Hypothetical: Chicken Breast vs Protien Powder

[Neil4Speed]

So this would be more catered towards a person who wants to "Gain" rather than lose weight. I noticed in the superstores flyer today that they had 4kg boxes of Chicken Breast at $2.97lb, works out to be about $27.00 for 8.8lbs of Chicken breast.

Assume that a good amount is water, which would make me estimate the quantity of Chicken to be around 5lbs. 5lbs of Protien powder on average costs about $50.00.

I wonder which one would produce better weight gains.

[Mixalot27]

1lb of chicken breast contains roughly 120grams of protein

1lb of protein powder contains roughly 360grams of protein

120*8.8 = 1056

360*5 = 1800

I think the best results would be some combination of the two since food derived proteins are usually regarded as superior to powders but you'd need to eat a lot of chicken each day to get enough protein to make big gains.

[civic_stylez]

If you looking to gain id recommend a powder as they come in different types of proteins, fast and slow digesting proteins. Alot of powders have good aminos in them now to promote muscle growth. I use the ON Hydrowhey whick is a fast digesting protein and the ON Casein Protein before i sleep that can take up to 7 hours to digest. But I eat alot of chicken and eggs too. Egg protein is a really cost effective way to get fast digesting protein.

[Neil4Speed]

Thanks for the response, definitely makes sense to me.

I want to start supplementing Chicken Breast into my diet to gain some good lean muscle mass.

[scboss]

your to funny. your gonna SUPPLEMENT chicken into your diet of protein powder.
Food is always better. Always!

[adidas]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed
Thanks for the response, definitely makes sense to me.

I want to start supplementing Chicken Breast into my diet to gain some good lean muscle mass.

u on dat dere powder diet?

i dont think u have any clue about eating properly as per ur post(s).

Originally posted by warcaster

Food is always better. Always!

came in to post this

[max_boost]

If you want to gain weight you have to eat more. 3500 calories=1lb

If you lift hard and eat more roughly 65% of each pound you gain is muscle. You are going to gain some fat along with it.

[tehwegz]

why not both?

I view whey protein as mainly necessary for immediately after working out, as it's very fast absorbing to get that much needed protein in your system as fast as possible.

I agree food is even more important, fats and carbs are just as important as protein. those are your macro nutrients and all of them are needed for growth. protein mostly rebuilds muscle fibres torn during your workout, you wont grow on it alone.

The baseline of gaining weight is your calorie intake. You need to figure out your maintenance level (# of calories needed per day to maintain your current weight) then you need to figure out how many more calories you need to add to that # so you can reach your desired weight goal. Same goes for losing weight, except youd want a calorie deficit obviously.

Use this to calculate maintenance: http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm

People can lose/gain as much as 5lbs a day (water/food weight) so the scale isn't much help.

I order on bodybuilding.com, cheap prices. Even with hefty shipping it still costs far less than buying at GNC or Popeyes. Also Costco has 4.4lb tubs of whey protein for $30. Tastes pretty good too.

[G-Suede]

I would suggest that food is the best in an either/or situation, but a both/and approach will raise the bar further yet.

Why not test it yourself and try this experiment. All other elements being equal - training, carbs, fat, sleep, water, meal spacing, etc.

Months 1-3:
Consume ~200grams protein powder as your protein base.

Months 4-6
Consume ~200grams protein from a pound of beef, carton of egg whites, can of tuna, and a couple chicken breasts per day.

Months 7-9
Consume ~200grams protein from a pound of beef, carton of egg whites, can of tuna, and a couple chicken breasts per day, plus supplement with ~75 grams PP post workout, ~25 grams PP between meals, and ~50 grams PP at bedtime.

Come back in 9 months and let us know.

*Boxed chicken contains massive amounts of sodium. I would avoid that shit.

[b_t]

I'd say eat both. I've always read that food derived proteins are better for you than protein ones, but it is impractical to eat tons of protein-rich food in one day. I'd grill up the chicken breasts for lunches or dinners, and then supplement your otherwise-normal diet with two or three protein shakes a day (midmorning, mid-afternoon, evening or post-workout).

The guy who played Thor gained most of his weight by eating foods like chicken, steak and fish a bunch of times a day and it worked crazy well for him.. but even though all those foods are individually delicious if I was trying to stuff my gob with that my food day in day out I would get really tired of it, not to mention I would have to practically force myself to eat because I don't have much of an appetite.

Try to find a convenient balance for yourself.

[G-Suede]

Originally posted by b_t
...if I was trying to stuff my gob with that my food day in day out I would get really tired of it, not to mention I would have to practically force myself to eat because I don't have much of an appetite.

Try to find a convenient balance for yourself.

This is precisely why so many people work-out and get nowhere. Make no mistake, getting big means forcing yourself to eat regardless of low/no appetite or already feeling full. Convenient balance? Don't kid yourself, there really is no such thing if you want to put on a lot of muscle.

[TE4MFaint]

Protein shake right after the gym, on the commute back home. Always with water. Never milk.

Chicken breast for supper once home.

[Darkane]

Best protein for growth is regular or lean ground beef.

Wait till it goes on sale for 2$/lb and go hard.

Will out do all the lean proteins, and shakes.

Why? More TOTAL calories.

Fats will also help hormonal profile, to much lean protein with no fat and you'll lose a lot of your testosterone building potential.

[Neil4Speed]

Thanks for the great responses.

I think some of you are mistaking when I wrote Supplement my diet with Chicken Breast. Supplement means - In addition to. I am definitely still going to take my protein shakes. I just want something I can reach in my fridge and grab for if I want a quick snack.

My question was more of a thinking out loud thing, ie. if
there was a controlled test similar to what G-Suade was suggesting what kind of results you would see.

[Kaevon Khoozani]

Why not just get a littleminnovative and combine the best of both worlds (skip ahead to 4:17) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7Ed...e_gdata_player

[G-Suede]

Originally posted by Kaevon Khoozani
Why not just get a littleminnovative and combine the best of both worlds (skip ahead to 4:17) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7Ed...e_gdata_player

I used to do the same thing with either several cans of tuna or 12 scrambled eggs and apple juice. Yummy.

[EG STyLeZ]

do protein powders generally contain a more balanced and thorough amino acid profile than a chicken breast?

taking this into consideration, would this affect your desired weight gain?