jokes write themselves on that one). It's not even a low-carb diet, it's really just one of moderation. I still had ~350 grams of carbs yesterday. If I had not been mindful of such, it would have been ~550 or more and I'm finding that amount to be just unnecessary.

[JP]

yeah changing more than one variable at the time makes it hard to know what was the cause, but all this is nitpicking

[wannalift]

yeah changing more than one variable at the time makes it hard to know what was the cause, but all this is nitpicking

I'm a lousy test subject

[Lordmuppet]

I'm surprised to see TVP in your diet. I assumed you'd avoid that due to it being a processed food.

Put more bluntly, I had assumed it was junk but would love to be corrected on this as it is so cheap relative to other soy!

[wannalift]

I'm surprised to see TVP in your diet. I assumed you'd avoid that due to it being a processed food.

Put more bluntly, I had assumed it was junk but would love to be corrected on this as it is so cheap relative to other soy!

I don't follow the notion that anything processed is automatically bad for someone. Certainly my protein powders, soymilk, tofu and even my orange juice is "processed". The dangers of a food stemming simply from it being processed are true in some cases, but mostly exaggerated.

[JP]

i agree, would throw baby out with the bathwater just having a blanket ban on everything "processed".

[Lordmuppet]

I'm surprised to see TVP in your diet. I assumed you'd avoid that due to it being a processed food.

Put more bluntly, I had assumed it was junk but would love to be corrected on this as it is so cheap relative to other soy!

I don't follow the notion that anything processed is automatically bad for someone. Certainly my protein powders, soymilk, tofu and even my orange juice is "processed". The dangers of a food stemming simply from it being processed are true in some cases, but mostly exaggerated.

right that's commonsense I had lumped TVP in my head with the fake meats for some reason. I'll take a second look at it, thanks

[wannalift]

I'm surprised to see TVP in your diet. I assumed you'd avoid that due to it being a processed food.

Put more bluntly, I had assumed it was junk but would love to be corrected on this as it is so cheap relative to other soy!

I don't follow the notion that anything processed is automatically bad for someone. Certainly my protein powders, soymilk, tofu and even my orange juice is "processed". The dangers of a food stemming simply from it being processed are true in some cases, but mostly exaggerated.

right that's commonsense I had lumped TVP in my head with the fake meats for some reason. I'll take a second look at it, thanks

Well, it is used a lot in fake meats. The issue there though (if there is one) is all the extra ingredients/chemicals used for flavor. I just eat it plain after soaking it in water. That's probably not too appealing to most people, so my suggestion would be to harden the f*ck up!

[wannalift]

i agree, would throw baby out with the bathwater just having a blanket ban on everything "processed".

Welcome to the post Michael Pollan world where my TVP is apparently way worse for me than local (emphasis added) raw beef liver.

[blinki]

Do you like olives and avocado?

+1

hommus
peanut butter
almond butter

If anything, I find it way too easy to eat too much fat!

Hummus is the only one of those I really like but I make my own and it ends up lower fat than shop bought. I don't mind peanut butter that much and used to make myself eat some every day. I could force myself to get more but i don't really want to.

It's more a question of whether there's some cutting related benefit to doing it? At least more than making sure I get all my healthy fats

I just eat it plain after soaking it in water. That's probably not too appealing to most people, so my suggestion would be to harden the f*ck up!

Using stock instead makes it better than just water. But if I eat it I so something like chilli so it's just a texture in the chili taste

[kallefs]

I have found chocolate chip cookies. I will just leave this thread silently for another week.

Despite delicious cookies I only gained a 1/2kg. Will see what it shows next Sunday morning. Cutting starts now. Or after a bowl of pasta, smoked tofu and sauce.

[ida]

Will be interesting to see if I will maintain this weight when getting back into training full speed again, or if I will regain my lost kg's.

Training is going well but I am still dropping weight after VFW which is interesting and unexpected, since I am eating like normal and training like normal. This morning before breakfast I was back to my 22-year old self, weight-wise at least