Newbie needs help with Diet - Can I continue to Hike???

[slfmade]

Hello All.

Stats:

Male
29 yrs old
5'9
178lbs.

So, last march I decided I had let myself go too far in the way of fitness. Starting a business, working long hours, drinking 4 liters of Mountain Dew daily, and alternating chopotle and frozen pizza every night for two years as my only meal had taken its toll in my mid section. When I was younger it wasn't a problem I already had a muscular build and my body could handle anything so I thought. Well, I stepped on the scales in March just to see and was shocked to see my weight had sky rocketed up to 233 lbs.

I knew I had to do something and a fad diet wasn't going to cut. I started eating healthy and exercising. I walked 3 hrs (about 10 miles) 4 days a week and took up hiking the other 3 days. I now weigh in at 178 lbs, and I'm ready to start adding on muscle. I've researched and found that I need to eat significantly higher calories than I'm doing right now. I'm scared to death that if I start eating to much more I might start adding additional fat.

I would like for you guys to tell me if I'm eating enough and can I continue to do the hiking that I've come to love while still adding lean muscle. I can easily stop doing the walking...that bores me anyway, but I live in Vegas and the Mtns are the only thing that gets me away from the city and doing something I enjoy.

Diet:

7 a.m. Liquid egg whites with veggies and 1/2 cup oatmeal. 305cal 3.5f 38c 32.5p

7-12 a.m. I usually go Hiking and take an iso-pure shake with me to have at 10 a.m. 154cal 1f 2c 35p (I hike 3 days per week - if not hiking I'm sitting)

12:30 p.m. 6 oz Grilled Chicken with Almonds and Veggies 237cal 3f 15c 42p

3 p.m. 6 oz Tilapia with Veggies 180cal 2f 8c 36p

5:30 p.m. 6 oz London Broil with (Brown Rice, wheat pasta, or sweet potatoes) 579cal 11f 61c 57p

6:15-7:45 Workout (Mon, Wed, Friday)

7:45 PWO Shake 280cal 1f 30c 34p

9:30 - 6 oz Turkey and Veggies. 244cal 1f 15c 44p

Totals - 1980 cal - 23g fat - 170g carbs - 280g pro

Also, in additon to this I take Omega 3, 6, 9 supplement daily.

I know most of you might say I need to take in more carbs. But when I'm not hiking or training I'm literally sitting at a computer the rest of the day. I watch all the Milos Video's in the Sticky's and he mentioned that if you don't need the carbs during the day just stick with fiberous carbs which I'm doing. Please feel free to critique and give any advice.

If this diet is okay can I still continue my hiking? Should I stop completely?, cut down?

Any Help would be appreciated.

[Sgt. Hartman]

I'll give my $.02.

If gaining LBM is what you're after then don't be scared of carbs. Here's a great analogy that I think I heard first from a guy on here named Damien. Think of building new muscle tissue like building a house. The materials that you build a house with are protein, while the labor that accomplishes the actual work are carbohydrates. You can deliver an infinite number of materials to the job site but if you don't have the labor to actually perform the work then your efforts are useless. Even if you are sedentary during the day, you still need carbs to grow new lean tissue. Also, remember that carbohydrates do NOT make you gain body fat, eating too many calories is what makes you gain fat.

As far as hiking goes, definitely keep it up if you enjoy it. Cardio, when not done to the extreme, does not hinder muscle gain and I actually find it useful while gaining as it stimulates my appetite. Plus, it will allow you to eat more calories and carbs which can give you a better sense of well being throughout the course of the day as opposed to being hungry and carb deprived all day.

Your food sources look good and it's great that you keep track of your macros and cals so you can make adjustments based on results. You didn't list how much fat you're getting from your Omega supplements but 23g is way too low. You need to shoot for a minimum of 50g. And you know what I'm gonna say next - if you want to gain muscle tissue then you need to up your carbs as well as your total cals IMO. I would need to know your BF% to give you an estimate on how many total cals you need to gain, but the majority of people would find it very difficult if not impossible to gain any muscle eating the macro split you have listed. You're eating a 60-35-5 macro split which some people do while trying to lose BF (except no one should have their fats that low) but that split is far from ideal for gaining lean mass. I would recommend shooting for a 40%P - 50%C - 10%F type split depending on how many cals you're gonna be eating.

GL man.

[slfmade]

Thanks for the advice. The 3,6,9 supplement only has 2g of fat so that puts me at 25g. Any suggestions on something that I can add to the mix that would still benefit me yet not be so heavy. I feel like if I eat anymore I'm going to explode.

I considered eating whole eggs with my oats instead of only the egg whites. That would give me roughly 20 more grams of fat and 175 more calories. Also thought about throwing some natty peanut butter into the mix giving me 10 more grams of fat and 120 more calories.

As for the carbs I make a killer red lentil soup which would add good carbs without being to heavy but also more protein and that's really gonna ruin that 40/50/10 split.

Any advice on some good carbs for me. Ironically I hate yams/sweet potatoes (born and raised in the south where it's a staple) I choke it down a few times a week now, but something else would be nice.

I appreciate all your help - At this point it seems gaining LBM is going to be more of a challenge than dropping the weight to begin with.

Thanks

[Sgt. Hartman]

Thanks for the advice. The 3,6,9 supplement only has 2g of fat so that puts me at 25g. Any suggestions on something that I can add to the mix that would still benefit me yet not be so heavy. I feel like if I eat anymore I'm going to explode. You could take more of the fish oil pills, marinate your chicken or other meats in EVOO, or swap the tilapia or turkey for an oily fish high in omega 3 like salmon

I considered eating whole eggs with my oats instead of only the egg whites. That would give me roughly 20 more grams of fat and 175 more calories. Also thought about throwing some natty peanut butter into the mix giving me 10 more grams of fat and 120 more calories. Neither are bad ideas, the omega 3 fats are obviously much better than the fat from eggs or PB but I know I'd be hating life w/o my daily fix of PB.

As for the carbs I make a killer red lentil soup which would add good carbs without being to heavy but also more protein and that's really gonna ruin that 40/50/10 split. The split is just a suggestion that works well for me while gaining. Everyone is different and you are gonna have to figure out on your own by experimenting how you need to eat in order to gain muscle without gaining fat. Some people can gain even while eating relatively small amounts of carbs while some people need ridiculous amounts in order to gain lean tissue. You nust have to figure out which are you?

Any advice on some good carbs for me. Ironically I hate yams/sweet potatoes (born and raised in the south where it's a staple) I choke it down a few times a week now, but something else would be nice. I'm really burnt out on sweet potatoes right now as well and already eat oats at 2 of my meals so I've been having quinoa pasta. It is absolutely delicious, tastes just as good as white processed pasta and it is nice and light and not too filling or hard to get down at all. I get mine at Publix but don't know if you have them in Vegas.

I appreciate all your help - At this point it seems gaining LBM is going to be more of a challenge than dropping the weight to begin with. It's not any harder, it's just a new challenge and learning curve that you have to overcome.

Thanks

Bolds.