[Fortis]

Hey guys,

I've been in Southern China for 5 days and I feel like I'm slowly starving. I'm having a hell of a time finding a hearty meal (by American standards). It seems like the populace subsists primarily on carbs. Normally, I wouldn't give a shit and just continue to eat what I can find, but I'm going to be here for a while and I would like to find a gym. My fear is that this is all for naught because these guys simply don't seem to eat meat. I have seen maybe 3 Chinese guy who look like they're lifting on the regular. I don't say that as an insult, because there are many fit guys here, but it just doesn't seem like muscle is much of a concern here.

Any guys here know where I can get a large amount of protein for a decent price? I won't be able to eat as much as I can in America, but I really don't want to get smaller than I already am:

5'8 150 lbs.

There is a bright side to all of this: my abs are going to be popping if I can't find enough protein.

-Fortis

[Olav]

Doesn't China have a lot of pork? It's high in fat but some of kinds of pork have ~25g protein /100g

[Prof. Ligate]

Eggs and chicken, man. When I was in Beijing just went full-retard on the eggs and chicken.

Quality cuts of beef are crazy expensive. Pork (mentioned above) I personally wouldn't touch unless organic (you should see how pigs are kept in China).

All the Chinese guys I've known with good physiques are quite wealthy. They love their protein powders and supplements way too much (also weirdly expensive in China I've found).

EDIT: I take that back about how I 'wouldn't touch' the pork. Some Chinese BBQ pork dishes are next level (still wouldn't eat on the regular though)

[Chaos]

Try a bamboorat. They have them in cages outside some restaurants.
You are free to pick which one you desire.
Fresh and delicious.

[Hades]

Haven't been to China but I second the mother-daughter special of chicken and eggs.

[Dantes]

Fortis,

I am interested to hear if you look into protein powder, where to buy and cost.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

[Jetlagged]

Street food grilled chicken wings. Identifiable and come with a known amount of bones.

Fucking bony meat here. Order meat and it's 50 percent chopped up bone.

Where in southern china are you? Joined the china wechat yet?
I'm in zhuhai if you're nearby.

It's tough out here. I dropped from 175 to 155, but I needed it

Good luck finding a gym with a squat rack :/ if you can make it to Macao or HK you can find protein powder.


Oh yeah, fish. There's an abundance of fish and shell fish at most places. Also look out for western restaurants.

[Global Entry]

Fortis, The wet markets all sell fresh (and live) seafood. Shrimp, squid, scallops, lake and ocean fish (mostly farmed lake fish) and a million things you've probably never seen before outside Asia. Eggs (which aren't refrigerated, nor do they need to be) are cheap and available everywhere - not just chicken eggs (ji dan is the pinyin, dan meaning egg), but goose, duck and other varieties as well. I ate eggs most every morning in China. I know its disfavored by many, but at your age, tofu is also a pretty acceptable protein source and quite plentiful in both Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines.

Meat itself is usually shopped up and very little is filleted. Fat is also not trimmed off. Just a cultural difference. Prices are low enough to accommodate the waste.

As mentioned above, you can also just head into HK and pick up supplements as well.

[Sonsowey]

You can't just order fish? They've got to have like head-on fried fish on the menu, that's common enough in Chinese food.

[Fortis]

Hey Dantes,

Protein powder is SUPER marked up! Holy shit. 1 pound of protein powder at the supermarket is somewhere to the tune of 50 USD. I would not go that route unless you're balling hard.

Global,

thanks for the intel. I'm going to begin to scour those markets once I get my apartment situation handled. I'm glad i'll be able to continue to eat massive amounts of protein once I'm at home here.

[Jetlagged]

Fortis,

I'm pretty sure bodybuilding.com ships to china. Place a large order for multis protein and supps since shipping will be expensive. Did this Singapore since 2lbs at gnc was like 200 bucks sing.

[Galahad]

When I was in China it was a big deal to get Protein powder from Hong Kong or somewhere outside because Chinese did not trust the Chinese manufactures.
Fish is a good source for Protein, seafood in general.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

You would have to be crazy to pay marked up prices for powdered processed food (protein powder). I don't use it at all, and wouldn't even if it was free.

Spend your money on real food, real meat, real eggs.

Supplements, except for testosterone/AAS, are complete bullshit and a scam. If bodybuilding.com shills for it, 99.9% chance that you are wasting your money.

[Jetlagged]

(06-09-2015 05:27 AM)VolandoVengoVolandoVoy Wrote:  

You would have to be crazy to pay marked up prices for powdered processed food (protein powder). I don't use it at all, and wouldn't even if it was free.

Spend your money on real food, real meat, real eggs.

Supplements, except for testosterone/AAS, are complete bullshit and a scam. If bodybuilding.com shills for it, 99.9% chance that you are wasting your money.

Over dramatic post is over dramatic.

You do make a good point and this is a discussion for another thread however not all supplements are totally useless. Most are, protein powder is not one of them.

In his situation you are probably correct, however, a bulk supply of multis (hard to find in china) and minerals/letter vitamins/fish and omega oils, bcaas (beef liver tablets) protein powders and creatine wouldn't be a horrible idea. These supps are all proven to work and hard to find in china.

But they are not necessary.

[Galahad]

I guess thats why they are called supplements and not nutrition. They are there to support you, like you are in a hurry have no time to eat. Or you are not hungry but need to get your calories.
I agree that a whey powder, creatine, zinc, good oils and some others are a good support. At the and the most important thing is to train regular and improve there, then have a stable fundamental of your nutrition.

I know guys that spend a lot on supplements but don't have their stuff together with training or basic nutrition. And then they cry nothing works and take strange doses of steroids.

[elcidcampeador]

I just saw this thread --

When I was living in China full-time I would order all my supplements online from one of the major US-based retailers. The shipping was only like $10 too. I honestly forget what store I used, but it was something like Supplement Warehouse/Bodybuilding.com - a big brand.

I wrote in the comments my address in Chinese and said use both US/Chinese addresses on the package, which worked fine. Then I picked it up at the local China Post place without a problem.

[Vice]

(06-09-2015 03:37 AM)Jetlagged Wrote:  

Fortis,

I'm pretty sure bodybuilding.com ships to china. Place a large order for multis protein and supps since shipping will be expensive. Did this Singapore since 2lbs at gnc was like 200 bucks sing.

iherb offers the cheapest international shipping IMO (~$13 for 10lbs of dymatize whey). The only negative is that the selection is limited.