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Wellness Wednesday for May 29, 2024

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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140 grams of protein a day:

  1. Max 2000 calories per day
  2. No protein shakes/powder/bars
  3. Actually flavorful and uncompromisingly delicious food

How would you do it?

I hit 235G P on 2045 Calories today. This is pretty common for me. It's all about habits, prep, and hacks.

Today the stores were closed so I defrosted a cabbage (carrot, onion, lentil, etc) and lean beef stew. I stirred in some lean yoghurt. I'll eat a can of sardines for dinner (I love quality sardines, esp piri-piri in olive oil).

I regularly pan fry a spice-rubbed chicken breast in minimal oil, and heat up a side of my homemade spicy white-bean, roast red-pepper puree. (Its basically an even leaner version of hummus). Store bought hummus is fine with only 140G protein and 2000 calories. Side of veggies. 80-100G protein for the meal. Low cal. Contains healthy fats.

I regularly make a lean beef burger patty (for me 500g package makes two patties). Add low fat cheese. Top with a low-cal spread (ie the above puree). 80-100G protein. 90G P, ~900 cals.

Scrambled eggs (with egg whites to meet protein goals), canned black beans, hot-sauce, side of low cal high fiber toast.

Minced chicken or turkey breast, a whole lot of veggies, aromatics, spices, sauteed wok style served over shirataki noodles/rice/barley. Dash of toasted sesame oil. Can be modified to fit into diet.

You've got huge margins. 140GP would be easy for me given how I cook. Tack stuff for a bit. I use LoseIt!. There are many others.

Thanks those are some great ideas!

Easily doable with mostly lean meat and fish... Pretty straightforward.

Won't be as tasty as their fatty counterparts though. You can't have it all.

These looks like the requirements of a man doing a cut. I.e has been done hundreds and thousands of times in the past...

I’m probably not going to do it but I’m curious as to what the diet would be to build muscle optimally.

Again, I recommend you don't skip protein shakes. They make the diet much easier to balance.

Without them, you have to fit 140 grams of protein into 2000 calories (if you eat regular food, it usually has a 1:1 protein to fat ratio, meaning that 140 grams of protein come with 140 grams of fat, that's 1820 calories alone, just 180 calories or 45 grams left for your extra carbs).

Two shakes a day provide you with 50 grams of protein and around 250 calories (50kcal for some sugar and fat), now you have to fit 90 grams of protein into 1750 calories, this means 1:1 PFR food takes up only 1170 calories, leaving you with 580 calories to spend on any food you like.

You probably don't need anywhere near that much protein. 0.82 g/lb ought to be enough for anyone.

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/the-three-laws-of-protein/

The 0.82g figure seems to be per pound, which is about 2g per kilogram, so 140g of protein would be what a 70kg person needs.

Yes, sorry, fixed.

140 g at 0.82 g/lb would be 170 lb or 77kg. I am assuming that 2rafa probably doesn't weigh that much (and if she does, it's arguable whether fat mass should be included in the calculations).

Turns out 2rafa has been Dana Shemesh all along.

  • Breakfast - 5 egg white omelette
  • Lunch - 2 grilled chicken breasts, rice
  • Dinner - 2 fish steaks, rice

Will look something like the above. Just larger than normal servings of lean protein, and every meal would have to be protein heavy.

One pound of a leanish steak (eg top sirloin) gets you to about 90g of protein and 1000 calories. I find a rare steak with salt to be perfectly satisfying and delicious, more satisfying than many more complicated meals and more satisfying than body-building foods like chicken breasts.

After that pretty much any other medium sized meal will get you an additional 50g of protein and 1,000 calories, whether that be a chicken burrito, mac&cheese or an 8oz cheeseburger.

Or you could do 20oz - 25oz of a fattier steak like rib-eye or chuck roast and 200-400 calorie supplementary meal of your choice.

No shakes and no bars? Why restrict yourself?

Chicken, turkey, lean fish and Greek yoghurt. Vegetable-based sauces and dips. Vegetable and lentil stews and soups.

London delis should have a wide variety of flavourful options: you can have hot smoked, cold smoked, roast chicken/turkey/fish with various herbs and spices for breakfast. Add some sugar-free jams to your yoghurt.

Vegetables are great, but grilled tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines get boring fast. Making stews or soups brings out much more flavor.

Roasting, stewing and grilling your meats (and seafood!) should provide enough variety.

Avoid dry carbs and fats. Raisins and nuts are great on a trail, pastries are delicious, but I'd rather splurge on exotic fruits every day.

This kind of diet should leave you with enough spare calories to fit in some less protein-efficient foods like eggs, cheese, some dessert, an occasional pasta or pizza

Start the day with three eggs and a cup of Greek yogurt will get you to 350 calories and 40 grams of protein.

A 12-ounce skirt steak cut has 750 calories and 88 grams of protein. That's a pretty good start for a TexMex meal. Roughly 250 calories worth of black beans is ~16 grams of protein. Fill in the remainder with rice and you're good to go. Avocado if desired.

Chicken breast is obviously a famous choice for protein enthusiast that are cutting. Personally, I like them pounded flat, marinated, and grilled pretty well. Make a sandwich with rolls and cheese to round up carbs and fat. Mixing up the marinades and going with rice and veggies can add some variety here.

20oz of ribeye distributed however you want over the day, with 470 calories left over for sides.

Ah, the “Neanderthal warlord” diet.

I suspect the warlord would actually eat more organ meat. But if you want something a little more sophisticated... make it 21oz of filet mignon and ditch the sides.

The key term there is lord.