Want to cycle... check my diet first

[yeahbuddy289]

First real cycle- test e. for 10 weeks. Goal is to gain mass but would like to keep body fat in the 10-12% range. Sitting at about 10% right now at 6'2" 200lbs.

Meal 1: Oat shake (120g oats, 3 servings of egg whites, scoop of myofusion, and about 8oz of milk) Whole shake has a little over 60g of protein.
Meal 2: 1 chicken breast 1 cup of white rice
Meal 3: 1 chicken breast 1 cup of white rice
Meal 4: same as meal 1
Meal 5: 2 scoops of muscle milk with 10oz of milk. A little over 40g of protein total

For snacks inbetween meals I eat cottage cheese, peanut butter, or a protein bar. Somedays I may substitute a chicken breast with fish or 90% lean ground beef or the occasional steak if I eat out. Also I drink no soda. I drink a least a gallon of water a day and will sometimes have a powerade. Thats pretty much it. I eat this foods everyday. No cookies, chips, or junk. Does this diet give me the green light to go a head and start my cycle? If not, what do I need for a more solid diet. Thanks

[yeahbuddy289]

bump for some advice

[BBrian]

Hey buddy, my first question is whether or not you're taking any other supplements, particularly Omega-3, milk thistle, or a multivitamin. As for your diet, I recommend replacing meal 5 with real food, then taking a casein protein shake just before bedtime. One in particular that I like is Dymatize Nutrition's EliteXT Extended Release. Also, I personally feel that you need to add some serious diversity here. Replacing the white rice with brown rice will increase your fiber intake. Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, walnuts, pistachios, almonds (nuts in general), legumes such as black beans, peas, lentils, also spinach leaves - these are just a handful of examples of natural foods you need to be adding to your diet to ensure you are taking in the multitude of nutrients, minerals and vitamins you need. Where are your Omega-6's? Folates? Essential fatty acids? Substituting chicken with fish and lean ground beef is a great start, but from what I see here you need much more variety.

[gixxerboy1]

I cant believe your 200lbs on that. I'm not doubting you just saying. I eat twice as much and im trying to get to 200

[yeahbuddy289]

BBrian- I take a multi everyday and thats it. And as far as the casien before bed- muscle milks main ingredient is casien thats why I use it for my last meal before bed. I am going to rotate in some lean ground beef and tilapia in place of the chicken at times. And I do like brocolli so ill add that in. What do you think about asparagus as well?

Gixxer- I managed to bring myself back up to 200lbs from the 190lbs I was at this summer on this diet. I cant beileve you eat twice this that is insane lol Wish I could eat like that lol

[gixxerboy1]

^^ i wish i didnt have to

[BBrian]

Asparagus is a great vegetable. Let's take a closer look;

Here are the nutritional contents of a spear of asparagus, cooked from fresh, 1/2" in diameter at base:
kcal - 22
protein - 2g
carbs - 4g
fiber - 1g
fat - <1g
cholesterol - 0
calcium - 18mg
iron - .66mg
magnesium - 9mg
phosphorous - 49mg
potassium - 144mg
sodium - 10mg
zinc - .38mg
vitamin A - 49RE (retinol equivalent)
thiamine - .11mg
riboflavin - .11mg
niacin - .97mg
vitamin B6 - .11mg
folate (folic acid) - 131mcg
vitamin C - 10mg

So what you see here is that even at a fairly small serving of asparagus, we intake several nutrients and vitamins that are necessary for all of the things that lead to nutritional health. Of course it doesn't have all of them, and the amounts are all over the place in contrast to the other. This is why it's so important to introduce variety into our diet. A simple diet of chicken and rice, of course, isn't going to cut it, and what we get from protein shakes and multivitamins, while beneficial, are not as beneficial as obtaining them from the natural sources that our bodies have evolved to recognize, that being fruits, vegetables, legumes, and etc.

Take one of your meals that consist of chicken and rice. If you add one piece of 100% whole grain or whole wheat bread, a handful of almonds, one serving of mixed vegetables right out of your frozen foods section at the grocery (though cooked from fresh will always have more nutrients, the frozen packages are undeniably convenient), and a glass of skim milk, you now have an awesome meal that not only provides all of the protein and healthy carbohydrates you want, but all of the other pieces of the food puzzle needed to truly produce a healthy body - muscles included.

[yeahbuddy289]

Alright I love asparagus and brocolli and will add them to meals and just add them in as snacks as well. So what do you think bro am I g2g here? My goal is to gain 20lbs and stay right around 10-12% bf.

[BBrian]

Well I think you're right on cue for your body fat goals based on the fact that your diet is very low in fats and simple carbohydrates, but like gixxerboy said, he, like most of us, have to eat much more than what you posted in order to gain lean muscle mass. Of course I also don't know what gear you plan to take, i.e. mg of test per week and accompanying compounds. Just take into consideration what I've stated about different vegies, nuts, the right breads, and adding them to each of your meals. Also, the standard is 6-8 meals per day for adding a lot of muscle mass.

[yeahbuddy289]

Just test enanthate 500mg per week for 10 weeks. I will take your advice and add in veggies and nuts into my meals and snacks. And is it really that low in simple carbs? I am getting 4 servings of rice in and 6 servings of oats in everyday. I thought that was fairly decent.

[BBrian]

Rice (yes, even white rice) is a complex carbohydrate. Oats are as well, but stick with old-fashioned oatmeal, not the instant packets which are packed full of refined sugar in the guise of apple & cinnamon or maple & brown sugar flavors. In fact, let me give you a quick and simple list of healthy carbohydrate-containing foods which will lend you energy instead of fat:

Wheat: (whole-wheat) bread, pita, bagels, crackers, and pasta
Potatoes: baked potato (sweet or white), low-fat potato salad, low-fat mashed potatoes with skin
Rice: brown or white (white rice is only brown rice with the bran removed. Although it's always best to stay as close as possible to any carb source that is as unprocessed as possible, in this case brown rice simply has more fiber)
Oats: old-fashioned oatmeal
Apple: no-sugar-added natural applesauce, dried apples

So yes, you are doing good where avoiding simple carbs is concerned. Don't be fooled by the mentality that anything white is a simple carb. Too many people confuse white bread with white anything-else.

[gixxerboy1]

are you hungry during the day? BBrain gave you good tips and veggies are important and nuts are good for you. But if you not hungry now that is going to fill you more and keep you from eating more protein and complex carbs which you need for your goals.

[yeahbuddy289]

I eat breakfast at 7:30am and do not go on lunch till noon. By the time 10:30 rolls around im ready to eat my arm. So maybe I could use some of the foods he listed as a snack inbetween those meals. But yes that it why im trying to stick with foods that are high in protein and carbs. because I do have a hard time eating and need to get the most bang for my buck so to speak.