Please shred appart my diet... I need it!!

[_8_Ball]

Hey everyone...

I'm 5'7" / 165lbs / 25yo... been training for close to a year... Dropped about 65 lbs in first 7 months of training.

I've hit a point now where everything seems to have slowed down... (gaines and weight loss).

I know it almost impossible to gain LBM and lose fat at the same time, but I'm trying... :-)

I'm trying to do a very clean bulk... (basicly just exchange the remaining fat for muscle ) I don't mind if I only lose 1 or .5 lbs a week, as long as the LBM keeps increasing...

Please review and critic my diet... I think that might be the missing link in my progression.

5:05 - wake
5:15am - 1 scoop whey shake (20p/3c/?f)
5:30am - on the bus to workout + work (in same building)
6:15am - workout starts
7:15am - workout ends
7:20am - 1 scoop whey shake (20p/3c/?f)
8:00am - 1 banana
9:45am - veggies (usually carrots) (1/2 cup)
12:00pm - 1 normal size steak or 1 1/2 chicken breast + green veggies or meat + brown rice (1/2 cup)
3:00pm - DETOUR BAR
5:30pm - 1 normal size steak or 1 1/2 chicken breast + green veggies
8:00pm - whey shake or (trying to take cottage cheese )
9:00pm - bed time

Now... I realize my post workout shake is lacking some sort of dextrose componant ... And that my entire diet is lacking EFAs..

Another thing I'm really worried about is that everyone always says "to grow you must eat" ... Well.. mabye it's the "fat boy syndrom" but I'm soooo paranoid about gaining "fat" so I guess I tend to under eat... I know my cals should be around 165 * 12 = 1980cals per day... but I'm paranoid that I regain alot of fat... Is this fear only in my head.. (being overweight for 5-6 years tends to turn you into a diet freak...

I have pretty good knowledge about the GI and nutrition in general... so I know what to avoid (in terms of HI GI foods and I know how to read food labels... ) but advice from ppl is ALWAYS helpfull...

As for my workout :

I workout 5 days a week... usually 1 body part a day ... I might change that to twice a week because some parts do not get hit as intense as others... ( my legs take a full 5-7 days to recover.. ) and everything else seems to only take 3 days...(max) so... I might change it up...

PLEASE HELP! :( I want to continue to make gains... this is a little depressing... at least if I know my diet is in order then I can concentrate on my training / workout....

Thanks to everyone for there help so far....


Wes

[sweet-physique]

Questions?
Are you on some type of Modified KD?
What do you mix the whey with? Just Water? What other beverages? Plenty of water I hope. Perhaps skim milk.
Yes you need more good fats ie. flax seed oil, omega 3, and olive oil (especially if you're going to avoid the carbs. which you may want to re-think)
I think you need to add some type of additional carbs in there, at least early in the day. Maybe mix the whey with skim or 1% milk pre work out. Also try some good complex carb/protein foods such as Beans, legumes, brown rice, wheat pasta, yogurt, or good quality cereal etc. (I like Go-Lean Crunch - 9 grams of protein per serving). Don't avoid the carbs forever, or your training will plateu and eventually suffer. Also maybe some eggs in the morning for additional protein. If you're scared of the yolks do a 1-4 or 1-3 ratios whole eggs to whites only. I don't think eating reasonable amounts of good quality whole foods while remaining faithful to your training will do anything but help you meet your goals. You diet could afford some extra calories. The cottage cheese before bed is an excellent idea. Just my $0.02

[_8_Ball]

sweet-physique:

I normaly make my shakes with water... in terms of carbs I try to eat sweet patatoes, whoal wheat pasta (once a week) oat meal..(at 9:00am) ... tons of water (1 gal a day)

and no I'm not on a KD type diet... kinda just trying my best... :-(

Would you have an example of a daily food program ? something around 1500 - 1800 cals... ??

Thanks,

Wes

[bradley]

Get some carbs pre and postworkout. You need some carbs after not eating all night, especially since you work out in the morning. If you are trying to gain LBM then you are going to have to eat some more. Try and get some of each macronutrient in each meal. One meal I saw was only carrotts, which is not a meal IMO. Try and get some EFA's in your diet. Maybe supplement with some flax oil, fish oil, nuts, natural peanut butter, etc.

Another thing you might try is cutting your training back to maybe three or four days a week.

http://64.191.60.103/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24356

The above is a link to Avatar's cutting journal which you might find useful. He has all his meals listed along with the macro breakdown. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

[Just some girl]

dont you guys think 1500-1800 is to low for him? you're a guy, right? 1400-1600 is what i am for when restricting my calories to cut, and im female. granted you arent tall or extremely heavy, but...i would just think you might wanna aim higher calorically.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Just some girl
dont you guys think 1500-1800 is to low for him? you're a guy, right? 1400-1600 is what i am for when restricting my calories to cut, and im female. granted you arent tall or extremely heavy, but...i would just think you might wanna aim higher calorically.

Also wanted to add that it is hard to add muscle and lose fat at the same time unless you are new to training or on AAS. Might try eating around your maintenance cals and see what kind of results you get.

The reason I posted a link to Avatar's journal was so that you could get an idea of what 1800 calorie menu would look like.

[sweet-physique]

8
I don't think 1500-1800 calories is a good idea. That is a restrictive diet to say the least. You will never gain LBM on that; you would be lucky to maintain any muscle on that few of calories. You probably know what the members will say on this:

1)eat 6 quality meals a day (whole foods or good meal replacerment supplement like the whey or bars your're doing)

2) You should be eating first thing in the AM with good protein and complex carbs.

3) Your goals and stats and training indicate a diet of at least~ 2500-3000 cals. Maybe a 40-30-30 ratio for a while.

4) Better to concentrate your efforts on eating quality whole foods and intense, consistent traing rather than limiting calories and nutrients you need to grow. In other words eat well, but eat clean.

5) I like the 5 days a week with weights. I would keep that and maybe I missed this, but some light cardio is ok say 2-3 times a week if you're worried about gaining fat and showing off that LBM.

6) Keep the shake right after the workout and follow up with a full quality meal soon after.

7) I still think the cottage cheese or similar meal at bedtime is a great idea. Casien is nice slow protein.

8) otherwise like a said eat the foods you need to grow, up the lean protien, carb./protein foods, and EFAs within your diet every day. I think the training, food quality, and frequent feeding will keep the metabolism firing the way you want. I'm no expert but this will probably help you move in the right direction.

[_8_Ball]

First off... I just wanted to give a HUGE thank you for all the imput... You have made me realize that I was cutting cals WAY to much... (if everyone is telling you something, usually there right... :) )

This is what I was thinking in terms of a new meal plan... tell me if this is better,

5:30 - Pre-workout meal / shake (myoplex MRP + tbsp flax oil

7:15 - post workout shake (myoplex MRP + some kind of dextrose + glutamine

8:30 - 3/4 cup oatmeal (in water) + 1/2 scoop vanilla Pro powder (mostly for taste).

10:00 - 1 chicken breast with green 1/2 cup veggies

12:00-12:30 1 or 2 chicken breast + 1cup veggies or brown rice

3:00 - Detour bar or Whey shake + 1 tbsl flax

6:00 - 1 Steak or Chicken breast + green veggies

8:30 (30 mins before bed) 1/2 cottage cheese

Is this better?

And here is a link to the myoplex I was thinking about :

http://www.sndcanada.com/gc/gc_item.exe?F=D&K=EA-00012&V=Brief&R=H%2FCatalog%3AMeal%20Replacements&ID=01311035072072361624645

Any imput would be appriciated...

[sweet-physique]

Better but I still say you need something more when you first wake up. At least a banana or something with that first shake.

[_8_Ball]

My biggest problem in the morning is that it takes EVERYTHING I go to just get out of bed to catch the bus (usually RUNNING to the bus) so I have almost no time to spare... but, I'm sure I can drink my shake and eat the banana all in 5 minutes.. :-)

Are the myoplex ok? because if they are, I will order them right away to be able to get them on Monday.

Thanks,

Wes

[bradley]

You could just mix the myolplex with milk for some more cals. I just wouldn't want too much sitting on my stomach before an intense workout.

[_8_Ball]

Sounds like I plan... I will order them...

SWEET! :)

Thanks everyone again for all your help / comments..