Best Bodybuilding Foods

Best Bodybuilding Foods

Best Bodybuilding Foods 

1. EGG

egg

WHITES
Show us a bodybuilder without egg whites in his diet, and we'll show you someone who's missing out on the best protein money can buy. Paired with oatmeal, an egg-white omelet can turn your breakfast into a power meal to fuel the rest of your day.

Eggs are laid by female animals of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have been eaten by humans for thousands of years. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen (egg white), and vitellus (egg yolk), contained within various thin membranes. Popular choices for egg consumption are chicken, duck, quail, roe, and caviar, but the egg most often consumed by humans is the chicken egg.

Buy It: When purchasing eggs, do the basics: Always check the date and open the carton to check for cracks. Also, be sure the eggs are refrigerated in the store and when you get home with them. Although eggs stored out of the refrigerator won't necessarily cause illness, they do lose a grade per day when not refrigerated.

egg

Prepare It: Although many gadgets promise an easy way to separate the yolk from the white, the quickest, easiest method is to simply use your own clean hands. For this six-egg-white omelet recipe, crack six eggs into a medium-sized bowl. Next, using clean fingers, lightly grasp the yolks, lift them out one by one, and discard. With a fork or whisk, whisk the egg whites with salt, pepper and any of your favorite herbs until well combined and a few bubbles have formed on top. Spray a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place it over medium-high heat and add egg whites. After about 15 seconds, reduce heat to medium. Pull in on the edges of the omelet with a spatula and slightly tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs under the cooked portion. Continue this around the perimeter until most of the uncooked egg disappears. Then fold the omelet in thirds, as if you're folding a letter to fit it into a business envelope. Using the spatula, carefully slide it from the pan to a plate and eat it immediately.

egg

Nutrients: 99 calories, 21 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber.

EGGS Protein Power: 6 g per 1 large egg
These white orbs are near-perfect muscle food. That's because the biological value—a measure of how much protein from the food can be incorporated into proteins in the body—of an egg is higher than that of nearly any other item in the grocery store. The biological value is largely dictated by the amount of essential amino acids a food possesses, and the humble egg has these in spades.

Need to Know: Keep an eye out for cartons containing eggs with beefed-up omega-3 levels to make your morning scramble work even harder for you.

2- LONDON BROIL/TOP ROUND STEAK

LONDON BROIL

London broil is a North American beef dish made by broiling or grilling marinated flank steak, then cutting it across the grain into thin strips. The origin of the name is obscure; the dish is unknown in the English city of London.

Chicken breast may be the quintessential bodybuilding staple, but lean cuts of red meat are loaded with complete protein and pack the most punch when you're trying to pack more beef on your frame.
Buy It: Always purchase London broil that's bright-red in color. If it has even the lightest tint of brown to it, it has started to spoil. Try to find a steak or roast that's at least 1 inch thick with as little visible fat as possible.

LONDON BROIL

Prepare It: Preheat a grill to the highest heat setting. Remove all visible fat and cut the steak or roast into 4-6-ounce individual steaks. Season both sides of meat with salt, pepper and/or a spice rub or marinade. Place on grill and cook 3-6 minutes per side or until cooked to your liking.
Nutrients: A 4-ounce (measured raw) lean top round steak has 138 calories, 24 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 0 g fiber.




3-SALMON FILLET
SOCKEYE SALMON
Protein Power: 23 g per 3 oz. serving

Not only does wild salmon like sockeye taste better than its farmed cousin, it also supplies about 25 percent more protein. In addition, you'll reap the benefits of its plethora of fat-fighting long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

SALMON FILLET

Need to Know: Look for salmon with the skin still intact, as it provides added flavor during cooking.

Salmon has the prerequisite protein as well as the added benefits of unsaturated (good) fats. Hardcore lifters are often deficient in fats, because they're so often on super-low-fat diets. Including certain fish in your daily intake is one way to get the fats back -- at least the healthy kind.

SALMON FILLET

Buy It: Atlantic salmon is the variety most commonly found in American grocery stores, and is generally the most affordable. When fresh, it's bright orange in color and doesn't feel slimy or exude an odor. Always choose a thicker cut -- because the tail gets more of a workout when the fish is in the water, the meat near the tail is tougher.
Prepare It: Be sure all bones are removed from the fillet (a "fillet" by definition is boneless, but sometimes a few stray bones don't get removed). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the 4-6-ounce fillet on a baking sheet or pan, seasoned as desired. (To practically eliminate cleanup, line the pan with aluminum foil before adding the salmon, so you can throw the foil out after it cools.) Bake 10-14 minutes or until pink in the center, and the fish flakes with a fork.
Nutrients: A 4-ounce (measured raw) serving has 207 calories, 23 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat, 0 g fiber.

4-CHICKEN BREAST
CHICKEN BREAST (BONELESS AND SKINLESS)
Protein Power: 24 g per 3 oz. serving

This bodybuilding staple delivers more protein than other poultry cuts, which is why it should remain a constant presence in your shopping cart.

CHICKEN BREAST

 Need to Know: To keep more greenbacks in your wallet, get chummy with the meat guy at your supermarket, who can give you a heads-up when the poultry is likely to be marked down for quick sale.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the hordes of bodybuilders chasing after it. Dumb joke, but it's no understatement to say that the majority of gym rats consume chicken breast on a regular basis. And why not? High in protein and ultra-low in fat, the bird's unoffending taste makes it palatable for most everyone.

Buy It: Save money by buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts in bulk in the freezer section. Be sure raw chicken is pinkish in color (not white-toned, which would indicate freezer burn or improper refrigeration). Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. The defrosted chicken shouldn't feel or smell slimy.

CHICKEN BREAST

Prepare It: Preheat a grill to the highest heat setting. Trim all visible fat from the breast, and season or marinate it with your favorite spices or sauce. Place chicken on the hot grill (it should sizzle), then turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 4-6 minutes, then flip and cook 4-6 minutes more, until no longer pink inside or a thermometer stuck into the thickest portion of the breast reads 170 degrees F.

Nutrients: A 6-ounce (weighed raw) breast has 205 calories, 38 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 0 g fiber.

5-SWEET POTATO 

A buff body isn't built by protein alone. Carbohydrates provide energy you need to work hard and play hard. Sweet potatoes provide that oomph without overdosing your system with simple, fast-acting carbs. They're often used precontest by bodybuilders looking to fill out depleted muscles, but even if you're not getting ready for the stage, they're an excellent part of any dieting or mass-gaining strategy.

SWEET POTATO 

Buy It: Sweet potatoes come in two varieties: the white kind are like regular baking potatoes; the dark ones have a dark skin and orange flesh and are packed with nutrients. When choosing a sweet potato, make sure it has a smooth, firm skin with no bruises or blemishes. Stick with smaller or medium-sized sweet potatoes, which tend to taste better than jumbo ones.
Prepare It: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scrub the potato under cold water using a veggie brush, making sure to remove all dirt. Pat it dry, then prick it 5-6 times all over with a fork. Place directly on a lower oven rack and bake about one hour (for an 8-12-ounce potato), or until it's soft when pierced with a fork.

Nutrients: An 8-ounce sweet potato has 240 calories, 4 g protein, 55 g carbohydrate, 1 g fat, 7 g fiber.

6-PORK TENDERLOIN 

Pork is often shunned by diet purists, and what a shame. Not only is it more flavorful than chicken, but some cuts are almost as low in fat while still boasting the requisite protein power. Pork tenderloin is the filet mignon of pork -- it's the most tender, as well as the leanest portion, of the meat.

PORK TENDERLOIN 

Buy It: Pork tenderloin is generally found prepacked in a plastic wrapper in the meat section of the grocery store and is usually dated. Be sure that the meat isn't expiring within a couple of days. Look for a tenderloin that feels firm, lacks a lot of visible fat and gristle, and has a tinge of pink to it. If it appears dry or even a little gray, don't purchase it.

Prepare It: Trim all visible fat using a sharp knife. Marinate the pork in your favorite marinade for one hour to overnight in the refrigerator, or coat it with your favorite spice rub. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Meanwhile, spray a skillet with nonstick spray and place over high heat. Brown the meat, about one minute per side, until just browned, then transfer to a baking dish and place in oven until a meat thermometer reads 155 degrees F and the meat is only slightly pink inside, approximately 15-25 minutes. Slice and serve hot.

Nutrients: A 4-ounce serving has 136 calories, 24 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 0 g fiber.

7-ASPARAGUS 
Asparagus or garden asparagus, scientific name Asparagus officinalis, is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennial plant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and asparagus in the Asparagaceae. Asparagus officinalis is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia,

Asparagus

Asparagus? Seriously, if you want to grow, your mom was right -- you need veggies. When it comes to greens, you have plenty of great choices. Broccoli and spinach are other highly recommended options, but we picked asparagus for its water-leaching quality. Top bodybuilders turn to asparagus as a meal when it comes down to precontest crunch time and they need to get extra-tight for the stage.

Buy It: Whether the spears are thin or thick, they should have a bright-green color and be free of blemishes and bruises. The buds at the tip should be closed tightly, not wilting. For best taste, consume within three days of purchase.

Asparagus

Prepare It: Trim the base of each stalk. If you've chosen thick stalks with tough skin, it's best to peel the base end with a vegetable peeler. Lay a spear flat, then, starting about halfway between the tip and base, peel to the end of the base. Rotate the spear and continue to peel the lower half until all sides are peeled and the base is about the same thickness as the tip. Select a pan wide enough to lay the spears flat, add 1 inch of water and a pinch of salt, and place over high heat until water boils. Add asparagus so that the tips all face the same end. Boil 3-4 minutes for thin spears (4-6 minutes for thicker ones), or until spears are just crisp and tender. Remove and serve hot.
Nutrients: A 4-ounce serving has 27 calories, 3 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, less than 1 g fat, 2 g fiber.

HIGH-PROTEIN SEAFOOD
YELLOWFIN TUNA
Protein Power: 25 g per 3 oz. serving

This meaty swimmer delivers a boatload of easily digested, premium-quality protein. You'll also benefit from the healthy amount of B vitamins and the potent antioxidant selenium in its flesh.

Need to Know: When possible, look for troll- or pole-caught tuna, which are the most sustainable options.

TILAPIA
Protein Power: 21 g per 3 oz. serving

Commonly available at most fish markets, tilapia provides an approachable, mild-tasting fish choice that will give you laudable amounts of protein to keep your muscles well-fed.

Need to Know: Look for American-farmed tilapia, which is a safer choice than tilapia imported from Asia.

OCTOPUS
Protein Power: 25 g per 3 oz. serving

An increasing number of fishmongers are now offering up this seafood choice. So if your goal is to pack on granite-dense muscle you'd be a sucker—pun intended—not to reel it in for its protein windfall.

Need to Know: Frozen octopus actually has an advantage over fresh because the subzero process works to help tenderize the meat.

HIGH-PROTEIN DAIRY

GREEK YOGURT
Protein Power: 23 g per 8 oz. serving

Strained yogurt

Made by straining away the liquid, deliciously thick Greek-style yogurts contain about twice as much protein as regular versions. You'll also reap the rewards of gut-friendly probiotic bacteria and bone-building calcium.

Need to Know: Plain Greek yogurt can contain up to three times less sugar than flavored types.


SWISS CHEESE
Protein Power: 8 g per 1 oz. serving

Ounce for ounce, Swiss cheese provides more protein than other commonly available varieties in the supermarket, making it a muscle-friendly option for your sandwiches and burgers.

SWISS CHEESE

Need to Know: If you're concerned about the calorie density of full-fat Swiss, low-fat versions have a protein-to-fat ratio of around 8-to-1, while still providing good flavor.
Swiss cheese is a generic name in North America for several related varieties of cheese, mainly of North American manufacture, which resemble Emmental cheese, a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, in Switzerland. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes".

Swiss cheese without eyes is known as "blind".(The term is applied to cheeses of this style made outside Switzerland, such as Jarlsberg cheese, which originates in Norway).

COTTAGE CHEESE
Protein Power: 14 g per 1/2 cup serving

Cottage_cheese

This curd-riddled cheese product is laced with casein protein—a slow-digesting protein that supplies your growing muscles with a steady supply of vital amino acids. Think of it as the MVP of snack time, especially before bedtime.
Need to Know: Cottage cheese is notoriously high in sodium, but you can now compare nutrition labels to find brands that contain less.
Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from milks with different fat levels and in small-curd or large-curd preparations. Cottage cheese which is pressed becomes hoop cheese, farmer cheese, pot cheese, or queso blanco.

SOY MILK
Protein Power: 8 g per 1 cup serving

SOY MILK

While most non-dairy milks are light in protein, soy milk is the exception. If you're eschewing cow dairy for reasons such as lactose intolerance, consider using soy milk to float your cereal in, or for whipping up post-gym shakes.

Need to Know: To keep your intake of gut-busting added sugars to a dull roar, opt for brands labelled "unsweetened." And if your goal is to avoid genetically modified foods, splurge for organic.

Soy milk, also referred to as soymilk or soya milk, is a plant milk produced by soaking dried soybeans and grinding them in water.


MILK, 2%
Protein Power: 8 g per 1 cup serving

Moo juice remains a reliable source of top-notch protein with a biological value just shy of that found in an egg. But why try to chug watery, flavorless skim milk when you can still enjoy the richer taste of 2 percent without breaking the fat bank. Besides, the extra fat will help you absorb the fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin D present in the great white.

Need to Know: Studies show that cows raised using organic farming methods produce milk richer in a range of nutrients, including body-friendly omega fats.

HIGH-PROTEIN MEAT
STEAK (TOP OR BOTTOM ROUND)
Protein Power: 23 g per 3 oz. serving

steak

These leaner cuts of steak provide a fantastic 1 g of protein for every 7 calories; rib eye, on the other hand, delivers roughly 1 g of protein for every 11 calories. Plus, round steak is considered one of the more economical cuts.

Need to Know: Leaner cuts of steak like round and loin will become drier than the Sahara with overcooking, so prepare them quickly over high heat to just medium-rare.

PORK CHOPS (BONELESS)
Protein Power: 26 g per 3 oz. serving

The bounty of muscle-sculpting protein in easy-to-prepare pork chops gives you more than enough of an excuse to pig out on them.
Need to Know: By helping to break down muscle tissue, soaking your chops in brine can bring more tender meat to the dinner table. Simply cover the pork chops in a brine made with 1/4 cup salt for each 4 cups of water (use enough liquid so that the meat is completely submerged). Cover and chill for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
GROUND BEEF (95% LEAN)
Protein Power: 18 g per 3 oz. serving

Using 90 percent ground beef provides just the right amount of fat so your burgers and meatloaf won't taste like cardboard. Beyond a payload of protein, this red meat is also a good source of the almighty creatine.

Need to Know: If you've got some extra cash in your wallet, opt for grass-fed beef, which is more nutrient-dense than its factory-farm counterparts.

TURKEY BREAST
Protein Power: 24 g per 3 oz. serving

As with chicken, this big bird can flood your muscles with a wallop of protein.

Need to Know: Like pork chops and chicken breast, turkey breast can benefit from a pre-cook brining. If you're concerned about antibiotic use in large-scale poultry farming, you can look for turkey breast labelled "antibiotic-free."

YOUR BIGGEST MUSCLE GAINS, FASTER THAN EVER

YOUR BIGGEST MUSCLE GAINS, FASTER THAN EVER

MI40 stands for Mass Intent 40 and Mass Intent is the only muscle-gaining system that makes a conscious INTENT to create TENSION in the muscle, relies on the intensifier NOS ™ and exploits the scientific significance of the number 40 when it comes to rapid and permanent muscle growth.

The training manual goes into depth explaining the science behind the intensifier technique NOS ™ and how to execute Intent. I have used NOS ™ & Intent to become one of the best bodybuilders on the planet and will rely on it right until the Mr. Olympia. You can use it to change your body & life.

Component 3: The 40-Day MASS Instruction Workout Videos

Get coached by Big Ben and watch him guide world-class athletes like Figure Champ Emily Stirling, Bodybuilding Champion Matt Stirling, Pro Fitness Model Vince Del Monte, and TNA wrestler 'The Freak' Rob Terry, to the next level. If these athletes have room to learn and grow, you do too!

Keep this in perspective: to get a 1 to 1 hour with me in Tampa, Florida, you're looking at $150 an hour, and it would take us about 7-8 hours to cover all the major bodyparts. To be frank, I think $150 an hour is a steal for the value I deliver.

So.... WITHOUT A DOUBT... the BEST part about MI40 is getting over SEVEN (7) hours of coaching time with me on HD video! SEVEN HOURS of life-changing step-by-step instruction! That would cost you $1,050 if you came to Tampa, Florida to hire me. But you won't have to pay even close to $1,050 and you're so much more with the entire MI40 System today!

For more information About the book

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Beginner’s Guide To Strength And Muscle-Building

Beginner’s Guide To Strength And Muscle-Building
Over the course of our four-part ‘Simple, Beginner’s Guide To Strength And Muscle-Building’ we’ll give you all of the simplified, need-to-know info to help streamline your path to a healthy, powerful, lean physique.
First things first: nutrition. It took me several years of floundering around in the gym making minimal progress before I realized that without optimal nutrition you can’t maximize gains. It’s no surprise — no matter how much you bust your butt in the gym, if you nourish your body with crap you’ll only see half-ass results.
A quick word for the ladies: if you follow this program you will NOT look like The Incredible Hulk (however, you may look more like the woman below). I hear it all the time, “I don’t want to lift heavy weights, I’m going to look like a man.” The truth of the matter is, without copious amounts of exogenous testosterone (steroids), natural female lifters just don’t have the hormonal or genetic make-up to build muscle in the same way men do.

Optimal Nutrition — Calories:

Working out puts enormous stress on the body. In order to build muscle you need to provide the body with sufficient molecular building blocks to effectively repair, recover, and ultimately grow. Specifically, in addition to eating enough to fuel your body’s everyday activities (e.g. breathing, digestion, etc.) you also need to take in sufficient incremental food to support your body’s muscle building progress (anabolism).
But if you’re taking in more calorie than you burn, doesn’t that also mean you’ll get fat in the process? The simple answer is yes — it’s nearly impossible to gain pure lean muscle mass without any fat gain on the side. The main objective here is to ensure that the caloric surplus isn’t excessive, that way any fat gain will be minimal and easily burned off. In fact, for beginner and intermediate lifters, a moderate caloric surplus may produce steady gains in lean muscle without any significant, visible fat gain.
So how many calories should you eat each day? First you need to figure out your maintenance caloric intake, which is simply the amount of calories needed to maintain your body weight. To determine your maintenance level of calories, I recommend tracking your caloric intake and weight for a week or two. If your weight is roughly the same over that time period, use your average calories as your maintenance calorie number. As an alternative, you can use Lean It UP’s downloadable calorie and BMI calculator to proactively estimate your personal caloric requirements.
As a rule of thumb, once you’ve determined your maintenance level of calories add an additional 200-300 calories as your starting point. The goal here is to gain roughly one-to-two pounds of lean muscle per month, with little-to-no fat gain. If you’re not seeing any gains after about a month, simply increase your caloric surplus by 100 per day and reassess your progress after a month. On the flip side, if you feel as though you’re gaining too much body fat, decrease your caloric intake by 100/200 per day.
Food Sources:

Now that you know how much to eat, where exactly should you source your calories from? The good news is that there is a tremendous amount of variety available with food choice. As a recommendation for general health and muscle gain, I recommend a diet that consists primarily of high-quality, non-processed whole foods, such as a fresh veggies, fruit, meat, fish, nuts, and whole grains. Foods not found pre-packaged in a can, box, or bag are your best friends.
The exception to this rule would be a whey protein shake, which is ideally consumed post-workout. For protein, stick to lean meats and other low fat options such as non-fat Greek yogurt. When choosing fats, avoid trans fats (aka hydrogenated oils) found in many processed foods such as margarine and various baked goods. Finally, with carbs consume low Glycemic Index carbohydrates such as those listed in the example below. This will help keep your blood sugar levels flat lined and stabilize your energy throughout the day, which helps prevent sudden hunger cravings shortly after eating.
Some examples:
Protein: eggs, chicken breast, salmon, tilapia, lean beef, turkey breast, tuna, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, etc.
Fats: nuts and nut butter (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, etc), olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, flax, salmon and oily fish, eggs, etc.
Carbohydrates: brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, lentils, oats, fruits, etc.
For a complete list of low calorie, high protein meal ideas you can refer to our guide here.

In addition to those listed foods, it’s absolutely essential to have a diet rich in vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables to ensure adequate levels of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). As a rule of thumb aim for a minimum of 3 servings of vegetables per day.

Lean Foods The Best Low Carb Wrap 

foods

Party up. The wrap game is about to flip inside out.
Wraps and tortillas, even when whole wheat, are stealthy, carb-bloated caloric bombs. Stop for a second and digest what’s in a few big brands:
Mission 12″ Whole Wheat Wraps: 290 calories, 7g fat, 750mg sodium, 50g carbs, 6g fiber, 44g net carbs, 9g protein1
Thomas’ Whole Wheat Sahara Wraps: 170 calories, 4.5g fat, 320mg sodium, 27g carbs, 4g fiber, 23g net carbs, 5g protein, contain trans fat2
Cedar’s Whole Wheat Wraps: 220 calories, 4.5g fat, 480mg sodium, 38g carbs, 3g fiber, 35g net carbs, 6g protein3
Baja Sun-Dried Tomato Wraps: 210 calories, 5g fat, 620mg sodium, 36g carbs, 1g fiber, 35g net carbs, 5g protein, contain trans fat4

That’s unreal. Before you even get to the meat, veggies, eggs, dressings, etc. pinwheeled inside, you’re already 220+ calories & 37g+ of empty carbs deep (on average) on something that’s realistically only holding the flavor in place. Throw in that most commercial wraps are loaded with trans fats, artificial colors, preservatives, and about a billion ingredients, and everything quickly spirals out of control.

Food Court — Bringing Down The Lean Hammer On Kashi Snack Bars

Whether it’s Nature Valley, Clif, Special K, LARABAR, or one of a million different protein bars, chances are you frequently scarf down some form of snack bar. That puts Kashi’s line of uberpopular granola bars firmly in the spotlight.
I know, I know, Kashi is a reputable company that prides itself on producing HQ, natural, nutritious products. BUT, given the facade put forth by faux-healthy Subway and Special K, I’m naturally skeptical of anything in a wrapper and/or with a brand name. You should be, too.
Here’s the full, loaded arsenal of Kashi bars:
Chewy Granola Bars — Almond Flax, Peanut Peanut Butter, Cherry Dark Chocolate, Trail Mix, Berry Lemonade w. Chia, Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt w. Chia, Dark Mocha Almond
Crunch Granola Bars — Honey Toasted 7-Grain, Roasted Almond Crunch, Pumpkin Spice Flax
Layered Granola Bars — Dark Chocolate Coconut, Peanutty Dark Chocolate
Soft n’ Chewy Bars — Berry Muffin, Apple Cobbler, Banana Chocolate Chip
Cereal Bars — Blackberry Graham, Ripe Strawberry, Cherry Vanilla
GOLEAN CRISP! Bars — Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Peanut, Chocolate Caramel, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Chocolate Pretzel
GOLEAN DIPPED! Bars — Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Chocolate Malted Crisp

Soft-Baked Squares — Almond, Chocolate

Kashi Bars — What I Like

Kashi Bars — What I Like

An unbelievably simple shortcut to benchmark different packaged foods — with the exception of fruit & veggies — is the ratio of protein & fiber-to-sugar. For example, if a bar has 4g of fiber, 4g of protein, and 8g of sugar that’s (4+4)/8 = 1.
Higher ratios are leaner, and if that number is under 1, I typically ALWAYS steer clear. Live by that rule — it’s a powerfully potent Jedi mind trick.
KILLER RATIOS — for a whole grain product, the majority of Kashi bars shockingly fall on the better half of 1; the only egregious offenders fall under the cereal bar veil (.54 average).
Fiber Rich — nearly every bar has 4+ grams of fiber, which helps reduce hunger, maintain digestive health, and slows the digestion of food; reducing the likelihood of fat storage.
Low Cal — no bar tops 200 calories; most fall under 150.
Protein — for a family of bars that isn’t designed purely as a protein delivery mechanism, most lines have a hearty 4-11g. That’s enough to curb hunger and slow digestion, boost metabolism, and support lean muscle growth/recovery.
All Natural Ingredients — most processed foods are a breeding ground for artificial ingredients and sweeteners, added sugars, fake dyes and coloring, trans fats, low-quality carbs, and unnecessary filler ingredients. While some Kashi lines contain added sugar — to varying degrees — at the very least it’s natural, courtesy of agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, fruit and others.
Vitamins & Minerals — most bars pack 10-30% DV for iron, calcium, zinc, the B vitamins, and vitamin E.
Whole Grains — Kashi bars are predominantly constructed from natural oats, wheat, rye, brown rice, barley, buckwheat, and fruit — NOT corn, refined white flour, white rice, or other LQ carbs. This boosts the fiber and protein content, contributes nutrients, and keeps fat storage in check.

Omega-3s — the chewy granola bar and soft-baked square lines sport up to 300mg of ALA omega-3 per serving; not massive by any stretch, but more omega-3’s and healthy fats are always a nice plus.

What’s The Most Repulsive Fast Food Item In The US?

What’s The Most Repulsive Fast Food Item In The US? 
Let’s get sauced.
Given the current state of crisis in the portable food arena, we asked a basic question: what’s THE most repulsive fast food item in the US? And just how egregious is it? Um, let’s just say it escalated so quickly that I screamed “oh my god” about 100x, and I wanted to vomit midway through.
People actually eat single items with 5,820mg of sodium, 1,800 calories, 197g of sugar, and 158g of fat. Like, what? THIS IS SO BAD THAT IT’S FUN!
In the pursuit of unadulterated obesity, we went all-in and analyzed 600+ items from 24 popular fast food restaurants. Each individual monstrosity was then weighted and quantified based on 8 standard attributes—Calories, Fat, Sat. Fat, Trans Fat, Carbs, Sugar, Sodium, Fiber, & Protein—filtered through a model, and ultimately pegged with a composite Fatness Factor Score.

Food 

top 50.
I thought the Big Mac was the crowning achievement of human gluttony. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. Somehow, someway, it barely made the cut.
The landscape is so laughably vile that even the Big Mac looks like a golden gem of nutrition in comparison. I had to manually insert it because it technically didn’t qualify for the top 200 (more on that in a second). That said, it’s sitting there at #198. Try to process the reality that 197 things actually exist on this earth that are worse for you than a Big Mac.
And just to give you a barometer, item #200—the Chop’t Kebab Cobb Sandwich—anchored the list with a solid 780 calories, 28 g fat, 10.5 g sat fat, 1580 mg sodium, and 85 g of carbs. That’s what we’re working with. It’s all downhill afterwards.
The fact that any of this is legal—and that people actually scarf it down on a regular basis—is absolutely astonishing. And utterly repulsive. And a tribute to just how far into the fat zone America really is.
Six quick rules of the game:
Just to *qualify* for the list, an item needed more than 600 calories (with two exceptions).
Rankings are presented in reverse order. #1 is the most fattening item on the list; #153 is the 153rd most fattening item.
We only included standard menu items — meaning a Chop’t salad with 16 extra cups of dressing, or a Chipotle burrito with triple steak and quadruple cheese doesn’t count.
Nutrition facts are for a single item.
All nutrition facts represent what’s in the LARGE version of a given item. Subs are for the 11/12″ variety.
All nutrition facts were pulled directly from each company’s website. Most data was last updated in July, 2014.
Just be aware that there are certain limitations to the quantitative model. We’re grading based on a composite score, and nutritional prowess can’t always be perfectly captured by a spectrum of numbers. Ingredient quality and integrity always matter, but we chose to exclude them as criteria to keep things consistent and avoid biases.
Just because the Chop’t Cobb Sandwich (#142) graded out 30 spots worse than BK’s Brownie Sundae (#172), doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s less healthy in a vacuum (or that I’d recommend it). Chipotle, Chop’t, Pret, Just Salad, and Jamba Juice tend to have higher quality food & ingredients than most other chains. Keep that in mind when you’re navigating the lower section of the rankings.

But if it’s here, anywhere, it’s REALLY terrible. Here’s how it all broke down.
The chart above maps out all 24 restaurants on two dimensions: # of items that made the top 200 cut and their average item ranking. In other terms — how much of the menu made it into the lowest possible stratosphere of food quality, and to what degree?
Quiznos is BY FAR the fattest restaurant in America—it racked up a whopping 25 items in the top 200, 24 in the top 100, and 18 in the top 50—followed by Sonic, Blimpie, Panera, McD’s, and Subway.
Reset your fast food vernacular. Outside of shakes and frozen ice cream concoctions, quick-serve subs and sandwiches firmly take the title from burgers and fries as the most disgusting items on earth.

Conversely, Starbucks, Pret, and Jamba Juice (unsurprisingly) had zero items that made the cut; and In-N-Out Burger and Chipotle only had 2. Here’s the full restaurant breakdown.

Food 

The 11 Most Fattening Fast Food Abominations
Panera — New England Clam Chowder
Calories: 720
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 62g – 41g – 1.5g
Sodium: 1,020 mg
Carbs: 31 g
Sugar: 2 g
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 9 g
Fatness Factor Score: 64.0


Sonic — Chili Cheese Tots
Calories: 980
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 59g – 18g – 1.0g
Sodium: 2,760 mg
Carbs: 93 g
Sugar: 3 g
Fiber: 10 g
Protein: 21 g
Fatness Factor Score: 64.2


Sonic — Barqs Root Beer Float
Calories: 770
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 35g – 24g – 0.0g
Sodium: 420 mg
Carbs: 109 g
Sugar: 106 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 10 g

Fatness Factor Score: 64.3

Blimpie — Chicken Cheddar Bacon Ranch Sub
Calories: 1,200
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 59g – 19g – 0.0g
Sodium: 3,240 mg
Carbs: 91 g
Sugar: 17 g
Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 77 g
Fatness Factor Score: 64.5


Wendy’s — Baconator
Calories: 940
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 57g – 23g – 2.5g
Sodium: 1,850 mg
Carbs: 41 g
Sugar: 9 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 57 g
Fatness Factor Score: 64.6


Burger King — Texas Double WHOPPER
Calories: 1,000
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 66g – 24g – 1.5g
Sodium: 1,860 mg
Carbs: 55 g
Sugar: 11 g
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 52 g
Fatness Factor Score: 64.9


McDonald’s — Chocolate Chip Frappe
Calories: 760
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 31g – 20g – 1.5g
Sodium: 200 mg
Carbs: 111 g
Sugar: 99 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 12 g
Fatness Factor Score: 65.0


Quiznos — Veggie Guacamole Sub
Calories: 1,060
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 59g – 20g – 1.0g
Sodium: 2,210 mg
Carbs: 102 g
Sugar: 12 g
Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 34 g
Fatness Factor Score: 65.7


Taco Bell — Cinnabon Delights
Calories: 930
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 53g – 13g – 2.0g
Sodium: 480 mg
Carbs: 104 g
Sugar: 59 g
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 9 g
Fatness Factor Score: 65.9


Checkers — Screamin’ Chicken Strips Meal
Calories: 970
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 55g – 29g – 0.0g
Sodium: 3,460 mg
Carbs: 82 g
Sugar: 1 g
Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 36 g
Fatness Factor Score: 66.2


Blimpie — Veggie Supreme Sub
Calories: 1,090
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 56g – 28g – 0.0g
Sodium: 3,000 mg
Carbs: 97 g
Sugar: 18 g
Fiber: 7 g
Protein: 53 g
Fatness Factor Score: 67.7


Wendy’s — Caramel Frosty Shake
Calories: 900
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 20g – 13g – 1.0g
Sodium: 430 mg
Carbs: 167 g
Sugar: 122 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 15 g
Fatness Factor Score: 68.1


Quiznos — Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Sub
Calories: 1,190
Fat/SF/Trans Fat: 44g – 20g – 1.0g
Sodium: 3,080 mg
Carbs: 119 g
Sugar: 29 g
Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 80 g

Fatness Factor Score: 68.9
Top List Of New Fast Food Abominations
It’s the food-pocalypse.
Our culinary lexicon now officially includes the Breakfast Waffle Taco, Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich, Pop-Tart Ice Cream Sandwich, and Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger, according to a report by Restaurant News.1
And these aren’t test kitchen prototypes; they’re REAL THINGS hitting Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, Carl’s Jr., and Wendy’s, respectively, across the country this summer/fall. For human consumption.
It’s gluttony and obscene indulgence, incarnate, and the product of ‘Murrican ingenuity running on high octane.
Then again, given the irrational popularity of the cronut, the existence of BK’s bacon sundae, and the mind-blowing fact that Taco Bell sells over 1 million Doritos Locos Tacos per day,2 it’s not all that shocking that fast food chains are dipping into more eccentric waters.
Taco Bell’s offering — the Breakfast Waffle Taco — is set to roll out across 100 locations nationwide on August 8th. It comes with a scrambled egg, sausage patty, and syrup packet; all of which piles high at 460 calories/30g of fat.34

Sausage and waffles aren’t the leanest things to slide down your throat, but somehow the waffle taco isn’t that egregious in comparison to everything else in this silly lineup of abominations.

The Dunkin’ Donuts Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich
Nutrition: 360 calories, 20g of fat, 8g of sat. fat, 13g of sugar, 13g of protein.5

It’s surprisingly modest calorie-wise, but it’s still a processed concoction that’s effectively white bread on steroids, ho-hum bacon, and a corn-starch-engorged egg. Call it the Subway Effect. Plus, sweet, gooey glazed donuts paired with eggs? I’m no Paula Dean, but yecccccch — toast me.
The 5 Most Explosively Fattening Cocktails

Cocktails

A note: All nutritional info is computed based on common cocktail recipes listed at DrinksMixer.com. Recipes, ingredients, and drink sizes are always HIGHLY variable depending on who makes them, glass size, the # of shots used, mixology, and ingredients.

Consider all values to be a cocktail’s “nutritional average.” The majority of nutritional info online is misleading and incorrect — we’ve calculated drink totals from scratch based on the standard ingredients listed in each recipe.
Bloody Mary — 80 calories, 81% calories from alcohol
What’s typically in it: 1 oz vodka, 3 oz tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, celery
Nutrition Info: 80 calories,
 9 g alcohol, 3 g sugar, 4 g carbs 
— 81% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Drink up as is.
Vodka Soda w. Lime 
— 97 calories, 100% calories from alcohol
What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz vodka, 6.5 oz soda water, lime
Nutrition Info: 97 calories, 14 g alcohol, 0 g sugar, 0 g carbs — 100% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Drink up as is.
Mimosa — 129 calories, 63% calories from alcohol
What’s typically in it: 4 oz. champagne, 2 oz. OJ
Nutrition Info: 129 calories, 12 g alcohol, 7 g sugar, 10 g carbs — 63% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use REAL orange juice, preferably with pulp.
Bay Breeze — 139 calories, 52% calories from alcohol
What’s typically in it: 1.5 oz. Malibu rum, 2 oz. cranberry juice, 2 oz. pineapple juice
Nutrition Info: 139 calories, 10 g alcohol, 14 g sugar, 24 g carbs — 52% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Switch the Malibu out for a shot of light rum; more alcohol, fewer carbs.
Cranberry Vodka — 145 calories, 45% calories from alcohol
What’s typically in it: 1 oz. vodka, 4.5 oz. cranberry juice, splash lime juice, splash OJ
Nutrition Info: 145 calories, 9 g alcohol, 20 g sugar, 21 g carbs — 45% calories from alcohol.

Your lean gameplan: Use real cranberry juice; cranberry juice cocktail is loaded with HFCS and other added sugars.

Before muscular failure

Before muscular failure 

muscles 

You are almost at the end of your series, you are left with only a few repetitions, you start to falter and it will become difficult to sustain such rapid pace at the beginning. Your energy drops sharply. A feeling of growing blight invades the muscles you are applying for. You feel powerful, but it's just a memory! Your penultimate rehearsal is even harder but you tear force tripe, ignoring the pain that tells you to stop. At the last rehearsal, due to the pain caused by lactic, your muscles are driven nerve impulses that require you to stop your acid series. Despite this and with great concentration, you get to finish the last rep of your series. Over the last rehearsals, the body recruits more fibers to rapid contraction who tire quickly: this explains why the feeling of strength and energy also disappears quickly from one repetition to another. The higher the load is heavy and more repetitions you do, the more actin and myosin are struggling to shrink under the force of weight. Within certain muscular fibers, is literally pulled actin myosin. This will damage the muscle fibers at the molecular level.

Following glycolytic ATP are produced but also molecules of lactic acid. This is what many practitioners fear of weight training, because this metabolic waste is accused of being responsible for muscle failure. It is he who causes the burn in muscles during and after an intense session. That create an acidic environment that can compel you to stop your series. This lactic acid, however, a positive side! It is he who causes the secretion of growth hormone. When the lactic acid content amounts: the secretion of growth hormone also increases. This peak lactic acid that occurs at the end of a series that tells the body it needs to secrete growth hormone (GH) intensifies lipolysis (fat burning) and starts the process of regeneration and muscle development.

About muscular failure, recent studies show that it is not only caused by the accumulation of lactic acid. As stated above, when the muscles receive the electrical signal from the brain, the cells become loaded with sodium and potassium releases. When you make additional repetitions, sodium builds up in the muscles, while the potassium level steadily decreasing. Pump sodium / potassium present on the cell membrane (cell edges) can compensate the changes by activating the exchange of electrolytes between the inside and outside cells. This pump uses energy to function: ATP. During intense exercise, modification of contraction electrolyte is such that the pump can not keep up. Consequently, muscle strength decreases, resulting in fatigue and eventually muscle failure.

MUSCLE AND CLEAN PRESS

MUSCLE AND CLEAN PRESS

bodybuilding supplements

Why it works: You take your shoulder through a full range of motion and can lift heavier for max results.

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Do it: Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip in front of your thighs. Use momentum—but don't bend your hips—to row the bar up in front of your body, raising your upper arms until parallel with the floor. Let the force you generated help you to quickly flip your forearms and press the bar overhead. Work up to two heavy sets of five to eight reps.

DUMBBELL CLEAN AND PRESS

Why it works: As with the muscle clean and press, you train your muscles through their full range of motion—only this time you're doing it with the added instability of dumbbells, so your shoulders have an extra challenge.

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Do it: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend at the hips so the weights lower to just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips and knees and "shrug," powerfully pulling the weights up to chest level. Then flip your wrists over so that the momentum carries the dumbbells to shoulder level. Press the weights overhead. (You should finish in the starting position of a shoulder press.) try these as your main lift of the day and do two to four sets of five to eight reps.