What's better for you, steak or salad?

oinkerjnn

Earlier this summer I was eating a ton of salads for dinner. The calories were creeping up Pretty high in them. My standard salad consisted of:

One romaine heart
One tomato
Four baby carrots
Some cukes
Goat cheese
Kalamata olives
Half an avocado
3 oz chicken breast
Light newmans own dressing

This weighs in a little under 500 calories, has a Ton of of fiber, a decent amount of protein, and a fair amount of "good" sugar/carbs.

Since I've started lifting more, I've segued to meat plus two dinners.

Last night was 6 oz pork tenderloin, baked sweet potato with butter and Greek yogurt, and broccoli rabe. Tonight is 7 oz filet, sautteed mushrooms and onions, another sweet potato the same way, and grilled asparagus.

Both the dinners I just listed have less calories and better macros for my intended targets. But they are missing a lot of the nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins the veggie laden salad has. If you were in my shoes which would you lean towards?

Counting lunch and dinner, I bet I still eat salad five meals a week, where as two months ago. I was eating salad ten meals a week.

My macros are 25/30/45% carbs/fat/protein. I have a real hard time wrapping my head around the stock answer of "doesn't matter what you eat just stay within your limit and hit your macros." Is that pretty much what it boils down to though? Am I the only person that feels noticeably better when I eat tons of nutrient rich veggies though?

Fwiw, goal is weight loss, 2-3 pounds a week.

cwolfman13

Rather than looking at individual meals, yoi have to look at your diet as a whole...throughout the entire day. It doesn't matter that you hit some macro target at every meal. "Better for you" is relative to context and dosage. I can have a big salad for lunch and a steak, etc for dinner...neither one of them are inherently "better" for me...what matters is that I'm hitting my calorie goals and macro goals for the day.

If you're getting in your requisite servings of fruits and veg for the day, you are going to hit those micros...and if you've hit them earlier in the day, you don't get extra credit for yet another salad.

lisalsd1

Put the steak ON the salad...problem solved.

ahamm002

You need BOTH protein and veggies in your diet.

stuffinmuffin

I just saw the words "Steak" and "Salad" and thought that sounded like a pretty damn good meal to me!

SoDamnHungry

Both are good for you. Get your macros right and you can enjoy both.

sculli123

Put the steak ON the salad...problem solved.

yum this ^

oinkerjnn

I grew up eating a veggie rich diet. Lots of eating from the garden supplemented with farm stand produce all summer long.

Where I live now has two growing seasons and great produce eight months of the year. I'm not a vegetarian by a long shot but I do love my veggies.

Its tricky as Ive been trying to ramp up protein intake to still get my veggies in. And I know all about beans and nuts and their Benefits, but I don't really count beans as vegetables.

I do the steak salad a fair amount but its easier to have cooked chicken laying around than cooked steak, especially since I like my steak rare-medium rare. It gets nasty quick, where as grilled chicken has a solid five day shelf life.

This is an incredibly active forum by the way, you guys have a good thing here.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Steak

spade117

"Steak" and "Salad"

Both are in my top 10 of favorite foods.

levitateme

Put the steak ON the salad...problem solved.

Word.

bugaboo_sue

I'm trying to figure out how 500 calories in a salad is "a lot".:huh: Especially with the stuff that you're putting in them.

You can either put your steak on the salad or have a steak with a side salad. Both are equally good for you (although I wouldn't eat steak every day as too much red meat can be bad).

mamaoftwins9197

Put the steak ON the salad...problem solved.

yum this ^

If I still ate meat, I would totally do this!!!

FindingAmy77

for me: I would go for a steak anyday, no potatoe, two vegies and a salad . sounds yummy. but I stick to the 4oz portions of steak as close as I can

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

I'm trying to figure out how 500 calories in a salad is "a lot".:huh: Especially with the stuff that you're putting in them.

You can either put your steak on the salad or have a steak with a side salad. Both are equally good for you (although I wouldn't eat steak every day as too much red meat can be bad).

I eat red meat almost every day. I must have been dead by now. I guess.

weightliftingdiva

I can't think of anything more delicious sounding then a medium rare ribeye off the grill, a fresh veggie salad with balsamic, and a baked sweet potato. Oh don't forget the scoop of ice cream to top it all off.

You CAN have it all.

stealthq

You're supposed to be hitting macros and micros, ideally. Many of us don't track micros partially because it's a bit difficult with incomplete data in the database, and partially because we want to get the macros on point first. I'm one of those - I just end up taking some supplements to compensate for things I have a hard time getting in my diet.

I guess my question is whether you're already hitting your micros with the rest of your diet. If you are, then don't worry about salad vs. other veg for dinner - it's not like you get bonus points for going over. If not, maybe have a steak and side salad, put the steak on the salad, or pick different side veg that fills out your micros for the day.

dbmata

Steak with a salad on top of it.