Hardgainer diet help.

[Thecross]

I joined this forum specifically for the nutrition section, it has so far been the biggest and best resource for my information gathering regarding all my dieting questions.

Anyway I'm 24 and so far in 3 months lifting have gone from 62kg up to nearly 76kg using a form of 5x5 lifting very similar to the stronglift setup just with my own extras added on. I've always been really skinny at 6ft this is the first time in my life I've been above 65kg and feel great about it! Now I've finally decided to commit to a proper bulking diet instead of just using bulking foods and eating 6 times a day without really planning.I want to just follow this religiously and I was wondering if this looked good and if not where it should improve. I don't eat eggs, the one thing in life I cannot stomach at all. Hell even the smell makes me gag. So here's what I have so far:

Meal 1.
Oats - 1 cup uncooked - 300 cal - 54g c - 10g p - 5g f
500ML Low Fat Milk - 231 cal - 25g c - 17g p - 7g fat
2 Scoops Whey Protein Isolate - 240 cal - 6g c - 48g p - 2g f
Total - 771 cal - 85g c - 75g p - 14g f

Meal 2.
2 Cans Tuna in Olive Oil - 272 c - 1g c - 44g p - 10g f
1 Tbsp Flaxseed Oil - 123 cal - 14g fat
Total 395 cal - 1g c - 44g p - 24g fat

Meal 3.
Brown Rice - 1 cup cooked - 218 cal - 46g c - 5g p - 2g f
Broccoli - 1 cup chopped - 41 cal -7g c - 4 g p - 0g f
2x Chicken Breast , boneless, skinless (medium) - 300 cal - 0g c -56g p - 6g f
Total 559 cal - 53g c - 61g p - 8g f

Meal 4. PWO
2 Scoops Whey Protein Isolate - 240 cal - 6g c - 48g p - 2g f
250ml Low Fat Milk 150 cal - 12.5g c - 8.5g p - 3.5g f
80g Dextrose 69 cal - 73g c - 0g p - 0g f
1 Banana 105 cal - 27g c -1g p - 0g f
Total 364 cal - 118.5g c - 57.5g p - 5.5g f

Meal 5.
2x Wholemeal Bread Slice - 260 c - 48g c - 7.5g p - 5g f
1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter - 154 cal - 3g c - 7g p - 12.5g f
Total 415 cal - 51g c - 14.5g p - 17.5g f

Meal 6.
Beef , ground , 90% lean , 10% fat (200g) - 460 cal - 0g c -56g p -24g f
Broccoli - 1 cup chopped - 41 cal -7g c - 4 g p - 0g f
Brussel Sprouts- 1 cup - 65 cal - 13g c - 6g p - 1g f
Brown Rice - 1 cup cooked - 218 cal - 46g c - 5g p - 2g f
Total 784 cal - 66g c - 71g p - 26g f

Meal 7.
Almonds (~40) 328 cal - 12g c - 12g p - 28g f
Cottage Cheese (125g) 133 cal - 3g c - 14g p - 7g f
1 Scoop Casein Protein - 120 cal - 3g c - 24g p - 1g f
Total 581 cal - 18g c - 50g p - 36g f

Combined Total.
3869 Calories
392.5g Carbs
373g Protein
131g Fat

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

[boxingfan30]

Honestly... I didn't read your whole diet. I once read that if one was a hard gainer that the best way to gain weight was pretty simple. Get a lb of lean ground beef, a box of hamburger helper and 1 gallon of whole milk. Eat and drink all of this every day.

Just what i've heard. I had that problem when I was 18 and honestly, I just made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce with lean meat and a box of whole wheat pasta... I would eat about 4-5 bowls of it a day.

If you're a hard gainer, I don't know how much I would worry about keeping the diet as clean as much as I would worry about just getting the calories you need.

If none of this works... wait until you get a little older ;-) It'll pile on pretty quick then.

[Thecross]

bump.

[bigsiv]

I don't think you need any tips bro you have gained 30 lbs in 3 MONTHS !!! That's pretty impressive
I do think your calories are too much though your weight is only 176k you must be at least a 1000 cals over maintenance.
Your diet looks pretty good but have you gained a lot of fat in them 3 months? What is your bf%?

[Thecross]

I have gained a little bit of fat, I'm not sure on the exact numbers but I was around 9 or 10% before this and am probably around 14-15% now. I haven't been eating this much to gain that much weight so far. I guess just quitting smoking and eating around 1k calories less than this per day and sticking to a strict workout schedule has taken me this far. I'm thinking I might drop meal 5 and the cup of brussel sprouts from meal 6 because the calories do seem a bit much but the goal is to reach above 190 pounds and then cut.

[krugerr]

Diet looks good. But it might just be too much. What's your TDEE? I'm not the guru on these topics, as I'm still learning myself,although, I would say that you're gaining a little too fast - although you said you want to hit 190lbs and cut. You might just be putting on 15lbs of fat so you can cut it all off. If you get my meaning. It might just be better to slow your bulk down a little so you haven't got as much to lose.

Post up your TDEE. I haven't calculated exactly, but it looks like a 40/40/20 split? Was this the intention?

[Thecross]

If I don't do cardio on off days then my TDEE is 2902 and if I'm doing cardio then it's 3272. I was going for an approx 40/40/20 split yes. Gains have started slowing now but still growing muscle, not a huge amount of fat put on but more than I've ever had. I had an unhealthy fat % previously so I suppose this is good in a way. I'm definitely going to drop meal 5 and the brussel sprouts from meal 6 which should bring me down to around the 3400 calorie mark and then drop my cardio to low intensity once a week and see how this works.