Thursday, July 1, 2010

4 lbs of Meat and A Heineken

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You might not know this but aside from having attained the highest rank in cheesecake mastery, I am also an ambitious scholar of meat mastery and beermanship. This last weekend, on Midsummer's Eve, I decided it was time to introduce Marjan, an eager Leangains apprentice, to these fine arts. I told him it was time to do 4-lbs-of-meat-and-a-Heineken.

This is one of numerous secrets of my method, previously only revealed to my insiders circle of clients.




Unfortunately our grill was to small to accomodate 4 lbs of meat, so we had to fill up the quota with grilled chicken wings and breasts from the deli.




2 lbs of pork tenderloin. The secret to grilling pork tenderloin is to not cut it up until the very end. That way the juices stay in the meat, which makes it nice and tasty.




The meat ended up just perfect. Very succulent. Goes to show how far you can go with a $3-grill if you have superior skills.







Good stuff. I should note that my personal record is 2.1 kg meat, almost 5 lbs, in one sitting. 4-lbs-of-meat-and-a-Heineken is truly a beginner's course. Much greater challenges lies ahead for young Marjan.




By the way, we made a kick ass sauce. It's on the upper left corner of the table. Just mix cottage cheese and ketchup and there you have it. Goes very well with grilled meat.




Final score

Marjan: 1.5 lbs meat, x bottles of Heineken and half a bottle of wine.

Martin: 2.5 lbs meat, x bottles of Heineken and half a bottle of wine.

As you can see I am the clear winner here. However, one must be patient with the young. Progressive overloading is the key. We ate a bunch of other stuff after this. It's funny how you can be full from a meal...and then, when presented with other food choices, suddenly your appetite comes back with a vengeance.

76 comments:

Jacob Follis said...

That is awesome!!

Anonymous said...

2.5 ibs meat.. ur a MACHINE!!!
is this the secret to ur physique ?
haha,, cool pics

Keith said...

Wow that is freaking awesome, however, I know you probably hate getting these questions, but how do you handle the extreme calorie surplus in the days that follow?

LayzieBone085 said...

Cheesecake > Chicken and Meat Just sayin'

geert said...

Shame on u,martin.

I mean,heineken?!

Unknown said...

You mean this what I have to look forward to when I ask to get on Leangains!? Nice.

If you are ever in Texas Free Steak

It's about 6 hours from here, one day I will challenge this.

Haley said...

Yeah...I'm not there yet! LOL

Anonymous said...

omg. cottage cheese & ketchup? I have got to try that. :-) yummm

Unknown said...

Anon,

"2.5 ibs meat.. ur a MACHINE!!!
is this the secret to ur physique ? "

YES

Keith,

I cut back a little bit the next day. Actually have an article on that topic coming up. It will be part of a 5-6 part series on overfeeding that will kick off soon.

Unknown said...

Bob,

"Cheesecake > Chicken and Meat Just sayin'"

Yeah well get your ass over here and bake me cheesecake then. They are hard to come by, at least the way I like em. Size XXXL that is.

Anon,

"omg. cottage cheese & ketchup?"

Super simple but really awesome, seriously.

Rob said...

Since all the food you ate with the beer was protein, if you would have stopped there, wouldn't you have not gained any fat from the surplus calories?

I remember your awesome bit in another article explaining how alcohol cannot be stored as fat and only eating protein/veggies the day of drinking prevents fat gain.

Unknown said...

Well, we made sure to keep some fat in the tenderloin by not cutting it up but what you're asking is basically true. I'll cover that stuff more extensively in a few articles on overfeeding I have planned.

Might run a piece on alcohol Fri/Sat. Would be a good fit since everyone will be boozing up for July 4th. I've been getting tons of questions on alcohol and fat storage these last few weeks.

Darrin said...

4 lbs of meat and only "a" Heineken? You are truly have stronger willpower than I do, Martin! I might have taken down an entire sixpack by myself in an endeavor like that!

Blank said...

You ate the dog didn't you. Notice the lack of a question mark.

>.>
<.<

Unknown said...

Don't remember how many bottles. More than one for sure.

Unknown said...

Joe,

If you read my tweet

"Think I clocked in at 600 g + protein that day. Great stuff."

You'll know that the 2.5 lbs of grilled meat I ate comes out to about 220 g protein.

Well guess where the other 380 g+ came from.

You figured it out.

Michael said...

Martin,

Great stuff! This is basically how I eat when in Vegas or other places. 3 pounds of meat and a bottle of wine is not out of the question. Fun post. Thanks.

Grok said...

Lightweight.

2½... That's called a "side dish". Are you on a diet or something?

Unknown said...

I agree. I'll do 5 lbs+ next time.

Valhalla said...

Pounding the meat is a classic fun activity here in the US. The government frowns upon its consumption (eat less meat and more veggies), but we all know it tastes so good!

It's popular here to do "food porn": where people take pictures of what they are eating. If you take a picture of some good eat, PETA has a fit. Fuck them, meat tastes so good I can eat it every day.

Simon Voggeneder said...

I wonder whether it was a sweet dish you indulged after this meatfest.

It is said that - no matter how full you are - something sweet always will fit in :-)

Unknown said...

Valhalla,

Preach it, brother.

Simon,

Yup. Something sweet always kicks the appetite back in gear.

Anonymous said...

You need to upgrade that bbq!

And while 2.5lbs +drinks is good work, im waiting to see 5lbs being put away.. that would be impressive

Also, your mate needs a haircut

Moritz said...

how about this: next time you're in germany, visit me in cologne and we'll make a trip to the rodizio. it's a brazilian restaurant that offers old school gaucho food, which means meat in all kinds of forms, roasted and cut directly onto your plate. waiters bring the meat, waitresses vegetables and fruit. the fun thing is, they keep coming and piling it up if you don't say otherwise...

waiter: pork chop?
me (chewing): yep!
w(every 3 min): steak?
m: yep!
w: chicken?
m: yep!
w: eisbein?
m: yep!

...

Unknown said...

Anon,

"Also, your mate needs a haircut"

Yeah he went to the hairdresser and told em to do whatever the hell they wanted. As a consequence he's rocking a new kidz on the block hairdo.

Moritz,

Cool deal. I might take you up on that since I'm in Germany from time to time.

Anonymous said...

I was born with the unfortunate ability to eat more in one sitting than almost anyone I've ever met in my life. I could eat you under the table, Martin! Wait...that didn't come out quite right....

I will say, however, that since concentrating on IF for about a month or so, I find I get full faster on much less food than when I was eating in a "regular" pattern...go figure.

-sobenso

Blue said...

You'd be proud Martin, Canada day was yesterday, I polished off 3 bags of donuts with chicken and ribs. I woke up leaner this morning why, I'm not sure. But the toilet is taking a beating.

Frank Dobner said...

Looks great. I guess way up there in the north Mid Summers Eve is a big festival. I like the meat idea.

Szymon said...

Awesome!
btw. anyhing new about your book? Will you release it before premiere of Duke Nukem Forever?

Jordan said...

Did you have any trouble digesting that much meat? Unfortunately, I'm not one of the lucky ones. That would be a problem for me. lol.

Ryan said...

Hi Martin,

I'm new to the site so not completely familiar with your nutrition approach, although I do utilize a kind of flexible IF myself.

I am wondering if this kind of meal is a regular thing for you (weekly, monthly?, or something you apply intermittently. ---> see what I did there?

How many grams of protein are you trying to comsume daily?

Patrick said...

Haha, you crack me up man ;) I've recently read an article by one of those hippie nutritionists on how you should never eat more meat in a single meal than what can fit on the palm of your hand. I guess In your case, you'd have to be walking around with satellite dishes for hands then!

Evan Picard said...

2.5lbs of meat is w/e. You're not going to impress me until you get a real bbq!

gbloomer said...

Lol, great post mate! There is nothing that beats a good cook out BBQ style. Reminded me of Fathers Day a few weeks ago. Them little disposable grills can be a bit hit or miss. There is truly something special with having single digit bf % and coming across as a greedy b*****d to everyone around you. How many times have you been asked, "Where the hell do you put it?"
Marjorca next week and there is a restaurant there that specializes in BIG meat. Look out for a tweet.

geert said...

Talking about brazilian all u can eat(rodízio)restaurants...i actually live in brazil(rio de janeiro).
If u ever happen to take a vacation in rio,let me know,martin.

p.s.:i eat 1kg of meat(chicken,turkey,...) almost every single morning(after a 16h fast)

Daniel said...

It looks delicious Martin, man you can really eat.
I can't believe that despite all the meat you actually could eat something sweet to.
Was it cheesecake for dessert?

Half Navajo said...

If your ever in america... you should go to Texas De Brazil... me and my brother take it for all its worth... pounds of meat, and finish it off with a salad...mmmm.....!!!!!

troy

LayzieBone085 said...

Martin,
I already sent you via E-Mail the cheesecake I would bring you. That Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Reesee Cups that layered around the outside and topped with heavy whipping cream?

Your Reply "I almost creamed my pants looking at that, I am going to the corner to get a cheesecake"

what happened to that?
Huh?

WEAK!!!!!!!

Clement said...

Wow martin, this is great. I just had a pineapple flann pig-out today. However, I still don't know if I'm getting the protocol for fasting right. Do you mind if I ask you a question?

I eat at my maintenance intake regardless of training or non-training days. I also try to eat clean most of the time but I'm not the organic, orthorexic kind of person. In the recent article in wannabebig.com, it is stated that
" He trains only two to three times in a given calendar week, eats all the ‘wrong’ foods, fasts for 16 hours a day, and takes in all of his carbohydrates at night, all at a bodyweight of 195 pounds and 5.5% body fat". This seem to imply that you also eat what some people might classify as "unhealthy foods" most of the time and that calories are really THE factor that cones into play at maintenance of a super lean body composition. If I were to eat at maintenance most of the time and only go over my daily intake once or twice per week, would it keep me at the 10% body fat range?

Anonymous said...

Hi martin, what is your (IF) protocol for preparing for this meatfest?

Robin
Norway

sleepytechnics said...

i am sorry but heineken does NOT qualify for being beer, it's horse piss....

Isn't carlsberg or some decent belgian beer available in Sweden?

greetz s

Unknown said...

Anon,

"I was born with the unfortunate ability to eat more in one sitting than almost anyone I've ever met in my life. I could eat you under the table, Martin! "

No. Seriously, you can't.

Blue,

"I polished off 3 bags of donuts with chicken and ribs. I woke up leaner this morning why, I'm not sure"

Magic Whoosh Fairies

Unknown said...

Szymon,

"btw. anyhing new about your book? Will you release it before premiere of Duke Nukem Forever?"

I lol'd for real. I suck with deadlines.

Jordan,

"Did you have any trouble digesting that much meat?"

Nope. Never have trouble with digesting anything. I could eat my cooking pan and be just fine.

Unknown said...

Ryan,

"How many grams of protein are you trying to comsume daily?"

Sorry, I missed this q the last time. It varies a lot frankly. I'm following a lifestyle approach atm, not aiming for precise amounts of x grams pro, carbs and fat per day. I obviously have some ground rules, so I would say I'm getting a minimum of 3 g protein/kg per day.

Unknown said...

Gbloomer,

^^ (this guy is ripped as hell right now, keep your eyes peeled for him in the next client update)

"There is truly something special with having single digit bf % and coming across as a greedy b*****d to everyone around you. How many times have you been asked, "Where the hell do you put it?"

Yeah, basically any time I eat with aquaintances and relatives. Most of my close friends know of my crazy antics though.

Unknown said...

Bob,

"Your Reply "I almost creamed my pants looking at that, I am going to the corner to get a cheesecake"

what happened to that?
Huh?"

It started raining.

True story: There actually is a store that specializes in cheesecakes but it aint exactly around the corner.

We spent 30 minutes driving around looking for it before the bbq...couldn't find it. They're not on the web either.

I'm guessing they closed down shop when they heard I was coming for them.

Unknown said...

Clement,

I don't think Ryan meant to imply that I "only" eat the wrong foods because that's not true.

I'm a firm believer in a whole foods diet for maintaining long term leanness. That doesn't mean I eat some "unclean" stuff on regular basis.

People have a problem making that distinction. Either you are eating 100% superclean all the time or either you're eating junk/Standard American Diet etc.

"If I were to eat at maintenance most of the time and only go over my daily intake once or twice per week, would it keep me at the 10% body fat range?"

No, you would gain weight since your net weekly calorie balance would be positive.

Unknown said...

Thanks for all these invites to meatfests in Germany & Brazil & Texas etc...Might just take you up on that. Do a world tour, eat a bunch of meat. My kind of vacation.

Anonymous said...

do you drink beer often? :D

LayzieBone085 said...

We spent 30 minutes driving around looking for it before the bbq...couldn't find it. They're not on the web either.

I'm guessing they closed down shop when they heard I was coming for them.

^^
Thats a shame dude, I do not know how much shipping to Sweden is, but I could make you a BOMB cheesecake, probably would not come in one piece or taste too good by the time it got there.

Come to the USA and ill be sure to hook you up eh?
Ill be all over that cheesecake I sent you via E-mail in about 13 weeks, and of course some pictures for your client success stories.


Any other information on the lifestyle diet or the upcoming article on what to do after binges like when you have the massive cheesecakes?

Look forward to the book mate, gonna be a keeper.

Nathan said...

Did this for canada day except it was beef ribs instead of pork/chicken... pork's too lean to eat a lot of it for me. Every time i try it's such a jaw workout that it gets sore haha.

If you haven't had beef ribs, you haven't lived. way better than pork!

Rob said...

So are you still gonna post an article today for alcohol/fat storage?

Unknown said...

That was my goal, but I can't make time for it.

Will save it for the overfeeding-series I have planned.

aoa said...

hah, i am from the south region of Brazil where they invented all-you-can-eat meat "rodizios"... I've seen several times people eat 3+ kg. of meat in one sitting. easy.

If you are an enterologist you should come here since there is a HUGE market of people with high cholesterol, 25%+ bf and clogged up arteries :)

Unknown said...

Mamaelvis,

Good stuff. I appreciate your thoughts.

If you'd like to see my response, which I hope you do, please e-mail me at martinberkhan at gmail . com and we'll talk there.

Note to others: This comment was not published per the poster's suggestion.

Unknown said...

Aoa,

That sounds awesome. I keep hearing great things about Brazil & meat.

John said...

Can you point me at any good studies on how different macronutrient ratios affect health markers and/or bodycomposition in chronic hyper-caloric conditions, such as bulking?

I've googled it and it returned a bunch of unrelated stuff. You might be more knowledgable than me, so I thought it's best I asked you.

Anonymous said...

Got one question about strength symmetry.

I've noticed the long head of my triceps comes in and dominates a lot of exercises. For chins, for example, my strength standard is 5x140% BW, but the long head steals a lot of the work from rear deltoid and biceps. Same tendency in bench press and other exercises. With this comes an asymmetric look. Obviously, you have managed to do the exact opposite so I wonder if you got any tip or tricks in order to work the right muscles during these compound movements, like some sort of curling action during supinated chins, what do I know? Maybe your training mechanics is just unconsciously "right"?

Enjoying your posts!

Kristina said...

Not to brag, but I am a 5'8" 135 lb female and eating 2.5 lbs of meat in one sitting is nothing for me. I can eat twice that easily. Wish you lived closer so I could challenge you to an eating contest!!

Thanks for the pics and a great blog. Love it...

Skyler said...

Martin,

There's a bbq place here in central Texas called "The Salt Lick." $17 gets you unlimited ribs, sausage, and brisket. It's heaven.

Best,
Skyler

Kristina said...

OMG I LOVE The Saltlick. Unfortunately we live in TN now. They have no idea how to make brisket here and in general thei BBQ sucks.

Kristina said...

OMG I LOVE The Saltlick. DH and I used to live in Austin and that was one of our fav BBQ places. Never ordered anything but the all-u-can eat. Miss that place...we live in TN now and BBQ here pretty much sucks. I'm going to Austin end of July and will be eating BBQ every day. :)

Unknown said...

John,

Go to PubMed and do a search on "short-term overfeeding". Limit the search to human trials.

Anon,

"Obviously, you have managed to do the exact opposite so I wonder if you got any tip or tricks in order to work the right muscles during these compound movements, like some sort of curling action during supinated chins, what do I know?"

No, not something I consciously think about. I think genetics and leverages play a large role in this.

Unknown said...

Me,

Let me assure you that this was only a beginner's treat, as I was showing my friend a glimpse of the dark arts. I can do 5 lbs+ without breaking a sweat.

Anonymous said...

Beermanship and Heineken do not go hand in hand... Just sayin'. Awesome idea though

Fritz said...

Martin, I can remember you saying the amino acids from the proteins are trickled into the bloodstream 16 hours after the last meal when it contains enough protein. I also recall reading research about alcohol puts calorie storage into fat storage. At least, it disregulates the normal processes. After having had like 4 beers and NOT breakfasting the day after, does this "trickling" continue?

(cause I try to follow IF but sometimes I drink some beers and the morning after I have the urge to eat something for the sake of my muscles)

Caleb Lee said...

Martin!

LOVE It Man!

Just polished off over 2lbs of ribeye about an hour ago, starting to get hungry again myself.

As for everyone talking about Brazil and Meat. I have two thoughts:

1. I dated my first Brasilian this year. Yummy.

2. Rodizios are EVERYTHING they're cracked up to be! If you come to the states, near D.C., we'll hang out and I'll take you to the Brasilian Grill house near here.

So awesome, I ate my 230+ pound Powerlifting buddy under the table one day ...

God I love intermittent fasting :)

Later homie!
Caleb

Unknown said...

Fritz,

Yes. Protein takes a long time to be fully digested and whole food protein is absorbed at a rate of 2-4 g per hour.

Unknown said...

Caleb,

"So awesome, I ate my 230+ pound Powerlifting buddy under the table one day ..."

I like your style. Might take you up on that brasilian steak house deal one day.

Fritz said...

So alcohol does not disregulate the muscle protecting mechanisms of the amino acids?

I would like to know for sure, just to be sure! [This would make my life a lot easier, you know alcohol pops up on any occasion possible and I like it :P]

Unknown said...

Alcohol affects protein synthesis negatively if that's what you're asking.

But as with most things in the bodybuilding and fitness community, the effects are exaggerated.

Fredrik Gyllensten said...

Haha, great meal!

dum3z said...

Had 2 pounds of round and a Killian's Irish red for my PWO today. Still can't quite compare to you, but I'm getting there.
(Granted I supplemented that with a couple bananas and quart of whole milk).

Eric said...

Never caught the "light weight buddy!!!" the first time around, awesome.

Anonymous said...

You mentioned lifestyle approach. I'm interested to know what type of meals and foods you eat and how you plan what you'll eat. I'm trying to recover from an eating disoarsr and would love to hear more about the aforementioned for my recovery process -- trying to simply eat, exercise, and not worry about X amount of grams.

Georgios said...

Dude, seriously, best dip for grilled pork is tzatziki hands down! Not to mention ULTRA healthy.




My name is Martin Berkhan and I work as a nutritional consultant, magazine writer and personal trainer.

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