TheDeed said:
im 19, 5'10 and 150 lbs... my goals are to gain some muscle and be in an athletic form...some ppl on this site said i had to bulk first that is why im eating so much protein each meal and all day and all the calories and then i will increase it every week by 250 cals till i get to 3000. then i keep eating like that till i get to the weight i want which would be maybe around 160-165lbs
Ok.. Although it is hard to advise you without knowing your BF%, based on your weight, at your height, the best thing you could probably do would be to focus on gaining lean mass while limiting the increase in (or, if you are doing things really well, and if you are newish to training, even lowering) your BF...
But you will need both a good diet and a good training program for this (I assume you have the training in place??).
In terms of your calorie needs, do you have any way of determining your BF%?? Also - How active are you? How often do you train? What do you do during the day? These types of things will all determine what calorie level you should probably aim for at first... Where did you get the 3000 cal number from?
Anyway - without this info the simplest way to do things would be to simply add calories slowly from your current intake (do you know how much you are eating now?) until you start gaining weight at a slow rate (without too much fat gains). Also, be aware that you will have to keep modifying your diet as your weight increases (as your increase in lean mass will cause you to increase your energy needs) so do not just blindly 'aim' for a calorie level - watch how your body reacts and adjust it accordingly.
However, I can tell you that you will, in all probability, need more food than 2300 cals!! This is barely enough for most smaller females (eg:120 pounds) to add mass and will definitely not serve you for this purpose!! You may even find that you start to loose weight immediately with this intake.
and then cut to define my muscles am i right ? so than all my muscles will show really well and then just maintain... am i doing this right.. just getting info from what ppl have told me.. so is this the right diet still ?
Yeah that sounds about right - you will probably have to drop some BF at a later time so you can show up your muscles...
Now, about your diet - Protein is not the only important thing when you are trying to add some quality mass. All three of the macronutrients (carbs, proteins and fats) play important roles in building and maintaining muscles
and in keeping your body healthy.
Importantly, you need to make sure you are getting enough available energy in your diet so your body can use this fuel to grow! This means don't just 'fill your diet with protein'!
I don't like to base carb/protein and fat intake on calorie ratios. They can cause you to have wildly inappropriate intakes depending on your calorie intake - and can therefore cause you to be deficient in vital ingredients needed to reach your goals.
Generally I use body weight measures for macronutrients.
For Protein you should be aiming for a level of ~1.5g/pound (about 225g). This should be spread evenly over your meals and will supply your body with the amino acids essential for protein repair and growth. You don't NEED more than this amount to build muscle (infact, you can actually build muscle with much less than this, provided you are giving your body sufficient energy from carbohydrates and fats) but 1.5g/pound offers your body an ample supply so it will never be without.
For fats of at least 0.4g/pound (60g). Most of these should be healthy, unsaturated fats and they are essential for your brain, joints, muscles, hormone production, skin, hair, cardiovascular system etc etc... They will also help with your insulin sensitivity (meaning the energy you ingest will be better utilised by your body) and will help in your bodies ability to burn fats (keeping you leaner and your metabolism higher).
Carbs are a debated topic. Personally, I feel carbs are essential for a good mass building program (yes, you can do a 'keto bulk' but it is damn hard and much less effective). Carbs offer huge advantages in terms of anabolic potential both in terms of providing a good, readily available energy for your training and for recovery and in terms of providing a good anabolic environment in your body (it will stimulate insulin and other hormones which will all help in adding lean muscle mass). I suggest you should probably start at about 2g/pound at first (300g) and see how you go. You might like to decrease them (and then focus the carbs you do eat around your workouts) and increase your fats instead - but this is something you are going to have to work out.
So this means:
225g protein = 900 cals (35%)
60g fat = 540 cals (20%)
300g carbs = 1200 cals (45%)
So, to start with this gives you a total of ~2640 cals. And, based on your weight at 150 pounds, I would think that that would be a good calorie level for you to start at - you will probably find that you need more than this, so just add energy (I would go for either carbs or fats.. But a little more protein, say 250g, would be fine too).
Meal 1 : 9:00 Am
1 Super Cod Liver Oil Capsule
1 Cup Of Real Oats
1 Can Of Tuna Without Water
1 Egg white Omelet Sounds Good But How Do U Cook it. is there cheese in it ?
1 cup of oats sounds fine. You could decrease it slightly and add some fruit if you wanted the variety. Something like blueberries would be a good option. I would think that, in most of your carb meals, you want to aim for about 50 to 60g... But in this meal and in your post-workout shake you should aim for a little more - so 70 ish grams is probably a good target.
In this meal aim for ~40-45g of protein - so how much is in the tuna? Egg white omelette's are easy to make - you could even add the tuna to it. Just seperate an appropriate number of egg whites, add some pepper/lemon juice or other flavours, then cook it up in a non-stick pan. You can add what ever you want - things such as garlic, mushrooms, onions, spinach, tomato etc...
For fats - You could leave in some yolks if you wanted or you might want to add a tbs of ground flax to your oats.
Meal 2 : 12:00 Am
2 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread
1 Slice Roast Beef
1 Can Of Sardines With Oil -- do i drink that oil ?
As I suggested before - whole wheat bread is not your best option here... What about basmati rice or even some sprouted bread instead?
How much protein is in the roast beef and sardines? Once again, about 35 to 40g is a good figure to aim for, so if it is a lot more than this then cut it back.
Sardines - well, I would definitely not drink the oil (as they often can these things in icky types of oil) and I would try to get the ones canned in springwater. Depending on how much fat you have in your breakfast and last meal you are probably best adding some other form of healthy fats here (as you do not want high fats in any of the meals around your workouts).
Carbs should be at about 50 to 60g. Also - want about some vegetables!!??!! Add some salad!
Meal 3 : 3:00 Pm
Half Of Large Cucumber
1 Cup Of Real Oats
1 Medium Apple
Ummm... Where did the protein go??
Add some chicken/tuna/lean meat/egg-whites etc (35 to 40g worth). You might also want to slightly decrease your serving of carbs (aim should be 50 to 60g)...
Post Workout Shake 5:00
100% Whey Protein Powder 22G mixed with Skim Milk
1 Large Banana
1 Cup Yogurt Fat Free
How much protein is that? You want 40g (minimum of 0.25g/pound) with 50g probably being a good figure for you (0.33g/pound).
Also - How much skim milk? As you are trying to add mass, you want at least 0.5g of carbs per pound bodyweight - so aim for about 75g. Some people suggest you aim for 0.5g your TARGET bodyweight... which, for you, would be 80g, which is not all that much different.
Meal 4: 6:00 Pm
5 Stems of Broccoli
1 cooked Chicken Breast
1/2 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
More carbs. Aim for 50 to 60g (which is about 1 cup rice) and the chicken should be about 35 to 40g worth.
Could increase your serving of vegetables (5 stems is not really that much!!).
Meal 5 : 9:00 Pm
Efficient Amount Of Walnuts
Small Piece Of real Salmon Fish
Looks good - once again, go for about 35 to 40g protein. Also - add vegetables.
Level of fats here?? Well, this depends on how much you have taken in during the day. I would think that 15 to 20g would be fine.
