Need some advice on diet

[SeasideSte]

Hi guys, I have been working out for some time and i'm really struggling to gain some lean mass and keep it...
I train hard 4 days a week and cardio 3 days a week, cardio is usually on my off days.
I am 32yo 6'3 and 191lb, i have managed to gain around 16lb since i started 10 months back but seem to have hit a plateau a few weeks back.
My Usual days diet looks something like:

Meal1
1 cup oats
Whey shake
banana

Meal2
3 slices thick w/meal bread
6 poached whole eggs

Meal3
200g chicken breast
150g brown rice or sweet potato
1 cup broccoli
sweet chilli sauce for taste

Meal4
200g poached Basa fillets
150g rice or sweet potato
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup sweetcorn

Meal5
1 1/2 tinned tuna
Large mixed leaf salad

Meal6
300g low fat cottage cheese (bedtime snack)


Almost every time i hit the gym i will have a whey shake straight after workout within 10-15 mins.
Between meal1 and 2 i take multivit capsules.

If you can see anything wrong or suggest how i might be able to work this around any better any help/advice would be appreciated.

[ironman1982]

eat the same and cut your cardio to twice a week.

[ironman1982]

add extra 500 cals per day

[SeasideSte]

add extra 500 cals per day

Thanks ironman, would i be best to add a little to each meal or just try and squeeze an extra 500cal meal in?

[--->>405<<---]

seaside what r the total cals and macros of the diet above?

[SeasideSte]

seaside what r the total cals and macros of the diet above?

I'm pretty sure ive got these right.... (give or take a couple)
The total cals for the day is 2695. Protein is around 330, carbs 265 and fats around 55.

[--->>405<<---]

whats ur bf%?

the macros u gave should total: 2875cals (or thereabout)

whats ur bf%?

[SeasideSte]

Maths has never been a strong point!!
I've not had it checked properly just calipers and scales in the chemist, but i believe it to be around 12-13%

[--->>405<<---]

Maths has never been a strong point!!
I've not had it checked properly just calipers and scales in the chemist, but i believe it to be around 12-13%

i suggest posting a pic. also u can google "BOD POD" for ur area and go there.. with the pic be sure it is in good lighting with ur hands at ur sides..

good maintenance formula: (LBM x 15)

191lbs 13%bf

191 x .87 (%LBM) = 166.17 (lbs LBM)

166.17 x 15 = 2492cals (rough maintenance)

call it 2500cals.. if i were u id start at 3000cals 40/40/20 pro/carb/fat

3000 cals
300g pro
300g carb
66g fat

i suggest posting a diet hitting these macros. the choices u have above look ok but i dont think ur eating enuff. use a cal counting app to build ur diet.

[SeasideSte]

Thanks for the advice 405
I'll get a picture up as soon as I can, and I'm looking into the bodpod, only 1 ive found so far is a day trip away (if anyone from uk knows of one closer to lancashire than london pls let me know)
I'll repost a new diet once ive got it worked out gonna try add an extra meal in, or replace a shake for some real food

[SeasideSte]

i suggest posting a pic.

[--->>405<<---]

12-13%is prob about right!

[SeasideSte]

God damn you're fast with replies...

I'm wanting to drop to around 9-10% but i'm happy with a little fat for now whilst trying to bulk. Will do the cutting once i've got over the 200lb!!!

[--->>405<<---]

God damn you're fast with replies...

I'm wanting to drop to around 9-10% but i'm happy with a little fat for now whilst trying to bulk. Will do the cutting once i've got over the 200lb!!!

LOL, i guess i dont have naything better to do on a friday night! sad huh? (im at work trying to get done)

[Tron3219]

LOL, i guess i dont have naything better to do on a friday night! sad huh? (im at work trying to get done)

How u gonna get done if ur on here?

[MuscleInk]

Not much I can add that Professor 405 hadn't nailed! Looking at your total cals I could tell right away it was too low. You have to target 3000 or more to gain mass. I'd even say closer to 3500 daily.

Don't be surprised by plateaus. Whether you're dieting or bulking, the biggest gains and losses happen in the first 3-8 months and then slow down. Your body will naturally adapt to the "stress" of a work out. To gain or lose, you need to go beyond the plateau by eating more and changing your workouts. Adaptive processes are normal and what led you to gains in the first 10 months won't be enough to keep you gaining.

[--->>405<<---]

^^agree with MI u will probably have to increase cals again. ur diet will always require tweaking based on results. id run 3000cals for 2 weeks and see how u do. strength, weight, mirror, tape, etc..

i personally would prefer to have to increase cals vs decrease them and lose unwanted body fat (UGH!!)

[SeasideSte]

From what i can see i am short on my carbs.
If i was to add an extra portion of sweet pot to meal 3 (bringing it up to 685 cals 73/80/10 p/c/f)
and add 200g of quinoa to meal 5 (making that meal 540cals 70/42/12 p/c/f)
That would bring my daily up to 345/340/65 p/c/f and i think it's around 3275cals.
Is this looking somewhere nearer where i need to be?

Would it be best to increase the cardio a little if i notice any fat gain? I'm not too fussed about gaining a little fat but would rather keep it in check.

Thanks for all your help guys, it's appreciated.

[--->>405<<---]

345/340/65 = 3325cals

this will put u at roughly 825cal surplus (825 x 7 = 5775)

5775/3500 = 1.65 (lb per week gain)

keep in mind this is purely theoretical based on a lot of unknown speculative variables..

u say bf% gain isnt too much of a concern and ur having a hard time gaining right now (before we made some changes). its up to u. u could go either way, with 3000cals like i suggested knowing its probable u will have to increase cals or u can go with what u have here knowing it is possible ur gonna gain some fat and may be eating too much.. only way to know for sure is to choose one and run it dude. either way ur results can be corrected if necessary..

shoot u could surprise us all and 3325 cals may not be enuff if ur one of those fast metabolism guys!

[SeasideSte]

I'll run with the amended diet for a minimum 2 weeks, will check weight, tape measure etc and take it from there, i'm figuring the extra cals should make some difference (hopefully the way i want). Just gonna have to trial and error with it i guess.
I'll post some more pics along the way.

I'm still struggling to find a bod pod within reasonable distance if there's anyone on here that knows of one in the north of england please let me know, thanks in advance.

[SeasideSte]

Hi guys.
Sorry it's been a while since i was last here, life has been a little hectic lately!! But as promised i am back with an update....

So it's been 4 weeks since i cleaned up the diet. When i weighed in after 2 weeks i had lost 3lbs of weight, and now after 4 weeks i am back up to 190lbs. I've a feeling that the weight loss was due to cutting back a lot of the fat's and cheat meals i was having previously, so i'm not too worried about the weight. I look as though i have gained a little bit of size in a few places and have trimmed a bit on my stomach and sides, and have now added an extra meal into my day, which is another grilled chicken with brown rice that comes in at around 340 calories. I have only just introduced the extra meal 4 days back and it was a bit of a struggle till today, so again i'll stick with it for another few weeks and will hopefully start to see some weight gain again soon!
I've not had a chance to get a new picture to upload, but I'm hoping to have one in the next day or two as soon as i have i will upload it...