mods and who can help me w/ meal planning

sorry guys, this is going to be long. I post on the boaed once in awhile and always visit the site to learn more.
my problem is planning my meals and I really just ned overal diet help. I am becoming overwhelmed with trying to work up a good diet plan and i know you guys could help. I know alot about nutrrition and have been eating like a bodybuilder for 3yrs now. I don't really like the idea of bulking anymore(because I like look quality all the time and tend to lose muscle durring cutting) so now i eat to gain smaller amounts of lean muscle at a slower rate without as much fat.

stats
6'3"
225
22 yrs old
guesing 12-13% bf

here are my sources for my macro nutrients. pleases add or take out anything you feel beneficial.

PROTEIN
egg whits
chicken
low fat cottage cheese
lean red meat
tuna in the can(alot of this)
salmon
whey(for post workouts_
optimums pro blend (for protein supplementation other than post
workout)
fat free yogurt

Carbs
yams
potatos
oatmeal
brown rice
beans
wheat bread
vegies

Fats
I usually get enough fat with my meals but sometimes i will take some canola oil

I try to cut carbs out after 6pm except for vegies
currently eating 3500 cals but am going to up it because i feel hungry all the time.
I am currently eating
40% protein
45% carbs
15% fat

question- when planning a diet do you make out a day of meals and follow the meal plan for everyday of the week or do you write a different meal plan for each day of the week?
sorry if i'm coming accross like a newbie. but i seem to be struggling in the diet area right now

my goals are to gain lean mass without a large amount of unneccessary amount of fat even if it means at a slower rate. I want to get very vascular as well. I am willing to do anything to come closer to reaching my goals

please help me in any way possible
thanks alot bros

thanks deisel. I am going to bump cals up to 4000-4500 because ever since i came off this last cycle a wk ago i can't stop getting hunger pains and i know this is bad.

pleases keep replys coming

I eat the same planned meals everyday, same foods, same time. makes it so much easier, shit I could prepare my meals for the following day in my sleep. As a matter a fact I timed myself a week ago and was able to make all eight meals in 22 minutes, needless to say it was a cardio session for me. Now I may deviate from this meal plan in th offseason, by eating something extra, ice cream, popcorn, big mac you name it if I crave it I eat it, but I still get in all eight meals. I call these extra goodie meals. Now I'm not worried about gaining fat in the offseason, thats why I do it this way.

To keep things easy if I were you I'd make a meal plan for the entire week on Sunday and then follow it morsel for morsel. that way you can also keep track of your calories and weight gains, we you reach a plateau you up you calories 250 300 grams.

I do think that you should replace some of your carb calories with fat however.

Just to give you a heads up if your talking a cycle of gear that you came off, I would recommend that you dont bump calories, protien sythensis drops siginificantly when you go clean.

thanks dr. d. your advise puts my nerves to rest alot. I just want to make sure I am doing every thing to the best of my capabilities. yes I was talking about gear. 12 week cycle of test(low doses 400mg/wk), dbol and fina. I was not hungery when on the cycle but now that i am off, 3500 cals doesn't keep the hunger pains away even for two hours. so do you think raising my cals by 300 would be a bad idea?

so should my calorie breakdown for meals be the same on workout days as non workout days?

example: I usually consume a small meal 30 min before a workout(30 g carbs and 20g pro shake. then right after workingout I eat a meal of 55g whey and 140g of simple carbs in the form of fruit or sports drinkks. then an hour later I eat a regular meal

is this ideal or is it better to just eat 6-8 meals all containing the same calories?

Yeah I useually eat the same thing throughout the week as well , however, I like to try and plan to cook at least 1 new meal a week just to try something new. This is useually during the weekends when time restraints are a little more relaxed. I do have some ideas on how to make preparing meals easier though. Start off by listing all of your favorite dishes on seperate 3 x 5 index cards and save them in a 3 x 5 plastic index card box. Include a picture on this card if you have one. On the back list all of the ingredients that you will need to prepare this dish. Ok at the begining of the week go through the 3 x 5 cards and look to see what you want to plan for your meals throughout the week. Make a mental note of any ingredients that you all ready have, go to the store and you all ready have your grocery list written down in front of you. When you get home simply put the cards back into the box where the rest of your cards are keep. At first this seems like alot of work, so to begin with try to incorporate at least 3 new cards a week. Before long you will have quite a list to choose from. Call up your mother, aunts, grandparents, ect to get ideas on dishes that ou particurally liked that they may have fixed during your youth.
IC

thanks chef. i will do that. I will check out the recipe forum to see what kind of high protein meals you guys use. My meals now are like 10 egg whites and brown rice or two cans of tuna and a yam.
thanks tobey.

I dont take in the simple sugars if I dont train that day. Does that help, this is just my opinion

Quote:

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Originally posted by max_lft79
so should my calorie breakdown for meals be the same on workout days as non workout days?

example: I usually consume a small meal 30 min before a workout(30 g carbs and 20g pro shake. then right after workingout I eat a meal of 55g whey and 140g of simple carbs in the form of fruit or sports drinkks. then an hour later I eat a regular meal

is this ideal or is it better to just eat 6-8 meals all containing the same calories?

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. Derek
I eat the same planned meals everyday, same foods, same time. makes it so much easier, shit I could prepare my meals for the following day in my sleep. As a matter a fact I timed myself a week ago and was able to make all eight meals in 22 minutes, needless to say it was a cardio session for me. Now I may deviate from this meal plan in th offseason, by eating something extra, ice cream, popcorn, big mac you name it if I crave it I eat it, but I still get in all eight meals. I call these extra goodie meals. Now I'm not worried about gaining fat in the offseason, thats why I do it this way.

To keep things easy if I were you I'd make a meal plan for the entire week on Sunday and then follow it morsel for morsel. that way you can also keep track of your calories and weight gains, we you reach a plateau you up you calories 250 300 grams.

I do think that you should replace some of your carb calories with fat however.

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AMAN to that, the man knows what he's talking about, that's what i do, i eat acording to the plan and on saturday i eat the plan and everything else i can fit in my mouth...good luck Bro...XXL

mikexxl, tobey, dr.d and everyone els: you all helped me out alot. I am confident that i have come up with a great first meal plan for both training and non-training days. i will post it when i completely finish it to get all your opinions. thank again.