Novice's Diet

[Lonsdale]

Hi, i'm 22yr male just starting out in weights etc. My goal is mainly to build quality lean muscle - ideally 10lbs in the medium to long term future.

i'm 5*11 and 150lbs. i was wondering what ppl thought of my current diet? I follow this 5-6 days a week with sat or sun being the cheat day, altho i'll always try to keep my protein intake greater or equal to 150g.

7 am Breakfast:
Hot Oats
Protein Shake (50g p, 0carb 2g fat)
1 teaspoon flax oil
500 ml water
1-2 servings fruit

9.30am Meal 2*
Protein Shake 25g p, 0 carb, 1g fat
1 Banana

12.00 Meal 3
1 200g tin tuna (50g p)
1 large baked potato
500ml water

2.30 Meal 4*
1 protein shake (25g p 0c 1f)
handful almonds

5.00 Meal 5
2 chicken breasts or steaks (50g p...)
Leafy salad with little olive oil/lemon dressing
500ml water

8.00 Meal 6 (workout 3 times a wk so this is also post workout meal)
1 protein shake (25g p 0c 1f)

*please note meals 2 + 4 are in a work or uni environment hence no cooked food etc. i always make sure to have around 3 litres of water a day and one or two black coffees in the morning to stop me eating crap.

any comments?

 

[HERPECIN]

first off


your post workout "meal" is a mere protein shake


you will be in a catabolic state all night long

 

[calitrainman]

If what you want to do is put on size (and you don't mind having it come on more slowly), keep with that diet and keep your protein up.....like your doing. Make sure you're running a little bit of a calorie-surplus at the end of the day (around 250-500cals/day extra).

Without seeing your workout routine, it's kindof hard to say much about your diet and whether something in it should be changed or not. How long are workouts? What specifically is "medium to long-term future?" Is time an issue or not? Setting a solid goal will help when trying to critique diet.

For bulking, I've noticed significant gains from high-volume, low rep sets vs. low-volume, high rep sets (i choose this routine only when cutting). Rest or "light cardio" days inbetween lifting days has worked best for me as far as recovery is concerned (need time to heal up what u tear down in the gym)

Try to stay away from coffee (unless decaffeinated)....is a stimulant and temporarily speeds the metabolism meaning more energy burned (if time is a factor in ur 10lb lean mass gain goal, stimulants may be somewhat counter-productive)

 

[Lonsdale]

thanks for your comments guys.

i'm working out three times a week for an hour (mon wed fri normally)- biceps/arms/forearms day 1, legs day 2, chest/back/shoulders day three. stay mainly in the 8-10 rep range, 4 exercises x 3 sets for major body parts, 3 exercises * 3 sets for the biceps/triceps/arms.

i do ab work on two of the "off" days - just 4 sets * 20 crunches. no cardio altho i walk alot.

my goal is about ten pounds of lean muscle in a year - so that should be very attainable, especially as i'm just starting out.

in response to the comment that my post workout drink is just a protein shake, could i just add oats to the shake to make it a more nutritious post workout drink?

 

[TexChiro]

At your age and weight, you can probably add a good 5lbs of solid muscle (along with fat bulk) in 3 months. However, you should increase your good carb intake and add plenty of high glycemic carbs after your workout. I'd throw in 60-100g of dextrose with your post workout drink. Also, you want plenty of growth during your sleep so intake slow acting protein (proteinfactory's aussie casseinate is great and cheap) right before bed.

When I was 19, I went from 155-160 up to 195 in six months. Plenty of fat but a ton of good clean muscle (went up only a pant size or two). My formula was heavy training in a power cage with basic low rep movements to failure, lots of sleep, and heavy duty nutrition. I was determined. I woke up in the middle of the night to down another protein-carb shake.