Diet help

**Mike S.** · 09-30-2007, 07:39 PM

Please feel free to add or delete anything.
I am in the Military and overseas we work about 13 1/2 hrs a day 6 days a week. I work nights
I am 6'0 196lbs trying to gain a lil muscle but also get cut.
About 1700 - protein shake
2000 - chicken breast
2300- about 12 egg whites and chicken breast
0300- chicken breast or turkey
0500 - Detour protein bar
0645 - workout mon, wed, fri, sat,
0815 - protein shake
days off I do cardio either swimming laps or eliptical I am waiting for lipo 6 x to get here then I am going to do cardio in the morning instead of after work.

Please feel free to help. Thanks in advance Mike

**StoneGRMI** · 09-30-2007, 07:49 PM

Welcome to the site! You typically can't gain muscle and get cut at the same time as well as doing just one or the other so always keep that in mind. Check out the "cutting sticky" at the top of the diet forum and re-evaluate your diet. It appears as if you're not getting any fat or carbs in your diet!

**Mike S.** · 09-30-2007, 07:53 PM

yeah I here yah. I dont really have too much muscle on me now though lol. I have cheat meal and sometimes I eat chicken breast on bread to get some carbs. I snack on fruits like apples and bannanas and sometimes have a nutri grain bar. I also have salads every now and then. I have that thread saved to my favorites

**Renesis** · 09-30-2007, 08:14 PM

What you are looking for is a clean bulk. Basically you would be eating just above what your body needs to maintain somewhere around 500 cals more a day. This will allow you to gain muscle while mainting the same bf and possibly even losing some bf due to the muscle and sped up metabolism.

**Mike S.** · 09-30-2007, 08:19 PM

yeah thats pretty much it I am looking for lean mass..

**Prada** · 09-30-2007, 09:11 PM

You need to provide macros.
That diet is just not good, the food choices are not bad but not the setup. Especially as far as gaining muscle is concerned.

**AandF6969** · 10-01-2007, 03:06 AM

God damn dude you need a lot more carbs... you're not fueling your workouts very well.

**AandF6969** · 10-01-2007, 03:07 AM

age/weight/height/bf%?

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 09:37 AM

26 weight is 196height is 6'0" body fat I am guessing about 15% thats according to bf calculator

**Consistency** · 10-01-2007, 10:13 AM

if you are serious about your diet, then you need to take the time to calculate the pro/carb/fat for each meal and the ratio. with this info we can further help you.

BTW i'm in the Marine Reserves

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 10:23 AM

How do I go about doing that?? I am kinda new to this sorry.
Thanks for serving

**Consistency** · 10-01-2007, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by Mike S.

How do I go about doing that?? I am kinda new to this sorry.
Thanks for serving

well every gram of protein has 4 calories per gram. 1 gram of carbs=4 calories. 1 gram of fat=9 calories. And 1 gram of alcohol =7 calories. So if one meal say of chicken and oats has 30g pro and 30g carb and 3g of fat there is a total of 267 calores. (30x4 + 30x4 + 3x9= 267calories).

When cutting you want to eat pro/carb meals or pro/fat meals. Never do you wanna eat carb/fat meals, basically the carbs will spike your insulin levels which will allow the fats to be stored as fat. So dont mix carbs and fats in the same meal.

The ratio is the total calories of protein, carbs, and fat for the day. I've found from my experience that a ratio of 40-43% of pro and 30-33% of carb and 26-28% of fat works best for cutting. Hope this helps

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 10:45 AM

confused the shit out of me lol... I think I get it though. Thanks!

**StoneGRMI** · 10-01-2007, 10:46 AM

Go to fitday.com and create a free account. Then you can search your foods to get the macros.

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 11:02 AM

I am filling it out now Thanks.

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 11:17 AM

grams cals %total
Total: 2036
Fat: 33 301 15%
Sat: 10 93 5%
Poly: 5 44 2%
Mono: 7 62 3%
Carbs: 184 660 34%
Fiber: 19 0 0%
Protein: 251 1004 51%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

here is my info based off of that wheel

**Clayguy** · 10-01-2007, 11:41 AM

Glad you researching mike!

Take dat, take dat!

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 11:43 AM

trying to be like you man

**AandF6969** · 10-01-2007, 11:50 AM

Holy cow man you need to eat a lot more to gain muscle. I ate about that much when I was dieting for a bodybuilding show (at 190)

Check out the threads at the top of the diet forum like "how to gain lean muscle mass" and "how to bulk"

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 11:52 AM

yeah I was just analizing my charts I am burning more then I am taking in

**Mike S.** · 10-01-2007, 08:07 PM

is ketchup okay

**AandF6969** · 10-01-2007, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by Mike S.

is ketchup okay

Yessir

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 09:25 AM

great I eat it with my egg whites and chicken...

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 11:25 AM

Another ? sorry for all the ? guys.... Should I bulk up then try to cut down? Basically my goal is to be ripped not to concerned about being big. I am deployed for 6 months and when I get back I wanna be ripped. I have about 5 and 1/4 months left. Should I start taking lipo 6 and continue to do cardio and lift or should I bulk up and poss use creatine? Then 2 months before I leave try to cut using lipo 6 and a clean diet? My diet is pretty clean as it is now. I hope this isnt confusing.

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 12:04 PM

Depends what you want... if you don't have much muscle and you try to cut, you're going to be scrawny as hell. If you bulk first, and then cut, its a ton easier to lose fat because that extra muscle you gained is putting your metabolism at a fast speed and you won't be as skinny when you're cut down.

If I were you, at your height and weight, I'd bulk then cut. Do you think you have a pretty fast metabolism?

You could bulk for 3 months and cut for 2 1/4

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 01:03 PM

I would say it is a lil above avg. I lost about 6lbs in 3 weeks by eating healthy and exercising. I just dont want to be walking around with a big chest and arms and a big gut yah know. I will have to post a pic I guess that might help more. I would like to stay aroung 185 190 but be solid

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 01:25 PM

If you have a decent metabolism, you can bulk but not get fat. You might not lose a whole lot of fat, but with a metabolism like yours you have to eat a TON to put on muscle. Just make sure it's clean food. You have to not be afraid of getting fat because you won't.

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 01:26 PM

Here are the pics dont laugh guys I am trying

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 01:55 PM

Not bad dude... if you look at the "how to gain lean muscle mass" thread at the top of the diet forum I think it'll help you out a lot. You need to see how many calories you burn each day and then eat about 500 more than that.

You should probably post up your workout program in the workout forum too for critique... make sure you have all your bases covered (solid diet + solid workout plan) = muscle

To me it looks like you need to focus on heavy compound lifts (Bench, Military press, Squat, Deadlift, Row, etc)

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 02:01 PM

Thanks man.... I am glad there is someone on hee that is willing to help people out..... I enter what I eat on fitday.com according to it I am taking in 2300 or so caleries but burning about 3500 I dont under stand how that s poss. I work at a desk but also do manual labor about 13hrs a day 6 days a week. I go to the gym 4 days out of the week and do cardio at least 3 times a week.

grams cals %total
Total: 2383
Fat: 48 428 18%
Sat: 15 139 6%
Poly: 8 69 3%
Mono: 13 115 5%
Carbs: 236 869 37%
Fiber: 19 0 0%
Protein: 256 1024 44%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Calories Burned Today
cals % total
Total: 3525
Basal: 2003 57%
Lifestyle: 1279 36%
Activities: 243 7%

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 02:13 PM

When do you do cardio, what heart rate, and how long?

Post up your lifting routine too, that plays a big part of it.

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 02:20 PM

I do laps in the pool for about 25-30 min and other forms is the elyptical and stair climer I put it on fat burn and go kinda slow...

day 1 wo 1, day 2 off, day 3 wo 2, day 4 off, day 5 wo 3, day 6 wo 4, day 7 off

Workout #1

EXERCISE Set # 1 Set # 2 Set # 3
Bench Press - 6-10 Reps
Incline - 6-10 Reps
Decline - 6-10 Reps
Seated Bench - 12-20 Reps
Leg Raises - 20-25 Reps
Crunches - 20-25 Reps

Workout #2

EXERCISE Set # 1 Set # 2 Set # 3
Straight Bar/EZ Bar Curl - 6-10 Reps
DB Curls - 8-10 Reps
Seated Barbell Curls - 8-10 Reps
Close Grip Bench Press - 8-10 Reps
Skull Crushers - 6-10 Reps
Tricep Pulldowns - 10-15
1 Arm Pulldowns - 10 reps
Leg Raises/ Crunches - 20 each Reps

Workout # 3

EXERCISE Set # 1 Set # 2 Set # 3
Leg Press - 10 -15 Reps
Leg Raises - 10 Reps
Leg Extensions - 10 Reps
Squats - 10-20 Reps
Calf Raise - 8-10 Reps
Seated Calf Raises - 10-12 Reps
Shoulder Press - 6-10 Reps
Lateral Raises - 10 Reps
Bent over Lateral Raises - 10 Reps
Shoulder Shrugs - 6-12 Reps

Workout # 4

EXERCISE Set # 1 Set # 2 Set # 3
Pulldowns - 6-10
Seated Rows - 10 Reps
Bent Over Rows/Machine Rows - 6-10
Dead Lifts - 8-10 Reps

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 02:27 PM

So you do 3 sets of everything then?

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 03:14 PM

yes except abs I do 5 sets. I lift as hard and heavy poss... Normally on the second and 3rd set I dont get to 10 maybe 8 with help

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 07:18 PM

okay so I figured out my BMR To gain weight I need to take in about 3400 calories.... I need to take in about 1000 more what do you suggest I do I have a hard time eating what I am now.... Just cant eat that much makes me sick...

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 07:28 PM

You're going to have to get used to eating larger quantities of foods if you want to gain muscle.. take your time with the meals, it gets easier as your stomach gets stretched out.

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 07:37 PM

Thanks I am trying... How does my workout look?

**AandF6969** · 10-02-2007, 07:43 PM

Decent.. are you going to failure on all your sets? Meaning can you do more reps or is that it?

I'd start your leg day with squats (make sure you're going down all the way and pushing with your heels). Also back day should start with deadlift and rows.

**Mike S.** · 10-02-2007, 07:51 PM

I go till failure thats the only way I feel I am really training. I cant squat much but I do go below 90. I will make that change with the squats and deadlifts.... Well I guess I am going to start taking cell mass and eat as much as possible.