Category: Diet

An Alternative To Whey Protein And Other Protein Powders

The #1 alternative, the best alternative to protein/whey powder is…

Canned fish.

I’m dead serious, and frankly shocked that this isn’t common sense.

Why are people mixing their powders like addicts instead of stinking up the sinks and trash cans draining canned tuna or canned salmon?

Cost + Nutrition

The cost per calorie and per gram of protein will be about the same (if you go tuna) or cheaper (for salmon).

1 scoop of protein powder is around 20g protein this is equal to one can of tuna, or a half can of salmon.

Compared to canned tuna, canned salmon is 3x the caloric density (~300cals vs ~100 cals) , and double the protein density (40g protein vs 20g protein) in the same 5oz can.

2 scoops of protein powder = 40g protein = 1 can of salmon or 2 cans of tuna.

The fish is going to be equal in cost or cheaper. Dollar stores will carry both for…you guessed it, $1 a can. Shit quality powder costs similar per scoop, and higher quality is far overpriced.

But But But Mercury Poisoning? Will I Get Mercury Poisoning?

• The fear of Mercury poisoning is in my opinion far overblown. I’ve went through phases of LOTS of canned fish. Also the old school bodybuilders did just fine with a lot of tuna fish.

Digestion?

• I find the fish sits better, it doesn’t give me an almost instashit that whey powder does.

Gym Food Accessories:

• Instead of a shaker cup and powder bring your can, a can opener, and a spoon. I legit have a can opener and spoon ALWAYS in my car.

Real Food Intake Is Better Than Supplement Usage:

• Fish is real food, powder is a supplement.

Enough said,

-J

(This post got spam arguing in favor of whey powder. 11/22/20)

I listened to the below Rich Piana vid, while reading through the comments…

I’m fairly certain I posted something on this note in the past…

What if you can be in ketosis on a higher number of carbs than is generally accepted?

The ammonia smell is supposed to tie into ketosis…well I’ll tell you this I’ve smelt a lot of ammonia coming from myself… eating a large amount of carbs during hot weather while effortlessly dropping weight.

Unlike all the comments on the linked vid, I’m inclined to agree with the late Rich.

That commonly accepted 30 max grams of carbs a day…well some experts say 50…

I swear I’ve read someone say it could be as high as 100 grams daily…

Aren’t scientific studies generally done on the average person unless specifics exercise related and otherwise?

What’s the average person again?

Very sedentary.

Don’t you think for a couch potato to be in ketosis that it would require REALLY low carbs?

What about a highly active individual at the same bodyweight?

I’d guess the highly active individual to be in keto IS okay to have higher than that (likely arbitrary) guideline of 30 or 50 grams of carbs daily, but definitely a higher threshold for ketosis than a more sedentary individual.

Piana has a valid point that as a GIANT human, likely keto is keto at higher levels of carbs…

Shit some people could just be genetically prone to ketosis.

Bigger (especially muscle mass) and/or more active could equal to higher carb thresholds while still being in ketosis.

(Wouldn’t synthetic ketones allow higher carb ketosis too? Yes, there are synthetic ketones now.)

Food (meat, cheese) for thought.

-J

I once saw the point made about the quality vs quantity of food made in an anecdote describing deer.

Which is going to be the more robust of the two bucks? The one living on the edge of suburbia on starvation levels of natural food, or the one eating copious amounts of soy beans and corn from a hunter’s feeder? (Factor out the fact the feeder fed one may be getting fucked come next fall, and the suburban one will likely starve or get hit by a minivan.)

Think about it, then apply it to humans.

Picture the fitness type shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s eating their perfect organic paleo macros and spending easily $200+ a week on food and then picture the guy eating whatever he can get his hands on in bulk.

Which one is going to be big? Which one is going to be stronger?

Sure It’d be nice to eat $10+/lb tuna steaks and shit, but really is that yuppie going to be physically more robust than the guy eating on under $10/day with cheap chicken, ground beef, milk, ramen, etc and getting in far more calories even if they are not of the highest quality sources?

I wouldn’t put my money on the yuppie.

Food for thought.

-J

No matter what, be it nerves or whatever, I can stomach a bowl of white rice with a little Mexican mix cheese added in.

Some carbs, some fat, some protein, and easy on the stomach.

It may not involve dead animal, but it covers all the bases. It’s enough to keep me going.

Similarly if I need to eat on the go a simple slice or two of bread with nothing on it can work. In fact it can work quite well.

Food sometimes is best kept simple, cheap, and easy.

To a degree fuel is fuel.

-J

Of all topics, and not wanting to do the stereotypical “what I am thankful for” type post that so many would publish on Thanksgiving without further ado;

On Feasting And Fasting:

As a senior in high school I started doing 16/8 fasts regularly (16 hour fasts, 8 hour eating period daily)

For at most 3 weeks my stomach would grumble at me it being unused to skipping breakfast.

Then I adapted.

I soon learned it is far easier to wake up, fast a few hours, eat, wait a long while, feast, fast a few hours then sleep. Hard physicality is best done just prior to the feast.

A 16 hour fast is very easy. You’re sleeping a solid percentage of it.

Doing this I’ve found I function better with little in me, stacking the calories at nighttime instead of evenly spread throughout the day.

I eat opposite of the stereotypical bodybuilder 6 tiny meals a day plan. Mine looks more like a couple hundred calories early, then a 3000-5000k calorie meal at night or after training.

Performance issues? Maybe in the adaption period, but I find my performance is just fine like this if not better.

My stomach feels better with the less frequent meals, and I don’t have to take as many shits.

Occasionally as a test of willpower I’ll fast 24 hours. This length still is quite easy.

While fasted I’ve done just about everything physically one can do without issue. In fact a lot of my best workouts are while empty often even lacking sleep.

To be able to perform through adversity.

(This is something I’ve purposely trained for over the years, cold reps, on empty, lacking sleep,middle of the night, etc.)

You will adapt mentally and physically if you allow yourself to. However this requires not shooting yourself in the foot by constantly thinking about food and the eating of it.

It’s more natural for the human body to eat this way. I doubt cavemen were carb loading before mammoth hunting. At most they’d eat a little, go get their meat, and after doing so eat copious amounts while sitting around the fire. Feasting and fasting/feast and famine, not constant satiation.

Happy Thanksgiving,

-J

Without “dirty” eating I would not be as big as I am. Observation over the years tells me that I respond better to food that a bodybuilder pukes in his mouth (or masturbates furiously to) at just the thought of.

While eating cleaner may make one feel better as you go about your day, when you eat the way I eat stacking/loading calories closer to bed via a nightime feast you negate the sluggish feelings that are the biggest pitfall of dirty food.

When I eat dirty I feel frankly more manly. It’s likely a function of both higher fat and calorie intake causing me to pop more boners, be hornier, be stronger, and feel more aggressive.

I’m coming to think processed soy is not as bad as often claimed. I’ll eat a bunch of corndogs (soy batter) and that night have dreams of violence and/or rough sex and wake up painfully hard the next morning.

Maybe the soy intake is miniscule, maybe this a function of dietary fat working it’s magic, or maybe, just maybe soy is bad for your testosterone…initially, and your body combats it by going hard in the opposite manner raising your soy attacked test thoroughly.

It’s my conclusion that my ideal diet at this point is a mix of fatty meat,and processed “garbage” while varying the amounts of water and calorie containing liquids I drink based on feel.

(Sometimes soda makes me perform better, sometimes milk is what sustains me, sometimes I can stomach neither, and drink only water preferably chilled.)

Thus endeth today’s post.

-J

 

 

I’m going to let you in on a secret. A secret that you’ll be hard pressed to hear anywhere else.

Protein powder isn’t necessary.

Nor is your post workout meal.

Throughout human history far more jacked individuals have made do without than have made do with.

You want to drink some protein and nutrition post workout?

Save the money you’d spend on some near useless powder and go Rocky style. Crack roughly 6 eggs into your shaker cup, and have at it. No sugar,the same protein as 2 scoops of any powder, less expensive, and far more anabolic.

Now the squeamish among you may be thinking that’s gross.

You can blend up those eggs with more ingredients, or as I said go Rocky style. Rocky style has been known to harden you up. Ain’t that right Adrien?

Salmonella? That threat has been far overblown by fear mongering. Don’t be a scared little pussy.

If salmonella was to be contracted by drinking eggs I or most definitely a certain one of my lifting partners would’ve got it by now. That shit isn’t going to happen. Just like visits to snap city.

An aside: the eggs will be fine a while, even at room temperature.

Here’s how one should handle post workout meals: Bring food with you as eat it if you’re ravenous or you think it is a necessary part of the ability to drive home safely.

If neither of those stipulations are met it’ll be just fine to wait.

Hell eat if you simply feel like it.

Whatever you do don’t be one of those goofs that obsess more over getting their protein shake in, than getting weight on the bar.

Don’t get me started on preworkouts.(rant for another time)

Effort trumps all.

That is what is up.

I am out. Until tomorrow:

-J