Posted: 12/20/2025 8:55:18 AM EDT
[Last Edit: GnarlyDood][Edited]
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So I'm about 2.5 years in to consistently working out. I'm about to turn 49 so my expectations are reasonable. I'm doing it for health more than anything. I've kind of stalled out with the "gainz" but would really like to hit 315 on the bench before I hit 50 (I've gotten 300 a couple times so I'm close). The one thing I've been slacking on is diet which I know is probably the most important aspect. I don't eat terrible but I do sneak in too much sugar from time to time and I know my protein intake is lower than it should be. I've really been focusing on that for a couple weeks now and my weight is down from 215 to 208 in about 3 weeks. Hard part is finding high protein stuff that I will eat daily. Here's what I've landed on for now: Breakfast - smoothie (protein powder, greek yogurt, 1/4 cup oats, milk, berries), sometimes 1 whole egg and egg whites scrambled up Lunch - either grilled chicken breast or a few slices of Boar's Head turkey and cottage cheese Dinner - fish a couple times a week, chicken, beef and veggies Snacks - occasional RX bar, more cottage cheese and yogurt I recently forced myself to like cottage cheese which was hard but now I kind of crave it. Basically I'm looking for any staples you guys have to keep me from getting bored. Off to do leg day... Also, am I weird for actually losing weight through Christmas? |
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.
Joined:
Jun 2003
Posts:
22412
EE: 100% (59)
PA, USA
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Are you on creatine? If you’re near a costco they have one that is completely tasteless and is the first one I’ve used that doesn’t upset my stomach. And it’s cheap. They also carry Fairlife 30 gram shakes that are damn tasty. Fairlife regular milk is also 50% more protein than regular milk. Diet is the really hard part about getting really big. I recently read an article about Kevin Levrone in which he was eating 7lbs of flounder a day leading up to an Olympia contest. Seven pounds of fish a day. 
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Whoever double-crosses me and leaves me alive, he understands nothing about Tuco. Nothing!
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Nutricost Whey Protein Concentrate is Unflavored and no sucralose. I put it in everything, even my electrolyte drinks. |
"A mass production economy can neither be created nor sustained
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
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Originally Posted By dogsplat: Are you on creatine? If you’re near a costco they have one that is completely tasteless and is the first one I’ve used that doesn’t upset my stomach. And it’s cheap. They also carry Fairlife 30 gram shakes that are damn tasty. Fairlife regular milk is also 50% more protein than regular milk. Diet is the really hard part about getting really big. I recently read an article about Kevin Levrone in which he was eating 7lbs of flounder a day leading up to an Olympia contest. Seven pounds of fish a day. I did creatine for a while but didn't really notice any difference. It did however make me wake up 3 times a night to pee so that was annoying. I love fish but damn! I can't afford 7lbs a day! |
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Originally Posted By GnarlyDood: I did creatine for a while but didn't really notice any difference. It did however make me wake up 3 times a night to pee so that was annoying. I love fish but damn! I can't afford 7lbs a day! Originally Posted By GnarlyDood: Originally Posted By dogsplat: Are you on creatine? If you’re near a costco they have one that is completely tasteless and is the first one I’ve used that doesn’t upset my stomach. And it’s cheap. They also carry Fairlife 30 gram shakes that are damn tasty. Fairlife regular milk is also 50% more protein than regular milk. Diet is the really hard part about getting really big. I recently read an article about Kevin Levrone in which he was eating 7lbs of flounder a day leading up to an Olympia contest. Seven pounds of fish a day. I did creatine for a while but didn't really notice any difference. It did however make me wake up 3 times a night to pee so that was annoying. I love fish but damn! I can't afford 7lbs a day! I have the same issue with creatine. Even after loading for a month I was pissing all the time. I gave up on it after trying a few different times. As far as staples for protein. Beef. I buy a half a steer every year and load up two freezers. I try to eat it almost daily, as a decent sized steak will cover pretty much the bulk of a daily protein goal easily. I had a lot of it turned into hot dogs and snack sticks this year, so that makes it a lot easier to just snack on protein through the day too. |
If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.
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I make a breakfast burrito every day. Cook two packages of turkey sausage, add in a dozen eggs, scramble it all up, and split it into four portions. Then all you have to do is reheat a portion and put it in a large tortilla (I use high fiber keto tortillas) with some hot sauce. I end up eating some of that with a fork because it doesn't quite fit in the tortilla. Check out Stan Efferding's monster mash as a starting point for lunch. You can use lean beef, or even ground turkey or chicken, if you're trying to keep calories down. Lots of salmon and boneless, skinless chicken thighs for dinner. You mentioned trying to hit 315, but also you are losing weight. At some point getting gains while cutting becomes difficult. Eventually you may have to prioritize one or the other. |
McCarthy was right.
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I can't help with making things less boring. I eat the same thing every morning while I'm making breakfasts and packing lunches. Cream of Rice, drop a banana in the bowl. Maybe some blueberries or sugar free chocolate syrup + Skim milk protein shake and PB Fit. Sometimes I just dump the proteins in the bowl to save on dishes. I keep packs of tortillas, tuna, PB, powdered milk and oatmeal in my lunchbox. I don't mind eating dry oatmeal so the Kodiak protein ones are some extra carbs and about 12g of protein. This is my "just in case" stuff. Roll up 2 packs of tuna in 2 tortillas and you have your 30g protein in handheld form in about 2 minutes.  First lunches are whatever is easy. I try to prep on Sundays. Whatever protein I found on sale, sweet potatoes, rice and steamed vegetables. I've been buying the steamfresh bags if I don't make them on Sunday. Sometimes I have time for second lunch.  Plain ground chicken with some thai sauce and a faily pack of rice.  If I don't pack lunch it's usually packaged tuna or chicken, microwaved rice and vegetables. I can split this and the family size rice and vegetables into first and second lunches (or just cram it all in).  Dinners we jump between turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers or turkey chili, beef and broccoli, chicken and rice stuffed peppers, thai lattuce wraps, baked chicken parm. Sometimes it's easiest to just toss a side of a salmon on a pan and bake it. I also buy up whatever lean meats I find on sale and combine those with leftovers. I cut back on the salmon and tuna lately.  I end up with 3 protein shakes throughout the day. The first two are whey and the last one is casein around 8pm. ETA: I'm aiming for 2200-2500 calories, 160-180g protein and about 215-230g carbs. I don't really track fat anymore because I never hit my target and I stick with a pretty consistent schedule. 3x shakes at ~35g each means leaves around 60-75g for foods. I want to eat more eggs in the morning but I'm too busy took cook for myself. I also dump about 15g of EAAs and 35g of intra carbs in a water bottle and mix lemonade crystal light to mask the taste. |
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Originally Posted By dogsplat: Are you on creatine? If you’re near a costco they have one that is completely tasteless and is the first one I’ve used that doesn’t upset my stomach. And it’s cheap. They also carry Fairlife 30 gram shakes that are damn tasty. Fairlife regular milk is also 50% more protein than regular milk. Diet is the really hard part about getting really big. I recently read an article about Kevin Levrone in which he was eating 7lbs of flounder a day leading up to an Olympia contest. Seven pounds of fish a day. You're probably referring to HCL vs monohydrate. Better uptake so lower amounts used and less gastric issues. 7lb of fish... Probably one of those exaggerated stories like Jay Cutler and his eggs. That's something like 700g+ of protein in just the fish. |
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I also really lke Fairlife milk and their 30 gram/150 cal protein shakes (Costco has them around here). Getting in a high protein meal for breakfast is key- you can knock out probably 25% of you protein needs in one meal. i also like the burritoes with low carb wraps: 4 oz ground beef, 2 scrambled eggs, 56 gr fat free shredded cheddar (fat free has more protein, 9gr/18gr per half cup/cup for 45/90 cal). low carb wrap. That's 65 gr protein for 560 cal. Oikos Greek yogurt- 20 gr protein/140 cal |
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Originally Posted By SnoopisTDI: I make a breakfast burrito every day. Cook two packages of turkey sausage, add in a dozen eggs, scramble it all up, and split it into four portions. Then all you have to do is reheat a portion and put it in a large tortilla (I use high fiber keto tortillas) with some hot sauce. I end up eating some of that with a fork because it doesn't quite fit in the tortilla. Check out Stan Efferding's monster mash as a starting point for lunch. You can use lean beef, or even ground turkey or chicken, if you're trying to keep calories down. Lots of salmon and boneless, skinless chicken thighs for dinner. You mentioned trying to hit 315, but also you are losing weight. At some point getting gains while cutting becomes difficult. Eventually you may have to prioritize one or the other. Not sure if I’d call it cutting. I’m only 5’10” and weigh 210ish. I’m thinking I just need to lose some dad bod fat. |
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Originally Posted By bnoji: I can't help with making things less boring. I eat the same thing every morning while I'm making breakfasts and packing lunches. Cream of Rice, drop a banana in the bowl. Maybe some blueberries or sugar free chocolate syrup + Skim milk protein shake and PB Fit. Sometimes I just dump the proteins in the bowl to save on dishes. I keep packs of tortillas, tuna, PB, powdered milk and oatmeal in my lunchbox. I don't mind eating dry oatmeal so the Kodiak protein ones are some extra carbs and about 12g of protein. This is my "just in case" stuff. Roll up 2 packs of tuna in 2 tortillas and you have your 30g protein in handheld form in about 2 minutes. https://i.ibb.co/99pTWBJz/image.png First lunches are whatever is easy. I try to prep on Sundays. Whatever protein I found on sale, sweet potatoes, rice and steamed vegetables. I've been buying the steamfresh bags if I don't make them on Sunday. Sometimes I have time for second lunch. https://i.ibb.co/QjC2Pcm5/image.png Plain ground chicken with some thai sauce and a faily pack of rice. https://i.ibb.co/xqsvp9RW/image.png If I don't pack lunch it's usually packaged tuna or chicken, microwaved rice and vegetables. I can split this and the family size rice and vegetables into first and second lunches (or just cram it all in). https://i.ibb.co/FRh9jcL/image.png Dinners we jump between turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers or turkey chili, beef and broccoli, chicken and rice stuffed peppers, thai lattuce wraps, baked chicken parm. Sometimes it's easiest to just toss a side of a salmon on a pan and bake it. I also buy up whatever lean meats I find on sale and combine those with leftovers. I cut back on the salmon and tuna lately. https://i.ibb.co/21hDnkHT/image.png I end up with 3 protein shakes throughout the day. The first two are whey and the last one is casein around 8pm. ETA: I'm aiming for 2200-2500 calories, 160-180g protein and about 215-230g carbs. I don't really track fat anymore because I never hit my target and I stick with a pretty consistent schedule. 3x shakes at ~35g each means leaves around 60-75g for foods. I want to eat more eggs in the morning but I'm too busy took cook for myself. I also dump about 15g of EAAs and 35g of intra carbs in a water bottle and mix lemonade crystal light to mask the taste. Damn! Thanks for the breakdown of all that. I’m pretty much gearing up to do similar. Eating the same thing all the time really doesn’t bother me and it damn sure makes it easier at the store. |
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My staples are: A local raw milk cottage cheese, its not soupy shit like most sell, its so damn good. Sardines, I eat a bunch through a week. 4-5 cans minimum. Santo Amaro and Matiz are my current shelf stock. Beef, bought a 1/4 last year, looking at a half this year. Avocados I am boring and eat the same stuff constantly. I also very much control carbs. |
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Originally Posted By SIG_gunner: I also really lke Fairlife milk and their 30 gram/150 cal protein shakes (Costco has them around here). Getting in a high protein meal for breakfast is key- you can knock out probably 25% of you protein needs in one meal. i also like the burritoes with low carb wraps: 4 oz ground beef, 2 scrambled eggs, 56 gr fat free shredded cheddar (fat free has more protein, 9gr/18gr per half cup/cup for 45/90 cal). low carb wrap. That's 65 gr protein for 560 cal. Oikos Greek yogurt- 20 gr protein/140 cal Fair warning, there has been a couple times when I had some gastro issues afterward. Maybe coincidence, maybe too much artificial sweetener. |
McCarthy was right.
