Thread: Is this a good diet to get muscle mass?

Originally Posted by jenkinsleroy

Im 15, 5'5 feet and weigh 148 lbs.

Meal 1 (6 AM)- 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1 scoop of whey protein

snack (9 AM)- 1 scoop of whey

meal 2/lunch 11-12 AM- Either a can of tuna (is this healthy?) or 2-3 egg whites with apple

snack/pre-workout 3/4 PM- 1/2 cup of oats with 1 scoop of whey

post-workout- 1 scoop of whey

Dinner- Chicken with broccoli

How many calories does this make? What are the macros for this diet? (grams protein, carbs, fat) Do you know your maintenance calories?

At a glance, far too much protein coming from supplements. Nowhere near enough far (your only fat source is 2-3 egg whites). Not many carbs. This looks like a very low-calorie diet. I wouldn't even pass this for a cutting diet.

Enter this into fitday.com and report back with the calories and macros. You need more clean fats (whole eggs, olive oil, natural peanut butter, nuts, seeds, fish (canned tuna has next to no fat, by the way), avocado, fish oil supplements, etc). You need more carbs (potatoes, pasta, bagels, bread, rice, etc). And, you need most of your protein from whole foods, not supplements (meat, eggs, dairy, most grains have good protein, too, etc).

I couldnt find whey on Fitday so this is WITHOUT the servings of whey protein

cals- 665
fat- 22.7
carb- 39g
prot- 75g

WITH the whey protein

4x scoops x 150 cals= 600
27g of protein x 4= 108g of protein

so cals= 1265

Here's the standard reference thread on bulking and cutting.

Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance

By my calculations you should be eating at least 2220 calories a day.

You're not gonna gain much of anything on 665 cals a day. Try multiplying that by 5 or 6. Even 1265 is really, really low.

As Troubador pointed out, even the bare minimum you should be eating to grow is almost 2 times what you're currently eating.

Befriend steak, chicken, whole eggs, natty peanut butter, avocado, coconut oil. Find some healthy carbs that you enjoy and load up.

I went to the link that was posted, and found that there were several kinds of diets. Can you point me in the right direction? God, trying to get my post count up so i can post links/pictures

Any of those diets can be used effectively to gain mass - what will determine whether you're gaining or not is calories.

So, read through those links, pick a diet (I prefer carb-cycling, but that's personal preference) and strap on the feedbag.

Originally Posted by jenkinsleroy

I couldnt find whey on Fitday so this is WITHOUT the servings of whey protein

cals- 665
fat- 22.7
carb- 39g
prot- 75g

WITH the whey protein

4x scoops x 150 cals= 600
27g of protein x 4= 108g of protein

so cals= 1265

Thanks for entering into fitday.

Comments:

Calories: TOO LOW. Without knowing your maintenance calories or physical condition/training experience I can't properly assess your calorie needs, but there's no way 1265 is enough to bulk. I'm 5'9, 195 lbs @ 10% BF and I CUT at no lower than 2,500.

Solution: Increase the calories until you start gaining weight. Increase to 2,500 for a couple weeks and see what happens. If you're not gaining, add more calories. If you're gaining with too much fat, decrease calories until you find the happy medium. You can clean bulk, which means (a) eating solely whole foods and most important (b) tracking your intake so that you not only know your macros but you provide a more moderate surplus so as to not gain a shit ton of fat. Downside is this takes a lot more effort and thought.

Protein: Given your bodyweight of 148 your lean body mass is probably around 130 (assuming an average of 10% BF). Protein needs are 1 - 1.5g protein per pound of LBM, so at 130 lbs LBM you get a range of 130-195g. Going by pure grams, I'd say your protein is fine.

However, your sources are not. Consume less protein supplement. My rule of thumb is no more than 1/5 daily protein from supplements. In your case, you should consume no more than let's say 35g protein per day. This doesn't mean if the odd occassion you consume more that it's the end of the world, but it's a general guideline to help you develop better diet habits. Go for more lean meats, stop eating egg whites (the yolk has the fat, half the protein, and just about all the other good stuff)..eat the whole eggs, drink some milk, etc. Protein is extremely easy to come by. Just stop relying on shakes.

Carbs: you need way more. First of all, I think 39g is incorrect. A medium sized apple has about 20g alone, then you have the oats. Still, carbs are good for bulking, plus they'll provide you the energy you need for what I hope will be hellacious sessions in the gym. Not much to say here, just increase them as you see fit.

Fat: this is the worst of all. You need way more fat. Fat is crucial for hornome production, and as you should know to build muscle you'll need a heap of testosterone. Go for clean fats, such as the ones I listed above. The easiest, cheapest solution is extra virgin olive oil. 1 tablespoon is around 120 calories, 10g fat (8g monounsaturated). I consume 4 in the morning before I even leave the house. It's crucial to my diet. Eggs are excellent, too, and pretty cheap.

Originally Posted by Phineas

Thanks for entering into fitday.

Comments:

Calories: TOO LOW. Without knowing your maintenance calories or physical condition/training experience I can't properly assess your calorie needs, but there's no way 1265 is enough to bulk. I'm 5'9, 195 lbs @ 10% BF and I CUT at no lower than 2,500.

Solution: Increase the calories until you start gaining weight. Increase to 2,500 for a couple weeks and see what happens. If you're not gaining, add more calories. If you're gaining with too much fat, decrease calories until you find the happy medium. You can clean bulk, which means (a) eating solely whole foods and most important (b) tracking your intake so that you not only know your macros but you provide a more moderate surplus so as to not gain a shit ton of fat. Downside is this takes a lot more effort and thought.

Protein: Given your bodyweight of 148 your lean body mass is probably around 130 (assuming an average of 10% BF). Protein needs are 1 - 1.5g protein per pound of LBM, so at 130 lbs LBM you get a range of 130-195g. Going by pure grams, I'd say your protein is fine.

However, your sources are not. Consume less protein supplement. My rule of thumb is no more than 1/5 daily protein from supplements. In your case, you should consume no more than let's say 35g protein per day. This doesn't mean if the odd occassion you consume more that it's the end of the world, but it's a general guideline to help you develop better diet habits. Go for more lean meats, stop eating egg whites (the yolk has the fat, half the protein, and just about all the other good stuff)..eat the whole eggs, drink some milk, etc. Protein is extremely easy to come by. Just stop relying on shakes.

Carbs: you need way more. First of all, I think 39g is incorrect. A medium sized apple has about 20g alone, then you have the oats. Still, carbs are good for bulking, plus they'll provide you the energy you need for what I hope will be hellacious sessions in the gym. Not much to say here, just increase them as you see fit.

Fat: this is the worst of all. You need way more fat. Fat is crucial for hornome production, and as you should know to build muscle you'll need a heap of testosterone. Go for clean fats, such as the ones I listed above. The easiest, cheapest solution is extra virgin olive oil. 1 tablespoon is around 120 calories, 10g fat (8g monounsaturated). I consume 4 in the morning before I even leave the house. It's crucial to my diet. Eggs are excellent, too, and pretty cheap.

Thank you for replying. I just went out and bought Bumblebee Chunk Light Tuna for variety. Do you know a good online bodyfat calculator? or will anything do from google?

When i am clean bulking, i will be gaining muscle mass AND fat? How will i know if im gaining more muscle than fat? or vice versa?

For the 35g, you mean i shouldnt get past that just from protein shakes right? The rest from eggs/meat?

Check the sticky above on cutting, bulking & mantenamnce

jenkinsleroy, have a look at the link in my sig on "getting started". Follow the directions, and you'll grow just fine.

At your age, I would not get carried away with a certain diet. I would focus on eating lot of protien and carbs. Being 15 years old, you will get your fats in the type of food you eat.