What to eat?

[gettinstarted18]

As you may guess by the name i am still new to this game.

I know that i need a high protein intake in my diet to put on some serious mass, but what to eat?

At the moment i am eating lots of chicken and fish but what else would be good to eat?

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[w8lifter]

Welcome gettinstarted18

chicken breast,
turkey breast,
lean ground turkey,
extra lean ground beef,
lean beef,
tuna,
salmon (& other fish),
eggs,
cottage cheese,
whey protein shakes,
old fashioned oats,
scotch/irish oats,
sweet potatoes,
yams,
brown rice,
apples,
peaches,
strawberries,
blueberries,
grapefruit,
green leafy veggies,
almonds,
peanuts,
walnuts,
flax seeds,
flax seed oil,
e/v olive oil,
safflower oil,
walnut oil,
natural peanut butter,

.....does that get ya started at all?

 

[powerrack]

w8lifter said it all!! Great list of good bodybuilding foods.

 

[Blade]

good list, very helpful

 

[twarrior]

W8lifter,

That's a pretty good list, but it seems I have a hard time eating enough on a daily basis to bulk up. I'm currently 192lbs, 5'9", work out M-W-F, split routines with weights for about 1-1.5 hours and do cardio for 20 minutes each on Wed's and Sat's. I use a pyramid training program with no rest between sets except to change the weight. Based upon caloric counter's (they all vary), I would need to eat approx 3300 calories a day to maintain my weight. I have been sporadically (I know it should be every day) keeping track of what I eat and most day's it's tough to even eat 2500 cal's worth of good food. I don't MRP's cause they are too expensive and you only get 10 servings for a $40.00 container. What else can I eat that's has a good, nutritious, and high caloric count.



Twarrior

 

[w8lifter]

Originally posted by twarrior
W8lifter,

That's a pretty good list, but it seems I have a hard time eating enough on a daily basis to bulk up. I'm currently 192lbs, 5'9", work out M-W-F, split routines with weights for about 1-1.5 hours and do cardio for 20 minutes each on Wed's and Sat's. I use a pyramid training program with no rest between sets except to change the weight. Based upon caloric counter's (they all vary), I would need to eat approx 3300 calories a day to maintain my weight. I have been sporadically (I know it should be every day) keeping track of what I eat and most day's it's tough to even eat 2500 cal's worth of good food. I don't MRP's cause they are too expensive and you only get 10 servings for a $40.00 container. What else can I eat that's has a good, nutritious, and high caloric count.


Twarrior

Well, the easiest thing to add to your diet to add calories is fat, because it carries 9 kcals per gram, whereas protein&carbs carry only 4. Things like natural peanut butter, almonds, flax seed oil, olive oil, etc are relatively easy to add because they are so dense in calories. For comparison sake, 1/4 cup of almonds carries 200 kcals while 1/4 cup brown rice carries only 55 calories. Each would be equally easy to eat. What do your meals look like right now? If you post them we can give suggestions on how to increase kcals effectively.

However...your numbers don't add up....if your maintenace level is ~3300 and you're only getting 2500 then you must be dropping weight right?....Are you? If you aren't, then I'd say your maintenance would be closer to the 2500 that you are eating.

 

[Dr. Pain]

Gr8 advice from my"Partner"

Just want to add:

Maintenance is a strange concept...the body adapts quicky to calorie levels in most people...but not all.

When you start getting more nutrient dense foods in the form of proteins, fats, and fiberous carbs, it becomes more of an equation or Macronutrient ratios than of calories!

For instance, a person bulking on say 4000 calories and 30% P, 50% C, and 20% F, may actually make better progress and gain more LBM and less BF on 3300 calories, butt 50% P, 15% C, and 35% F.


Conversely..cutting can be done at a higher caloric intake (closer to maintenance, but below) when fat becomes the primary fuel source. The body will still adapt quickly and constant or frequent changes may be needed!


DP

 

[w8lifter]

Good point

 

[twarrior]

Attached is a copy of what I had for food a couple of weeks ago.


I've also calculated the calories needed to maintain my weight

5'9" @ 192 lbs. moderate activity (3-5 days a week in the Gym for 1.5 hrs plus 2 20 min sessions of cardio).

equals about 2830 cal's. I haven't lost anything so I'd say my body is adapting to the ups and downs of what I'm eating.


I want to bulk up to about 205, so I am trying to eat more quality calories, but sometimes I just feel bloated or not hungry and I don't want to do the shake routine too many times per day.

I don't really track percentages of Prot,carb, fat I just try to eat 1.5 grams of protein a day and 50 grams or less of fat.


Twarrior

 

[w8lifter]

Ok, you're not eating enough fat or nearly enough protein! Dude I eat more protein than that on a bad day, lol. If you want to gain you're gonna have to up both your fat and your protein.

But you're numbers are way off! Where are you getting them from?

You've got 4oz of chicken @ 800 kcals & 100 g protein....I mean, I freaken wish that were the case but it's not, lol. And you've got a T-bone as having 26 g carbs?

And you're eating flavoured oatmeal

 

[sawheet]

Where are you buying your mrp, 40 bucks for 10. wholeslae shoule be about 32 bucks for 20, 40 for 20 at max. protien powder as gone down in price and you can beef it up with some peunut butter for the calories. tuna is always a cheap way to go. ditch the flavored sodium oatmeal!! you need 3500 to 400 cal a day. becarefull with added fat and carbs you will get big but fat and big.

 

[twarrior]

W8lifter,


The chicken was supposed to be 16 oz, I forgot to change the oz size. I'm getting my nutrition info from this site.

http://www.housing.wisc.edu/foodservice/beef.html

Under the beef section at the bottom of the page it shows the values for a T-bone.

If you have a site with better info, can you pass it to me. Thanks.

and it's regular oatmeal with raisins from now on......




Sawheet,

Doesn't Pbutter have a lot of fat??

Twarrior

 

[w8lifter]

Originally posted by twarrior


Sawheet,

Doesn't Pbutter have a lot of fat??

Twarrior

Do you want to gain or not? You need to eat more. Peanut butter is not going to make you fat just because it has fat in it. Unless of course you're eating a jar at once, lol.

Some more accurate sites to get information from:

www.fitday.com.... you have to join/register, but then it will keep track of your meals...it's an online journal.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

 

[Tank316]

eating a jar all at once

oh shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[twarrior]

W8lifter,


Thanks for the websites. Both of them will help me keep track of what I'm eating much easier.


Twarrior