Need critique from Diet Guru's

[DFree93]

Hey guys. I'm new to the forum but I've spent a couple days reading through a lot of stuff here and asking people at the gym so I hope I got some stuff right. I've been working out on and off for years but never with big results. Always been a really scrawny kid. I started bulking last year and put on some muscle with a minimal fat but then stopped working out for six months and now I feel like I am developing a gut...which looks really akward since I feel like like skin and bones elsewhere. So I've decided I need to kick my butt into gear and I want to be able to take my shirt off without being embarassed in the summer. I wanted to do a cycle but from what I've read here I should just eat more and eat often before I think about anything else.

24 years old
5'8
150 lbs
16% bf (estimation)
I work at a desk all day and hit the gym for an hour to an hour and a half a day. I usually get at least 1-2 cardio sessions in the form of ju jitsu or kickboxing lessons in per week.
Goal is at least 180 lean when its all said and done

So I'm looking to bulk and I'd prefer if it was more lean. This is a diet I have currently put together. Feedback would be much appreciated. Whether it be types of foods, more or less of something, timing of meals, etc. I'll take all the help I can get.

Just a note...I cannot eat eggs as they don't bode well with my stomach nor does milk.


Meal 1 (6:30am)
2/3 Cup Oatmeal (60g)
Hand full of blueberries
2 pieces of organic whole grain bread (75g)
2 tbsp organic peanut butter (32g)
1 tea spoon fish oil (5ml)
26/78/26.5/670

Meal 2 (9:00am)
2 scoops Mutant Mass (130g)
26/88/8/530

Meal 3 (12:00pm)
2 Chicken breast (200g)
1 cup Brown Rice (200g)
37/50/5/390

Meal 4 (2:30pm)
Greek Yogurt (175g)
1/3 Cup Oatmeal (30g)
24/20/2/230

Meal 5 (5:00pm)
2 cans of Tuna (240g)
2 Tbsp Mayo
60/6/6/300

Meal 6 (PWO) (7:00pm)
4 scoops Mutant Mass (260g)
1 tea spoon fish oil (5g)
52/176/20.5/1100

Meal 7 (9:00pm)
1 Salmon Filet (120g)
Baked potatoe with skin
30/51/7/340

Meal 8 (11:00pm)
2 scoops Mutant Mass (130g)
26/88/8/530

Totals
281pro 557carb 83fat 4090cal

Once a week I will go eat a Big Mac meal or a pizza or some sort of fast food for a cheat.

Just a few random questions...
1) If I shouldn't take a cycle now...when would be an optimal time I take it?
2) If I am eating a meal such as chicken and rice for example...does it make a difference if I eat the chicken first and then the rice? Or should I eat the rice...does it even matter...?
3) Should I avoid cheese?
4) I will post pics but just wondering, any particular angles or poses that would be more beneficial for you guys to analyze?

[Sgt. Hartman]

Hey guys. I'm new to the forum but I've spent a couple days reading through a lot of stuff here and asking people at the gym so I hope I got some stuff right. I've been working out on and off for years but never with big results. Always been a really scrawny kid. I started bulking last year and put on some muscle with a minimal fat but then stopped working out for six months and now I feel like I am developing a gut...which looks really akward since I feel like like skin and bones elsewhere. So I've decided I need to kick my butt into gear and I want to be able to take my shirt off without being embarassed in the summer. I wanted to do a cycle but from what I've read here I should just eat more and eat often before I think about anything else.

24 years old
5'8
150 lbs
16% bf (estimation)
I work at a desk all day and hit the gym for an hour to an hour and a half a day. I usually get at least 1-2 cardio sessions in the form of ju jitsu or kickboxing lessons in per week.
Goal is at least 180 lean when its all said and done

So I'm looking to bulk and I'd prefer if it was more lean. This is a diet I have currently put together. Feedback would be much appreciated. Whether it be types of foods, more or less of something, timing of meals, etc. I'll take all the help I can get.

Just a note...I cannot eat eggs as they don't bode well with my stomach nor does milk.


Meal 1 (6:30am)
2/3 Cup Oatmeal (60g)
Hand full of blueberries
2 pieces of organic whole grain bread (75g)
2 tbsp organic peanut butter (32g)
1 tea spoon fish oil (5ml)
26/78/26.5/670
You need to start the day with a lean whole protein source in addition to the carbs, try chicken, flank steak, ground turkey, etc. since you can't eat eggs and lose the PB. Don't need that much fat this early in the day.
Meal 2 (9:00am)
2 scoops Mutant Mass (130g)
26/88/8/530
Real food is better than these supps, need lean protein source and complex carb
Meal 3 (12:00pm)
2 Chicken breast (200g)
1 cup Brown Rice (200g)
37/50/5/390
Great
Meal 4 (2:30pm)
Greek Yogurt (175g)
1/3 Cup Oatmeal (30g)
24/20/2/230
Oatmeal and yogurt are okay but I would up the cals at this meal, lose the yogurt and find a better protein source and up the oatmeal as well
Meal 5 (5:00pm)
2 cans of Tuna (240g)
2 Tbsp Mayo
60/6/6/300
You have no complex carb here for pre WO which is very important and do I really need to say anything about the mayo?
Meal 6 (PWO) (7:00pm)
4 scoops Mutant Mass (260g)
1 tea spoon fish oil (5g)
52/176/20.5/1100
This meal is too many cals in 1 sitting and you need to get rid of the fish oil here as fats slow the absorption of protein - the opposite of what we want PWO
Meal 7 (9:00pm)
1 Salmon Filet (120g)
Baked potatoe with skin
30/51/7/340
Need veggies at least once a day, this is a good time.
Meal 8 (11:00pm)
2 scoops Mutant Mass (130g)
26/88/8/530
Don't need 88g carbs before bed. This should be a pro/fat meal - try beef, cottage cheese or casein and this would be a good time to add back in the PB and fish oil
Totals
281pro 557carb 83fat 4090cal
I personally don't think you need 4k cals to grow at 150lbs and that your carbs are too high. Unless you know from experience that you need that many cals and carbs to grow then I would lower both. Try a 40-40-20 or 45-40-15 macro split to start off with
Once a week I will go eat a Big Mac meal or a pizza or some sort of fast food for a cheat.
That's fine but no other cheats other than the planned once a week
Just a few random questions...
1) If I shouldn't take a cycle now...when would be an optimal time I take it?Once you have reached or are much closer to your natural genetic potential. If you cycle at 150lbs and still don't know how to eat and train properly you will be right back at 150 after your cycle
2) If I am eating a meal such as chicken and rice for example...does it make a difference if I eat the chicken first and then the rice? Or should I eat the rice...does it even matter...?Doesn't matter
3) Should I avoid cheese?Your choice, should be fine on a bulk as long as it fits in with the macros you're shooting for.
4) I will post pics but just wondering, any particular angles or poses that would be more beneficial for you guys to analyze?Just do the best you can

I'm no guru but since nobody else will help you, I'll try. See my opinions in bold above.

[Damienm05]

You may not be a self-proclaimed guru but you've provided a nice diet critique.

In terms of approaching your goals - "taking your shirt off" comes down to body fat more than muscle mass. Unless you're literally just skin and bones, you'll have a six pack, veins, and excellent muscle definition at 10-12% body fat. Also, you've been out of the gym for a while and muscle memory is a great thing. That said, you don't need many excess calories to make some gains in the immediate future. Taking Hartman's advice on how to eat, you need to figure out how much to eat. Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and set your calories at that number, maybe a couple hundred below it. This TDEE should factor in your martial arts as inherent, not additional cardio. You should do additional cardio every day.

This process requires measuring and weighing everything you put into your body. Dieting is a science and unless you want to just come away looking like a twig, the goal is enough food to maintain/gain muscle while burning away fat and fat only. Use the BMR/TDEE formula below. Once you get that square - post a proposed diet based on what you've learned with macros so we can check it out and finalize it.

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...ead&highlight=