Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Squat Workout & Protein Intake Without Meat or Shakes

So far today, I've had over 108 grams of protein without eating meat or having a shake...and we're only up to lunchtime. Just goes to show you that you don't need shakes or meat at every meal. Now don't get me wrong, I like meat, just am not eating that much these days for various reasons.

But the bottom line is that you can still get a lot of protein without meat if you want to build muscle. Of course, this is not a "vegan" diet, for that you might need to go the shake route...but as for shakes, let's be honest. They are gross and I don't need them. That's why I don't drink them. I've had enough of them in the past.

Alright, here's how I've gotten 108 grams of protein today before dinner and evening snack:

Breakfast: 2 tbsn peanut butter melted into bowl, with 2oz of pecans, plus coconut flakes, blueberries, and 2 small bananas

= 13 grams of protein

Snack: 1 giant apple + 1 tbspn almond butter

= 5g protein

"Brunch": 4 egg omelet with 1/2 cheese, spinach, broccoli, red onion, red pepper, salsa, wrapped in 2 whole wheat tortillas

= 40 grams protein

Lunch: raw vegetables & hummus + 3 "banana tacos" (banana + blueberries + tbspn almond-hazelnut buttter wrapped in tortilla) + 500mL chocolate milk

= 40 grams protein

So there you go. Going out for dinner tonight. Maybe I'll have meat, maybe I won't. Dunno. I do know that I don't have to have what Brad Pilon calls, "protein guilt" because I haven't had any meat or worse, shakes.

Now for today's workout...

1A) Squats (worked up to 355)
1B) Pullups (hit 15 reps)

2A) Front Squats
2B) 1-Arm DB Shoulder Press

3) BB Rows (2 sets)

That was it.

Keep doing what you love,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Click here for the muscle building program that influence my workouts

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Greg, 2 questions for you:

1) Do you eat bananas "freely"? I've noticed they show up quite a lot on your meals/snacks. What's your take on their sugar content and timing to eat them?

2) Some of your workouts seem quite short, which I like, what's the shortest workout you remembering doing on a weekly basis? And I mean in the gym, not home bodyweight workouts.

Thanks for sharing info as always!

Anonymous said...

Hi Craig-
I'd also like to hear your take on bananas and when you eat them and thoughts on them. I have been told to not eat them often as they spike insulin.

Also, never had almond butter and was wondering what it's like? Is it similar to PB? Also have seen apple butter...is that the same thing?

What's your opinion on milk consumption? I drink 1% and have been told to avoid very much milk because it becomes belly fat right away. I only drink milk and water and am just curious.

Thanks for the info!
John

Anonymous said...

Also curious about your 2 bits on bananas. I greatly reduced my intake due to the reasons stated above.

@John

I just started eating almond butter myself. Won't be sad if I never do peanut butter gain.

Much of the jarred PB is PACKED with hydrogenated oils and trans fats. No thanks!

Go around to your local grocery stores and find the one with the machine that makes the butter right before your eyes.

Anonymous said...

P.S. Craig, I'm surprised as much as you like your chocolate milk that you don't like shakes.

I don't have "protein guilt" either, but I drink them almost entirely because of the texture & flavor. Gives me that cheating feeling without the cheating (at times when I'd rather not cheat).

Craig Ballantyne, CTT, Certified Turbulence Trainer said...

Fruit doesn't make you fat, so I have no concerns eating bananas.

Most of my workouts are at least 30 minutes. I don't go shorter than that, mostly b/c I spend 5-10 minutes warming up and doing warmup sets.

Apple butter is not the same as almond butter for obvious reasons.

Almond butter is more like peanut butter. Just get butters with only one ingredient. Peanuts or almonds.

I don't understand how "milk becomes belly fat right away". Makes no sense.

Shakes are lame. Sorry.

Craig

Anonymous said...

are you eating to gain weight? or do you just expend that much amount of energy during the course of the day? bc that is one calorically dense diet..

Craig Ballantyne, CTT, Certified Turbulence Trainer said...

Just another benefit of the Turbulence Training Lifestyle!

Anonymous said...

well you didnt answer the question

Lillea Woodlyns said...

The issue with milk is that there are several studies that show how, despite it's low glycemic index, milk spikes insulin. Loren Cordain has studied this quite a bit. There seems to be a correlation between dairy and acne for this reason.

This might not cover all types of milk (raw, A2, goat, etc) but there seems to be enough evidence to suggest that for some people it can be a problem.