Diet Help - Hard Gainer

[Carbon]

Made a post a few weeks ago and my diet got ripped to shreds. I guess its terrible. Maybe i can get some tips on what to change.

I don't really want to eat crazy amounts and put on lots of weight/fat and then have to work my ass off (literally) to get rid of the fat.

I'm also not interested in eating 2 steaks a day everyday to get big. Somehow that doesn't seem very healthy.




I'm 6' 2, 155 pounds, 23 years old. I've been working out for about a year and a half. My goal is to weigh about 175-185

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-Diet-

Training Day: Example 1 - 3500cal

Meal 1: Whole Grain cereal with sliced almonds and raisins (2 servings) with a cup of whole milk.
Meal 2: Enchilada with yellow rice and black beans
(Before Workout )
Meal 3: Tuna Sandwich on two slices of whole wheat, 1 banana.
(After Workout )
Meal 4: rib eye steak, sweet potato, asparagus, biscuit, couple slices of cucumber or light salad
meal 5: 1 cup of oats, 1 box of raisins, 1 scoop hydro whey
meal 6: penut-butter banana sandwich
(Before bed)
meal 7: 1 cup of whole milk, 2 eggs, 1 scoop hydro whey

Training Day: Example 2 - 3500cal
Meal 1: Whole Grain cereal with sliced almonds and raisins (2 servings) with a cup of whole milk.
Meal 2: 1/2 cup oats, 1cup whole milk, 1 slice whole wheat with penut butter
(Before Workout )
Meal 3: Tuna Sandwich on two slices of whole wheat, 1 banana.
(After Workout )
Meal 4: Chicken Breast, mash potatos, asparagus, biscuit, celery with
pimento cheese
meal 5: 1 cup of oats, 1 box of raisins, 1 scoop hydro whey
meal 6: penut-butter banana sandwich
(Before bed)
meal 7: 1 cup of whole milk, 1 scoop hydro whey

[38jumper38]

really bad diet, you don't have source of protein in your meal 1 and 2, little or nothing at meal 3, your post work out is a steak, you need isolate protein and fast carbs after work out, and meal 7 you have milk? before bed? all that sugar in it? You really need a diet.


Meal 1: Pro/Carb
8 Egg Whites, 1 Scoop Of Whey Protein, 1 cup oatmeal
50g protein / 54g carbs / 5g fat

Meal 2: Pro/Fat
Lean Ground Beef, ¼ cup swiss cheese, green veggies
55g protein / 2g carbs / 20g fat

Meal 3: Pro/Carb
Chicken Breast, 1 and a half cup Brown Rice
55g protein / 64g carbs / 3g Fat
**Disclaimer: Meal 3 can be a pro/fat meal if you are ultra sensitive to carb intake.

Meal 4: Pro/Fat
2 Cans of Tuna, 1 Tbsp Full Fat Mayonnaise, Veggies
60g protein / 2g carbs / 13g Fat

Workout
Meal 5: PWO Nutrition
2 Scoops Whey Protein / 80g of Dextrose
40g protein / 80g carbs / 0g fat

Meal 6: PPWO
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, ½ cup Brown Rice (Measured Uncooked)
50g protein / 70g carbs / 3g fat

Meal 7: Pro/Fat
Lean Protein of your choice, 2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
50g protein / 5g carbs / 18g fat

Meal 8: Before Bed
3 Scoops of Whey Protein, 1.5 Tbsp. Flax Seed Oil
60g protein / 3g carbs / 21g Fat

Try this, you my make some changes if you like it.

[RaginCajun]

your diet definitely needs some help. like jumper said, where is your protein in meal 1? i like what he has proposed here except for the last meal. do casein protein instead of whey or buy some cottage cheese. now that he has given you a lay out, try to fill it in with foods that match the numbers and you are go to go! this stuff isn't easy, trust me.

[SlimmerMe]

You are lucky you have a good base to start out with instead of trying to get the BF down first and then adding mass. So thank your lucky stars for this!

You can do it.

[Carbon]

Thanks for the push in the right direction. 40+ grams of protein at every meal? whew! didnt think i needed that much.. this will be interesting.

can anyone provide a few more sample meals? its good to get ideas on this type of thing. also what would make a good substitute for egg whites? im slightly allergic to eggs

[SlimmerMe]

^^ have you checked out the Recipe forum? here in this section? a sub forum? lots of great recipes....

[Carbon]

Thanks slim ill have to check that out.


I thought that protein intake should be about 1g per lb of body mass/ lean mass. Theres 420g protein in that example diet... isnt that a little much?
Also i didnt have time to really estimate the calories in that diet, but just looking at it seems like theres quite a bit. wouldn't i get fat with a super high surplus of calories?



thanks, carbon

[ghettoboyd]

Thanks slim ill have to check that out.


I thought that protein intake should be about 1g per lb of body mass/ lean mass. Theres 420g protein in that example diet... isnt that a little much?
Also i didnt have time to really estimate the calories in that diet, but just looking at it seems like theres quite a bit. wouldn't i get fat with a super high surplus of calories?



thanks, carbon

i hardly doubt that you will get fat eating more calories man not at your age and metabolism...remember if you want to be 185 then eat like your 185 so at 1g per lb of body weight you should eat at least 185g of protien a day...good luck...

[SlimmerMe]

^^ I had no idea about this formula. So whatever weight someone wants to be is the amount of grams of protein they should be eating? I bet this is written all over the place around here yet this is the first I am aware of this tip....

[gbrice75]

Putting on lots of 'weight/fat' just to have to turn around and work your ass off is NOT the only (or efficient) way to add muscle mass, that's the good news.

The bad news is you probably will have to eat 2 steaks a day. Not literally, but my point being you likely require a good amount of calories to put on weight.

I have you pegged at around 11-12% bodyfat (please don't tell me he's leaner than that, he's not - he simply has a relatively small amount of LBM for his height) - with that, i'd put your protein intake at right around 210g/day, close to what Ghetto already recommended. I always use 1.5g/lb of LBM (which in your case is roughly 140lbs) to start.

You need to make sure you have a lean protein source in every meal. 5-7 meals/day. So 30-40g per meal depending on meal frequency. Keep your diet clean as you aren't SUPER lean (i.e. you probably do have the ability to add some bodyfat if you're not somewhat careful), but don't go crazy for now. Complex carbs in every meal except bedtime. Fruits are ok in the am, and/or pre/PWO (what time do you workout?). You should be looking at the following for food choices:

Proteins:
Lean Beef (lean ground, steaks such as top sirloin, flank, etc)
Chicken breast
Turkey breast (not cold cuts)
Eggs and whites
Protein powder - I prefer a blend vs. straight whey
lean pork (loin)
bison
low fat cottage cheese
low fat plain greek yogurt
Milk - sparingly (alot of sugar) - keep it skim or 1%

Carbs:
Oats
Sweet Potato/Yam
Quinoa
Brown Rice
Cous Cous
lentils/beans
Grits

Fats:
Since you want add mass but keep the fat off, I recommend your fats come only from what you eat, plus fish oils. i.e. The meats and other foods you eat throughout the day should provide all the fats you need, with the exception of EFA's - so do add fish oil caps to each meal. I wouldn't recommend purposely adding fats (nuts, nut butters, avacado, etc. unless your daily fat macro is very low which it probably won't be)

Veggies:
all the green veggies you can eat. The more, the better

Fruits:
as I mentioned, first meal of the day, pre/pwo. Stick with apples and bananas vs. something like pineapple (really high sugar). Berries are great and a wonderful source of anti-oxidants.

Put together a new diet and post it up here for further critique.