Help Wanted by Pro's!

[TopDogg]

Ok, so it seems that i've been forwarded to the diet section since my current diet is insufficient or shitty. Basically, I'm willing to start a new diet from scratch but need need proper help by professionals and not new rookies.

History -> strong acid / my stomach burns everything fast - end up taking 5 shits per day lol

Age: 25 1/4
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 60Kg (~132lbs - recently dropped ~2Kg in 3 days)
Goal: +10Kg (22lbs) in 4 months max.
Body Fat: 10-12% (maybe less/more, who knows and i never measured it)[

Yes i know that my weight is on the low side. However, i'm still in the average range and not considered skinny for my height. I average 5 meal per day and still barely gain any solid weight, more like i end up loosing weight.

Current crappy diet:
3L of water

2x homemade weight gainer shakes:
* 2scp whey protein (~240kcal 42g protein)
* 1 banana
* 1tbsp honey
* 100g oat flakes cereals (~350kcal 12g protein)
* 40g of milk powder (~160kcal 10g protein)

4 whole scrambled eggs + bread + cucumber/tomato

185g can of white tuna + bread

+ 2 average house meals

Anyways, i added some body pictures so you guys can see the current body shape. I'm hoping that you guys can help me out with a new diet pin pointed out to the grams and time.

[Damienm05]

Your bf% is about 12% and as is common with guys our age, all stored around the hips, lower abdomen.

Your diet is bad, yes. I'm just not willing to put in the work required to help you with it at this time since the choices and format are too far off to be worth my time. Please read the info in my post below, take a look at some recently critiqued diets. And then, in a day or two - post one up with macros (grams of pro/carb/fat and cals) for each meal. Make sure your diet is 6-8 meals of lean meat and fish with veggies, complex carbs, and good fats as side-dishes/energy sources.

Also, your goal is unattainable, I'm sorry. 10 lbs. of solid muscle in 4 months is attainable (and a great goal!) at your age but 22 is a good 18-24 month goal, even with high natty test.


As for the diet/food choices - use the following info. Choose from the foods that are available to you and then post a diet accordingly for us to help you with.

First, calculate your BMR/TDEE so you know how much you should be eating (for a strict cut, I'd suggest 300-500 calories below TDEE with cardio 5-7 days per week. For bulking, 300-500 above with light cardio to keep body fat gain minimal).

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)

[TopDogg]

Ok, seems like a good general ideas. Give me some time and ill try to come up with a good detailed diet. But for the body fat, i have no idea and the gym doesn't offer it.

So assuming its 12%:
132.3 x 0.12 = 15.9lbs
132.3 - 15.9 = 116.4lbs lean body weight
116.4lbs = 52.8Kg
370 + (21.6 x 52.8) = 1510.48 BMR (doesn't seem right for me...i take more than 2.5-3K calories per day and I'm loosing weight)

I train with weights 3 days for 60 minutes per week and jog at high-speed on the treadmill 3x per week for 10 minutes prior to the workouts.

So im guessing for the TDEE maybe its:
1.6 x 1510.48 = 2417

[Damienm05]

Ok, seems like a good general ideas. Give me some time and ill try to come up with a good detailed diet. But for the body fat, i have no idea and the gym doesn't offer it.

So assuming its 12%:
132.3 x 0.12 = 15.9lbs
132.3 - 15.9 = 116.4lbs lean body weight
116.4lbs = 52.8Kg
370 + (21.6 x 52.8) = 1510.48 BMR (doesn't seem right for me...i take more than 2.5-3K calories per day and I'm loosing weight)

I train with weights 3 days for 60 minutes per week and jog at high-speed on the treadmill 3x per week for 10 minutes prior to the workouts.

So im guessing for the TDEE maybe its:
1.6 x 1510.48 = 2417

If you take in that many cals and aren't prone to gaining fat, it's becaue you're either overestimating your caloric intake or more likely, your body composition. If you're fairly certain that you can consistently put down 3000 cals safely, I'd add 200 to your BMR before multiplying. Also, take into account your job/school - not just what you do in the gym. If you have an active job or you play sports, or walk around a campus a lot, you can use a higher multiplier - though I think 1.6 is enough regardless as that would cover more than the gym/cardio.

[TopDogg]

Ok, so that's what my new diet with supplements will look like :

P C F kcal
1g BCAA
1g Glutamine
1g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets
1/2 multivitamin tablet

1st meal --- 8:00 am:
200g organic 5 cereals flakes 19 153 7 700
32g full cream milk powder 8 --- 9 162
1 banana 1 35 --- 100
85g grapes 1 17 --- 70
29 205 16 1032

2nd meal --- 11:00 am:
6 slice whole wheat bread 24 120 12 600
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133
250ml 1% milk 9 13 3 111
1 banana 1 35 --- 100
38 185 25 944

3rd meal --- 2.00 pm:
250g brown rice 24 187 7 937
250g turkey breast 43 11 4 260
150g vegetables 1 7 --- 30
68 205 11 1227
1st shake --- 4:00 pm:
56.8g whey protein 42 6 3 220
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133
46 23 13 353
3g BCAA
3g Glutamine
3g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets
1/2 multivitamin tablet

4th meal --- 6:00 pm
4 whole eggs 24 --- 24 320
400g baked potatoes no skin 8 86 1 372
mixed salad 1 10 --- 50
1 banana 1 35 --- 100
34 131 25 842

5th meal --- 9:00 pm:
185g canned light tuna oil drained 42 --- 20 359
4 slice whole wheat bread 16 80 8 400
1 oz peanut butter chunky 7 6 14 167
250ml 1% milk 9 13 3 111
74 99 45 1037

2nd shake --- 11:00 pm:
2scp ON Casein 46 8 2 240
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133
50 25 12 373
4 ZMA caps
1g BCAA
1g Glutamine
1g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets

Total: 339 873 147 5808


I do NOT like steak. Anyways, let me know what you pros think about this new diet.

Remember the goal is to gain at least 15lbs in 3 months. Is it doable now?

[gbrice75]

I'm sorry, I don't like the diet - but i'm going to let Damien take this one all the way!

[TopDogg]

Ahh... i cant fix the spacing, so heres a picture instead, its easier to view

[Damienm05]

Ok, so that's what my new diet with supplements will look like :

P C F kcal
1g BCAA
1g Glutamine
1g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets
1/2 multivitamin tablet

1st meal --- 8:00 am:
200g organic 5 cereals flakes 19 153 7 700 Oat based hot cereal (conmeal, barley, oats, kamut, etc)? If so, good choice but if not, just do oats/oatmeal. This is also too much, just 1.5 cup raw before cooking is about right for one meal (75g carbs).
32g full cream milk powder 8 --- 9 162 I'd remove this. You can use a little skim milk if you want or just water.
1 banana 1 35 --- 100
85g grapes 1 17 --- 70 Remove the graps. Where's the portein man!? You need lean protein at every meal, remember? Add 30-50g protein ASAP. Ideal for breakfast is a shake or better yet, egss. 1-2 whole, 8-10 whites.
29 205 16 1032

2nd meal --- 11:00 am:
6 slice whole wheat bread 24 120 12 600 Use a better carb source. And 120g is too high again. Do 1.5 cup brown rice, oats, etc.
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133 remove, just sugar, minimal protein, no complex carbs.
250ml 1% milk 9 13 3 111 Remove with yogurt.
1 banana 1 35 --- 100 Remove banana. All the fruit/dairy cals I just removed must be replaced with lean protein. 6-8 oz. of chicken, fish, lean beef, egg whites, etc.
38 185 25 944

3rd meal --- 2.00 pm:
250g brown rice 24 187 7 937 again, cut the portion, shoot for 60-80g complex carbs.
250g turkey breast 43 11 4 260 This meal, with less carbs of course, is how they should all look kinda.
150g vegetables 1 7 --- 30
68 205 11 1227
1st shake --- 4:00 pm:
56.8g whey protein 42 6 3 220
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133 Replace the fruit yogurt with a banana and some grapes that I took out earlier to get your fruit in when it's justifiable and add 1 cup of oats and 250 ml of skimmed milk.
46 23 13 353
3g BCAA
3g Glutamine
3g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets
1/2 multivitamin tablet

4th meal --- 6:00 pm Try to eat this meal sooner, maybe at 5:00. You want a big whole food meal within 60 of the shake.
4 whole eggs 24 --- 24 320 Do only 2 whole eggs - that's too much fat here. Add 6-8 egg whites.
400g baked potatoes no skin 8 86 1 372 I'd do 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes instead. Complex carb.
mixed salad 1 10 --- 50
1 banana 1 35 --- 100 Remove banana.
34 131 25 842

5th meal --- 9:00 pm:
185g canned light tuna oil drained 42 --- 20 359 Fat is very high. With the oil drained thoroughly, this should only be 10g of fat or so. I'm gonna have you drop the bread, so maybe consider removing this in favor of another protein source (6-8 oz. chicken, steak, fish, etc)
4 slice whole wheat bread 16 80 8 400 Replace with a better carb source I have listed in the post above. Maybe reduce carbs to 40-50g
1 oz peanut butter chunky 7 6 14 167 people say seperate carb/fat meals but since we're tapering off carbs now, I think the PB is good here but make sure it's all natural (just peanuts!)
250ml 1% milk 9 13 3 111 Remove the milk here.
74 99 45 1037

2nd shake --- 11:00 pm:
2scp ON Casein 46 8 2 240
125g fruit yogurt 4 17 10 133 bad idea to eat sugar before bed. Replace with another serving of natural Peanut butter.
50 25 12 373
4 ZMA caps
1g BCAA
1g Glutamine
1g Creatine
1 N.O. tablet
2 amino acids 2222 tablets

Total: 339 873 147 5808 Cals are too high, even for you man. Protein is good at ~350g but needs to be from complete animal sources - your actual lean protein intake is too low. Bring carbs down to 550g. Fat is good there. ~4800 cals is still A LOT.


I do NOT like steak. Anyways, let me know what you pros think about this new diet. Just eat chicken, fish, etc.

Remember the goal is to gain at least 15lbs in 3 months. Is it doable now? No but with the changes, it could be.

Make the changes in bold. Diet was calorie dense but way off!!

[TopDogg]

Here's diet #2

[TopDogg]

Sorry guys, but i don't want to be an ass but this is awfully taking forever...
I need to get this new diet started asap, I'm currently feeling like I'm loosing weight waiting for it to be completed properly and approved by you guys.

Keep in mind that the diet is based on a crappy location, crappy local grocery stores, cannot eat steak, and also I would prefer different meals throughout the day instead of repetitive meals.

So yah, can you of you pros help me finish this diet?
Thanks,