WHEN IN DOUBT: STEAK AND EGGS

In previous writings, as a nod to both Dan John and, surprisingly, Paul Carter espoused the value of PBJs (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) as staples of nutrition and an analogy for training as well, in the instance of a “high speed/low drag” approach to the question “what am I going to eat?”  But, of course, there’s no room for PBJs in “Chaos is the Plan: The Plan”, so allow me to give you the equivalent: steak and eggs.  And, in turn, along with “Chaos is the Plan”, we have another rallying cry: “When in doubt: steak and eggs”.

 

These guys are soon going to become the blog mascot 

 

I have replied with that very response in SO many instances when questioned on nutrition, because, ultimately: it answers pretty much EVERY question. 

 

> “What do I eat for breakfast?”

> “What do I eat for dinner?”

> “What can I bring to work/school?”

> “What do I buy at the grocery store?”

> “What do I order at the restaurant?”

> “What do I meal prep for the week?”

> “What do I make for my family to eat?”

> “What do I eat to gain weight?  To lose weight?”

 

You can see how the possibilities are limitless.  It’s like having a magic 8-ball with only one response, and it ALWAYS works.  When in doubt: steak and eggs.

 

This works too

 

What’s so magical about steak and eggs?  Truthfully nothing of course: it’s simply a source of protein and/or fat (more on that later), but the pairing of the two is a time honored tradition and consistent winner that allows it to be a simple default answer to all questions as needed.  Much like the aforementioned PBJ, it’s not the PERFECT answer, but it’s a pretty good one, and pretty good is pretty good.

 

Steak and eggs is breakfast AND dinner.  I’m honestly not one for nutritional norms (on the first day of my undergrad nutrition course, I had leftover Panda Express orange chicken for breakfast), but if you do find yourself hamstrung by that notion, steak and eggs is a classic breakfast.  In fact, I still have an imprinted memory of watching an “Surviving the Cut” where young United States Marine Corps recruits, having survived the final phase of boot camp known as “the crucible” and graduating from recruit to “Marine” were greeted with a “warrior’s breakfast” of steak and eggs upon their return.  So really: steak and eggs is an outstanding breakfast.  And breakfast for dinner is an outstanding dinner, and steak is in and of itself a traditional “dinner food”, so you’ve got that covered.  And then, if we wanna go with more norming: leftovers are a VERY traditional lunch, so if you have any leftover steak and eggs, you can have it for lunch.  So now we have an answer for your 3 traditional meals-when in doubt: steak and eggs.

Some of ya'll are still operating under this construct for the omnimeal

 

And, of course, that’s all assuming you are confining yourself to norms and “need” 3 meals a day.  If you’ve fully embraced the “eat when hungry until not” portion of the plan, then you can simply say “I’m hungry: what shall I eat?  Ah yes: steak and eggs”.

 

And though “Chaos is the Plan: The Plan” is not specifically about fat loss or muscle building but, instead, letting the body naturally determine its own trajectory based on demand (we hammer it with training, we feed it good nutrition, and we “become that which does”), it’s worth understanding that there are precedents for steak and eggs to achieve both fat loss AND muscle building.  In the instance of the former, we have Vince Gironda’s own “steak and eggs diet”, which was a 5 day on/1 day off approach wherein a trainee would eat two meals a day of 4-6 eggs and .75-1.5lbs of steak.  Vince had a reputation for being able to get bodybuilders in OUTSTANDING conditioning in an era before abuse of diuretics and insulin manipulation, so the proof is in the pudding there.  Do I have a matching example of a trainee that was able to grow in size and strength on a diet of JUST steak and eggs?  …no.  But let’s just apply the common sense on that one: if you eat a lot of protein rich foods and lift weights, you’re bound to get bigger.

Folks, this is a great physique TODAY!  It was otherworldly in it's era.

 

But now comes the question: how do we make this fit “the plan”, when the third sentence is to not repeat the same meal twice in a row?  Once again: this is where steak and eggs shine!  There are SO many different cuts of steak out there to partake in.  Ribeye, sirloin, tri tip, t-bone, filet, picanha, flank steak, skirt steak (this is becoming like the shrimp scene from Forest Gump), London broil, chuck, top/bottom round, cube, “chopped steak” (honestly, it’s hamburger), New York Strip, etc.  And each cut has its own unique protein to fat profile, meaning unlimited possibilities to scale leanness as needed, to say nothing of if you decide to go with grassfed vs grainfed, piedmontese vs angus, etc.  To say nothing of HOW the steak is cooked, both in terms of doneness AND method (smoked vs grilled vs pan fried in butter vs sous vide, etc etc).  And oh my goodness what about eggs?  Poached, hard/soft boiled, over easy/medium/hard, sunny side up, boiled, omelet, frittata, raw, baked like a muffin, etc.  And can we eat just the whites and still call that “eggs”?  Absolutely!  Can we do the same with just the yolks?  You bet we can!

 

Honestly, with just these two food items, you could have a unique meal every single meal of your life until you die.  And that will be in a LONG time, because you’re fueling yourself with some pretty awesome nutrition.

How can just one animal provide us SO much?

 

I talked about tying this to training, but I will say that’s going to be a bit more personal: YOU need to find your “steak and eggs” for training.  “Chaos is the Plan: The Plan” gives you the foundations there: put stuff over your head, have harmony disrupters, and employ level changes.  For me, my steak and eggs is this: the Kalsu WOD.  Kalsu proper is 100 thrusters w/135lbs, but Every Minute on the Minute you do 5 burpees.  I don’t always do the EXACT Kalsu WOD, but I absolutely steal that layout for my workout: have a running clock, put something over my head, change levels, and have my harmony disrupted on the way to my goal.  I KNOW that, if I do that: I will be challenged, and I will be smoked, and I’ll achieve my goals.  And, much like steak and eggs: there are SO many ways to put something over my head and change levels that I could come up with THOUSANDS of different workouts for that and never repeat the same one twice.

 

When in doubt: steak and eggs.  That’s the answer.