Newbie needs advice.

[LAZ]

Hi all,
New to WBB so hello all!!! Need abit of diet advice as ive never really gone the whole hog dieting but im really starting to see the results from eating better.
Im trying to gain mass and im 23, 187lbs, and about 10-12% bf. I used to plat alot of rugby and waterski race but now only have time to train due to work.

My diet roughly consists of the following.

Meal 1: 4 XL eggs, 3 yolks 1 white, 2-3 slices of bread or 1/2 cup of oats and VP2 shake with whole milk or 2 min noodles ( 50g carb) and a VP2 shake.( i usally add olive oil to the eggs or i have 2 fish oil capsules)

Meal 2: 100g of salmon in springwater and 2-3 rice cakes ( 50 cal each and 10g of carb each)

Meal 3: Footlong subway ( roasted chicken ) or ill have a chicken or turkey sandwich.

Meal 4 150g tuna in springwater with 2-3 rice cakes.

Pre workout shake which i have a cup of juice and half a scoop of VP2, 20-25g carb and 15g protein.

workout

Post workout shake, more juice35-40 g carb and full scoop of VP2 30g protein.

Meal 5: Chicken/beef with veg or salad, and a little carb ( rice, pasta or bread ) Id say 250-350 grams of meat per serve.

Meal 6: Depends how late i stay up but at the least ill have is a shake with whole milk if im still peckish i usally before that have a small bowl of L/F ice cream and canned fruit in natural juice before it and have the shake about 30min later.

Bare in mind this has only been going the last couple of weeks and i only just started have whole milk instead of LF as i wasnt putting on much weight, i probably ( After reading Bradleys advice) need more EFA's, and different ones ( hemp or flax ) and need to add up calories and protein as i wouldnt know what the %'s are.
Bare in mind that during the day i have to eat out of my truck, hence thats why i eat the salmon/tuna and rice cakes or pop into a take away store or subway during the day as its pre packaged and easy so any other meal suggestions or any suggestions in general would be appreciated.
Also having issues finding values on certain foods ( egg whites alone being one ) and other foods aswell.
Thanks to anyone who reply's in advance, and look forward to getting on here more often and sharing what i learn.
LAZ.

[bradley]

Originally posted by LAZ
Meal 1: 4 XL eggs, 3 yolks 1 white, 2-3 slices of bread or 1/2 cup of oats and VP2 shake with whole milk or 2 min noodles ( 50g carb) and a VP2 shake.( i usally add olive oil to the eggs or i have 2 fish oil capsules)

Looks pretty good, but I don't really see the need for the protein shake along with the whole food meal, and instead of using whole milk go with skim. If you need extra fat calories just throw in more olive oil.



Meal 3: Footlong subway ( roasted chicken ) or ill have a chicken or turkey sandwich.

A sandwich prepared at your home would probably be better than the Subway sandwich, and that way you would have more control over what goes on the sandwich. Although Subway is a good choice compared to most other fast food places.:)



Pre workout shake which i have a cup of juice and half a scoop of VP2, 20-25g carb and 15g protein.

workout

Post workout shake, more juice35-40 g carb and full scoop of VP2 30g protein.

Instead of using fruit juice you might want to consider using dextrose or maltodextrin. The fruit juice contains fructose which will preferentially refill liver glycogen as opposed to muscle glycogen.



Bare in mind this has only been going the last couple of weeks and i only just started have whole milk instead of LF as i wasnt putting on much weight, i probably ( After reading Bradleys advice) need more EFA's, and different ones ( hemp or flax ) and need to add up calories and protein as i wouldnt know what the %'s are.

Like I stated above I would go with skim milk and then add in more fat from other sources such as olive oil, nuts, etc.

You are probably getting enough n-3 fats from the fish oil caps and salmon so I really would not worry about supplementing with flax or hemp oil.

If you are concerned about the macros you could use www.fitday.com to help you calculate your calories and macro ratios.



Also having issues finding values on certain foods ( egg whites alone being one ) and other foods aswell.

I find that seperating the whites from the yolks to be the easiest and cheapest way to get the egg whites, as opposed to buying a commercial egg white product. Although most places have products such as Egg Beaters or All Whites in the dairy section, but this might be different in Australia.

Welcome to WBB:)

[LAZ]

Thanks for the advice Bradley:D love your work!!!

I think you miss understood my last question in that im trying to add up all my calories, protein, carbs, fats, to see how mich of each im actually eating and to get the balance right as far as 1g of protein per lb of body weight and 25-30% of calories as EFA's and the rest low GI carbs. Not to mention total calories so if im not putting on weight i can increase them until im at a point of putting on weight each week.

I tried fitday but found it hard to compare products here to the ones found on it, and im having trouble finding info here or by just looking at the packaging of the foods i eat. ( thats what i meant last sentence, the egg box only has the values for a whole egg )

Also considering my size and goal, how many calories should i be shooting for??

Thanks again, i appreciate anyone who takes the time to help others!!!!!!!!

LAZ:D

[bradley]

Originally posted by LAZ
I tried fitday but found it hard to compare products here to the ones found on it, and im having trouble finding info here or by just looking at the packaging of the foods i eat. ( thats what i meant last sentence, the egg box only has the values for a whole egg )

You can use the site below which should help somewhat, and/or you could purchase a food counts book from your local bookstore that contains the calories and macronutrient content of different foods. There is one titled "The Complete Book of Food Counts" by Corrine T. Netzer that is very thorough. Then use the information gathered from the web site/book to customize the entry for your fitday account.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl



Also considering my size and goal, how many calories should i be shooting for??


Just gradually increase your daily calories each week until you are gaining a small amount of weight each week.

There are various formulas available, but at best they provide a rough estimate of your calorie needs.

[LAZ]

Thanks again Bradley!! I'll be looking for that book first thing tomorrow!!!

When i figure out everything ill post some updates and examples and see if you think i should change anything.

Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

LAZ.