New member: Have bulking question??

I have been lifting for 3 years pretty consistently. My diet has never really been anything to brag about. I have been reading on diets for some time now and am going to try and do it right this time. So my questions are these:

I am 5' 9.5" and weigh 186. My goal is to reach 205-210. I was at 193 but wanted to lose weight for summer but I really did not know all the ends and outs. I have some fat but everything is defined except for my midriff. The last couple of weeks I was only getting about 2000 cals. Plus some days I would only get a few meals in a day. So my calories were about half of this. I know this is horrible but I am going to fix it this time and 6 meals no matter what. So I know my metabolism has slowed. I was going to start at 2400 cals with a P/C/F of 45/35/20 and up to 3000 cals with P/C/F of 40-45-15 over a 1.5 - 2 month period and make adjustments during that time based on the mirror. Will I gain to much fat starting at 2400 cals and are my ratios about where they should be?? My diet will look like this:

Meal 1
2 scoops optimum
1 cup oatmeal
multivitamin
omega 3 capsule
2 1000mg vitamin c
glutamine
Totals:530 cals, 54 protein, 60 carbs, 10 fat

Meal 2
chicken breast
brown rice
omega 3
Totals: 330 Cals, 36 protein, 33 carbs, 7 fat

Meal 3
same as #2

Meal 4(PWO)
10 grams glutamine
50 grams dextrose
2 scoops optimum
3 grams vitamin c
Multivitamin
omega 3 capsule
Totals: 430 cals, 44 protein, 56 carbs, 4 fat

Meal 5
Same as 2 and 3 plus a salad (How big should a salad be??)


Meal 6
2 scoops optimum
1/2 cup oatmeal
omega 3 capsule
totals: 370 cals, 49 protein, 33 carbs, 6 fat

Overall totals: 2390 Cals, 255 protein, 255 carbs, 41 fat


Please make anny suggestions like oils and what kind and when to take them. Also, veggies, I do not like to eat them but what are the best ones to eat and when to eat them?

LAst but not least what should I eat before I go to bed??

I know this has been long and I appreciate everyone's response. I am trying to learn as much as I can. Thanx

Your food sources look pretty good, lost of real food, which I like. I would like to see some egg whites with a yolk or 2 for breakfast instead of the shake. Also it would be cheaper for you to get flax oil instead of the pills. Take out the EFA pills post workout, you do not want fat at this time, it will slow everything down and you really just want carbs and protein then. Make sure the rice and oatmeal are SLOW cook types. It is good that you are upping your cals slowly while bulking instead of going right into it hard and putting on some fat. I would suggest upping the cals by about 200 a week until you notice fat then leave it there or cut back 100-200 cals and go. I think you could lower your protein a little and get a little more carbs right now, that usually works better when bulking, as long as you are getting 1g/lb you are fine. Veggies, broc, califlower, green beans, squash, spinch --- stay away from corn, carrots, peas. The salad can be as big as you want but don't use cheeses, crutons all that crap and watch the dressing, olive oil and vinigar will be the healthiest (may have more cals than some lite dressing but olive oil is healthy fats) Before bed have some chix or other protein and fats, I like natural PB or flax at this time, helps slow digestion of protein, just stay away from carbs at this time. Looks like you did do some research.

Pain

yup......good advice pain, for sure add some Flax to those shakes, and i'd lose the oatmeal in the last meal

Thanx pain and fullback. The reason I take a shake in the morning is because when I wake up I feel nauseated most of the time and can hardly eat much solid foods. Any other time I should substitute the eggs in? I get a big bottle of omega-3's from Sam's for cheap and the reason I take them is b/c I have the Arnold Encyclopedia and read that six grams of omega 3 pills have been proven by doctors that it helps to build lean muscle and helps to lose fat. I will cut out the PWO pill though. I have flax oil but should I only take it at night before bed or is there any other times??

Also one other question, which meals should I include veggies and salads??

Thanx that should be just about it!!

If the eggs are no go in the morning then your meal 6 would be the perfect place for them! Do that and drop the oatmeal and take the flax, IMO that would be perfect. You can take flax anytime you have a calorie defecit meal, just becareful 1 tbsp has 14g of fat, whereas your pills are 1g. That is why most like flax better than the pills it is much more concentrated. And yes EFA's are great but yet again becareful with them of course if you get too much you will get fat they do have calories. Just don't take like 5 tbsp a day of it unless you are doing keto or something like that. You can include veggies with any meal (as long as they are the good ones with low carb values and high fiber values) they have little cals and wont mess anything up (except post workout, the fiber will slow things down) The salad you can have at any meal you want just watch the calories that the salad has with dressing and whatnot. If you do just let, cuc, tomat, and olive oil & vin then it wont be too bad (dont go crazy with the oil 1/2 tbsp is plenty) and you could add that with almost anymeal. Hope that helps.

Pain