Nutrition For Bodybuilders

[Inspector]

Okay, guys (and girls maybe?), I know there are a few bodybuilders here. I'd like to see what everyone is eating and how well it is working for you. While every body is different, maybe this could help people (like me) pack more protien in from healthy sources.

I'm between meal plans right now and trying to cut out sugary drinks (which is way hard because, as a supertaster, water tastes bitter to me and all artificial sweeteners taste like petrochemicals). I find that ginger ale tends to have less sugar than most sodas, as does gatorade (though gatorade has sodium...)

I'm trying to work in a daily whey protein shake for breakfast because

1) Being a "night person" I have to get up as late as possible, which means no time in the morning to prepare breakfast.

2) For some reason I am just not "up" for food in the morning. Even a shake is "pushing it." I get nautious sometimes just brushing my teeth. If anyone else experiences this, I would be interested to hear about it.

So can anyone recommend a palatable brand of whey protein powder?

Other than that, I eat a pure protein brand bar because my time at work spans three meals (when meals are 3 hours apart) And for lunch and dinner I try to include as much lean meat as possible.

I've found a few foods that are helpful. Hot pockets Ultra Lean Ham and Cheese has 25 grams of protein, but it also has a lot of sodium. For some reason cheap/easy to prepare + protein seems to always mean loads of salt. That hold true for what I'm eating right now, stagg steak house chili (no beans): 34g of protein and 88% RDA of salt! I'll post up other stuff if I think of it.

So what do you all do for food?

Edited October 14, 2005 by Inspector

[dondigitalia]

So can anyone recommend a palatable brand of whey protein powder?

Honestly, the one I like the best is GNC's store brand. The strawberry flavor is my favorite. All of them kind of taste like crap when mixed with water, but if you use milk, it's really tasty.

I usually do a turkey wrap (with a low-carb, hi-fiber wrap) for one of my meals, I'll have some string cheese and nuts (usually almonds for another), and then there's my favorite: spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta with the sauce of my choosing, usually with some pre-packaged turkey meatballs, or maybe some Aidell's sausages cooked in with the sauce. I'm also a big fan of burgers; I honestly have a burger almost every day. Omelettes are a good choice, too, and you don't have to eat them in the morning!

The most important thing I've found is just to stay satiated, but not stuffed, throughout the day. Do you work out in the morning, afternoon, or evening? I prefer morning workouts, because of the mood-elevating effects it has throughout the day, but I also find that it makes me significantly hungrier.

One of the things I do that I find really helpful is to cook up a bunch of food on Sunday night, and put it in the fridge in one-serving containers, so that all I have to do is grab & go in the morning. I'm a late-nighter, too, so every extra minute I can save in the morning counts big.

[Inspector]

Honestly, the one I like the best is GNC's store brand. The strawberry flavor is my favorite. All of them kind of taste like crap when mixed with water, but if you use milk, it's really tasty.

Ah, I remember that. Yes, it was alright, but it had a lot of cholesterol. Maybe they've made better stuff since. I agree about the milk/water.

I usually do a turkey wrap (with a low-carb, hi-fiber wrap) for one of my meals, I'll have some string cheese and nuts (usually almonds for another)

It's funny, even those of us that aren't specifically on low-carb tend to raid the Atkins products often just because of the higher protein/calories ratios.

I'm also a big fan of burgers; I honestly have a burger almost every day. Omelettes are a good choice, too, and you don't have to eat them in the morning!

Omelettes are great! I actually scramble mine and load 'em up with cheese. Ditto on the burgers, a good cheeseburger is my absolute favorite food. I'll have them often. I really dig In-n-out Burger for a 4x4... a 5x5 if I can afford to sit and relax and digest for a while. I'll also go to burger king for their $1 whoppers: I'll get a double or triple with cheese and throw away the bottom of the bun. Maybe not as healthy for me as a turkey wrap, but oh so delicious.

The most important thing I've found is just to stay satiated, but not stuffed, throughout the day.

That's no easy task; I'm usually STUFFED if I eat enough food to get in the necessary protein and calories. I guess my body "eat clock" is set a bit low.

Do you work out in the morning, afternoon, or evening? I prefer morning workouts, because of the mood-elevating effects it has throughout the day, but I also find that it makes me significantly hungrier.

Hehe, not an option for me with the whole "night person" thing. I guess I take it a bit farther than you. I work out around 8 at night out of necessity. I guess I'd do it in the afternoon if I could pick the time.

[dondigitalia]

Ah, I remember that. Yes, it was alright, but it had a lot of cholesterol. Maybe they've made better stuff since. I agree about the milk/water.

I'm one of those lucky people who doesn't have to worry about cholesterol. No matter what I eat, it stays low.

I really dig In-n-out Burger for a 4x4... a 5x5 if I can afford to sit and relax and digest for a while.

mmm.... In-n-out is great.

That's no easy task; I'm usually STUFFED if I eat enough food to get in the necessary protein and calories. I guess my body "eat clock" is set a bit low.

Consider yourself lucky. I'm perpetually hungry! I can eat a large pizza and still be looking for more! I have yet to meet the person who out-eats me. It sucks, 'cause that's what make it hard to keep the pounds off.

Hehe, not an option for me with the whole "night person" thing. I guess I take it a bit farther than you. I work out around 8 at night out of necessity. I guess I'd do it in the afternoon if I could pick the time.

Well... I have to be honest, I don't really go very early, just in "my morning." My 1st class is @ 9 a.m., and I go after that.

[Inspector]

Well... I have to be honest, I don't really go very early, just in "my morning." My 1st class is @ 9 a.m., and I go after that.

Ah, a college boy! I forgot that you had mentioned that. You might want to consider planning to try for a career that will let you get up later... I've only now realized how important that is.

*ahem* to stay on topic, I will add:

Being "skinny" by nature has its advantages but it's darn frustrating when trying to bodybuild. Still, having it the other way is a handful. I have no idea what my cholesterol is; I should probably get it checked. I'd drink red wine or something but it's 1) expensive and 2) nasty. It all tastes like cough syrup to me.

Light yogurt is pretty good stuff, as is cottege cheese. Nice amounts of protein and not too many calories.

[mailegreene]

From my experience, I think that a well balanced diet works best. I experimented with the high protein thing back when I was in high school, and honestly I can say that I feel much better today than I did back then, with my current diet consisting of about 60% carbohydrate 20% protein and 20% fat. There was a time when I couldn't put down the protein shakes, tuna cans, egg whites, and meal replacements.

I must admit that I am guilty of huge dietary slips on a week to week basis. So my advice here is somewhat hypocritical.

[dondigitalia]

Ah, a college boy! I forgot that you had mentioned that. You might want to consider planning to try for a career that will let you get up later... I've only now realized how important that is.

lol, yeah, but not the typical college boy. Got sick of career #1. Back to school for a shot @ #2. I'm planning to teach, so maybe I can do all afternoon classes. :prays to Allah:

I must admit that I am guilty of huge dietary slips on a week to week basis. So my advice here is somewhat hypocritical.

That's not hypocritical. Having a free day is important. It helps you enjoy life, and can even help boost your metabolism.

The only thing I pity more than a dogmatic Objectivist is a dogmatic dieter.

[Jrose]

Inspector - What is your fitness goal, specifically? Are you trying to build muscle? Or are you simply trying to "eat healthier?"

I've gone through dozens of different protein powders, and my current favorite is the EAS '100% Whey Protein' (Chocolate). It's low in calories and sodium, and high in protein (28g per scoop). I mix it straight up with water and it dissolves well, and tastes good. But if you're looking to bulk up, you should go for a high calorie, high protein 'meal replacement' shake, as opposed to a protein supplement.

Either way, standard practice regarding muscle tissue maintenance is to ingest at least 1g of protein per pound of muscle. So, if you haven't already, you should get your bodyfat tested (very simple process, any trainer at a gym can do it for you in minutes).

Considering what mailegreene said, it is true that everyone has a distinct satiation ratio (in terms of fats, proteins and carbohydrates). These tests are rather simple as well, and can help you find out what percentage of your caloric intake should come from fats, what percentage from protein, and what percentage from carbohydrates, so that you stay satiated throughout the day, and don't feel the urge to "cheat." If you do feel the urge to cheat, it's because there is a nutrient that you're not getting enough of via your diet, that's what a "craving" is.

Also, Oddwalla recently came out with some really good meal replacement bars, one of which is a chocolate protein bar, I believe. You should give those a try.

Overall, make sure you're taking a multi-vitamin, and very simple arithmetic can keep on the (basically) right track: If your consume more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. If you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose weight.

The trick is to eat the enough of the right nutrients, so that your body does not break down muscle tissue to get them when your diet is lacking.

I hope this helps, I'm happy to offer any more information, as I can.

[hunterrose]

Okay, guys (and girls maybe?), I know there are a few bodybuilders here. I'd like to see what everyone is eating and how well it is working for you. While every body is different, maybe this could help people (like me) pack more protien in from healthy sources.

So what do you all do for food?

My priority is to get the required food (a harder task than actually working out for me ) so my meals are pretty repititive.

I try to get about 3,300 calories and 300 g of protein a day. I don't gain anything on about 3000 a day, so I had to up it a little.

I try to eat about 6 times a day (which might not be feasible as I change jobs.) My standard meal, which I might eat about 3 or 4 times a day is 3 eggs, 2 servings of beans, about 100g of rice, some sort of vegetable, and about a half can of tuna. It might be monotonous, but when you're dead broke... It works for me, at any rate. The other two or three meals I'll improvise, so long as they give about 550 calories and 50 grams of protein.

I drink a ton of water.

Being broke, I don't really go for anything else fancy. I use a (Wal-Mart, so fairly cheap) generic Vanilla protein-shake when I'm at work. I've used creatine and glutamine in the past, and they seemed effective, but not... cost-effective for me.

The biggest problem for me is keeping up such. If I miss the last meal, I almost always find myself to have lost a bit from day to day, and if I miss two, it's a significant drop. I have a rather frenetic metabolism. If I'm not actively making sure I eat, I'm lazy and slip to eating 2-4 times a day. In about three weeks of such, it's not uncommon for me to drop 10-12 pounds (and not in a good way) from a diligent 205 to a minimally maintained 190-195. I'm not so much a hard-gainer as I am an easy-loser.

When I'm on point, it works. It's just a matter of becoming consistent.

[Felix]

... as a supertaster, water tastes bitter to me and all artificial sweeteners taste like petrochemicals ...

Supertaster? I never heard of it. But I like the name. Reminds me of 'The Sentinel'. Do you know where this taste sensivity comes from?

I must say that I hate Coke light for taste reasons and most people wonder why I even taste a difference. This must be much stronger for you.

2) For some reason I am just not "up" for food in the morning. Even a shake is "pushing it." I get nautious sometimes just brushing my teeth. If anyone else experiences this, I would be interested to hear about it.

Me, too. Sometimes just the thought of food in the morning makes me sick. What I do is simple: I don't eat. I wait. When I feel appetite again, then I eat. This may especially help you, because you try to get up late and maintain your Batman-style waking hours ( ). I sleep late and go to bed late, too. Therefore I try to force at least some bit of protein into my body in the morning to work against that trend.

I read that eating protein works as 'entrainment', which is a term describing something that one could call 'setting the inner clock'. So if you take your first meal later, you will be sleepy later and get up later. You should definitely try this. I have the problem the other way around, because I am a 'night-person', too. I try to work against it for actually attending the college classes I take. Therefore I usually take a protein shake or a burger in the morning. Sometimes I hate it, but it's better than missing classes.

I also try not to eat any protein after 7PM. This keeps my sleeping times pretty much in order. I read about this in this book. Maybe it helps. It does for me.

Another thing that helps is to put lots of water into your drink so that it is not that thick. Drinking always works for me in the morning. That's why I use this as a trick to get the food inside my body.

So what do you all do for food?

I was a vegetarian, even a vegan, once, believing it was man's natural diet. My basic approach was that evolution must have made me adapt to a certain diet. I lost a lot of weight. But, challenging my beliefs permanently, I stumbled over 'The zone' by Barry Sears and then read 'Neanderthin' by Ray Audette. Since this made way more sense than the claims of the veggie-department and given that I had severe mood-swings, I tried it and it worked fine. I felt less hunger and stuck with it.

I don't overdo it, though, mainly because of lack of money. I don't have money to buy lots of quality meat and fresh low-carb fruit and vegetables, which -as far as I can see it - would be the ideal. So I stick mainly to eggs, because they are by far the cheapest natural protein source, and cheap protein drinks.

I've never actually been sick during this time. I don't even know what being sick feels like, as most kinesthetic memory from my childhood illnesses has vanished, but I think it must be something like a long hangover.

As a general rule for bodybuilder food:

Try to get enough protein, cut most of the starchy carbs, follow your taste (especially yours ), eat when hungry and you'll do fine. If you stick to this, you can't go wrong.

To anyone interested, here's my background:

I used to do martial arts back in school but stopped because trainers switched and the new one was an asshole. I kept the muscles I gained from that period mainly through increased protein intake, I think.

But now I am starting with 'bodybuilding' myself. I do crunches every evening before I go to bed. I started with 5 and build it up with 5 more per day. Tonight I'll have to do 240. I'll try to build on that to a thousand a day and then start with push-ups. I know that this goes against idea of taking breaks between workouts, but it makes me stick to it and so far I have no problems.

I'll go to a gym once I get my degree to start lifting weights or I'll buy the weights myself, whatever is cheaper in the long run. I'm already reading anything I can get on bodybuilding. I read Arnold's book and Tony Little's, which made more sense to me. Any suggestions?

Edited October 14, 2005 by Felix

[hunterrose]

I'm already reading anything I can get on bodybuilding. I read Arnold's book and Tony Little's, which made more sense to me. Any suggestions?

I've got Arnold's, which is very good (but a bit dated...) and MuscleMag's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, good but a bit dated.

IMO you're better off getting a subscription to a magazine. The info will be top-notch current, and though you won't immediately have an "encyclopedia" to go through, the magazines are more interesting, more extensive, and aren't 10+ years old. Flex, Muscular Development, MuscleMag are all good.

[Felix]

I've got Arnold's, which is very good (but a bit dated...) and MuscleMag's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, good but a bit dated.

IMO you're better off getting a subscription to a magazine. The info will be top-notch current, and though you won't immediately have an "encyclopedia" to go through, the magazines are more interesting, more extensive, and aren't 10+ years old. Flex, Muscular Development, MuscleMag are all good.

I'm more into some more scientific literature, which was why I liked Little's more than Arnold's, which was more anecdotal. I think that most of the magazines are into pushing the products of their advertisers. I look for studies and literature on how hypertrophy occurs within the body. Something for beginners at first, but I can handle scientific language. One advantage of being an engineer. You're not afraid of words.

Besides, there have been muscular people in the past and I doubt that this is rocket science. The very basics of how things actually work, repeatedly proven in tests should be sufficient for my humble purposes. I read that Mike Mentzner (I hope I spelled that right, I only read of the guy once) is both a bodybuilding legend and an Objectivist.

But still 205 when training is quite impressive, , how tall are you?

[Inspector]

Inspector - What is your fitness goal, specifically? Are you trying to build muscle? Or are you simply trying to "eat healthier?"

Sorry, I thought I had made this more clear, my goal is bodybuilding, or "bulking up" but I don't want to build fat while I am doing so. Lots of good advice for beginners there, Jrose.

As for satiation, LOL, my problem is that I am TOO satiated. I can't eat enough to gain, at least not without feeling a bit sick.

[Inspector]

I read Arnold's book and Tony Little's, which made more sense to me. Any suggestions?

I'd recommend JOHN Little's book, or Mike Mentzer to start. Definitely avoid volume training if your goal is to add muscle. Think heavier weights LESS reps. But I don't want this thread to turn into one of those controversial "Training method" threads...

As for "supertaster," I think this covers it: http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s...-3626-1,00.html

So veggies are nasty, wine tastes like cough syrup, and artificial sweetners taste like petrochemicals.

I've so far mostly been doing the "just don't eat" method to deal with mornings, but I'm told it's terrible for me as I'm basically starving myself which is bad in general and terrible for bodybuilding. So we'll see if that method you outlined works to help me get to sleep on time. It's worth a shot anyway.

I try to get about 3,300 calories and 300 g of protein a day. I don't gain anything on about 3000 a day, so I had to up it a little.

Holy hell that's a lot of protein! I doubt I came close to that except for when I was on my "weight gain 3000" phase. Which did put on muscle but also a lot of fat. I was positively ILL eating that much food. (We're talking weight gain powder shakes with peanut butter, honey, flax oil, fruit taken twice daily with huge meals and cheeseburgers and... ugh)

Edited October 14, 2005 by Inspector

[Jrose]

Sorry, I thought I had made this more clear, my goal is bodybuilding, or "bulking up" but I don't want to build fat while I am doing so. Lots of good advice for beginners there, Jrose.

As for satiation, LOL, my problem is that I am TOO satiated. I can't eat enough to gain, at least not without feeling a bit sick.

If you try to bulk up without gaining any fat, your progress will be very slow (likely). It can be frustrating to set two (somewhat adverserial) goals for yourself and attempt to achieve them simultaneously. In general, most bodybuilders "bulk up" for a cycle (2-3 months), then "slim down" for a cycle. I believe we'll be entering "growing season" very shortly.

When bulking up, as long as you're doing a sufficient amount of strength (anaerobic) training (in relation to your caloric intake), you shouldn't worry about gaining fat, but check your body fat percentage every few weeks to be sure. Once you're ready to slim down, it will be much easier to shed excess bodyfat while maintaining lean muscle, than to make muscle gains while losing fat at the same time.

As for satiation, complex carbohydrates and fats are generally the most 'satiating,' so try experimenting with lowering one, then the other, then both, or eating more simple carbs (fruits and leafy greens) as opposed to complex (breads and pastas). Chances are, however, that you'll want a decent amount of fats (especially EFAs) in your diet, especially while bulking up.

Here's a link to the website I order my vitamins and supplements from:

https://www.fitnessone.com/

Quick tips for everyone- McDonald's has a 'Fruit and Yogurt Parfait,' for $1-$2. Very good, and great as a snack. Also, do not fear the cheesecake. I, personally, do not eat dairy, but the fat content of an average slice of cheesecake can keep you satiated and offer energy for up to four hours.

FYI - My knowledge and experience comes from roughly 4 years in the fitness industry (Manager/trainer - 24 Hour Fitness - 98-2001), and one year as a competitive body builder (1999). So, I try to keep my information basic and fundamental, as I'm not up on current trends and have been somewhat "out of touch" with the industry since 2001.

[Inspector]

If you try to bulk up without gaining any fat, your progress will be very slow (likely). It can be frustrating to set two (somewhat adverserial) goals for yourself and attempt to achieve them simultaneously. In general, most bodybuilders "bulk up" for a cycle (2-3 months), then "slim down" for a cycle. I believe we'll be entering "growing season" very shortly.

That has been my experience as well.

FYI - My knowledge and experience comes from roughly 4 years in the fitness industry (Manager/trainer - 24 Hour Fitness - 98-2001), and one year as a competitive body builder (1999). So, I try to keep my information basic and fundamental, as I'm not up on current trends and have been somewhat "out of touch" with the industry since 2001.

I can tell! Thanks for all the info!

[ex_banana-eater]

So what do you all do for food?

The answer, for me, depends on what I am doing. This summer I embarked on an olympic lifting and athletic routine, and switched my diet more akin to paleolithic nutrition and maintenance level calories.

If I am dietting with the goal to preserve muscle mass, I have a diet low in calories and then raise them dramatically to spike leptin periodically.

If I am gaining muscle (and it depends on what extent) I will generally incorporate more post-agricultural carbohydrates into my diet. I still make sure to eat foods that are basic on the potential renal acid load score in order to avoid low grade metabolic acidosis, as well as eating carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index to avoid insulin insensitivity. I am about 100kg and have 175 grams of protein per day, most coming from animal sources low in saturated fat. I make sure to have alot of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as essential fatty acids and DHA/EPA (in fish oil).

[Felix]

I'd recommend JOHN Little's book, or Mike Mentzer to start. Definitely avoid volume training if your goal is to add muscle. Think heavier weights LESS reps. But I don't want this thread to turn into one of those controversial "Training method" threads...

Ok, no training thread. This is settled now. I also meant John Little. I guess I came up with Tony Little because I watched infomercials every day before school. I wonder if this guy can even write...

About your thin/slow-gainer problem:

Don't go too much low-carb. Including more carbs allows you to eat more protein. To bulk up, this is the way to go. More fluids and more carbs lead to more protein and more calories and that is your goal as far as I understood you. As far as I see it, you just cannot eat too much on a long-term low-carb diet. Even good eaters like me can't. So if you get starved just by having no breakfast this is not the way to go. You can't eat much butter without bread. So, to bulk up, for you it might be better to have some fries with your burger. This might keep you hungry due to collapsing blood sugar levels.

Try it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. (I just had to make the pun, sorry. )

[hunterrose]

But still 205 when training is quite impressive, , how tall are you?

About 5'9''. I'll have to check out this John Little

The mags are usually more about advertising, glitz, and otherwise promoting their own interests than books, but some of them are still quite good. Muscular Development IMO is the most technical; I'd check it out if you haven't yet.

We're talking weight gain powder shakes with peanut butter, honey, flax oil, fruit taken twice daily with huge meals and cheeseburgers and... ugh

I feel your pain. Be strong, soldier

Is it just me, or is the diet part of bodybuilding MUCH harder than the actual workouts

[Felix]

About 5'9''.

The mags are usually more about advertising, glitz, and otherwise promoting their own interests than books, but some of them are still quite good. Muscular Development IMO is the most technical; I'd check it out if you haven't yet.

That's 1.75 meters if the program I used was correct. (Can't the rest of the world finally start to use the metric system. ) That means you are about my height and makes the 205 really good. Maybe I should follow your advice and try this muscular development magazine.

[Inspector]

How about protein bars? I've yet to find something that's long-term palatable. I do know enough to steer clear of the soy protein bars. You should always read the labels and make sure that the protein blend is whey based.

The Pure Protein bars are okay (available at wal mart), and come in a number of flavors. So what do you all eat in terms of bars?

[ex_banana-eater]

Why steer clear of soy protein bars, Inspector? Also, why whey bars as a meal replacement?

Edited October 16, 2005 by ex_banana-eater

[Inspector]

Why steer clear of soy protein bars, Inspector? Also, why whey bars as a meal replacement?

I've heard they don't provide as many benefits via amino acids and such as Whey does and I've also heard the occasional thing about soy being bad or containing estrogen or promoting estrogen production or somesuch. I don't know enough to be able to objectively evaluate such claims, but I do know that every expert on bodybuilding I've spokes to DOES recommend whey. Basically I suspect soy MIGHT have problems but I know that whey IS good. I'm hedging my bets.

So if your goal is bodybuilding and you're looking for whey, then it's good to check the labels to make sure that that's what you're getting.

Ah, and the "meal replacement?" That's simply a factor of my "on-the-go" lifestyle. I've had three nutritionists now recommend to me that I eat 5 meals a day with 500 or so calories each. (depending of course on whether I'm in a bulk or trim phase... right now I'm "trimming.") That's as opposed to the TWO I had been eating at around 1000-1200 each.

As three of those five fall when I am at work, and it would be kind of nuts to buy or bring three meals, I make one of them a protein shake with skim milk and flax oil and one a protein bar and a piece of fruit. Which, even though this is a "trim" phase, is still almost more food than I can handle.

I know it's a little weird, but I have to do some crazy things to make this work.

[ex_banana-eater]

The plant sterols found in soy are extremely weak forms of estrogen, I've heard 1/1000th the strength. In theory, they are beneficial to someone who wants to lower the effects of estrogen, because they bind to estrogen receptor sites rather than estrogen itself. A weaker sterol binding to the site rather than the more active hormone would manifest less of an effect on the body. Essentially, they act as a selective estrogen reuptake modulator. However, since they are in such low amount in any food, there will be negligable positive hormonal effects (and if these produced a negative effect it would be too negligable to notice either--but they do not.)

I do not suggest you eat whey protein at times other than around your workout. Whey is digested extremely quickly, and at times other than when the muscles are extremely insulin sensitive (workout and after) most of the whey will quickly be converted via gluconeogenesis to glucose. Effectively, you're getting some expensive sugar. In addition, during meals you want a slower digesting protein because something like whey will provide only a short influx of amino acids to the muscles, therefore leaving them deprived for the next two hours or so.

Most protein bars are full of the worst type of carbohydrates for a bodybuilder's diet--sugar alcohols, maltodextrine, dextrose, and others. You want carbohydrates low on the glycemic index during periods of the day that are not around a work out, because they help increase protein synthesis, provide a steadier stream of energy, and prevent your muscles from losing insulin sensitivity (cause of diabetes and fat gain).

Something better to bring to work might be: Some containers of stir fried beef strips and vegetables with brown rice, cooked in olive oil.

[Inspector]

I do not suggest you eat whey protein at times other than around your workout.

Since I only work out once a week, then that means not often at all.

Something better to bring to work might be: Some containers of stir fried beef strips and vegetables with brown rice, cooked in olive oil.

Not to mention yummier! Would such a thing be available, commercially? I don't cook...

Of course that still doesn't solve my "breakfast problem." I severely doubt I could stomach that for breakfast. But, since I don't have to be limited whey then I could always do a yogurt smoothie...

Tell me, without the whey, I'm out about 100g of protein a day. How do you suggest that I put that back in? Or is that even necessary?