My lean mass diet. Please help!

[pheenyx1]

Stats 41yo/165lbs/5'7"/13.5%bf/working out for 15 yrs

Trying to put on lean mass.

-6am: plain sweet potato. approx 300gr.
or
-6am: 1 cup oats

-8am: protein shake (40p/5c/1f)

-8:30: gym

-9:30: protein shake (40p/5c/1f)

-10:30: 6whites, spinach, onion ,mushroom, turkey omelet.

-2pm: spinach, crushed walnuts, sliced strawberry, turkey salad w/ 2oz balsamic vinegar

-4pm: 1.5 cups chicken thigh, brown rice, beans (lentil, red, black), broccoli. (not sure exact ratios. approx 2pts chix, 2pts beans, 2pts broc, 1 part rice)
or
-4pm: approx 250gr salmon and 5 asparagus stalks w/ tbs olive oil

-7pm: protein bar. approx 100gr total. oats, whey, egg whites, raspberry, natty butter, crushed walnuts (baselines recipe+walnuts)

-9pm: protein shake (40p/5c/1f)

-12am: 170gr plain greek yogurt (18p/7c/0f)
or
-12am: approx 250gr lean beef (sirloin) w/ horseradish mustard and black pepper.

On rest days I replace the 6am carb meal with a protein shake and a cup of coffee w/ 2tbs half and half. I used to use light cream. working my way down to whole milk.

The order of the mid day meals changes sometimes depending on time constraints at work.

The turkey is sodium heavy, but it is free at work. other than that and the mustard I have very low sodium as far as I can tell (beans are dried, not canned)

I was cutting, and lost 3%bf (16.5 to 13.5), but also 7lbs, so I added the omelet and baselines protein bar. I would like to get down to 12% bf, but don't want to lose any more weight.

Any comments and advice are welcome.

[pheenyx1]

Just tried a whey shake with 1/2 cup rolled oats blended in. THAT is my new wakeup and pwo meal! OMG thats good!
whey shake: cal: 280 p60g/c7g/f1g (3 scoops instead of 2 listed above)
oats, 1/2 cup :cal 150 p5g/c27g/f2.5g

[MR-FQ320]

Stats 41yo/165lbs/5'7"/13.5%bf/working out for 15 yrs

Trying to put on lean mass.

-6am: plain sweet potato. approx 300gr.
or
-6am: 1 cup oats

-8am: protein shake (40p/5c/1f)
put the above two meals together 1 hour before gym, use egg whites instad of protein powder



-8:30: gym

-9:30: protein shake (40p/5c/1f) add complex carbs here maybe oats again

-10:30: 6whites, spinach, onion ,mushroom, turkey omelet.

-2pm: spinach, crushed walnuts, sliced strawberry, turkey salad w/ 2oz balsamic vinegar

-4pm: 1.5 cups chicken thigh, brown rice, beans (lentil, red, black), broccoli. (not sure exact ratios. approx 2pts chix, 2pts beans, 2pts broc, 1 part rice) drop the brown rice here
or
-4pm: approx 250gr salmon and 5 asparagus stalks w/ tbs olive oil this meal is ok at this time

-7pm: protein bar. approx 100gr total. oats, whey, egg whites, raspberry, natty butter, crushed walnuts (baselines recipe+walnuts) what is this meal supposed to be ? theres loads of stuff here, is it your family evening meal ?
if so lean protein and vegetables

-9pm: protein shake (40p/5c/1f) another shake ? maybe swap for cottage cheese

-12am: 170gr plain greek yogurt (18p/7c/0f) no
or
-12am: approx 250gr lean beef (sirloin) w/ horseradish mustard and black pepper.ok

On rest days I replace the 6am carb meal with a protein shake and a cup of coffee w/ 2tbs half and half. I used to use light cream. working my way down to whole milk.

The order of the mid day meals changes sometimes depending on time constraints at work.

The turkey is sodium heavy, but it is free at work. other than that and the mustard I have very low sodium as far as I can tell (beans are dried, not canned)

I was cutting, and lost 3%bf (16.5 to 13.5), but also 7lbs, so I added the omelet and baselines protein bar. I would like to get down to 12% bf, but don't want to lose any more weight.

Any comments and advice are welcome.

see comments in bold, i have tried to reorganise your food stuffs unto order, i dont think you understand what you are eating or why, you need to work on your macros, and start getting real protein sources and less from shakes and bars, your diet needs a lot of work. how much sleep do you need ? not a lot im guessing at your schedule, thats 6 hours max, 9 meals a day ? without spending hours online researching all that foodstuffs that going to be easy 5000 calories from your existing diet , and your losing weight?

[pheenyx1]

Bro, thank you. Totally true that I don't really understand what/when/why I am eating. I have just tried to put this together off of bits and pieces of info.
I go to the gym in the am, then work in a busy restaurant/bar all day and night most days, so I guess it is possible my maintenance cals are that high, although I didn't think it was 5000!
All my meals except first and last are eaten on the run. No sit down "family" meals.
5 to 6 hrs of sleep a night, and if I can, 1/2 hr to an hr nap at some point.
Also, I don't really understand what MACROS means. If someone could direct me to a link that explains it I would appreciate it. I did look myself, but got/lots of references, but no explanation.
Gonna incorporate your suggestions, but would like to learn more so I can understand why.
Thanks again. HUGE help!

[pheenyx1]

The 7pm meal is just a protein bar. I was just listing the ingredients.
Anyone else have thoughts on the plain greek yogurt before bed? I thought that was a good thing. Its almost all protein, with very little carbs and no fat. (18p/7c/0f)
Any feedback on this diet is appreciated
Thanks.

P.s. I found the macros explanation.

[gbrice75]

I have no problem with the plain greek yogurt before bed... decent choice IMO.

[pheenyx1]

Would this be an accurate overview of what I am trying to shoot for in a lean mass diet?
Most carbs centered before and after workout (workout is early am)
Carbs and fats progressively lower throughout the day.
Enough protein all day to build and maintain muscle.
Never allow body to go "hungry" to avoid body breaking down muscle for energy.
Slow digesting protein only late at night.
Any advice or criticism is welcome.

[gbrice75]

Would this be an accurate overview of what I am trying to shoot for in a lean mass diet?
Most carbs centered before and after workout (workout is early am)

Good practice IMO. First meal of the day is another good place for a starchy carb meal

Carbs and fats progressively lower throughout the day.

Not necessarily. Make your workout meals (pre/post) your largest. Don't worry about tapering down as the day goes on, with the exception of considering your smallest amount of fat/carbs in your last meal.

Enough protein all day to build and maintain muscle.

Always!

Never allow body to go "hungry" to avoid body breaking down muscle for energy.

It takes a long time, days, for your body to go 'hungry' to the point it will resort to breaking down muscle for energy. Digestion is a long, slow process, several hours (way more than 3), and aminos are being released into your bloodstream all throughout that process. It's not like you eat a meal, your body immediately dumps all the aminos in your bloodstream, then 3 hours later you have nothing again. With 13.5% bodyfat, you have a sufficient amount to where this doesn't need to be a concern. Sub 10% is when i'd start being more meticulous with watching this.

Slow digesting protein only late at night.

Doesn't have to be ONLY, but it's not a bad idea. If it's liquid (shake), go with casein. If it's real food, just about anything will be fine, ESPECIALLY if the meal before was substantial. I love guys who have a huge piece of steak for dinner and are then all concerned about getting in their casein shake before bed! That steak will sustain you PLENTY throughout the night. Same with other meats - while not AS long as steak, they'll be fine for a typical 8 hour rest period.

[MR-FQ320]

ok my bad for the Greek yogurt.

Pheenyx1 sounds like a pretty good plan above, im not sure about the 5000 cals it was just a guess, how about rewriting your planned diet with the macros included ?

[pheenyx1]

I will. I'm having a little trouble b/c I. Don't know the weights of a lot of the food I eat at work, but I'm getting it all figured out. Thank you for the help guys. It is awsome.

[MR-FQ320]

yeah I know its a pain in the ass but when you get it all written down, it starts to make sense, it took me ages to figure it out and get the diet sorted but let me tell you when I did, it really is enlightening, I was a non believer of the diet thing, but once its tuned in to about 90-95% magic things start to happen, especially after 8-10 weeks, add some cardio in and you wont recognise yourself in 3 -4 months.

the weights of the food you eat at work ? are you a chef ? or a waiter? anyway once you start weighing food you soon get used to what 'looks' like 130g of chicken breast.

[pheenyx1]

I'm working on the macros. Trying to get the weights of all the stuff I eat at work figured out.

[pheenyx1]

Waiter/bartender. Depends on the day. 60 to 70 hrs a week. It really keeps me in pretty good shape. Love my job.

[MR-FQ320]

good, do you get chef to cook what you want or you help yourself? i would imagine you have plenty of choice.

[pheenyx1]

Help myself within reason.