[tylerdurden1993]

For the first time in years I have full control of my diet except that I’m not on a lot of money. I’m currently 143 lbs at 5 feet 10 and very weak. So hopefully with a combination of the gym and a good diet I can get stronger and put some mass on. In April before I went away with work I was 160lbs which still wasn’t very heavy but, It’s amazing about how much fat I had on my frame.

I normally eat 3 meals a day which consists of.
•Breakfast Oatmeal 2x 43 g packet made with whole milk
•Lunch 3 ham sandwiches or 4 bbq chicken drumsticks and bread rolls and banana
•Dinner Meat and two vegetables stuff like roast dinners, chilli, spaghetti bolognese etc.
•Green Juice made with a juicer

This is what I was eating at home, I am at college now and have full control of my diet. I’m at college 5 days a week so I’m not sure about being able to get back to where I’m staying for lunch. So I normally take sandwiches as there’s no microwave there to heat stuff up from what I’m aware.

I’m asking here because I just want some advice about how to start doing this as I’ve never planned my meals before. I’m not sure about how to even start counting macros and all the various diets out there confuse me.

Basically I have no idea about how to fuel my body in a way so that I can change my body composition, I only lost weight earlier on this year because I didn’t have the chance to eat as we got what we were given. I’m just confused about how to start doing this as searching on the internet has confused me a lot.

Thanks.

[Hannibal]

General rules of thumb.

Eat a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Take in 10-20% of your calories in the form of fats.

Take the rest in as carbs.

Protein is 4 calories per gram.
Carbs are 4 calories per gram (not counting fiber, those are 0).
Fats are 9 calories per gram.

Eat whole foods and supplement with fish oil and protein powder if you like. Eat sensible foods and not retarded stuff like pizza, ice cream, and baskets of fries unless you're having a really hard time gaining weight.


To lose weight.

Multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) by 10-12. This is your daily caloric goal. 12 is your training days and 10 is your non training days. For you that would be about 1400 calories on your non training days and 1700 calories on your training days.

To maintain weight

Multiply your bodyweight by 15 (in pounds). Daily caloric goal would be 2145.

To gain weight

Multiply your bodyweight by 16-20 (in pounds). For you that's a range of roughly 2300 to 2800 calories. Obviously you want to dial it low for starters and then every week or two, if you're not gaining anything, you dial it up a bit, maybe 50-100 calories in the form of carbs.

Use Myfitnesspal to figure out how many calories and macros you're getting with your food choices.

This advice was directly cribbed from Lyle Mcdonald's website and Paul Carter basically says the exact same thing. Calorie counting works. It is very, very generic advice but it'll get the job done.

As far as getting the actual calories in, I recommend finding a couple different dishes (like chicken and rice, spaghetti, beef stew) and making large batches of it to plan your meals out ahead of time. Then go with something for breakfast like a cup of oatmeal, a protein shake, and a banana. Simple stuff.

I know strength training has been all the rage the last five or ten years and it would probably be a good idea for you to do that for three or four months for starters, but a bodybuilding program wouldn't be a dumb idea after that.

You could probably do a low end on a bulk (like your bodyweight x 16 = calories) with a strength program and come out stronger and not much fatter on the other side. I'm guessing you're 23 years old so you're pretty young yet.

As far as generic bodybuilding advice, a very generic routine would be 3 days a week with a push day, a pull day, and legs. Pick a big movement (like bench, rows, or squat) and do a set of 10-15 for two or three sets, then pick three or four littler movements somewhat related like pec flies, curls, leg curls, tricep extensions or whatever and do like 3 or 4 sets of 15-20 for light weight.

[H1N1]

Good post from Hannibal. I think though that for many people (myself included), good principles are what will get you most of the way to where you want to be. If in a year or two you decide you really want to be huge and shredded, then you can always get into the minutiae of calorie counting etc.

A few general diet principles, and then a few more specific ones, that will let you build appreciable muscle and stay slim and attractive:

1. Eat three proper meals each day. You can swap one for a protein shake occasionally if you're in a rush, but focus on eating three balanced meals.

2. Eat moderately. It takes a long time to gain quality mass. There's no need to try to force it by eating junk food, or 1500 calorie meals. Eat when you are hungry, and until you're satisfied but not stuffed.

3. Drink plenty of water. It's good for you.

4. Try not to eat too many refined foods. Some pasta and bread can be ok (and delicious) but try to limit it to one meal a day if you can.

5. Learn to cook. It will help you get laid, it is something every grown man should be able to do, and you will be better able to control your diet whilst still eating tasty food.

6. Vegetables. You're a grown up, you should be eating plenty of them. Some fruit or veg with each meal. 5 proper servings of fruit and veg per day as a bare minimum. Learning to cook will help you understand how to incorporate them into your diet so that they are a natural part of your eating habits.

7. Booze. Try not to drink it gratuitously. Equally, don't be the wanker who goes out with his mates but won't drink or have a burger with them because of the threat they pose to his gains.

8. A good lifting and eating regime should help you live a more rounded and enjoyable lifestyle. One of the best things about it is that it gives you considerable leeway with all 'one-off' events. So if you go out with your friends, have a skinful, then head to the burger van at the end of the night and load up on delicious junk food, you don't really need to sweat it. Just eat slightly more moderately the next day, if you're concerned at all, and it will balance out. The advantage of moderation most of the time is that you can store up a load of credit for the occasional indulgence of complete depravity.


To go into the specifics:

1. If you're looking to build a little muscle, try to base each of your three meals around a protein source. For breakfast, eggs or whole milk yogurt are good choices, and you can supplement them with some quality bread or steel cut/rolled oats.

2. Related to the above, try to prepare your own food from things that do not come from packets. Packaged food is usually very high in sugar. Your oatmeal sachets are likely giving you a lot of waste calories.

3. Try to get away from such a carb heavy diet. A little more protein, perhaps with some additional fats, and more moderate carbs will keep you feeling full and stop you loading up on bread.

4. If you can, prepare food in advance. Take in leftovers from the previous night's supper if you are able. That way you should be eating some quality carb, some quality protein, and a few vegetables for lunch - rather than hunks of bread, processed meat, and very little veg.

5. NOT FITNESS RELATED: Avoid using garlic too often in your cooking. You are new at this place - you do not want to smell like a sewer. If garlic is important to you (and it is delicious after all) try to lock down a quality piece of pussy for a few months at a time so that you can eat together and she then won't be turned off by the stench emanating from you.

Regardless of what the internet says, 160lbs lean at 5'10 would be a good weight to shoot for over the next few years. You will look good in your clothes, have some appreciable muscle mass when naked, and be big enough to be quite strong. Of course if you get the bug for training you may wish to carry it far beyond this.

The above is all I do with my diet. I don't count calories or anything like that (I've had a few abortive attempts though). I have been able to build up to around 190lbs at 6'1, somewhere around 12%bf. Not remarkable by any stretch, but I am fit and pretty strong by amateur standards, with a lean physique and flat stomach. Ultimately you must decide how far you want to go with it. For me, training and eating is a supplement that allows me to lead an excellent quality of life, but it is exactly that - a supplement - not an end in itself. While you're working out over the next year or two just how significant a part of your life you'd like training to be the principles above will keep you on track.

[Amrita Singh]

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[dopvlur]

I was using this method from rippedbody but Hannibal´s rules gave me similar numbers with less steps. I suggest to stick with Hannibal post and consume protein from real meat.

[Plus Oultre]

I am speaking from years of experience. At your weight and height, you don't need to be picky with your macro nutrients to put on muscle weight and get strong. (At 5'10" I would start worrying about macro nutrients when you reach 185lbs. At that time, I recommend cycling carbs and fats, but that is topic for another thread.)

To start getting in the right path for your goal, you will need to consistently consume between 21,000 and 23,500 calories a week, or ~3,000 to ~3,400 a day. A very effective method, which I have use in the past, and is effective both for your physical goal and for your wallet, is to eat as much as you can feeling comfortable not getting a feeling of being bloated, then complement with whole milk. Not uncommon for me to drink 8 to 10 glasses of milk before going to bed, in about an hour and a half. So, let's say I ate 1500 calories during the day; then I complement with 10 glasses of milk of 150 calories each.

[Cr33pin]

[Jones]

A good start there and some great advice.

Nuts: Literally go nuts with nuts. I prefer almonds, unsalted. They're also easy to transport and require no cooking. Peanut butter as well, throw it on steak, beef, chicken, etc.

Yeah it sounds kinda fucked.

Eggs out the ass, I used to eat half a dozen boiled eggs for breakfast.

Prepare unbreaded chicken and fish as well.

MILK for bulking sure. A less sugary, less carb option is almond milk.

Keep the bread/wheat (carbs) intake low, and don't forget your fruit and veggies!

[Cr33pin]

(11-14-2016 03:16 PM)Jones Wrote:  

MILK for bulking sure. A less sugary, less carb option is almond milk.

Keep the bread/wheat (carbs) intake low

Your less sugary and less carb option of almond milk also has less WAY less calories, fats, and proteins..... which is the whole point of drinking milk to gain mass. Terrible advice.

Also if your trying to gain mass your going to need some carbs as well.

On a brighter note the rest of your post was pretty good.

[Jones]

Thanks for critique, I appreciate the discourse. Allows me to improve and add on my initial advice and fix my mistakes.

His current meal plan:
•Breakfast Oatmeal 2x 43 g packet made with whole milk
•Lunch 3 ham sandwiches or 4 bbq chicken drumsticks and bread rolls and banana
•Dinner Meat and two vegetables stuff like roast dinners, chilli, spaghetti bolognese etc.
•Green Juice made with a juicer

He'll get carbs from oatmeal, sandwich bread, bread rolls, and spaghetti.
He'll get sugar in fruit/juice.

If he has too much carbs that make him too bloated from his bulk, or wants to reduce his sugar (as I would recommend he have 2 or 3 protein shakes a day), he can switch to almond milk, provided he gets enough calories and protein from other sources.

He could also make some homemade protein bars.
Also, eat fish every day.
If OP just wants to build mass on a cheap budget, there's burgers on the Dollar Menu, but I'd try to go for a cleaner and healthier bulk.

[JoeSea]

I might be in the minority with this one but if you're looking for a low maintenance way to ensure you get a good amount of extra calories each day you might want to look into one of the weight gaining powders.

I know protein powders in general are iffy b/c of all the stuff thats come out about not knowing whats actually being put in it them, but speaking from experience myself, I was in your shoes trying to bulk up from 155 with a fast metabolism and after starting with BSN True Mass then moving to ON Serious Mass, I was able to add on ~13 lbs in a couple months.

If you're gonna go that route you MUST be working out regularly otherwise those extra calories will go straight to your gut. You'll still gain weight but not in the way Im sure you're going for. Add in a healthy diet and you should be able to hit your goals.

[tylerdurden1993]

Thought i'd update this thread with my progress as I managed to weigh myself recently. I'm now at 154 lbs which is 70 kg. So i've put on 11 lbs.

I've tried to incorporate some of the advice in this thread into my diet, i'm trying to eat around 3,000 calories every day, however to get there most of the time I have to eat things like a pot of greek yogurt or a bag of cashew nuts. This is only a rough guide as i don't weigh my food so am never going to be that accurate. I also try and eat a good amount of protein as I think it's a good thing to incorporate into my diet.

I also drink a protein shake made with whole milk after very gym day which works out as around every other day, i only do this because I like the taste and is an easy way to get calories/protein.

One thing I will have to work on is cleaning up my diet a bit especially my lunch, as i do eat stuff like breaded chicken in wholemeal bread rolls as it's easy to make and full of calories/protein. I also need to move away from ready made sauces such as chilli, bolognese etc as they're not the cleanest foods. On the other hand I eat a good amount of fruit and veg.

Overall I feel my strength is improving but I am still very weak so it is still an issue.

[H1N1]

11lbs in 3 weeks is a lot of weight gain. Try to weigh yourself in the morning after you've crapped and before you eat. This will give you a broadly consistent reading for comparison. My weight can vary 10lbs in a day depending on what I eat (those are happy food days ). If you're weighing in the am, then 11lbs likely represents a serious fat gain. Personally I'd say 3000 calories is overkill for someone who characterises themselves as skinny and weak. I eat less than that at 6'1 and 190lbs, well past the beginner gains stage.

You should try to learn a few recipes, like chilli and bolognese (fortunately they are almost the same thing) and prepare lots of them, as these are very healthy foods when you prepare them yourself. Good mince, onion, tomato, pepper, kidney beans (mushroom celery etc if bolognese) fried then slow boiled in some stock, with a few spices, a squirt of tomato ketchup (the sugar makes a difference and is negligible in its effects on your wider diet). It's also incredibly cheap if you're on a budget. A tin of kidney beans has about 20g protein and costs 30p or so. Throw in a few of those, 1kg of beef mince (even 20% is good enough if you're looking to gain weight), have it with some rice (also cheap and surprisingly high in protein) and you've got 6 meals for about £1 each. Ditto the bolognese. Grate cheese on top if you really want to add a few hundred calories effortlessly.

It is cheaper to eat good nutritious food than it is to eat sugar filled junk from a ready meal.

Edit: you will be very weak for a long time - several years most likely. You have to learn to enjoy the journey. It has taken me nearly 7 years to close in on a bodyweight strict press. That's a long time not to be all that strong - and I have been very consistent. Focus on improving from week to week, and don't sweat not being internet strong.

[tylerdurden1993]

(11-17-2016 05:08 PM)H1N1 Wrote:  

11lbs in 3 weeks is a lot of weight gain. Try to weigh yourself in the morning after you've crapped and before you eat. This will give you a broadly consistent reading for comparison. My weight can vary 10lbs in a day depending on what I eat (those are happy food days ). If you're weighing in the am, then 11lbs likely represents a serious fat gain. Personally I'd say 3000 calories is overkill for someone who characterises themselves as skinny and weak. I eat less than that at 6'1 and 190lbs, well past the beginner gains stage.

You should try to learn a few recipes, like chilli and bolognese (fortunately they are almost the same thing) and prepare lots of them, as these are very healthy foods when you prepare them yourself. Good mince, onion, tomato, pepper, kidney beans (mushroom celery etc if bolognese) fried then slow boiled in some stock, with a few spices, a squirt of tomato ketchup (the sugar makes a difference and is negligible in its effects on your wider diet). It's also incredibly cheap if you're on a budget. A tin of kidney beans has about 20g protein and costs 30p or so. Throw in a few of those, 1kg of beef mince (even 20% is good enough if you're looking to gain weight), have it with some rice (also cheap and surprisingly high in protein) and you've got 6 meals for about £1 each. Ditto the bolognese. Grate cheese on top if you really want to add a few hundred calories effortlessly.

It is cheaper to eat good nutritious food than it is to eat sugar filled junk from a ready meal.

Edit: you will be very weak for a long time - several years most likely. You have to learn to enjoy the journey. It has taken me nearly 7 years to close in on a bodyweight strict press. That's a long time not to be all that strong - and I have been very consistent. Focus on improving from week to week, and don't sweat not being internet strong.

Thanks for the reply yeah I weighed myself at around 5 pm so that would have knocked it up a few pounds.

My next goal is to start making more food without the sauces. I'm not eating ready meals i'm mainly using ready made jars of sauces that you pour on top of the mince etc. Sorry if you actually knew what I was talking about. I just wanted to clarify im not eating meals that you just stick in the microwave.

I understand the bit about being "internet strong" i go to an average gym and I rarely see people hit internet strength standards.

[needhelp]

When I was first starting out I calculated my caloric maintenance and kept my foods static (5 eggs a day, 1 scoop of whey a day, etc.) As I kept gaining weight I would add more foods into the list. In my opinion, you need to go on bulk and cut cycles. When I first started out I bulked for 7 months and worked out 5-6 times a week. I ultimately got seriously sick for several weeks and that wasn't fun. As for your money problem buy your food in bulk. A costco membership is a great investment.

Nowadays I still try to bulk but I'm about near my genetic potential. I keep eating but I don't keep track of my macros.

[tylerdurden1993]

I'm back at home over the Christmas holidays so thought i'd update this thread.

I'm currently at 154lbs (70kg) first thing in the morning before i've eaten or drunk anything.

I've still kept up with going to the gym over the holidays but as i don't have control over my diet i'm just going to try and stay the same weight until I return to college after the holidays.

I'm still weak but I am slowly making progress on most of the lifts i'm doing.

[Steelex]

Here you go.

Get 200 grams of protein a day ( this is nothing, you can do this easily).

Eat 3500 calories a day, however you see fit. As long as it isn't a whole bunch of sugary shit, it doesn't matter.

If the scale hasn't moved up 5 lbs by the end of the month, add 500 calories a day.

Don't fear the mcdouble.