Diet related questions *discussion*

[dizahs]

Hi I'm new to the forum...I'm 5'11 162 pounds, and am looking forward to put on some muscle weight to get bigger maybe 10 pounds. I had a few questions....

1) Is there a difference between Lactose free vs Normal Milk? Nutrient wise...I know lactose free is "free" of lactose for people that can't digest lactose.
2) Proteins - I know protein is very important for muscle growth, and target is around 160g daily. What's the best sources for protein? I have read the sticky...Only problem is most of protein intake comes from chicken alone (i dont eat fish)..and its hard for me to cook beef so i dont have that usually...Is there any other sources that I should be getting protein from that is NECESSARY for growth (I do have egg whites, cottage cheese, milk, yogurts too)
3) Cottage cheese - what do you guys have cottage cheese with? It has a lot of protein, I just dont know what to eat it with..I tried it with pasta, its not bad, but its in the fridge so its cold :S and pasta is warm...
4) Egg whites - Again lots of protein, how do you guys eat egg whites? I usually make sunny side up and add some egg whites to that...Good/Bad idea?
5) Snacks - What kinda snacks would be good between meals? What do you guys have? Is there any low fat chocolate bars or anything that are any good (healthy)...Protein bars maybe??? Also bars that are high in fibre is that good?

Thank you for the replies in advance, feel free to discuss any other food you guys eat that are healthy and tastes good.

[swanso5]

up the red meat definately...if you get your protein from 1 source only then you'll be deficient in other minerals and vitamins

[dizahs]

- Thank you for the replies
- What other sources should I get fibre from other than whole wheat, veggies/fruit, oatmeal - those are the ones i usually have
- I do have few different places I get protein from, but I would say 100 out of 160g of protein is coming from chicken....Is that something I should be concerned about?
- Do I need to have 160g protein on days i don't lift weights?
- For the eggwhite, what is hardboiled? how do you make that? pics?

*** Anything else I should add to diet, please feel free to comment ***

[Boss Man]

Flax and Legumes for Fibre as well. You can get soluable Fibre, but you shouldn't need that.

No need to worry about the Chicken, it's full of Iron and Zinc, so no problems there.

You can have slightly less Protein on non-lifting days if you want.

Most people only need at most 1.2g per lb of bodyweight for protein anyway. 1.5g Max.

[Boss Man]

Are you concerned about getting too much Protein. I'm not criticising, just curious .

[Boss Man]

I see. I assumed the 2g thing was something you did on a semi-regular basis, 1.5g being nearer the lower end of the spectrum as opposed to higher end.

[dizahs]

Nah I'm not concerned about getting too much protein, I know I need that...I was concerned that Im getting more than 60% of protein from only one source - chicken. And if that has any bad side effects...

[cassiegose]

In a perfect world, love.

Na. Its actually not that hard to set a macro goal and hit it everyday. I figure out how much protein I need (I do 1.5 grams per lb of body weight) which gives me 187... and i know that i'm going to be eating 6 meals a day so i shoot for about 30 grams of protein per meal then figure out what foods are going to make me hit that goal. If youre eating a wide variety of foods on a daily basis or eating out often it can become a huge pain in the butt always having to caculate and plan ahead. This is why I tend to stick to the same staples on a daily basis (fish, chicken, lean beef, cottage cheese, eggwhites, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, kamute, millet, quinoa, fruits, and veggies)... I know exactly how much i need to eat of each food to hit macros and I have the nutrition info for each food written in food journal (that goes everywhere with me) so i don't have to guess.

Obviously I've had to watch macros extra closely with this competition so I might not be a great example of the "average" person... however wanted to point out that meeting macros every day is not difficult nor is it only attainable in perfect world. Anybody can do it with proper planning and a basic understanding of math and nutrition.

Just opinion.

Cassie

[cassiegose]

Oh man... morning star... I used to eat that stuff all the time. I tried some a while back and couldn't believe how salty it was! I can see how it would be hard to get in enough protein having switched from a vegetarian diet. I just didn't want other members to get the idea that it was that difficult or impossible to meet daily macro goals... I'll be honest, it can be a total pain in the butt sometimes when you are trying to get in 30 grams of protein at every meal... but it does get easier in time.