Some people will likely be surprised to hear the following, seemingly dichotomous confession:
When I was an overeating fat-body, I consumed a lot of cheeseburgers. Since I’ve become a “lean-body”, I still consume cheeseburgers. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever give up the fairly regular eating of this ‘favorite among foods’ for me. It’s simply a matter of knowing how to make what I’d consider a “body building hamburger” as compared with the calorie-dense variety you’re likely to get at the fast-food restaurants or down at the greasy-spoon café.
Cheeseburger as "bodybuilding nutrition?" Only with a bit of modification.
The basic ingredients of a hamburger are not all that bad for you and needn’t be completely off the “bodybuilding nutrition” list. It’s mostly the heaps of add-ons that so typically get piled on these sandwiches that can have them contributing more to an expanded waistline than to expanded pectoral measurements. The way they’re cooked is also a big factor; determining how much grease remains in the eaten patty and how much drips through a grill or drains out into a pan (can anyone say “George Foreman ‘Knock-Out-The-Fat’ Grill?”).
It’s definitely the added-in condiments, high-glycemic/calorie buns, and (without-a-doubt) side-orders of fries that make the regular devouring of a fast-food “value meal” into a hazard to one’s shape and long-term health. Yet it only takes a little tweaking here and there, a definite dose of moderation, and discrimination among establishments for obtaining these tasty and satiating morsels to switch to what I’d term a ‘body building hamburger.’Let’s say you head out to a burger joint like Texas-based Fuddruckers where you can build the sandwich exactly the way you want. If you’re like I am, you can easily down a one pound beef patty between two lightly toasted sides of wheat bread. However, it’d be best to opt away from that choice given the horrendous calorie wallop a pound of 25% fat-laden beef is packing, especially if you anticipate being sedentary for the hours following the meal. If you have a calorie-burning trip to the gym scheduled? Well, then you can probably get away with it.
If you trim it down to a half-pound patty, you’ve got something below a thousand calories. This is what I go for on occasion. A half pound burger on a wheat bun and a generous heap of moist tomato slices and lettuce to replace the condiments is just a bit over 900 calories. Of course, most of the calories are from fat; the ratio breakdown is about 20% protein, 20% carbs, and 60% dietary fat. The actual amount of fat in the burger comes out to be approximately 60 grams; not a measure to take lightly but acceptable in my book if not eaten often and counterbalanced with relatively moderate carbohydrate intake in the same meal.
Keeping the carbohydrate portion of the meal relatively light when the dietary fat in the meal is too high is something I now do instinctively. And this is where keeping condiments off a “body building hamburger” makes quite a difference. Condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise, or “special sauce” are typically loaded with additional fat and/or sugary calories. Since a decent-sized ground beef patty is rather calorie-dense by itself, the condiment additions – especially when spread on thick – can really put it over the edge. Simply adding a lot of tomato slices can actually replace ketchup for adding flavor and moisture to a burger.
Now… why would I call this a “body building hamburger?” Because it definitely provides a good dose of high quality protein: about 45 grams. It’s got about another 45 grams of carbs – give or take a few. The fat content’s what’s questionable, yet that can be offset with high activity following a meal like this and a counterbalance of lower fat and calorie intake from other meals on a day when the burger is eaten.
If this is reduced to a quarter-pound burger, it’ll provide around 538 calories with 50% of them coming from fat, 34% from carbs, and 16% from protein. We’ll get about 30 grams of fat, 45 grams of carbs, and 22 grams of protein. If we add a slice of cheddar cheese (my favorite) to the mix, we’ll get around 642 calories: 55% from fat, 17% from protein, and 28% from carbs. The grams of each macronutrient with the cheese is 39 grams of fat, 29 grams of protein, and 45 grams of carbohydrates.
Now… if we really want to make this ‘body building hamburger’ into something worthy of being on a “bodybuilding nutrition” food list instead of a cheat meal list, we could make it at home using ground beef with 5% fat content. This would actually reduce the half-pound burger from around 900 calories down to about 630 calories. It would bring the quarter pounder from 538 calories down to 423.
In an upcoming blog entry and/or video, I will demonstrate how to create a complete burger meal with macronutrient ratios worthy of being an ongoing entry on a “bodybuilding nutrition” menu. Until then, indulge heartily, as I do, in the restaurant burgers – with the caveat that some selectiveness, modification, moderation, and intelligent timing can keep the taste-buds satisfied while keeping one’s bodily fat cells from filling with lard.
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