Tricks of the Trade

Eating chicken breast every day gets old real fast—especially if you’re eating it more than once too.  Keeping your go-to staples delicious and appetizing goes a long way towards helping you stick to a stricter intake.  Here are my favorite ways to dress up plain ol’ chicken and rice.

Drink Your Protein-Infused Cocoa, Peter!

As you might expect, all calories are not created equal--it really does matter which of your favorite neverfoods you're eating--yams, mamee apples, banana squash?  In the same way, protein is not protein "no matter where it comes from."  The "trace" proteins in starches, nuts and dairy are not exactly the same as the proteins from chicken, eggs, beef, pork, and seafood.  While avoiding these proteins is not necessary, or even advisable, it should still be noted that they are not direct substitutes for "real" protein. So while some attention to detail is necessary in ensuring that inordinate amounts of trace proteins are not consumed, thereby altering the total daily intake value, trace proteins can still be a balancing force in the diet and help maintain a positive nitrogen balance, when not relied on for protein alone.

GoPro or Go Low?

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started bodybuilding was eating way too much protein.  High protein is one of those things in bodybuilding that no matter how much you argue against it, people will never listen until they do it themselves--myself included.  Protein is definitely a necessity, don't get me wrong, but overdoing it is not as beneficial, or even as harmless, as most would believe it to be.  While bloodwork can show the negative biological effects of excess protein, I believe the straight-up better results from a lower protein diet speak for themselves.  And we can all smell the meatheads who are overdoing it, amirite?  High protein definitely contributes to some really nasty gym farts sooo, take it easy brah!

Thank You, Chris Aceto

One of the biggest mistakes I made with my diet early on, and even somewhat recently, is eating too much protein.  Sounds weird coming from a bodybuilder, right?  In fact, many high level bodybuilders advocate(d) low protein too: Dorian Yates ate "low protein" during his reign as Mr. Olympia (6 yrs in a row, plus he's arguably the best of all time), and Chris Aceto, nutritionist and prep guru to athletes such as Ronnie Coleman, Kim Chivesky (I can't wait to look like her! :D), Jay Cutler, Mike Francois and others, also advocates low protein.  Chris is fairly well known in the bodybuilding community, and he's considered one of the major "diet gurus," along with Charles Glass, Hany Rambod, George Farah, etc.  His approach is particularly interesting because of the intense focus on low protein diet compositions.