Diet on track to reach my goals?

[NWS26]

Hey guys, long time lurker here asking for some help..

I am 28 years old and have been out of the gym for quite some time. Personal life got tough with being laid off, career change, new job, relocating, and coming off of a recent injury (meniscus tear). Things have calmed down and my knee is better so I am back in the gym and getting my diet back in order. I am currently on a 3 day (M/W/F) power based routine keeping things simple:

WO 1: Upper Back/Bi’s/Legs
WO 2: Chest/Shoulders/Tri’s
WO 3: Upper Back/Bi’s/Legs
WO 4: Chest/Shoulders/Tri’s
Repeat

Workouts are centered around compound lifts.

I have never been very strong, my PR’s being:
- BB Bench: 295lbs x 1
- Squats: 365lbs x 1
- Deadlift: 415lbs x 2

These lifts were performed at a body weight of 215lbs. I currently weigh 180lbs at 6’ tall.

My current goals are pretty simple right now: Regain my lost strength and gain weight/mass at a moderate pace without getting too sloppy. I am trying to figure out what my maintenance caloric intake is and once I do would like to eat above maintenance. I weigh all my food and use myfitnesspal to log every day. I am currently taking in 2150 Calories/day (270p/160c/45f) and monitoring my weight. Once I get things dialed in I will want to start implementing Skip Loads. I am currently not doing any cardio on my off days.

Below is what my typical non-WO day looks like. My activity level out of the gym varies greatly day to day. I am a Firefighter so my schedule is pretty hectic, some days being pretty physical. On WO days I eat similarly as below but will eat more carbs around my WO with simple carbs directly after my WO with protein.

Meal 1 - 7:30am - 320Cals (47p/31c/1f)
- 1 Cup Egg Beaters
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- 2 Slices Eziekial Bread

Meal 2 – 9:30am – 407Cals (37p/43c/11f)
- ½ Cup Quaker Old Fasioned Oats
- ¼ Cup Bare Naked Protein Granola
- 1 Serving Team Skip Protein

Meal 3 – 12:00pm – 470Cals (69p/36c/4f)
- 10.5oz Grilled Chicken Breast
- ¼ Cup Dry Whole Grain Rice
- Spinach not counted

Meal 4 – 5:00pm – 370Cals (53p/36c/4f)
- 9.5oz Tilapia Filets
- ¼ Cup Dry Whole Grain Rice
- Broccoli not counted

Meal 5 – 8:00pm – 570Cals (68p/2c/28f)
- 2 Links Harvestland Feta/Spinach Chicken Sausages
- 3 Large Whole Eggs
- 1 Cup Egg Beaters

Total: 2,166Cals (278p/148C/48f)

6 Liters of water/day and try to cut carbs out after 6:00pm unless I train at night.

I was wondering if you guys can give me some insight on things I need to change. I have read through Massive G’s thread here: http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=39213 but have trouble getting in 8 meals with my work like he suggests. Thank you guys in advance for taking the time and patience helping me out.

[steel1970]

One thing that's glaring at me is that all you have in the diet are trace fats....IMO you need to have some good, heart healthy fats added in there. The diet does not hafta be virtually fat free. In fact, most will function much better with good fats in their diet...healthy fats are also a good way to add calories. Too many health benefits which make them a necessity IMO......

[bmfinc]

It would be great if you could get a 2.5 and a 3.5 meal in at work then you would be up to seven total. It is pretty busy at work for me and I am a slow eater, so I take shakes with oatmeal or a health oil in it. You can also throw in greens powder or frozen berries. In the fridge at work I have a jar of real peanut butter or almond butter and I will take a tablespoon or two with the shakes.

[NWS26]

Thanks Steele, I will add in some more EVOO, Natty PB, almonds etc.. Is it bad that ALL of my meals are Pro/Carb other than my pre-bed meal? Should fats be spaced out more?

I see in his thread Massive G will have a Pro/Fat meal for his third meal and remember Skip has Pro/Fat meal in the am, pre WO, and pre-bed from his seminar in longevity.

[NWS26]

bmfinc - Your right it is definitely doable with a shake mixed with some oats or oil. I could even drink it out on the road in the truck if I needed to.

[bobbyPGA]

a shake and a good bar would give you two more 400+ cal meals you could have on the go. not sure of your experience with shakes, but MHP up your mass and dymatize elite mass are awesome tasting 500+ cal shakes and detour bars can have 400+ cals, all with low sugar. whole food-turkey sandwich on wheat bagel with some trail mix. keep it in a small cooler. just some things i do to get 6-7 meals in per day. hope it helps.

[NWS26]

Worked through the weekend and threw in a Team Skip shake with oats between meal 3 (lunch) and meal 4 (dinner). Going from 1:00-5:00 is way too long of a window not eating. The shake is great because I can pound it down quickly.

This puts me around 2400 cals a day (300p/47f/175c). I will be tracking my weight and slowly upping cals by around 200 weekly until I start putting on some weight. I am guessing my maintenance is around 3000 cals but we'll see. I think I have been eating below maintenance for sometime now so I want to up calories slowly to allow my metabolism to catch up.

This is my third week back in the gym on a simple routine and it is night and day between my first week and third strength wise. Once I get my diet in check and my body back acclimated to working out I will be starting Wendlers 5/3/1. Read his book (2nd edition) the other day and thought it was great. I am looking forward to making steady progress on the big lifts.

[steel1970]

My shake meals are awesome cause I can do literally anything I want with them macro wise, very easily.....I can do just a basic pro/fat with protein and some mac nut oil or evoo, or I can do a big meal with a shake that hits over 1000 cals with 2.5 scoops of protein, 1 cup ground up oats, 2 tbsp natty pb or some nuts or oil, then have a piece of fruit and a natural granola bar....This leaaves me feeling pretty full but not full enough where I dont wanna eat 2-3 hours later. If you have a hectic schedule, imo there's no reaason to snub shakes for the sake of adding more whole food meals. I know PLENTY of people who have great physiques and some are big as hell and use shake meals for half of their daily food....Adding oats to my shakes was probably the single biggest factor in me being able to eat how I'm supposed to, cause it's such an easy addition....

[mentalflex]

NWS - Based on your size and occupation, I would say that you are going to see a definite need to increase your kcals in order to prevent stagnation in your training.

How is your nutirtion around training?

Steel - You have to try Team Skip Orange Creamsickle in the blender with coconut oil, heavy whipping cream and no-sugar added almond milk and a ton of ice. When i couldn't bare to stomach food, shakes became my mainstay.

[JimPhreak]

My shake meals are awesome cause I can do literally anything I want with them macro wise, very easily.....I can do just a basic pro/fat with protein and some mac nut oil or evoo, or I can do a big meal with a shake that hits over 1000 cals with 2.5 scoops of protein, 1 cup ground up oats, 2 tbsp natty pb or some nuts or oil, then have a piece of fruit and a natural granola bar....This leaaves me feeling pretty full but not full enough where I dont wanna eat 2-3 hours later. If you have a hectic schedule, imo there's no reaason to snub shakes for the sake of adding more whole food meals. I know PLENTY of people who have great physiques and some are big as hell and use shake meals for half of their daily food....Adding oats to my shakes was probably the single biggest factor in me being able to eat how I'm supposed to, cause it's such an easy addition....

Do you grind up your oats really fine for your shakes or do you just leave them as is? Steel cut or rolled? Just wondering because texture matters makes a difference for me and the thought of having whole oats in my shakes doesn't sound very appetizing.

[mentalflex]

Do you grind up your oats really fine for your shakes or do you just leave them as is? Steel cut or rolled? Just wondering because texture matters makes a difference for me and the thought of having whole oats in my shakes doesn't sound very appetizing.

Cofee grinder: http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach...2999552&sr=1-3

Actually tastes pretty good

[NWS26]

My shake meals are awesome cause I can do literally anything I want with them macro wise, very easily.....I can do just a basic pro/fat with protein and some mac nut oil or evoo, or I can do a big meal with a shake that hits over 1000 cals with 2.5 scoops of protein, 1 cup ground up oats, 2 tbsp natty pb or some nuts or oil, then have a piece of fruit and a natural granola bar....This leaaves me feeling pretty full but not full enough where I dont wanna eat 2-3 hours later. If you have a hectic schedule, imo there's no reaason to snub shakes for the sake of adding more whole food meals. I know PLENTY of people who have great physiques and some are big as hell and use shake meals for half of their daily food....Adding oats to my shakes was probably the single biggest factor in me being able to eat how I'm supposed to, cause it's such an easy addition....

Steel, I really appreciate the help. Drinking my shakes with oats in them was easy a quick this past week at work. I think I will only need a couple shakes a day to fill in the gaps between whole meals.

[NWS26]

NWS - Based on your size and occupation, I would say that you are going to see a definite need to increase your kcals in order to prevent stagnation in your training.

How is your nutirtion around training?

Steel - You have to try Team Skip Orange Creamsickle in the blender with coconut oil, heavy whipping cream and no-sugar added almond milk and a ton of ice. When i couldn't bare to stomach food, shakes became my mainstay.

Hey Mentalflex, I agree and to be honest I'm not sure what my maintenance level is right now. I started eating around 2100 cals a few weeks ago and have been increasing cals since.. After I tore my knee I was totally out of the gym for around 4 months... It was a minor tear and I was able to keep working as a FF but I couldn't risk hurting it more in the gym and being out of work.

In this time I was not weighing my food and I was eating like shit. I think I was eating below maintenance for a while because I noticeably looked smaller and lost a lot of strength. I couldn't believe when I weighed my self a few weeks ago I only weighed 177.5lbs. Because of this I thought I would start lower at 2100 cals and increase from there. Having been back in the gym for a few weeks and weighing my food, this morning I weighed 181lbs and my strength is coming back. Right now I am at 2,500 cals (Around 300p/65f/200c).

My nutrition around training is usually a pro/fat shake 30min before the gym, 1 scoop MG's Powdered Muscle during my workout. When I get home I have a serving of cereal (frosted mini wheats) and a protein shake right away. Then about 30-45 min after that I have a Protein/carb meal usually Chicken Breast with brown rice and veggies. I am really low on MG's powdered muscle so I am not sure what I am going to do, order more, or order some BCAA's to take at the gym.

[mentalflex]

Hey Mentalflex, I agree and to be honest I'm not sure what my maintenance level is right now. I started eating around 2100 cals a few weeks ago and have been increasing cals since.. After I tore my knee I was totally out of the gym for around 4 months... It was a minor tear and I was able to keep working as a FF but I couldn't risk hurting it more in the gym and being out of work.

In this time I was not weighing my food and I was eating like shit. I think I was eating below maintenance for a while because I noticeably looked smaller and lost a lot of strength. I couldn't believe when I weighed my self a few weeks ago I only weighed 177.5lbs. Because of this I thought I would start lower at 2100 cals and increase from there. Having been back in the gym for a few weeks and weighing my food, this morning I weighed 181lbs and my strength is coming back. Right now I am at 2,500 cals (Around 300p/65f/200c).

My nutrition around training is usually a pro/fat shake 30min before the gym, 1 scoop MG's Powdered Muscle during my workout. When I get home I have a serving of cereal (frosted mini wheats) and a protein shake right away. Then about 30-45 min after that I have a Protein/carb meal usually Chicken Breast with brown rice and veggies. I am really low on MG's powdered muscle so I am not sure what I am going to do, order more, or order some BCAA's to take at the gym.

NWS, you seems to have great direction with where you want to go and a good grasp on what you need to do nutrition wise to grow. I also think you are being wise in letting your body adjust to various levels of kcals. Yeah, you can look up all the charts you want to determine your "baseline" but there are so many metabolic differences and digestive capacities between individuals that you may need significantly more or less than someone else of similar size.

Not only should you be keeping track of your bodyweight, but checking bodyfat using some at home calipers is a great idea (I use these: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Healt...=pd_sbs_hpc_12) as this will ensure you are gaining lean mass.

I would evaluate your own progress every two weeks or so. If you see you are making changes in the right direction, proceed as neccessary. If the scale is going up and bodyfat is not increasing, then bump up the kcals. Continue to do this until you reach a point where you start gaining fat (or more fat than you have allowed yourself to gain).

When bumping up the kcals, start by looking at your pre-intra-post workout nutrition. Can you add more kcals without causing any GI distress? Once you reach a comfortable level with the amount of kcals you have around that time frame and really cannot stomach any more, look to the other meals that are easiest for you eat.

Good luck man, it sounds like you are on your way.

[jrf0104]

MentalFlex,

What sites do you recommend measuring when using the BF calipers? Should we pick one or two and use this to gauge progress?