I was leafing through my old mans 'Mens Health' magazine the other day and I saw an article wich contained foods that were supposed to be really good for cutting. I was in a hurry but I got what i could remember at the store today. Here is what I bought:

Roasted Turkey Breast
Turkey Bacon
Motzerella Cheese
Roasted Peanuts (in the shell, no salt added)
XL Eggs
Skim Milk
Fat Free Mayonaise
Tuna
Heinz Ketchup
Dill Pickles
Frozen Dinners (Healthy Choice, LifeChoice)
12 Grain Bread

Think this will be good for cutting? I guess its a little late if not, heh.


Thanks,

D

i wouldnt listen to much in mens healthy, in one of their mags i got (i got for free!) they recomend eating slim fast :O~~~

I read Mens Health, but I take everything they say with a grain of salt. They often recommend foods in their "This or That" section that are unreal. Its like "If you're at Wendys should you eat A) A Triple Stack Cheeseburger or B) The Double Stack w/ Fries." As if one or the other is actually better...that said:

Roasted Turkey Breast- Great, just try to avoid the nitrates found in some packaged meats. It migh be a debated issue somewhat, but I think the deli is a better option than the packaged stuff as long as you can get a read out on the nutrition facts (even if you check fitday thats probably ok as well). I get nitrate free free-range turkey breast sometimes and its delicious, low cal, high protein, and a great buy if you can find it!

Turkey Bacon- Probably not the best choice, but not bad either just don't go overboard. I think the fat content is the issue here. The fats found in certain brands might be better than others, but I'm willing to bet that you can find better fat sources and better protein sources as well. A few egg beaters in the morning with a couple slices of turkey bacon is probably not so bad. Personally I've used Morningstar Farms sausage (and I think John does too) and I've been impressed with them. Not only are they delicious, but they're low cal, high protein, and they have a good amount of fat in them but nothing too high. Morningstar also makes a veggie-type bacon, and I wasn't too impressed with it (too high in fat for the protein content). I won't recommend turkey bacon to you, but if this is something you really enjoy eating..then by all means, just excersize portion control and dig in.

Motzerella Cheese- Pitch it. Fat Free cheese is probably ok, but certainly not good for cutting if you can avoid it...There are other ways to flavour your food without mozzerella. The fat free isn't so bad, but I'd still use it sparingly (in fact for a great recipe check out the pizza recipe posted in the recipe section..great googly moogly that looks good!). I don't really eat it, so I say not to go with it...but once again if this is something you can't live without, just make sure your portions aren't too big and you'll find a way to keep it in your diet. My alternative has been to use cottage cheese (there is even fat free, but I get most of my saturated fats from cottage cheese, so it works for me to help toward a 33/33/33 mono, poly, sat. fat split). I really like Cottage Cheese and IMO its probably better for you than mozzerella...

Roasted Peanuts (in the shell, no salt added)- Not bad, but not the best choice either. For nuts you're primarily looking for fat content and almonds, cashews, and walnuts are your best choices for nuts (In that order IMO). I know that roasted peanuts are MUCH cheaper than almonds or cashews, but for me its much easier to excersize portion control over the almonds knowing the price than it is a bag of peanuts that remind me of the ballpark (meaning I want a beer and a hotdog whenever I look at the bag ;) GO CUBBIES by the way..:claplow: hehe). The fats in almonds are better, and they taste better too. Almonds before peanuts my friend, it won't do you wrong.

XL Eggs- Great, no worries here...just don't over do it on the yolks (although there is lots of debate about this issue...anything in moderation is probably ok..). Eggs are a great source of protein, and they're great for your first meal of the day. They're filling, inexpensive, and healthy. Thus, eggs are a great choice when cutting. Personally I use egg beaters and I find that w/ a little pepper I don't really find much difference in the taste (although I really miss hardboiled eggs sometimes). These will certainly help your cutting process, and I would guess nearly everyone who is cutting on these boards and likes eggs has them from time to time (and some probably everyday).


Skim Milk- Once again, just don't overdo it. Milk has a lot of sugar, but a cup a day or less isn't going to set you back...I drink skim milk or any milk that is FF w/ my Kashi, and occasionaly I put a small drop in my morning coffee. I don't recommend drinking it for a drink. For use in cooking or with solid food only is my suggestion. If you're drinking a glass of milk thats probably not doing any good for your cutting. I believe Jeremy Likness would suggest cutting out all dairy for a month and seeing how you feel (I believe this is because he believes that many more people have a lactose intolerance than realize it, and he might be right). When it comes to the cheese, milk, and eggs i would try to consult with Jeremy. He's very knowledgable about this topic and certainly moreso than me. However, I'm almost positive that Jeremy would say about what I'm saying in that portion control is a necessity with all foods and dairy is no exception. Don't overdo it and its all good.

Fat Free Mayonaise- Ok, this one is a little sketchy. On the one hand, its not going to set you back if you're careful, on the other its empty calories and very calorically dense. If you ate it on a sandwich or w/ some tuna and you were careful with how large your portions were I think you could certainly eat FF Mayo and not see any difference in your cutting plan...but my recommendation is to stay away from it. Its not going to do anything good for you, and IMO it doesn't really do as much for taste as spices which are MUCH better for you. I should also point out that making your own Mayo w/ good fats is a good alternative. Then you can make mayo that is more tasty and has good fats in it..I'd submit a recipe, but I've never made it myself.

Tuna- Wonderful!! Great source of protien for the calories. I would recommend tuna in water over tuna in oil in order to keep the fat content in check, but tuna is a main staple in almost every cutting plan I've seen unless the person doesn't like the taste.

Heinz Ketchup- No. This is a bad choice for cutting. Heinz Ketchup is filled with worthless sugar. I heard there is a Heinz 1carb or something like that, and in that case its probably still not great but probably acceptable and not going to set you back either...I woudl recommend Salsa in place of Ketchup where applicable. I like Salsa because it is low cal, tasty, and its a much better alternative to ketchup.

Dill Pickles- I don't eat them myself (although lately I've been tempted to try them because my tastes have changed quite a bit since i was a kid and hated them), and so I don't really know if they're good or bad for cutting. My guess is that they probably are, but that some brands are better than others. I mean, they're a green veggie put in vinegar (right??) so neither of those things are bad for you...be weary of the sodium content, and look at a few labels before deciding on a brand.

Frozen Dinners (Healthy Choice, LifeChoice)- I won't recommend this either. If you're like my brother and you REALLY can't cook(sorry Steve, but you know its true!) they might be ok. I dont' really know what the labels read, but my prediciton is that they're high in simple carbs, higher in calories than making the dishes on your own might be, and not filling enough to pass for a full dinner. I would say that if you can pop one of these in the micro, chances are you can pop a chicken breast on the Forman grill..at which time the chicken is going to be more filling and better for you (esp. w/ some brown rice...you can pre-make it if you're pressed for time). I would say that having a few of these type of things around is probably ok once or twice a week, but I wouldn't put stock in it either...

12 Grain Bread- If the label has High Fructose Corn Syrup beware! My grocery store only carries 2 kinds of bread that dont' contain HFCS, and they are both made by the company Ezekial and sold in the freezer section. I have a bread machine so I don't buy bread loafs anymore. There are better carb sources out there, and if you make your own then thats the best option IMO. If you look around and all your breads have HFCS, just check the carbs and see which one has the least amount of sugars. I believe Jeremy Likness always recommends buying bread where the very first ingredient is "100% Stone ground whole wheat" or something to that effect, and thats a good indicator as well. I've learned to get most of my carbs from Kashi, Brown Rice, adn Bobs Red Mill products, so I'm not too well versed on other good bread brands.

The themes here:
-Everything in moderation and controlled portions can be used for cutting. The most important thing is kcal expenditure and intake.
-Comparing labels is KEY to finding the best products.
-The less processed the foods, the better they probably are (there are exceptions but this is a good rule). If you can pronounce all the ingredients its a good thing!
-Condiments, while acceptable to some degree, aren't great. Find other ways to add flavour to your food. Things like lemon and lime, spices out the wazoo, even lite soy sauce, mustard, worcestershire sauce, (my fav) Taste of Thai: Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce, salsa, I'll even add cooking spray to this list, etc. are much better for you than ketchup and mayo. You don't always have to sacrifice calories for taste!
-Always look for the best option. If you think something might not be so good, either ask on the boards and find out or look for something better.
-Calories are the most important factor. If you don't go over your calorie expenditure/intake for the day, you're probably ok eating nearly everything on this list. I've been cutting for 6 months, and even in my most prosperous times I drank a beer now and again, ate crackers, sampled danish, etc. But I was always very careful to make sure I wrote it down along w/ all the macros and was very careful never to overdo it.

Hope this helps! The more you post the more help we can all offer.
-Andrew

p.s. I hope others respond to this post as well. Not everyone is going to agree with what I've said, and I hope some other people post that are more knowledgable and have differing opinions so you can see the gamut of conclusions rather than mine exclusively.

Thanks for all the help. I appreciate it.

Whats wrong with Mens Health? Why does it print inaccurate stuff?

I dont' really think that Mens Health prints stuff that is "innaccurate" exactly, I just think they print stuff for guys who aren't all that serious about diet and excersize. They print things for guys who want to make a change, but aren't really willing to make any sacrifices (oxy moron, isn't it?). They want men to excersize more and diet more, but they also want men to buy their magazine and that is their top priority. The outline some basic fitness and nutrition goals in most of their issues, but when it really comes down to it they don't A) Go in to any kind of depth or B) explain the whole picture. They want you to buy the magazine to "Strip Belly Fat" and they have that "Belly Off Club" or whatever...both good things, I alwyas like to see the promotion of fitness and nutrition...but instead of saying "Yo, keep track of what you eat and all the macros, find a split that works for you, keep an excersize log, buy a HR moniter, etc." they just make it seem like you can spot reduce without really saying it explicitly, and they market their magazine so you buy all the issues not just one-and-done.

I think the magazine is entertaining, and its certainly not the worst mag out there, but I wouldn't put much stock in what they say either. They dumb down for the guys who are in really bad shape IMO. If you're just starting out, get Body For Life and skip the magazine. If you're already in shape, read it because you like it. I think they have cool articles about women, I enjoy reading their nutrition with a very critical eye to point out all the mistakes, I like seeing what they say about blood pressure, stress reduction, things like that, and overall I just want a magazine that isn't as Mad-Magazine-esque as Maxim, nor as hardcore as most body building magazines...Mens Health fits.

Okay, I have a few questions on items to add to this topic. Are these foods okay for a cutting diet? -

Iceberg lettuce - I was always told it was unhealthy, but I was also always told that a second and third helping of pasta was a good thing.

Cheerios - this is one of my breakfast staples. Is it as good as I think it is?

Canned spinach

any particular brand of veggie burger that's any good?

is mustard okay? It's my mayo/ketchup replacement.

tomatoes

that's all for now from me.

Okay, I have a few questions on items to add to this topic. Are these foods okay for a cutting diet? -

Iceberg lettuce - I was always told it was unhealthy, but I was also always told that a second and third helping of pasta was a good thing.

Cheerios - this is one of my breakfast staples. Is it as good as I think it is?

Canned spinach

any particular brand of veggie burger that's any good?

is mustard okay? It's my mayo/ketchup replacement.

tomatoes

that's all for now from me.

Well, I know that you pretty much can't go wrong with mustard. It has no fat, no carbs, and no protein. I only has a mild amount of salt, so if you don't go overboad with it, it is an excellent condiment. I have recently discovered how mustard can add a lot of flavor to a sandwich. So much so that I have finally given up on the cheese, and only have a ham sandwich, which takes out 40% of the calories, and over 60% of the fat in the sandwich.

All the others have already been answered, I'll give my own input, if I'm wrong, correct me.

Iceberg lettuce - I use a lot of lettuce, it's fills up a plate and theres virtually no calories, there is nothing wrong with it, eat up.

Cheerios - I've never looked into them.

Canned spinach - Go for it, might be a bit high in sodium or whatever, but it's better than none.

is mustard okay? It's my mayo/ketchup replacement. - Mustard is good. Personally I can't stand the stuff too much, and use it sparingly, but thats just because of its taste.

Hard to imagine they left of low fat cottage cheese. I'm a Men's Fitness subscriber and have gotten alot more out of it than Men's Health which cover topics I don't care to get into when reading a Fitness Magazine...like what sandals to buy, how to win at bar games...etc...I can get that in Maxim if I wanted to.

Cheerios - this is one of my breakfast staples. Is it as good as I think it is?
No, it doesn't look very good for a cutting diet. Search for "cheerios gi scale" on Google. You'll get several sites showing that it's high on the GI scale (above 70). If you must have cereal, replace it with a high fiber, high protein one.

No, it doesn't look very good for a cutting diet. Search for "cheerios gi scale" on Google. You'll get several sites showing that it's high on the GI scale (above 70). If you must have cereal, replace it with a high fiber, high protein one.

What cereal is both high in fiber as well as protein? I eat frosted mini wheats and raisin bran a lot. Both are high in fiber, but not high in protein. Is there such a thing as a high fiber, high protein cereal (without adding a protein supplement to the cereal)?

Iceberg lettuce - ZERO nutritional value. It doesn't add any calories, but it doesn't do any good for you either. Eat deep greens like collards, mustards, and spinach greens instead. Iceberg is worthless. Thats why McDonalds salads are worthless.

Cheerios - Not the worst, but I'd say Kashi is MUCH better...more protein and more fiber. Also, as mentioned Cheerios are high on the GI scale.

Canned spinach- The liquid preservatives in canned fruits and veggies soaks up many of the nutrients. Always opt for fresh veggies, and as a fall back get frozen..avoid canned as much as necessary. The only canned veggie I eat is beans.

any particular brand of veggie burger that's any good? I think Boca and Morningstar Farms both make great v-burgers. I particularly like Morningstar since Boca is owned by Phillip Morris and IMO doesn't taste as good. i like the Pizza Burgers and Harvest burgers made by Morningstar and I also really enjoy their sausage patties and bacon. For Boca i really like the brats because you can put mustard and sauerkraut on them and cna't really taste the difference (aside from the extra grease).


is mustard okay? Totally fine.

tomatoes- High GI, mostly sugar, low cal, not bad in small amounts, but as I said above in my really really long post...anythin gin moderation is ok, but I wouldn't make tomatoes a major staple of your diet. I think John puts a small tomato or slices or something on his salad, and if you put it on a sandwich or something thats probably just fine as well...just don't go overboard. Not all fruits and veggeis are created equal (remember tomatos are a fruit.).

What cereal is both high in fiber as well as protein? I eat frosted mini wheats and raisin bran a lot. Both are high in fiber, but not high in protein. Is there such a thing as a high fiber, high protein cereal (without adding a protein supplement to the cereal)?
kashi go lean has a bit of protein in it... something like 13g. high fiber too.