PB...To eat or not to eat?

[thinkinthin247]

Hi I'm new to this site. After reading several articles I have finally started a nutrition program. I've been working out on and off for a few years now but basically maintained my weight. Well now I'm ready to finally get in better shape. I'm trying to lose fat and tone up. I started my fitness program last Monday. I do weight training 3-4 times a week and cardio everyday(some days twice). Right now I'm 5'8 170 lbs 27% body fat. I'm not quite sure what percent I would like to be but I'm guessing I would be happy at a toned 145lbs. I read an article on this site that recommended I take 165g carbs, 165g protein and 35g of fat a day. Not saying that it is impossible but I find it hard to get all my protein in for the day so I have a Metrx shake with skim milk and PB everyday. I'm also always well under the fat grams as I get most of my nutrition from oatmeal, egg whites, lean meat, fat free yogurt, fruit and veggies.I have read a few articles about Peanut Butter, some saying it's bad and others saying it's good. My question is, if i'm trying to tone up and lose fat can I still have one serving a day with my protein shake as long as I stay within my carb/protein/fat ratio for the day? Will it slow my process? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[smkenne2]

Of course you can have peanut butter! I think most bbers would agree that its amazing and quite a few of us are addicted to it. Make sure its natty to avoid the bad oils.

[fates_child03]

Definitely too eat. I always stick with natural peanut butter to avoid the added sugar and hydrogenated oils. Also imo natural PB tastes better.

[djansen]

you should have a serving of pb a day, though it is calorie dense it is a really healty fat and your body needs healty fats. also it can keep you slimmer by keeping you more full and by slowing the release of carbs into your body. also its full of monounsaturated fats which your body uses more for energy and are less likely to be stored as fat. eat your pb!

[Death From Above]

judging by your pic you have a pretty nice figure to begin with and looks like some decent muscle, which will make tonig up and losing weight pretty easy. Also I love peanut butter, Cutting or bulking you still need your good fats, figure out for your specific goals how many grams of fat/carbs/protein you need daily and use whatever to fill em out. When cutting if im slacking on fat ill throw a tbsp of olive oil in something i cook or mack a tbsp of peanut butter here and there. Good luck too!

[zaxx19]

I do like an average of half a serving a day. Its great for killing hunger and feeling full plus it has some good protein. Alot of people like to add it to protein shakes for more flavor also. Natty is definitely the way to go and the taste is tremendous.

[88shane04]

Everytime someone says Natty I immediately think of nat. light it's really throwing me off when I read the posts.

[Robbyrh10]

Included in my diet whether im cutting or bulking. Great for healthy fats

[nesh10]

Cant go wrong with PB.....man I look forward to that everyday...haha.

[workoutSD]

i think you are doing it right. personally PB is one of my favorite foods so I could never give it up completely. I am also on a cutting diet as I am about 18% B.F. But I think it's awesome to have a serving before working out. make sure to get natural PB, without all the trans fat and sugars. In short, you should be good with the 1 serving per day as long as it doesn't make you go over your caloric limit. Like all good foods, it must be enjoyed in moderation because it's calorie dense. The only caveat would be not to take it too late at night (but that's just my opinion).

[ManOwarrior86]

PB is the best friend of cutters and bulkers alike. You think to yourself 3-4 TBSP of PB a day? But that ****s dense in calories, right? That few TBSP goes a long way. Its not the size that matters, its how you use it, and p.b. does it just right.

[JL4LucidDream]

Peanut butter is the best! It keeps me from craving sweets, its like candy to me.

[CHALKOUTLINE]

i look forward to pb almost as much as a steak

[GymGuy]

Ah Natty PB, one of the great perks of the nutrition plan. Eat it up, such a great food! I find it hard to limit the amount I'm eating...oh well.

[thinkinthin247]

Thanks everyone. I was thinking of cutting it out because a few people said it would put weight on me. A coworker of mine who is into bodybuilding said Metrx would make me big but I like the taste compared to some other brands. Do you guys think I should be taking another brand of protein shake since I'm a female and I'm definately not looking to bulk up?

[hynox.rain]

Sorry guys, i'm going to play the devil's advocate for a bit.

I'm not entirely convinced that it's the best thing since sliced bread (as much as I do love me PB).

For a couple of reasons.
- There are better sources of monounsaturated fats. Per serving PB averages 6g. Where as olive oil has about 18.
- It can mess with your omega3 / omega6 ratio if you aren't careful (but this is pretty negligible on such a forum)
- Other fats are a fair bit cheaper per serving.
- A peanut isn't even a nut. It's a bean, what's up with that?

But Pro's.
+ It's damn tasty
+ Works better on foods than other oils (you don't have olive oil and jam sandwiches)
+ Protein and a little fibre too.

[gainmusclefast]

i only eat if im bulking

if im cutting i stay away from it its way too high in cals and i always overeat it

[tkestu]

Originally Posted by thinkinthin247

Thanks everyone. I was thinking of cutting it out because a few people said it would put weight on me. A coworker of mine who is into bodybuilding said Metrx would make me big but I like the taste compared to some other brands. Do you guys think I should be taking another brand of protein shake since I'm a female and I'm definately not looking to bulk up?

Eating a serving a day won't put weight on you unless it exceeds your macros and cals for the day. And protein wise, MetRx is a good brand but essentially will do what all protein powders will do. Unless you are eating significantly over maintenance calorie levels you wont put on weight or bulk up per say. It will however help in your cutting and toning. Your workout should correlate to cutting too, that will help. Good luck.

[RussianRocket4]

Originally Posted by 88shane04

Everytime someone says Natty I immediately think of nat. light it's really throwing me off when I read the posts.

Someone is in college...and lay off the edward 40 hands it really messes with calorie intake

[Hola Bola]

This is the peanut butter I eat...

http://www.peanutsnack.com/ingredients.html

[audioescape]

uhm...

Love PB.

Can't get natural, though.

Just Skippy "with no trans fat".

Is it better to skip on it if it ain't natural?

[depositio]

Originally Posted by Hola Bola

http://www.peanutsnack.com/ingredients.html

Interesting product. Looks like this is a relatively new entrepreneurial venture? I only found one seller? Does the label on the product offer any more specs about the ingredients and their balance? Are there fillers like xantham in it? Sweeteners?

The fuzzy "contents" of Naturally More's and Power Butter's websites are virtually identical.

At least whoever is behind "Naturally More" (Tim Petro?) takes half of the markup of "Power Butter" (also Tim Petro?) at about 3.60 a pound (for 12 pounds purchased). That still seems overpriced for the goods. Mixing 1/4 ounce each of flaxseed meal, flaxseed oil and pasteurized eggwhites into a single serving of natural PB would produce a similar if not better nutrient profile for substantially less money.

Could get messy though. Maybe the mixing and jarring should be left to the little hands in some Caribbean export zone who no doubt supply these "entrepreneurial" limited liability companies, both headquartered in Birmingham Alabama?

[Phenom01]

Originally Posted by thinkinthin247

Hi I'm new to this site. After reading several articles I have finally started a nutrition program. I've been working out on and off for a few years now but basically maintained my weight. Well now I'm ready to finally get in better shape. I'm trying to lose fat and tone up. I started my fitness program last Monday. I do weight training 3-4 times a week and cardio everyday(some days twice). Right now I'm 5'8 170 lbs 27% body fat. I'm not quite sure what percent I would like to be but I'm guessing I would be happy at a toned 145lbs. I read an article on this site that recommended I take 165g carbs, 165g protein and 35g of fat a day. Not saying that it is impossible but I find it hard to get all my protein in for the day so I have a Metrx shake with skim milk and PB everyday. I'm also always well under the fat grams as I get most of my nutrition from oatmeal, egg whites, lean meat, fat free yogurt, fruit and veggies.I have read a few articles about Peanut Butter, some saying it's bad and others saying it's good. My question is, if i'm trying to tone up and lose fat can I still have one serving a day with my protein shake as long as I stay within my carb/protein/fat ratio for the day? Will it slow my process? Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you want to lose weight you definitely don't want to eat 165 g of carbs. Consume carbs only before and after your workouts. Also stay away from sugar and high GI foods.

[Hola Bola]

Originally Posted by depositio

Interesting product. Looks like this is a relatively new entrepreneurial venture? I only found one seller? Does the label on the product offer any more specs about the ingredients and their balance? Are there fillers like xantham in it? Sweeteners?

The fuzzy "contents" of Naturally More's and Power Butter's websites are virtually identical.

At least whoever is behind "Naturally More" (Tim Petro?) takes half of the markup of "Power Butter" (also Tim Petro?) at about 3.60 a pound (for 12 pounds purchased). That still seems overpriced for the goods. Mixing 1/4 ounce each of flaxseed meal, flaxseed oil and pasteurized eggwhites into a single serving of natural PB would produce a similar if not better nutrient profile for substantially less money.

Could get messy though. Maybe the mixing and jarring should be left to the little hands in some Caribbean export zone who no doubt supply these "entrepreneurial" limited liability companies, both headquartered in Birmingham Alabama?

It might be a relatively new product, but I buy it at Wal-Mart, so I the company is probably doing ok. It cost me $2.66 for 1 lb. It wasn't really any more expensive than the other natural peanut butters they were selling.

Here is exactly what the contents on the label are...

Serving Size = 2 tbsp
Servings Per Container about 13

Calories 169
Fat Cals 98

Total Fat 11g
Sat Fat 2g
Trans Fat 0g
Omega-3 4.1g
Omega-6 1.2g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 130mg
Total Carb 8g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 2g
Protein 10g

Ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, Wheat Germ, Flax Seed, Cane Sugar, Egg Whites, Honey, Flaxseed Oil.

No xantham... looks like Cane Sugar and Honey are the natural sweeteners... but only 2g per serving... not bad at all IMO. Check out your local Wal-Mart and see if they have some... it tastes great and has a good macro profile, especially for peanut butter.

[OneBetter]

Originally Posted by hynox.rain

Sorry guys, i'm going to play the devil's advocate for a bit.

I'm not entirely convinced that it's the best thing since sliced bread (as much as I do love me PB).

For a couple of reasons.
- There are better sources of monounsaturated fats. Per serving PB averages 6g. Where as olive oil has about 18.
- It can mess with your omega3 / omega6 ratio if you aren't careful (but this is pretty negligible on such a forum)
- Other fats are a fair bit cheaper per serving.
- A peanut isn't even a nut. It's a bean, what's up with that?

But Pro's.
+ It's damn tasty
+ Works better on foods than other oils (you don't have olive oil and jam sandwiches)
+ Protein and a little fibre too.

-agreed, but PB has the convience factor. most don't like to eat straight up olive oil
-pretty negligible indeed, most people's diets are already overly n6
-meh, again it kinda comes back to the whole convience factor. plus taste.


to the OP, cals in vs cals out is the most important thing for fat loss. PB will not hurt you in that area unless you are overconsuming. IMO 35g of fat is too low. you'd be consuming 1635 cals a day total though which may be a little on the low side.

[SumthinOrNuthin]

Originally Posted by hynox.rain

Sorry guys, i'm going to play the devil's advocate for a bit.

I'm not entirely convinced that it's the best thing since sliced bread (as much as I do love me PB).

For a couple of reasons.
- There are better sources of monounsaturated fats. Per serving PB averages 6g. Where as olive oil has about 18.
- It can mess with your omega3 / omega6 ratio if you aren't careful (but this is pretty negligible on such a forum)
- Other fats are a fair bit cheaper per serving.
- A peanut isn't even a nut. It's a bean, what's up with that?

But Pro's.
+ It's damn tasty
+ Works better on foods than other oils (you don't have olive oil and jam sandwiches)
+ Protein and a little fibre too.

Agree

If it comes down to affordability the PB is cool. Olive oil is better IMHO and you can use it in tons of ways - add it to tuna, drizzle it over veggies, sweetpotatoes etc etc.

Avocado anyone? (I can't stand 'em but they're a great source of good fats.)

If affordability isn't an issue then almond butter (at about 3 times the cost of PB) has a far superior nutritional profile to PB.