Need help creating a diet for gain

[msterh]

Hey everyone my stats are:

Age: 19
Height: 6'1
Weight: 168lb
BF%: 10%
Cycle Exp: none
PCT Knowledge: none
Training Exp: 5 years
Diet: Well im not quite sure about my diet, im definantly not touching steroids anytime soon. I keep shifting back and fourth between 165lb and 170lb. Sometimes I feal ripped other times I feal bloated. I work out 5 times a week.
Have puffy nipps probly from pubirty that anoy the hell out of me. I make sure I eat a ton of protein, 8 eggs a day, 3 fish a day, whey protein, penut butter, and grains. The only thing I really lack on is vegtables blah!

I was hoping I could get some help getting a sample diet plan for someone my size and age that would make me gain at a steady rate. My goal is 180-190lb and I know its not going to happen over night.

[Damienm05]

Well, you're my stats exactly minus 40 lbs. of LBM. Here's my current diet. Obviously you'd need to adjust the cals but it's how you should be eating.

My 2nd cycle/Diet set for August 13th.

Go through the info below as well for BMR/TDEE as well as anything new that benefits you. When you have it down, post a proposed diet of 6-8 meals centering around lean protein as I've done in the thread above, including macros and times. You'll get sorted out.






BMR/TDEE formula:

Let’s start with BMR. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate. AKA – how many calories you burn each day by just sitting on your ass. In order to figure out your BMR, you need to know what your lean body mass is. In turn, you need to know what your body fat percentage is.

If you don’t know your body fat percentage, go to your gym and get tested (please don’t use electronic scales to get your bf % checked, they're horrible). If you don’t have a gym that offers this service; ask me and I’ll give you a pretty good estimate.

With your bf % in hand, here’s the formula:

BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

Total weight x bf % in decimal form = total bf weight

Total weight - total bf weight = total lean body mass

For example:

I am 6'1 210 lbs at 10% body fat... so I would multiply 210 by .10 (converted from percent to decimal) = 21 lbs
210 – 21 = 189 lbs lean body weight

189 / 2.2 = 86.0 lean mass in kg

370 + (21.6 x 86) = 2227.6 BMR (this is high for the average person)

Now that we have a BMR figure, we can move on to TDEE. Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is how many calories we actually use during the day via our BMR and activities such as work, exercise and various tasks. We can figure this number out with simple math but be honest because this figure is to be the cornerstone of your diet and healthy lifestyle. We need to determine your activity level. We’ll choose from a few levels:

§ If you are sedentary (little or no exercise): Calorie - Calculation = BMR x 1.2
§ If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
§ If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
§ If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
§ If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

For example:

I train with weights 5 days for 90 minutes per week. I play hockey three times per week
for 90 minutes. I do 60 minutes of cardio training 5 times per week as well. I also practice my sport 3 times per week for 90 minutes. Either via skating or puck/shooting drills. All are high-intensity. I am between very and extra active. Let’s say BMR x 1.8. My TDEE is 4010.

In terms of food choices, here goes:

I love analogies. Let’s use a good one. Think of your perfect body as a house that you must build. You’ve figured out your BMR and TDEE, so you know the exact specs of the property you have to work with. You know how exercise affects weight loss and how much of a caloric deficit/surplus we must create to lose/gain said weight; so you know how to build - you understand architecture. You also know the pace you intend on losing/gaining weight at based on these other factors, so you know it will be harder to get your house built in weeks as opposed to months. The only thing left is the tools/building material you must use and because you don’t know how to eat, you still can’t build anything. At least, not well. Sure, you can starve yourself for a few months but you’ll just gain all the weight back in a couple weeks of binge drinking and shitty eating on a vacation – you’re house will fall down!

So, let’s talk tools baby. Let’s talk food. First off, there are only 3 types of foods/macronutrients. Protein. Carbohydrates. Fat. That’s it.

Protein – 4 calories per gram - Building material. Bricks. You can’t gain energy from protein, you can only use it to build muscle/skin/hair/nails. It’s basically just amino acids and it’s what our bodies are made of. As such, we need lots of it. 1g of protein per body lb is a good number to shoot for . Go as high as 2g per body lb if you’re lifting weights and trying to build muscle. For example, I am 207 lbs and I eat between 300-400 grams per day. Our body can only break down so much at one time however, so we want to eat 20-40 grams of protein in every meal, several times per day. Protein, being building material only and not energy/labor – the body can rarely find a reason for it to be stored as fat. If you must over-eat – make it lean meat/fish.

Carbs – 4 calories per gram - Think of these as human labor for your house. Think of sugar as dudes you pick up out front of home depot and oatmeal as a skilled carpenter. Both are carbs, both serve very different purposes. Carbs help transport essential nutrients to the muscles, create glycogen stores, and as such, increase protein synthesis but do not build muscle; they are simply an energy source. As such, they should only be eaten/used when we need energy. Any carbs we ingest before bed or before watching a movie, or something sedentary are not used as energy, and as such, are more likely to be stored in the body as glycogen (glucose/water in our muscles that we will use when doing high-intensity exercise). Once our glycogen reserves are full, they will spill over and be stored as fat. Yes, they will make you fat. Carbs can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Fats – 9 calories per gram - Like carbs, fats are an energy source, not a building material like protein. They provide nowhere near as much energy as carbs however. Ask anyone who's on a ketogenic diet. With regard to our house, think of fats as the glue/cement. They provide much needed essential fatty acids, which are great for joint/organ health and increase our protein synthesis. Going back to our analogy, cement/glue increases the effectiveness of bricks! If we give our bodies the right fats, it will be able to burn stored body fat quickly as it won’t see any use in keeping it. Remember, like carbs – not all fat is good and ALL fat is high in calories so watch out. A tablespoon of peanut butter can be a good addition to a meal. Snacking on 5-6 tablespoons, however, means you’ve just eaten over your TDEE for the day.

Acceptable proteins for your healthy lifestyle diet:

The goal is to eat lean protein. Meats/other sources low in fat/carbs.

§ Ground beef (93% lean or better)
§ Lean steak (Flank, flat iron, or top sirloin)
§ Bison sirloin (the highest quality red meat)
§ Chicken breast
§ Turkey breast
§ Tuna (canned or sushi grade)
§ Salmon
§ Tilapia (mostly all white fish)
§ All shellfish
§ Venison
§ Whey protein (post-workout recovery purposes only)
§ Casein/Cottage cheese (before bed only)

Black-List Protein sources. Do not eat these because they are high in fat. And not the
good kind we find in nuts and olive oil – I’m talking about cholesterol raising saturated
fat!

§ Bacon
§ Sausage
§ Expensive fat-marbled Steaks (Ribeye, Strip, Filet)
§ Pork and beef ribs
§ Pork/Lamb chops
§ Restaurant ground beef (80/20 fat – most burgers)
§ Duck
§ Chicken legs/thighs
§ Chicken skin
§ Cheese

Acceptable Carbs for your healthy lifestlyle:

Complex carbs are now your creed. These are slower-digesting, natural, low on the glycemic index carbohydrates that digest slowly and provide us with sustained energy. They do not drastically affect our blood sugar and do not cause insulin spikes. Thus our body sees no reason to store them as fat, it would rather burn them for energy. Simple carbs such as enriched white breads/pastas/rice/potatoes/sugars (including most fruit) cause insulin spikes and are high GI foods. They should not be eaten when on a strict diet. Fruit can be consumed early in the day or pre/post-workout because of it’s high nutritional value but should usually be avoided due to being a form of simple sugar. Remember, healthy, low-calorie foods aren’t always the correct foods and such is the case with fruit.

§ Oats/Oatmeal
§ Grits/Cornmeal
§ Unsalted/non-buttered popcorn (great, low-cal snack)
§ Sweet potato (the best choice)
§ Butternut squash
§ Whole wheat pasta (not enriched)
§ Organic whole wheat bread (not enriched wonder bread crap)
§ Brown rice
§ Ezekiel bread
§ Swedish grain bread
§ Gluten free bread
§ Wheat couscous
§ Corn
§ Quinoa
§ Lentils
§ Beans
§ Many more, look up the GI (glycemic index) for healthy choices

Black List:

§ White pasta
§ White bread
§ Baguette
§ Bagels
§ Cookies, cake, muffins, cupcakes, all sweets basically.
§ White couscous
§ White rice
§ You get the idea…

Don’t get discouraged upon reading this list. I still make desserts all the time with whole
grain flour and splenda. I buy bagels and baguettes at the health food store that use
complex carbs as a base. If you’re dedicated, you don’t have to miss out 100%

Acceptable fats for your healthy lifestyle:

We look for fat sources that are high in omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. Also, many are high in protein. We do not want saturated fats such as butter, cream, meat fat. We don’t want test tube fats like trans (the worst). We want mono/polyunsaturated fats that our body can use for something other than calories. Remember, even good fats are high in calories.

§ Natural peanut butter (no sugar added, just roasted peanuts)
§ Natural almond butter
§ Cashews
§ Almonds
§ Peanuts
§ Flax seeds
§ Flax seed oil
§ Salmon and Trout (great fatty proteins)
§ Fish oil
§ Extra virgin olive oil (should be used on all veggies/salads)
§ Chia seeds
§ Grapeseed oil
§ Macadamia nut oil

Acceptable miscellaneous foods:

These foods don’t provide much as far as macronutrients but are great for adding vitamins/minerals and taste. Notice some of these other foods are dairy. Dairy is another animal’s milk. We lack the enzymes to digest it as they do and it’s high in fat/sugar. It should only be eaten early in the day for nutrient purposes with the exception of whey and casein (cottage cheese).

§ Skim milk (Hood brand is only 45 calories and 3g of sugar per cup)
§ Greek yogurt (no sugar added)
§ Berries (all berries are much lower in sugar than other fruits and packed with fiber/nutrients – eat berries)
§ Green Vegetables. These are technically carbs but they are packed with fiber (a type of carb that isn’t used as energy or stored). In bodybuilding/nutrition – we refer to most vegetables as fibrous carbohydrates. While a serving of Broccoli may have 6g of carbs, 5 are from fiber. Meaning that it contains only 1g of storable carbohydrates. In addition, green vegetables are a calorie neutral/negative food (our body uses more calories to digest them than they contain – think celery). Veggies should be eaten with every meal. Every day. If you do this, you can become almost impervious to getting sick. Some vegetables are better than others for healthy diets.
§ Many non-green vegetables. Most are fine – just check labels, some have a good bit of sugar and should be eaten in moderation only (carrots)

[msterh]

Hey thanks for the post lots of info

I made up a diet tell me what you think:

Specs

BMR: 1872 cal
TDEE: 3000 cal





Post-workout:
Whey shake:
29g protein (whey scoop/1tb peanut butter/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb

3 eggs - 1 yolk:
4g fat
18g protein

Wheat Bread*2:
2g fat
8g Protein
34g carbs




TOTAL:
16.5g fat
55g protein
67.5g carbs



2 Hours later
Oatmeal: 1/2 cup dry:
Fat: 2.5g
Carbs: 27g
Protein: 5g

6 eggs - 1 yolk:
4g fat
36g protein

Cheese:
5 fat
4 protein
2 carbs

1 Cup of strawberries and blue berries:

20.5g carbs
2g Protien
1g fat

TOTAL:
12.5g fat
46g protein
49g carbs


Lunch 2hr later

Wheat Bread*2:
2g fat
8g protein
34g carbs

Cheese:
5g fat
4g protein
2g carbs

Turkey: 16g protein
2g carbs
2g fat



Apple:
17g carbs


Crackers:
3.5g fat
3g protein
21g carb

1tbl penut butter:
7.5g fat
4g protein
3.5g carb

1/2 scoop whey protein:
12.5g protein
1g carb
1g fat

TOTAL:
21g fat
46.5g protein
74.5g carbs



2 Hours later Snack
Whey shake:
29g protein (whey scoop/1tb peanut butter/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb
1 serving tuna:
11 grams protein
.5g fat

Granola Bar:
2g fat
5g protein
24g carbs

1tbl peanut butter:
7.5g fat
4g protein
3.5g carb

TOTAL:
20.5g fat
49g protein
61g carbs














Dinner 2 hours later
3 fish:
63g protein
1bs olive oil:
14g fat
Pasta:
70gcarbs
Salad with dressing







Snack 2 hours later:
1 tblsp penut butter:
9g fat
6g protein
2g carb

Waffle: 6g fat
4g protein
25g carb

Whey Shake:


29g protein (whey scoop/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb


Total
25.5g fat
49g protein
60.5g carbs


Total Day:
Fat: 92g (9) = 828 cal
Protein: 308g (4) = 1232 cal
Carbs: 333g (4) = 1332 cal

Total: 3392 calories

[Damienm05]

Hey thanks for the post lots of info

I made up a diet tell me what you think:

Specs

BMR: 1872 cal
TDEE: 3000 cal





Post-workout:
Whey shake:
29g protein (whey scoop/1tb peanut butter/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb

3 eggs - 1 yolk:
4g fat
18g protein

Wheat Bread*2:
2g fat
8g Protein
34g carbs




TOTAL:
16.5g fat
55g protein
67.5g carbs OK boss, you're gonna need a pre-workout meal! So, split this one in two. Leave the whey as your PWO and add banana from your fifth meal to it for some PWO carbs. Maybe add 1/2 cup oats also and 1 tbson,. of PB that I'll take out of another meal. To recap: 2 scoops whey, 1/2 cup quick oats, PB, banana = PWO. Now, for the pre-workout meal, you'll need carbs to fuel your workout and protein to ensure you're not burning muscle during. Wheat bread is a poor carb source unless your buying sprouted grain flourless (Ezekiel). So get some of that or use a less processed carb source such as oats. 1.5 cup raw is perfect for this meal. Add 6 egg whites to the 3 eggs. To recap: 1 cup oats, 1 egg, 9 egg whites. A pre-workout meal is a must, make it happen.



2 Hours later
Oatmeal: 1/2 cup dry:
Fat: 2.5g
Carbs: 27g
Protein: 5g

6 eggs - 1 yolk:
4g fat
36g protein

Cheese:
5 fat
4 protein
2 carbs

1 Cup of strawberries and blue berries:

20.5g carbs
2g Protien
1g fat

TOTAL:
12.5g fat
46g protein
49g carbs Ideally, no cheese. Add another egg yolk instead. Do 1 cup dry oats.


Lunch 2hr later

Wheat Bread*2:
2g fat
8g protein
34g carbs

Cheese:
5g fat
4g protein
2g carbs

Turkey: 16g protein
2g carbs
2g fat



Apple:
17g carbs


Crackers:
3.5g fat
3g protein
21g carb

1tbl penut butter:
7.5g fat
4g protein
3.5g carb

1/2 scoop whey protein:
12.5g protein
1g carb
1g fat

TOTAL:
21g fat
46.5g protein
74.5g carbs This meal's a mess. Replace the bread, apple, and crackers with a 1.5 sweet potatoes, 1.5 cup of brown rice, 2 cup lentils, 1.5 cup oats, etc - a better carb source! No sugar, no simple, processed carbs. Is this plain turkey breast or processed deli meat? If it's the latter, use a better protein source. Remove the whey also. 6-8 oz. of lean meat/fish. I'd also remove the PB, we'll add it back in later. Example of what this meal should be: 8 oz. chicken breast, 1 large sweet potato.



2 Hours later Snack
Whey shake:
29g protein (whey scoop/1tb peanut butter/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb
1 serving tuna:
11 grams protein
.5g fat

Granola Bar:
2g fat
5g protein
24g carbs

1tbl peanut butter:
7.5g fat
4g protein
3.5g carb

TOTAL:
20.5g fat
49g protein
61g carbs Again, this one's a bit of a mess. I'd just do 6-8 oz. lean protein, complex carbs, some veggies. Maybe 2 cans of tuna, 1 cup brown rice, 2 cups broccoli as an example. Avoid sugary processed foods like granola bars. Move the banana to your PWO.














Dinner 2 hours later
3 fish:
63g protein
1bs olive oil:
14g fat
Pasta:
70gcarbs
Salad with dressing What kind of dressing? Just use some oil and vinegar. Make sure you're using whole wheat pasta. 3 fish fillets is too much pro for one meal, 2 is fine. White flaky like tilapia?







Snack 2 hours later:
1 tblsp penut butter:
9g fat
6g protein
2g carb

Waffle: 6g fat
4g protein
25g carb

Whey Shake:


29g protein (whey scoop/banana)
10.5g fat
33.5g carb


Total
25.5g fat
49g protein
60.5g carbs I'd take the carbs out of this meal since it's your last one before bed. Replace the whey with casein or cottage cheese, something slow that will give a steady source of amino acids as you sleep. Add another tbspn. of PB too. Solid pro/fat before bed meal. Recap: 2 scoops casein or 1.5 cups cottage cheese, 2 tbspn. natty PB (no waffle, banana)


Total Day:
Fat: 92g (9) = 828 cal
Protein: 308g (4) = 1232 cal
Carbs: 333g (4) = 1332 cal

Total: 3392 calories

Better carb sources and timing of carb meals. Less sugar. More real food, less whey. Make changes, run the numbers. We're getting places.