New member + diet question

[masfirme2]

Hello. I just joined the forum. I have been at the gym for about 3 weeks now and my friend put me on a meal plan which I wanted to get checked out by you guys. First, I am 5'8 185, 25yrs old. Iam trying to burn off my stomach and build muscle. I eat 1500 cal/day, 20g fat 116g carb 198g protein and about 80g sugar. I've lost about 3lbs so far

My diet consist of:
9:30am - protein shake (22g) w/ 12oz skim milk + 1tbs all nat pb +1 banana and (multi vit, omega3)
12:30pm - 2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices thin deli turkey, 1 slice non fat cheese
3:30 pre workout 12oz skim milk + protein shake (22g)
5:00 post workout protein shake w/ water + 3 slices white bread
8:00 1 skinless chicken breast +1 cup greens
11:00 fat free cottage cheese (6oz)
1 gal water per day

Am i consuming too little calories? I workout as:

Day 1 - chest/tri
Day 2 - back/bi
Day 3 - off
Day 4- leg
day 5- off/abs
day 6- off

I throw about a mile of eliptical on days 1 and 2 as well.

Thanks for the help. I didnt mean to crowd the page up with a long post.. ; )

 

[Rabid_Goose]

I'm 5'7" and weigh around 194ish right now and I'm cutting. I was consuming 2200 calories and was losing 3-4 pounds a week almost so now I'm going to start eating 2440 calories and give me my ratio of 40/30/30. 177g of Protein, 129g of Fat, 128g of carbs. 1500 calories is not enough, I'm sure you could eat more then that.

 

[masfirme2]

I'm 5'7" and weigh around 194ish right now and I'm cutting. I was consuming 2200 calories and was losing 3-4 pounds a week almost so now I'm going to start eating 2440 calories and give me my ratio of 40/30/30. 177g of Protein, 129g of Fat, 128g of carbs. 1500 calories is not enough, I'm sure you could eat more then that.

actually im more around like 1650. It did take me about 2 weeks in the gym to build up enough endurance for a decent workout... I believe im about 19-20% body fat, it is clearly in my stomach/love handles. Maybe I shouldnt even be worrying about it at this point and trying to build bulk muscle instead? Anyone around here in the same boat in terms of height/weight/bf?

 

[Rabid_Goose]

I think I am, 5'7", 5'8" if ya round up haha. 195 ish pounds, probably 21% BF or 20%, no idea. Can't find a decent guy with some calipers.

If you want a cutting diet I have one, 40pro/30carb/30fat ratio, only have to cook chicken so really easy to stick with.

 

[masfirme2]

I think I am, 5'7", 5'8" if ya round up haha. 195 ish pounds, probably 21% BF or 20%, no idea. Can't find a decent guy with some calipers.

If you want a cutting diet I have one, 40pro/30carb/30fat ratio, only have to cook chicken so really easy to stick with.

no big deal, i love to cook..I'm italian, so you can imagine everything i cook involves some unhealthy pasta lol

 

[whitedragon]

You need to eat about 2200 cals a day too. You don't want to kill your metabolism and set yourself up for failure.

 

[poysyn]

You need to eat about 2200 cals a day too. You don't want to kill your metabolism and set yourself up for failure.

absolutely..my 10 year old sister eats about 1,000 more calories than you do at what you are intaking. Not consuming enough calories will result in a lot of muscle loss and most likely lead to adverse results. i would say no less than 1900, and ideally around 2200..

you can play around with it a little as it does vary from person to person..

 

[masfirme2]

What would be an easy way to add about 4-500 calories to my diet? Maybe eat something more with my lunch? or? any ideas on what type of food? Brown rice maybe ? My friend tells me I probably burn somewhere around 3-400 calories at the gym in a workout.

Thank You,

Chris

 

[poysyn]

What would be an easy way to add about 4-500 calories to my diet? Maybe eat something more with my lunch? or? any ideas on what type of food? Brown rice maybe ? My friend tells me I probably burn somewhere around 3-400 calories at the gym in a workout.

Thank You,

Chris

Keeping track of how many calories you burn is extremely difficult and IMO is a complete waste of time. The more exercise you perform the more you need to eat in order to sustain muscle. If you do 4 hours of cardio every day and lift 5x a week, you will obviously require more calories to function correctly.

In order to add calories to your meals..well I have no idea what your diet looks like. Post a sample of your diet and a lot of people on these boards can make suggestions for ya.

Are you eating something before bed to keep your metabolism going? If not, you can easily add some cals there. I'd also recommend adding calories to breakfast if it is a light meal as of right now. Else, just make sure all your meals are fairly evenly divided. If ya need to add something here and there in order to hit your target cals then go for it. Just keep the additions clean and you will be good to go.

 

[*Bunny*]

Keeping track of how many calories you burn is extremely difficult and IMO is a complete waste of time.

While I usually agree with his posts... I do not agree with this statement.

masfirme2 post your diet so we can have a look.

Healthy fats (i.e. almonds can add about 165 cals per ounce, generally speaking)

Once you can get an idea for cals, foods, etc you dont need to track everything everyday. Keeps most people I deal with daily honest with themselves about what they are really eating, over eating or not eating and making sure they are not adversely affecting his/her training by lacking in protein carbs and not to forget fats.

I do agree that 1500 cals is too low, esp if you want to build muscle, that is below a cutting figure for you.

9:30am - protein shake (22g) w/ 12oz skim milk + 1tbs all nat pb +1 banana and (multi vit, omega3)
12:30pm - 2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices thin deli turkey, 1 slice non fat cheese
3:30 pre workout 12oz skim milk + protein shake (22g)
5:00 post workout protein shake w/ water + 3 slices white bread
8:00 1 skinless chicken breast +1 cup greens
11:00 fat free cottage cheese (6oz)
1 gal water per day

^^ put an average day into fitday and let me see the macros (Protein/carb/fat %'s)

IMO you need more veggies and healthy fats / EFA's
Stay away from the processed bread products and try to eat better carb sources like sweet/baked potato, brown rice.

You could add a tbsp of anpb to your pre workout shake (NOT post postwork) and maybe some more fat pre bed with the cottage cheese.

 

[masfirme2]

^^ put an average day into fitday and let me see the macros (Protein/carb/fat %'s)

Can you elaborate? Im not sure what you mean... Put an average into fitday, what is fit day? This is what I eat everyday. Im not too savvy on macro's but I will research it on this board and then edit.

(EDIT)---Looked around a little bit and it seems like I will have to calculate exactly how many carbs/protein/fats each meal I have contains. I will get to work and post later

Thanks for the help.

 

[*Bunny*]

^^ put an average day into fitday and let me see the macros (Protein/carb/fat %'s)

Can you elaborate? Im not sure what you mean... Put an average into fitday, what is fit day? This is what I eat everyday. Im not too savvy on macro's but I will research it on this board and then edit.

Thanks for the help.

its a free calorie counter

www.fitday.com

You sign up (free) and plug in your cals to see what your macronutrients are (Protein / Carbs / Fat) takes the guesswork out of it

 

[masfirme2]

its a free calorie counter

www.fitday.com

You sign up (free) and plug in your cals to see what your macronutrients are (Protein / Carbs / Fat) takes the guesswork out of it

Ok. I think im pretty on point with the calculation. It could be slightly off. I noticed some of the items I selected were off a few cal's here and there. I am showing 56-30-14

This is my diet btw, as posted first on page

9:30am - protein shake (22g) w/ 12oz skim milk + 1tbs all nat pb +1 banana and (multi vit, omega3)
12:30pm - 2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices thin deli turkey, 1 slice non fat cheese
3:30 pre workout 12oz skim milk + protein shake (22g)
5:00 post workout protein shake w/ water + 3 slices white bread
8:00 1 skinless chicken breast +1 cup greens
11:00 fat free cottage cheese (6oz)
1 gal water per day

 

[whitedragon]

Up the fat to at least 15-20%. It'll be better in the long run. Trust me, you're getting plenty of protein. Try 50/30/20. The extra fat will help, as long as it's good fat.

 

[masfirme2]

Up the fat to at least 15-20%. It'll be better in the long run. Trust me, you're getting plenty of protein. Try 50/30/20. The extra fat will help, as long as it's good fat.

How shoud I go about adding these extras into my diet?

Thank You.

 

[whitedragon]

Anyway you want. I'll add a tbsp of EFAs or even olive oil to my protein shakes. Olive oil gives it a nutty flavor. I'm a big fan of olive oil, so I put it on chicken, steak sometimes, and in whole wheat pasta to keep my fat up. More ANPB is good too, real good, mmmmm, or fish, if you like it.

 

[masfirme2]

I took some time and put in all of the correct values on fitday.com

I came up with 1697 cal 50/32/18. I need a way to add some calories without screwing up my macros too much?

 

[*Bunny*]

You can play around with the portions sizes you entered... increase the portions since you probably cannot add a meal and see where you end up

 

[crossy]

Welcome to the forums m8.

Persoanlly i would lose the white bread after post training and add some dextrose/glucose. Breakfast i would add some oats/porridge in there somewhere. I see peoples logs cutting logs on here and notice many dont have carbs in the evening time whilst cutting but im unsure of there training times. You train about the same time of day as me and even whilst cutting i still had some good carbs about an hour after training. Probably help you out with your ratios aswell. Maybe add a protein shake before bed aswell.

If you are after burning off some fat aswell your cardio seems a little low 2 miles a week imo is not enough. Try some HIIT cardio as reccomended to me by Bunny whilst i was cutting (theres loads of info around the site or google it). Try to keep your cals around 2200 aswell.

Crossy

 

[masfirme2]

Welcome to the forums m8.

Persoanlly i would lose the white bread after post training and add some dextrose/glucose. Breakfast i would add some oats/porridge in there somewhere. I see peoples logs cutting logs on here and notice many dont have carbs in the evening time whilst cutting but im unsure of there training times. You train about the same time of day as me and even whilst cutting i still had some good carbs about an hour after training. Probably help you out with your ratios aswell. Maybe add a protein shake before bed aswell.

If you are after burning off some fat aswell your cardio seems a little low 2 miles a week imo is not enough. Try some HIIT cardio as reccomended to me by Bunny whilst i was cutting (theres loads of info around the site or google it). Try to keep your cals around 2200 aswell.

Crossy

With my current protein intake im at around 198g/day. If I added another shake i'd be over 200, isn't that bad for a 181lb person?

I have been weighing myself in the mornings after i go #2 . I started 3 weeks ago at around 187.5 and now I am down to 181.5 (give or take a pound). I like the idea of adding some oats in the morning with my shake. To tell you the truth I really am an impatient person and I can't stand sitting on that cardio machine for long periods of time, bores me to death; i'd rather jog and actually get somewhere lol.

I appreciate all the input here, for once in my life I am actually motivated and serious about getting in shape and just want to make sure I am doing everything possible to facilitate the process.

I went to the gym today and totally was outta gas, I was doing chest and running out of energy quick -- maybe It was because I did a hard back workout yesterday and only got 6 hours of sleep.... I am not really taking any supplements, just omega 3's, multi vitamin and whey protein isolate.

Sorry to jump from topic to topic-

Thanks,
Chris.

 

[crossy]

Its good to hear you are motivated m8 and you took a step in the right direction when you joined EF as there is so many people who can help you out here as they did/are for me. Theres so much to learn so just read read and read some more.

Protein intake is roughly right at around 200 you could actually get some more in the ratio should be around 1.5g per 1lb of body weight. You dont have to have the oats with the shake you could have it with milk and maybe have your shake with water? this is what i did no diffrence really just did it for taste purposes. As for cardio like i said check out HIIT you wont be running for to long 30 mins max but you will be truly fucked after doing it and burning more fat than the average jog. If i find the link i will post it later. As for fatigue in workouts could be due to your fitness levels (the cardio will help out here) or energy levels maybe have a bannana before workout. After workout is your shake 44grams of protein or 22grams? personally i would make it 44.

Crossy

 

[masfirme2]

Its good to hear you are motivated m8 and you took a step in the right direction when you joined EF as there is so many people who can help you out here as they did/are for me. Theres so much to learn so just read read and read some more.

Protein intake is roughly right at around 200 you could actually get some more in the ratio should be around 1.5g per 1lb of body weight. You dont have to have the oats with the shake you could have it with milk and maybe have your shake with water? this is what i did no diffrence really just did it for taste purposes. As for cardio like i said check out HIIT you wont be running for to long 30 mins max but you will be truly fucked after doing it and burning more fat than the average jog. If i find the link i will post it later. As for fatigue in workouts could be due to your fitness levels (the cardio will help out here) or energy levels maybe have a bannana before workout. After workout is your shake 44grams of protein or 22grams? personally i would make it 44.

Crossy

Its 22g, check out my diet on page 1. I need about 4-500 cal to get in the 2200 range. Im having a hell of a time trying to figure out how im going to add calories without adding too much fat or losing too much protein. HIIT=hi intensity?

Maybe my fatigue was from staying up all night saturday and all day sunday and drinking - i didnt have a problem at the gym on monday, maybe the loss of sleep caught up with my today though..

Thanks,

Chris

 

[masfirme2]

Talked to some body building guy in the gym yesterday and he told me 1800 cal is maint. and I wont put on an oz of muscle. Would I be better off bulking for a while and then cutting? He claims I should eat around 3200 cal to bulk..