Requesting a Diet Analysis

Diet and Nutrition
21

You know, I think you need compound exercises to add a large amount of muscle. I use almost all compound exercises, but that’s because the bench press hits my chest, tris and shoulders all pretty well. The squat hits my quads well, and hamstrings, and doesn’t overwork my back.

I think that if you have longer arms but narrower hips and torso you should use the following two methods:

  1. Use an isolation exercise first, then a compound-not necessarily right away. So for you chest do 3 sets of cable crossovers and THEN do 3 sets of bench presses to make sure your chest is getting hit. For your lats do 3 sets of straight arm pulldowns and THEN rows or pulldowns.

  2. Use compounds lifts, but don’t lock out at the top. Push your bench presses up half way. Come up about 3/4 of the way on squats, and do pulldowns just to about eye level.

22

K I’ll keep that in mind.

Looking at the diet just now and it’ll take me a while to sort it out again. So far I’ve got a solid “base” composed of 2 Eggs, 1 Cup beef/pork mix, 1 Cup Rice and 1 Cup mashed potatoes for every meal except breakfast. Should yield around 5500 calories a day.

I’ll come back when I have a clearer picture.

23

Ok, been working on this one a bit. It’s tricky because the cleaner I get, the more calories I end up needing.

Basically, my current meals are as follows:

Breakfast [5:00/5:30am]:

  • 1 Cup Organic Brown Rice: 240 Cals, 12g Protein
  • 1 Scoop Protein Powder: 85 Cals, 19.5g Protein

Total: 325 Cals, 31.5

3 ‘Base’ Meals (blended) [10:00am, 1:00pm, 8:00pm]:

  • 1 Cup Organic Brown Rice: 240 Cals, 12g Protein
  • 1 Cup Free-From Hormones/Open Range Beef: 380 Cals, 45g Protein
  • 2 Fried Eggs: 204 Cals, 13g Protein
  • about a table spoon of Olive Oil: 120 Cals
  • 1 Medium (on average) Baked Potato: 155 Cals, 4g Protein

Total: 799 Cals, 40g Protein (I heard that the body can only process 40g of protein per hour for muscle building, is this true at all?)
x3: 2397 Cals, 120g Protein

Supper [5:30pm]:

  • 2oz Smoked Salmon: 66 Cals, 10g Protein
  • 1 Medium (on average) Baked Potato: 155 Cals, 4g Protein
  • Cheese? (why is dairy a bad one to have btw? I like it because it goes well with the salmon)

Total: 221 Cals, 14g Protein
[I DO add veggies like Broccoli, Celery, Carrot, and Cucumber to give me the nutrients, but their values are so small I didn’t want to include them here)

Grand Total: 2943 Cals, 165.5g Protein

I need: 5500-6000 Cals, 200g Protein. That’s a deficit of: 2557-3057 Cals and 34.5g Protein.

So anyways, obviously I need to eat more, but how to make it all work?

Here’s the deal:

I Have 2 Hours in the morning before I go to work at 8am. (2 Meals, possibly)

1 Half-hour break at 10am (barely enough time to eat, hence why I’m blending everything now).

1 45-min break at 1pm.

Then I get home.

So, what can I add that will give me MAJOR calories? Like 600 per meal, if I divide it up.

I was eating cashews, but I didn’t see it on mertdawg’s list. Anything I can add in MASSIVE quantities to fill this hole?

Thanks in advance.

24

[quote]

I was eating cashews, but I didn’t see it on mertdawg’s list. Anything I can add in MASSIVE quantities to fill this hole?

Thanks in advance.[/quote]

  1. Macadamia nuts. 200 cals an ounce. Low omega 6
  2. Coconut butter mixed into rice, or Red Palm oil, goat butter, organic butter. All low omega 6. Coconut butter and oil are MCT fats which means they tend to be used for energy. Also Lauric acid which kills viruses. Red Palm is a great source of all vitamin A precursors. Butter boosts testosterone. Goat butter (and cheese) has short chain caproic acid which is good for you generally.

Also, you could add sour cream, or full fat yogurt.

BY THE WAY, your omega 6s look good, but 2 oz salmon has only about .75-.90 grams omega 3. Is it with the skin? You need to get 4-5 ounces a day (though it doesn’t have to be all in one day) or get shrimp or shellfish some times. Or sardines. Not sure if you eat canned sardines, but in olive oil is good.

25

Sour cream? So dairy is ok?

As for the salmon, that is a LOT of Omega 3. I just looked up the conversion: 1 ounce = 28.34 grams! If 2 oz of Salmon only has .90g of Omega 3, I’d have to eat something like 56oz of salmon a day!

This can’t be right, can it? If it is, any other suggestions? What about Omega 3 pills? As for the skin, I don’t eat the skin, no. Is it full of good stuff?

Also, I’m loving the benefits from Red Palm oil. But the butter you mentioned for testosterone boosting, is that cow butter or coconut butter?

Finally, I prefer to stay away from cans as I read somewhere cans leak a chemical or metal (can’t remember which) that acts like estrogen in the body.

26

[quote]SargeMaximus wrote:
Sour cream? So dairy is ok?

As for the salmon, that is a LOT of Omega 3. I just looked up the conversion: 1 ounce = 28.34 grams! If 2 oz of Salmon only has .90g of Omega 3, I’d have to eat something like 56oz of salmon a day!

This can’t be right, can it? If it is, any other suggestions? What about Omega 3 pills? As for the skin, I don’t eat the skin, no. Is it full of good stuff?

Also, I’m loving the benefits from Red Palm oil. But the butter you mentioned for testosterone boosting, is that cow butter or coconut butter?

Finally, I prefer to stay away from cans as I read somewhere cans leak a chemical or metal (can’t remember which) that acts like estrogen in the body.[/quote]

I have no problem with cheese, or sour cream because it is almost no lactose, and almost 100% protein and fat which is fine. A few people are sensitive to milk PROTEINS, but most commonly its the lactose, especially in reduced fat “milK”.

Organic cow butter is very good, and gives you an animal source of vitamin A as well. Again, no problem with milk/butter FAT.

I meant that you need 4-5 oz of salmon a day. Your goal for omega 3s is to make sure to average 2 grams a day.

100 GRAMS OF SALMON has 1.3-1.6 grams of omega 3. I forgot that eggs also have about 0.3 grams. 5 ox of salmon is about 145 grams. That would put you at about 2 grams of omega 3s a day. 6 eggs would also get you right to about the 2 gram mark. If you eat the skin, you may get a little more omega 3.

I would want to be sure to get 2 grams of omega 3s a day ON AVERAGE over the weak as below 2 grams shows harms due to deficiency. But you don’t want more than 4, so don’t overdo it. If you aim for 2 from salmon, or sardines,(4-5 oz a day on averge) then you should pick up an extra gram from eggs and other foods and be fine.

Cans are bad. I never eat canned water packed foods because metals are water soluble, but with oil packed sardines, the oil acts as a degree of protection, so if you pour off the oil the sardines should not be affected by the can.

27

Ok, well I bought organic butter, sour cream, red palm oil, and coconut oil today. Will be getting goat cheese later today with my meats.

I already get 6 eggs a day on top of my 2oz of salmon, is this ok? Why not go above 4g of Omega 3’s btw?

Also, what do you say about canola oil? I like to eat chips (tortilla) every so often and I noticed they have canola oil in them, sometimes vegetable.

Thanks for the help!

28

[quote]SargeMaximus wrote:
Ok, well I bought organic butter, sour cream, red palm oil, and coconut oil today. Will be getting goat cheese later today with my meats.

I already get 6 eggs a day on top of my 2oz of salmon, is this ok? Why not go above 4g of Omega 3’s btw?

Also, what do you say about canola oil? I like to eat chips (tortilla) every so often and I noticed they have canola oil in them, sometimes vegetable.

Thanks for the help![/quote]

Canola has an ok fat profile. 100 cals of fat from canola will have about 2-3 grams of omega-6, verus 100 cals of most cooking oils having 6-8 grams (basically at the daily limit). Try to keep the fat-cals from the chips at around 100 and you will only be adding 2-3 grams which is certainly manageable. Canola is rapeseed oil. It may have traces of erucic acid which is bad, so the basic rule is “not every day” or “not most days”.

Eggs need to be “high omega-3” on the label or they may be low. High omega-3 eggs have .2 to .3 grams, so 6 a day plus 2 oz salmon is “enough” giving you 2.0 to about 2.8 grams locked in a day. “Regular” eggs typically are listed at about 0.1 grams. Also the grass fed beef is giving you around .6 to .7 grams per half pound.

Omega 6s and omega 3s are both essential, but because they have multiple double bonds, they can oxidize and carry that damage into cells, especially blood vessel linings. They also can cause free radical/peroxidaiton damage that can kill cells or make them cancerous, but like many things, your body uses and deals with a certain amount and above that threshold they start to get bad. Omega 6s and Omega 3 both cause that kind of damage, and omega 3s are actually worse, but they cancel out some of the problems of omega 6s by competing with them for biochemical pathways. So if your omega 6s are HIGH, then more omega 3s may be better than less. But if omega 6s are below the “zero risk” threshold of about 6-8 grams a day then 2-4 grams of omega-3s will be optimal for health. Getting 10-15 grams of omega 6s is still half of what Americans probably average. I think Americans average about 25+ omega 6 and about 1 omega 3 a day.

29

Jesus. That’s crazy about the Omega stuff. My eggs are Free-range though, so I have no idea how much Omega 3 they have.

I also got macadamia nuts today and just checked the nutrition info. Apparently 1oz has 201 calories and 2g Protein! The calories are AWESOME. Any side-effects I should know about with those?

Also, I’ll be re-posting my new diet with all this stuff sometime in the next couple of days.

Thanks for all your help. I feel 100 times better than I did eating “regular food” already, and I can’t wait to start hitting the gym.

30

[quote]SargeMaximus wrote:
Jesus. That’s crazy about the Omega stuff. My eggs are Free-range though, so I have no idea how much Omega 3 they have.

I also got macadamia nuts today and just checked the nutrition info. Apparently 1oz has 201 calories and 2g Protein! The calories are AWESOME. Any side-effects I should know about with those?

Also, I’ll be re-posting my new diet with all this stuff sometime in the next couple of days.

Thanks for all your help. I feel 100 times better than I did eating “regular food” already, and I can’t wait to start hitting the gym.[/quote]

Here’s the big advantage with Macadamia nuts for added cals:

Per 1/4 cup, omega 6 grams.
Walnuts â?? 9.5 g
Almonds â?? 4.36 g
Cashews â?? 2.6 g
Macadamias â?? 0.5 g
Brazil nuts â?? 7.2 g
Hazelnuts â?? 2.7 g
Pistachio â?? 4.1 g
Pine nuts â?? 11.6 g
Pecans â?? 5.8 g

1/4 Cup of nuts is typically a little over an ounce, so you can see that most other nuts are going to get you into your daily max range for omega-6s quickly. Remember that 5-10 grams of omega 6 is the ideal range. Aim for less than 10, if you end up at 15 its still much better than most diets. They also are giving you 2-3 grams of fiber.

Basically they are low allergen, non-problematic sources of MONO-unsaturated fats. Macadamia oil can also be used for higher temp cooking. Avocados and olive oil are going to be similar, as well as red palm, but they are going to still give you about 1.5 grams of omega-6 for 100 cals, versus .5 for 200 cals for MNs

31

Looking again at egg data, I would still recommend either doubling your fish to 4 ounces a day, or getting Flameout from this site, and taking 2 or 3 (alternating) per day.

32

Mert:

What’s your background? I’ve learned a lot from reading some of your recent posts.

You may have made it all up, but if you did, you did it in a very believable manner, lol.

33

I have a BS double major in biology and chemistry, an MS is exercise physiology and an MA in education. I worked in a university ex phys lab for 2 years, andI taught HS chem and bio for 12 years. My wife is also a cardiologist. Still that’s not really a fair representation, because, while my background gave me foundational knowledge, my dietary ideas have come from reading 3-5 real studies a day for the last 5 years.

34

I will say you’ve had a big impact on my planning for this coming cut. Also, if you look at the fats you recommend, it’s not like you’re saying to eat a bucket of lard, it’s things like coconut/red palm/avocado/fatty fish. It’s fairly similar to other lists of “healthy” fats, but in greater amounts than others have suggested.

Also, could you send a link to that fructose study you talked about, the one referring to more than 25g/day being ‘iffy’? I’ve found several sources for most of the stuff you’ve posted, but I can’t find that ANYWHERE.

35

[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
I will say you’ve had a big impact on my planning for this coming cut. Also, if you look at the fats you recommend, it’s not like you’re saying to eat a bucket of lard, it’s things like coconut/red palm/avocado/fatty fish. It’s fairly similar to other lists of “healthy” fats, but in greater amounts than others have suggested.

Also, could you send a link to that fructose study you talked about, the one referring to more than 25g/day being ‘iffy’? I’ve found several sources for most of the stuff you’ve posted, but I can’t find that ANYWHERE. [/quote]

I gave one of my resource books away. I should have kept it. Fructose is associated with fatty liver disease and fructose also affects the kinds of triglycerides we make. It does not typically go into the bloodstream, because it is bad. It goes straight to the liver through the hepatic portal vein. That’s why it has such a low glycemic index, because it never even gets to the bloodstream (if you don’t get too much). The recommendation of 25 grams MIGHT have been an extrapolation from an animal study, because it would be equivalent to 4% of a 2500 calorie diet, which seems to ring a bell.

But do an internet search for 25 grams fructose

Here’s one: http://missinghumanmanual.com/?tag=fructose

Now also recent articles I’ve read suggest that you can get more fructose to recover from training, but sucrose will turn to 50% glucose 50% fructose as it is broken down.

36

thanks, I googled it and found plenty. You’ve been a big help

37

Yes, thank you. I’m excited to start training again because this time I know I have a good diet.

However, I still want to run it past you. I think it’s complete, just let me know what you think.

DAILY MEALS (All-Organic/Free-Range):

Meal 1 (5/5:30am):

1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice: 216 Cals 5g Protein
1/2 Cup Ground Beef: 210 Cals 20g Protein
Protein Shake:

  • 1 Scoop GNC Whey ISO Burst Protein Powder: 85 Cals 19.5g Protein
  • 1 Tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 Tsp Goji Berry Powder
  • 1 Tsp Acai Berry Powder
  • 1 Tsp Maca (X-6 Black and Red-Purple all-in-one)

Matcha Tea

TOTAL: 511 Cals 44.5g Protein

Meal 2 (Around 6am):

1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice: 216 Cals 5g Protein
1 Cup Ground Beef: 420 Cals 40g Protein

TOTAL: 636 Cals 45g Protein

Meal 3 (10am):

1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice: 216 Cals 5g Protein
1 Cup Ground Beef: 420 Cals 40g Protein
2 Eggs: 175 Cals 12.5g Protein
1 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 120 Cals
1 Tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil: 120 Cals
1 Tbsp Red Palm Oil: 130 Cals
1 Baked Potato (About 3" Diameter): 161 Cals 4.3g Protein

TOTAL: 1342 Cals 61.8g Protein

Meal 4 (1pm):

1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice: 216 Cals 5g Protein
1 Cup Ground Beef: 420 Cals 40g Protein
2 Eggs: 175 Cals 12.5g Protein
1 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 120 Cals
1 Tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil: 120 Cals
1 Tbsp Red Palm Oil: 130 Cals
1 Baked Potato (About 3" Diameter): 161 Cals 4.3g Protein

TOTAL: 1342 Cals 61.8g Protein

Meal 5 (5:30/6pm):

1 Cup Long Grain Brown Rice: 216 Cals 5g Protein
1 Cup Ground Beef: 420 Cals 40g Protein
2 Eggs: 175 Cals 12.5g Protein
1 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 120 Cals
1 Baked Potato (About 3" Diameter): 161 Cals 4.3g Protein
1 Tbsp Sour Cream: 25 Cals 0.5g Protein
1 Cube Goat Cheese: 110 Cals 7g Protein

TOTAL: 1227 Cals 69.3g Protein

Meal 6 (8pm):

About 3oz Smoked Salmon (Previously Frozen [Does that matter?], and can’t be sure the exact weight as I just cut the steaks in half, but the one I weighed just now was 3.2oz): 99 Cals 15.5g Protein
1 Cube Goat Cheese: 110 Cals 7g Protein
1 Baked Potato (About 3" Diameter): 161 Cals 4.3g Protein
1 Tbsp Sour Cream: 25 Cas 0.5g Protein

TOTAL: 395 Cals 27.3g Protein

GRAND TOTAL: 5,453 Cals 309.2g Protein

Now, I’ve heard that the body can only process 40g of Protein every hour, meaning if you ate more than 40g in one meal, the rest “wouldn’t count”. Is that true?

Also, any other super-foods or good stuff I can add for superhuman strength, stamina, longevity, and testosterone boosting?

Thanks again! This is truly epic!

38

You should get some greens, but you should cycle them or mix them. Kale, Turnip greens, Mustard Greens or others.

If your Beef is grass fed, that is a plus.

Your omega 6s are really well managed for that many calories.

Your omeg 3s are probably just above the lower ideal limit.

You also could still use a little animal vitamin A. 1 teaspoon of Arctic brand cod liver oil would put your omega 3s in the middle of the ideal range, and give you a low dose of animal vitamin A (about 10-30%). Arctic brand has .5 grams DHA to about .35 grams EPA which is a good ratio for men (who need a little more DHA). Twinlab Norwegian brand has more vitamin A (90%) but that may be too much from animal sources on a daily basis, and it has less DHA than EPA. Personally I would either use Arctic or alternate the two just 1 teaspoon a day, BUT what I really do is add Biotest Flameout, 4 capsules on days that I don’t eat fish. Then I eat fish 2-3 times a week. Flameout has has the ideal proportion of DHA to EPA, and then I eat a serving of liver (4 oz) once a week for vitamin A.

I also take Biotest “superfood” which is freeze dried berry, fruit and greens extracts. This handles the fruit micronutrients.

potatos are a good form of fiber, but it will still help to add in greens, though the easiest way to eat them is to “wilt” them in your rice and possibly toss in the eggs on top. A main meal for me to cook some onion and or mushrooms in red palm and or coconut oil, toss in steamed rice, then put in eggs, and a handful of greens just to wilt them, which may help release and activate some of the nutrients, but it makes a cup of greens into a very small amount on the plate, and easy to eat.

One other thing, If possible go to an organic food store and get naturally fermented pickles and or saurkraut and or apple cider vinegar with the “mother” culture. Bubbies brand is one. The bacteria in fermented pickles works in the gut on fiber to produce protective fatty acids, stabilize blood sugar, protect against colon cancer etc. Naturally fermented picked vegetables are not made with vinegar.

You probably can stand some fruit too, 2-3 pieces a day. Or 2-3 servings of berries, or cantaloupe

LASTLY I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR that I am not writing a diet for you. I am basically telling you some of the things that I would find essential in a hypothetical diet for someone who really needs 5000 calories a day. I have never eaten 5000 calories a day, or felt that I needed that many, and I have no way of knowing if you really need that many calories, or how you will particularly react, but based on my dietary principles, if someone needed 5000 cals a day, these are basically the general things I would think would need to be satisfied.

39

Because you are eating protein combined with fat, your body will tend to move slower and absorb more. I think you can get all of your protein in 3-4 meals spaced out.

40

[quote]mertdawg wrote:
Because you are eating protein combined with fat, your body will tend to move slower and absorb more. I think you can get all of your protein in 3-4 meals spaced out. [/quote]

Can you explain why that is and how much more protein my body will be able to absorb because of it?

As for veggies, I currently get Broccoli and Carrots. I’ll alternate with Kale, but is Broccoli good?

I’ll be sure to look for Arctic brand cod liver oil.

Naturally fermented pickles sound good, if a little odd, so I’ll give it a try.

Fruit, I eat about a banana a day. Maybe add an apple.

The Superfood sounds good and I already take Goji, Acai, Ginger, and Maca. I noticed the superfood has Goji and Acai, should I still take Maca and Ginger or no?

Also, I’m wondering if there are any limits on macadamia nuts? I’ve started taking about 6oz a day because they’re so calorie dense and I chase them with a protein drink to give me some extra before work and before bed.

And yeah, I understand. You’ve been very helpful, can’t thank you enough. I already feel better and my fatigue is negligible so there’s no doubt this was a step in the right direction.