T Nation

Fried Chicken or Soy Sauce?

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

Yeah neither, I know… hear me out.

I spend a lot of time at this Chinese restaurant near work. Sometimes I’m just so hungry I have to grab a bite there. Now I’ve always wondered what would be a better choice. Fried chicken leg (with skin and bone!) or clean chicken filet but drenched in soy sauce and what not.

As I understand it soy sauce gives an incredible insulin boost.

My logic would be, the chicken leg isn’t exactly healthy, but being a protein + fat only meal the satty fats might make for a bit of T-boost. What do you think?

#2

When I eat something either fatty or sugary I just add it up with my meals for the day and balance it out so it fits in. For example I ate two hot wings the other day so I made sure I ate leaner meals for the rest of the day. The fat in the wings did not make my fat intake for the day go up significantly because I left the fat out of something else. The same with sugars. I will eat them post work out but lower my carb intake on something else. It all balances out in the end when I add it up on fitday. I can see what may need to be tweaked and eat my last two meals accordingly.

#3

depends on your goals, body type, diet, training, etc.

That’s a pretty open ended question.

I personally wouldn’t eat it because it is deep fried garbage cooked in soybean oil.

#4

  1. Why can’t you just bring food from home?

  2. If you had to pick, I say chicken filet…just not “drenched” in soy sauce. There is no reason you can’t limit it to a little bit of soy sauce.

#5

[quote]AmandaSC wrote:
When I eat something either fatty or sugary I just add it up with my meals for the day and balance it out so it fits in. For example I ate two hot wings the other day so I made sure I ate leaner meals for the rest of the day. The fat in the wings did not make my fat intake for the day go up significantly because I left the fat out of something else. The same with sugars. I will eat them post work out but lower my carb intake on something else. It all balances out in the end when I add it up on fitday. I can see what may need to be tweaked and eat my last two meals accordingly.[/quote]

A calorie is just a calorie but it’s not just a calorie. If I allow myself 75g of carbs per day, but get them all from beer, chances are I will be the fattest man in the world when I wake up the next morning.

#6

The fried chicken is going to be the worse of the two. Why can’t you ask for chicken with a little soy and not a shitload?

Hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats (fats that come from frying oils) are the least healthy thing you can possibly eat. Your body has no use for them and they basically turn right into fat, clog your arteries, decrease blood flow, mess up your digestive track and the like. Stay away from them if you ever have an option.

Not to say that a chicken wing or two will kill you if you have them every so often, but I wouldn’t be eating them even once every month let alone with more frequency and regularity.

-dizzle

#7

I figure when I eat something not-so-good then I do it right and make sure I get a good helping of protein with that sugar+fat ladden cheat meal.

Its just gonna build muscle!

I can rationalize pretty much anything…

The human body is a hunter/gather, yes?
So I eat my green vegetables and canned fish everyday (gathering).

But every now and again I should simulate the hunting down and gorging of an animal so if I have a fast-food burger once a month then I figure thats even better than eating healthy all the time.

The above rant was for a reason:

What you eat and how you train depends on your goals.

#8

It doesn’t even matter if it’s a shitload of soy sauce. Too much sodium [or at least more than you are used to] causes you to retain water and MAY [it’s actually not all that clear] have an adverse affect on blood pressure. That’s it. It does not affect insulin. Nor body composition. If it’s not on a regular basis, any potential blood pressure impact will really be a nonissue also.

#9

MSG, however, DOES negatively affect insulin. Some studies have shown that it triples the insulin the pancreas produces. A lot of Chinese food [in America] is very high in MSG. Find out if your place is. If so, best to avoid it.