sakbar

Hello All,

I am 32, 170 lbs and stand at 5'6". My current diet program goes thus:

• Breakfast (8 AM):
  3 extra large eggs bolied, 1 cup milk with 1 scoop whey, 1 banana
  (Protein ~ 42 grams)
  
• Lunch (12 PM)
  2 chicken breasts on whole wheat bread, tomatoes, green pepper, cabbage, 1 cup yoghurt
  (Protein ~ 50 grams)
  
• Afternoon Snack (around 2:30 PM )
  1 cup cottage cheese
  (Protein ~ 15 grams)
  
• Pre-workout Snack (around 4:30 PM)
  1 banana, 1 scoop whey in water
  (Protein ~ 23 grams)
  
• Post-Workout Snack
  1 scoop whey + 1 scoop dextrose
  (Protein ~ 23 grams)
  
• Dinner
  1 large chicken breast with veggies - broccoli, carrots, spinach, potatoes, green peas, and other greens
  (Protein ~ 30 grams)
  
• Pre-bed Snack
  1 cup cottage cheese
  (Protein ~ 15 grams)

Total Protein = 198 grams

Please advice me if my food intake is appropriate, and if there are any modifications required to accomplish my goal.

I am trying to bulk without gaining too much fat. Presently, I am on a 4-day split:

• Chest and Biceps
• Legs
• Back
• Shoulders and Triceps

Many thanks,
Sak

Built

What is your goal, and how many calories is this? How many grams fat and carb?

sakbar

I was hoping to see your response amongst others, Built. Thanks!

My goal is to gain in size and strength without putting on too much fat. As for the grams of fat and carbs I don't know how to get that info. Will investigate on that front asap.

Thanks

Built

FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal

Enter your food. Post up the numbers beside the "pie chart".

sakbar

Well, my initial estimate was off the mark. FitDay tells this story:
Grams
Fat: 46 => 23% Total
Carbs: 157 => 32% Total
Protein: 199 => 45% Total

Total Calories: 410 F + 572 C + 797 P = 1811

Please advice,
Sak

Built

The percentages don't matter worth a damn - but the grams and the calories do.

I'd increase the fat a bit. What is maintenance for you? 1800 is what I CUT on, and I'm a middle-aged woman who weighs about 140 lbs.

You're going for a slow recomp, correct? Neither looking to gain nor lose at the moment? What bodyfat are you at, roughly?

sakbar

Built, I am quite ignorant in nutrition.
I started off at about 160 two months ago, and am now placed at 170 with 1800+ cals so I'd say this is maintenance for me.
Apart from weight gainers, which I now shun, I have never resorted to eating any junk or even sweet foods.

Should I add Omega 3-6-9 pills to my diet? Or should I add saturated fat in an effort to boost the testosterone levels?

Yes, I want to gain muscle size. I am basically an all out ectomorph, except that lately I am also having this bulging stomach.
The overall gains have been respectable in terms of strength and size which, sadly, were entirely overshadowed by my stomach flab. As a result, I cut down all extra fat except for eggs because I read your comment in the postings here that eating whole eggs is advisable.

Not really sure about this, will do research and get back to you. Whatever it is, its all in the mid-section, nowhere else!

Built

Sakbar, how are you measuring your food and how do you assess its caloric value?

sakbar

I started off as a vegetarian; my entire focus so far has been on upping protein to 1 gram per pound of body weight. I have never been into junk food and/or binge drinking so quality was not a concern.

Measuring my food and caloric value: The first time I checked my total calorie intake was when you asked me to do the same on FitDay. Admittedly, my ignorance.

I read the diet plans in Muscle & Fitness, Flex and other mags but they seem too difficult to follow through.

Can you please guide me in setting up a diet, or at least point me to online links where I can study and come up with a rock hard plan?

Thanks again,
Sak

Built

I'm just curious how you measure portions, I'm not criticizing you. Do you use a food scale?

sakbar

• Yogurt/Cottage Cheese: 6 oz cup (refilled as required)
• Chicken: Breasts, Nutritional Info on packet
• Vegetables: 1/2 serving of frozen packets. Each packet lasts two servings
• Milk: 1 Cup (measuring approx. 13 oz)
• Egg: Nutritional Info
• Fruits: Typically medium banana, or a small peach/pear.
• Protein and/or Dextrose Powder: Scoop

This goes for a toss when I have to eat outside for whatever the reasons but then again it is not too frequent.

Built

Okay, cool.

If these calories are accurate, you're no ectomorph. Have you ever had your thyroid checked?

Addressing your other concerns - I'm careful to avoid "balanced" 3-6-9 oils. I get plenty of 6 and 9 in my diet. I just supplement with "3" - from 10g fish oil daily.

Aim for about half a gram of fat per pound lean mass, roughly. Let's assume you have around 150 lbs lean mass - so get in 75g fat: 25g from saturates, 25g from polys, 25g from monos. If you go higher than this in the fats, lean on the heart-healthy monos.

Why did you move away from a vegetarian diet? Are you comfortable with this decision? Because you don't have to eat meat to get big. I mod a vegetarian board (I'm not a veggie, they know, I just don't talk about meat there) and there are plenty of big big fellas who don't eat meat.

Just throwing it out there.

sakbar

Great, Built!

So this is the structure I need to follow:
Fat: 75
Carbs: 157 (as before)
Protein: 199 (as before)

With respect to all the vegetarians and their faith, I found out that apart from protein powders, getting in quality protein didn't come easy.

I tried structuring diet based on High Protein Foods and Sample Menu Plan but then found out that Chicken and Broccoli make my life easier. It can be said that in order to achieve BB goals, I cast my beliefs away...

Thanks a ton!
Sak

bulba

I have a question. Hope I won't hijack this thread too much I saw the OP's comment about a tummy still and it seemed he is in a similar situation as me

5'7", 150lbs. I used to be 170 but lost the weight through cardio down to 135. Unfortunately I'm skinny fat- fat on sides of chest and a little bit of a tummy. I was doing the 1600 cals thing

However a few months ago I found out to try and build muscle instead and started eating my maintenance weight in cals (around 2200) with 150-200g of protein, good carbs, etc. and have been doing weights. I feel so much more solid in my arms and body overall, and a lot more energy. It's great. Now I'm at the point where I want to try some HIIT cardio and see if I can finally get this fat off

My question is the amount of food I should be eating. I plan to do my same weights schedule (and wow, I'm amazed, I've been able to lift double what I used to when I started out). But I'm very scared on reducing my calories. I don't want to waste a lot of time again and find out I'm losing all my muscle gain, or if it will hinder my muscle building

I was reading some other articles that say I can do fat loss with my maintenance cals. This is what I'm leaning at doing- eating the same amount but doing more exercise (HIIT 2-3 times a week). For someone skinny fat like me that seems to make sense...I can lose/gain weight very easily, I just never end up looking good. So maintenance sounds right, but I want to make sure I'm making the right choice

Thanks

Built

You'll tend to lose more fat if you diet off the weight and train heavy, than if you exercise off the weight and maintain.

Up to you.

bulba

Another question after trying 1800 cals- my breakdown is 40/40/20

I've been getting this slight burning feeling in my left side (tummy). The last time I had this is when I was under eating at 1600 cals...does anyone know what I'm talking about? Feels like my stomach walls or going or something But I eat something big and then it starts to fade away in a few hours. I just feeling like I'm not eating enough again...

I'm going to go up to 2000 cals by eating a little more fat/protein, and then do my weights/HIIT to do the rest. I'm just wondering if anyone else gets that sensation if they don't eat enough?

Built

Please get away from dietary ratios. They really mean nothing. Besides, you need MORE protein when you're cutting - not less.

1800 calories? That's what I cut on!

bulba

What am I supposed to do then? I got the ratio info after reading the stickies on this site/other sites and doing lots of searches for my questions. I don't think I said I was going to eat less protein either, but rather eat more of it/fat instead of carbs for calories, after reading some more posts around here
Right, I want to lose some fat. I found my maintenance was about 2200, started at 1800 then, and feel too hungry (tummy burning), so I'm trying 2000 now. Maybe I went down too low to fast?

Built

That's not too fast - what macros do you run - grams fat, protein, carb, total calories are 1800...

Describe your training?

bulba

I get in about 160g of protein a day right now, about 150ishg carbs and about 65g good fats. Most of my protein/carbs comes from tuna, pinto beans, whey protein, and brown rice. For most of my fats I use real natural peanut butter. I do weights every 2 days- I'm follow something that does all the major muscles groups each workout and do it by counting to 5 up and down on each rep till fatigue, I'm pretty exhausted after the whole thing- then do about 15 min HIIT cardio the next day. So basically it's weights one day, then HIIT, then rest, then repeat. I added the HIIT in maybe two weeks ago it's pretty fun

Also I was thinking about what you said about you using 1800 cals to cut...I thought back when I lost about 30lbs in 3 months (it was the dumb way of dieting, didn't know what I was doing). That would mean I was 'cutting' about 1k calories a day (I was strictly eating 1600 cals a day) in order to lose ~3lbs a week, which would actually make my 'maintenance' around 2600?

Maybe I'm underestimating my maintenance a lot and you're totally spot on...I was doing cardio every day back then since that's what my doc told me to do

Built

That sounds more reasonable - 2600. How about you spend a few months on a different goal: increase your calories while not gaining - try to increase maintenance.

Your workouts might serve you better if you get away from the overtraining you're doing. I'll suggest my own split if you'd like to have a look at it for ideas.

Go here and click on Baby Got Back. Scroll to the end for a sample split.

bulba

So try to eat around my maintenance every day and gradually see if I can eat more w/o fat gain? That sounds good to me. Is the goal to try and increase metabolism for cutting some cals later, or is this a good way for fat loss in itself?

Thanks for the link that's awesome! Definitely going to follow it

Built

The goal is to increase your maintenance so you'll be able to cut later on. You need a break.

Glad you like the split.