'Living' on shakes

[Tom]

but i've never seen anyone keep those gains when they come off. sooner or later you have to come off be it 1 year or 20 years of juicing. i'm alot older than most of you guys (56) and believe me you get to the point where a cut 190 is all you want to be. i personally have done very very little juice over the years and i'm quite satisfied with my diet and physique. you have to put your health and family first. quite honestly maybe 1 out of 1000 guys who juices will develop a national caliber body and far fewer than that will ever be pro.

 

[bufbiker]

Tom, bro, I'm 53, so right there with you age wise. I'm 5'8" and a very cut 200lbs. I have no desire to compete. My life is not centered on the gym, but on my wife of 30 years, my family, including the grandkids, and hobbies like surfing, riding my harley and social activities including Church.
But at our age you know our natty test levels are way low compared to some of these 20 something dudes. And for me, maybe because I'm short or something (overcompensating) I still feel like I can grow muscularity. This helps me keep up with the young dudes at work, my job is very physical nad demands strength. I'm actually in better shape physically and mentally than any of them.
So, yes at some point you have to say enough is enough, i do agree, ut personally, I'm not there yet. And I do love being in the gym nad have the younger dudes in awe at the old man lifting a house.

 

[Tom]

at the stage we are at we can still grow and make gains. we have put our years in and don't have to pound down mass quantities of food. i guess that's my point. gaining 4 pounds of muscle a year for 10 years is 40 lbs of lean muscle without all the bulking up and cutting down which isn't healthy anyway. you have to look at longevity. hell gain 2 lbs a year of muscle over 20 years and it's still putting on 40 lbs. that's why bulking makes no sense to me. i know guys in thier 20's want it all now and the guys that do mega juice and eat huge quantities are all but done by the time they are 50. there are exceptions but not many.

 

[microcentillion]

If possible, kick down some $$$ for one of those little 100.00 dollar refrigerators and put one in your room....if you run out of room in the universally-shared fridge. That will help out with some storage.

Dude, you almost sound like you are scared to go into the kitchen with that diet. I know you have to do what you got to do, but you also need to find a way to increase your kitchen time AT LEAST to an amount of time to make "some" food.

Stuff like beans, rice, vegetables, meat, chicken, pasta, can be made in bulk and placed in tupperware.

GET some tupperware if you do not already have some, this is almost mandatory. You can get some cheap from target or wal-mart and places like that.

Also, if you have a blender, you can blend up some oats, and then add them to your protein drink.

Add in some milk too, it is a great source of nutrition adding a variety of nutrients.

Lean ground beef can be used in almost anything, as can any chicken, etc.

Buy some fresh fruit to have with your meals. They do not take up much space, and you can even put some in your room if you need to. Fresh or frozen both work.

Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are great sources of protein that are pre-made and can be added to a lot of foods.

Come on Spanky, you have to get creative.....and don't forget your veges



BMJ

I've been considering getting a mini-fridge and a microwave (see below) for this reason, I may just need to shell out soon and quit procrastinating the investment.

As for other foods, I DO still put down a solid meal every day. I'm not that great at cooking, so I stick with an easy base and add stuff to it. e.g; I'll put down a full Hamburger Helper (yeah, I can hear the criticism already) with 1.5lbs of 97/3 beef, or Cube up some Pork Chops and mix it in with some pasta-roni. That sort of thing.

As for cooking in bulk, I have tried it with intent of taking the stuff to work for breakfast/lunch (since I don't have a microwave at home, it doesn't work too well for dinner). It's all good until I forget it in the typical morning rush.

The reason shakes work so well is that I can keep a gallon of milk at work, and a couple 10lb bags of protein/gainer with a shaker cup at my desk. It takes two minutes to get it ready, and I can carry it with me while I'm running around fixing stuff. However, it seems that the general consensus is that I should stick to them as last resorts, and put a more concerted effort into putting real food down, regardless of the obstacles.

I have been doing that for years. 4-5 shakes per day and 2 meals. throw in a couple snacks of fruit and nuts and good to go. Your body does not know if your nutrients came from food or shakes. after digestion your nutrients are absorbed where they are needed.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with this idea :headbang:

 

[GYMRATN]

When I started lifting in early '09, I had absolutely horrible nutrition; I would typically eat twice a day at most, and one of those times would somewhat regularly be fast-food. I was just starting out, so I had no clue what I was doing in general.

Since that time, I've become aware of how important nutrition is, and I've been making a concerted effort to get what I need. Like a few other people, though, I have some obstacles that stand in the way of me eating 6-7 good meals a day: Finances being #1, but I also live with several other people, which greatly limits the time I can spend in the kitchen.

To that end, I've been more-or-less *living* on shakes for the past 8 weeks; be it gainers, protein, recovery, etc. My typical week-day goes about like this:

10am: ON Pro-Complex Gainer
Noon: ON Whey Shake (Double Serving)
2:30: ON Whey Shake (Single Serving)
4:00: ON Pro-Complex Gainer

On Workout days, I'll have a 2:1:1 recovery shake with another double serving of Whey immediately following my workout

7-8pm: Massive high carb, high calorie dinner (usually not too high on protein, but I always throw meat into it if I have any on hand)
11pm: ON Casein Shake (Single Serving)

I've found that the above is cheap, easy to stick to, requires little preparation, and especially when compared to my previous nutrition is pretty good for my current goals. After starting this routine, I've noticed considerably greater/faster gains in the gym, and I'm really digging the effects. My question is this: Is this a horrible idea? Am I screwing myself somewhere by going this route?

damn bro I dont see how your stomach tolerates all that liquid protein. i have to eat solid food then a shake then solid food again then another shake and so on or the shakes tear my stomach up. generally i try and get as much protein as i can from real foods and suppliment the rest. as others said, cooking in bulk and storing is the way to go!

 

[iflexit_1]

Tom, love your advice. Health above everything else!!!!

 

[microcentillion]

damn bro I dont see how your stomach tolerates all that liquid protein. i have to eat solid food then a shake then solid food again then another shake and so on or the shakes tear my stomach up. generally i try and get as much protein as i can from real foods and suppliment the rest. as others said, cooking in bulk and storing is the way to go!

I am pretty fortunate in that regard - the only time I notice is if I pound a triple serving of Whey on an empty stomach, otherwise I have no problems at all.

 

[mrcat]

The argument over gaining muscle liquid vs solid will go on forever. I personally think either will work. Which is faster/better who knows.

However health wise, I'd say try to get at least one real meal a day. I had think my excessive liquid and total junk food intake lead to diabetes. I could be wrong however. Also there is the issue of getting fiber with a liquid diet. It can be done, but you need to add it in someway. There are also a ton of micro-nutrients and other "stuff" in real food that are completely lacking...

 

[matt77]

damn bro I dont see how your stomach tolerates all that liquid protein. i have to eat solid food then a shake then solid food again then another shake and so on or the shakes tear my stomach up. generally i try and get as much protein as i can from real foods and suppliment the rest. as others said, cooking in bulk and storing is the way to go!

Using a protein that has a lot of concentrate in it will cause the stomach distress. Try something that is high quality and all Isolate will help with this. For whey the best I know of is Dymatize Iso-100. Its not creamy like some protein and is very watery. But the reason is because it is almost 98% pure protein.

 

[hawkmoon]

Ian Harriosn on shakes:

IAN: Off season is very, very simple and basic. I try to get 50 g of good quality protein in me body at least every three hours. That's off season so that I've got a life. If I tried to have the perfect scenario, I would have about 25 g of protein every hour. That would be the perfect scenario but in the off season normally I would have about 50 g of protein every three hours, usually consisting of protein drinks because they're more convenient. I would probably start the day of with eggs, eight eggs. Then me next four meals would be protein drinks every three hours. Then I would have me evening meal before I trained, then I'd finish me workout, have another protein drink, then me last meal of the evening would be mainly…..pizza or Chinese (laughing).

AE: When you say protein drink, your not just talking about protein by itself, right? Are you taking a weight gain powder along with the protein?

IAN: No, just protein. Yeah, I just have protein by itself, because basically I eat an awful low of shit. The way I look at me diet off season is, as long as I'm giving me body the protein it needs every three hours to gain muscle, anything else I want to eat is a bonus. So I will literally eat anything.

AE: How many calories would you estimate you are consuming in the off season per day?

IAN: Probably about 7,000-8,000. I'll eat fast food and everything.

 

[galioth13]

i bet your shit is liquid...lol

 

[chan22]

man i dont even know how you stay full off shakes. i have to have whole food too or i feel like shit

 

[microcentillion]

man i dont even know how you stay full off shakes. i have to have whole food too or i feel like shit

The same way that I would feel full on 1-2 meals a day...

... practice

 

[mdras]

Shakes are fine, but food is crucial to growth and optimal success.

 

[J4CKT]

If you have a good quality protein you will have no stomach problems what
so ever.

I have done the shakes only diet before aswell and had no problem. The
only meal i would have is muesli in the morning and the rest of the day
would be 50g protein shakes mixed with a little flavouring. Had no issues
and did it for approx 6-8weeks.

I have tried a lot of different proteins, so far SynthePURE and WPI from Pure
Supplement Powders have been the only ones that go down without an
issue.

 

[SL1CED]

I was in the whole foods> shakes boat, but I don't think it really matters. Of course this my opinion, but a good portion of my food comes from shakes and I've made great progress.

It's just better you cough up the extra money and buy a good quality. I have two different brands and four differnet flavors in front of me. You can tell the difference in quality with how your stomach reacts to it.

 

[Viking55]

Aloha Mates,

56 years young. Long term health and fitness gains (body, mind, spirit) will come from eating nutrient dense, fresh grown foods. No amount of shakes will ever be able to replace the micronutrients, enzymes, co-factors, anti-oxidants, macronutrients, fibers, etc, etc.
I have done a few shows back in the day and subsisted on 'tons' of animal protein and protein shakes, and too much of AAS, and I looked fit, and big and then ripped. However what I learned was that I wasn't feeling healthy. Still do a shake or 2 when training hard, though my main consumption is whole nutrient dense foods, and much less 'juice'.

V55

 

[Gstack80]

Bros I live in the kitchen and trying to find my way out most of the time!!!