Nutrition Help
Hey guys so I've been getting some conflicting info on nutrition and I'm looking for you guys to shed some light on this for me. I was doing a cut for a while and got down to about 17% which was the lowest I've ever been and I know thats not saying much but the lower I started getting I started to look frail and sickly. I dropped 25 lbs and got really weak. if i got down to 12-13% I'd probably look like a cancer patient so I'm wanting to bulk up and add some quality muscle before I do a cut. Mind you I scratched everything I thought I new, I'm under the impression that I don't know shit as of right now except for the things that Makwa has told me. Now my diet yesterday consisted of:
Meal 1: 2 packets of oatmeal and a 9 oz ribeye
Meal 2: 6 hardboiled whole eggs and a bagel with cream cheese
Meal 3: 6 oz chicken and 1c rice w/ red sauce
Meal 4: Bagel with cream cheese
Post workout shake: 16 oz of liquid eggwhites w/ 1 scoop whey isolate and 1 scoop Karbolyn
Meal 5: 6 oz chicken and 1c rice w/ red sauce
1/2 gallon of chocolate milk and 1 gallon of whatever throughout the day
My total macros were 305 g protein, 454 g carbs, 140 g fats 4377 calories
Now I know most of your aren't a fan of the Karbolyn and opt in for real food however I figured it'd be ok seeing as I only do it post workout and my next whole meal is 1 hr later. Now a buddy of mine from back home sent me a meal plan that he claims to have used. He's about 192 lbs but looks a solid 225 and he's about 12% body fat and he's strong as hell. Max's are 405 bench, 700 squat, 595 deadlift and 225 overhead press. So me not being remotely close to where he's at I really don't feel inclined to argue with him should I not have sufficient evidence to prove otherwise. Now this is his proposed meal plan:
Meal 1: 2 scoops whey and 1 c oats
Meal 2: 6 oz chicken and 95 g rice
Meal 3: 6 oz ground turkey and 4 oz sweet potato
Meal 4: 6 oz chicken and 95 g rice
Post Workout Shake: 2 scoops of whey with 5 g of creatine
If you guys could shed some light on this I'd really appreciate it. I want to get this right. Also keep in mind that this is just the starting point for me and I would like to increase my carbs to 500 and calories to 5k. Thanks everyone!
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Can you post an unidentifiable pic? Query Harris Benedict Equation and calculate your BMR with and without activity? Bring that number back here and we can rework your macros. I'll be back....
Are you endo, meso, ecto, or a mix? Is your metabolism slow, or fast?
StatsAge: 26Height: 5'11"Weight: 187BF: 20%
Posted the picture.
I grew up being an ecto but I'm not sure what to consider myself at this point. I'd say my metabolism is moderate-fast.
BMR: 1,956 calories
Current caloric intake needs (calculate with the Harris Benedict Equation):
Sedetary - 2,347.2
Very active - 3,374.1
You're on the right path. You have to find out what works for you. You may try several different diets and find out two work well for the way you are lifting, or vice versa...regardless...it's individualistic...designed for you...Query blood type diets and see what type of foods are recommended for your blood type...
I saw your cycle Hx. What were your stats prior to cycling and how long and "intensely focused" were you with your lifting regimens? Consider your family Hx (ie) diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, HTN, kidney disease, etc. prior to further cycles. You've introduced quite a cocktail of synthetic hormones. Your body needs A LOT of time to recover; hopefully, you can recover. However, without pre-cycle BW, it's hard to know a baseline. You will need routine bloodwork. You are too young for TRT. Can you get any BW data?
I can get it done I just have to see how it works with my new insurance. I'm sure I can get my pcp to prescribe the test and my insurance covers all lab work at 100%.
You're blessed, bro..
Sounds like a plan...
Yea just have to manipulate the system a bit so I don't have to get an endo to prescribe it because that can be a 3 month wait in and of itself just for the appointment where I live.
Big Murph is right on.
What's your height and weight?
Training Split?
Are you doing cardio while Bulking?
Right now 5'11" and 185 lbs. I'm not doing cardio since I'm trying to get size. Training split is as follows:
Monday- lower body
Tuesday- upper body
Wednesday- arms
Thursday- posterior chain
Friday- upper body
Saturday- shoulders
I do a chest and bicep regimen. Bicep curls focusing on negatives with straight/curl bars with 65-75-85lbs about 6-10 reps. With heavy weight, I dont fully extend my arms and I've been working with different grips lately....
Biceps curls with DB are good, too. BENCH PRESS, WEIGHTED PUSH UPS, INCLINE DB PRESS, DB FLYS, CONCENTRATION CURLS, etc. All these are good chest regimens....
Just pm'd you my whole routine planned out
Do legs two times per 7 day period...if you can get TBAR ROWS, BENT OVER ROWS, DL, WEIGHTED PULL UPS, & OVERHEAD DB PULLOVERS done 1-2 times per week for your back, you'll start to even out. Delts and tris....I'd start hittin triceps pull down every time you're in the gym, along with calves...weighted push ups are good to warm up with along with forearms, too, which hits the tris...20-30 pounds on lateral delts focusing on the negative. I like slow reps and 20 lbs., while working up to 35 bilaterally reps probably 6 at that point based off rest, body and mind.
Wow 4300cals is a lot for your weight, bf, and height.
If you were a triathlete training 4300 would be ok.
Starting point....
You're going to have to figure out what works for you NC you don't have someone doing your programming.
I'd start off around 250g Protein 300g Carbs 50g Fats
2700 Cals roughly.
On leg days I'd add 50g carbs extra around workout. See how you respond with that diet. Adjust carbs first. You may need a touch more fat depending on how you're responding. But that's the base I'd start younout on.
See I was told when I got here initially that I was only eating 2900 calories which is basically maintenance and that if I wanted to grow I'd have to eat around 4K cal a day which was why I started learning to force down food and not worrying about gaining fat through the bulk so I could eat things that tasted good (hence the cinnamon raisin bagels with honey walnut cream cheese). These were the suggestions given to me. It was also suggested that I come off the sauce and figure this aspect out. I appreciate you going through this with me and will definitely be taking your advice!
I think the 2900 cal range split the right way(macros) is good for you to gain. Your weight isn't as much of a factor as your lean body mass. You want to feed the muscle you have and slowly gain weight the right way. When cutting a lot of fat, you'll lose some muscle, and the more fat you have to lose the more muscle you're at risk of losing. The problem is a lot op people don't take the time to gain lean muscle mass, they just want to gain weight. But if you gain fat you're right back to where you were. Fat.
Gain lean muscle mass. Diet is everything.
Definitely see where you're going with that and thank you for responding!
bigmurphFirst you should figure out how you want your diet and plan your macros. Then figure out how many meals then break it down into how much per meal. I would also set a strong goal but be realistic it can't always be reached but you want to definitely try your hardest to hit your numbers.
Its hard for me to follow these plans i see i can't eat the same meals day in and day out. I always meal prep but I keep it mixed up so im not always eating the same meal at the same time.
Plan a ton of meals figure out all there nutrition and then start making these meals in bulk then prep and as you go through your day grab the container and you know exactly what the nutrition in it is and just add up your days.
Starting with nutrition is perfect but you also have to get off the gear and get natty time in. Just keep eating alot of protein and keep it clean keep your fats and carbs not high but not way low so you still have energy and you can get in the gym and kill the weight but still lean out and gain your frame over time.
Thats all it really is time the more you put in the more you get out.
Great ideas
Been off for about 2 months now. Just worrying about food and training right now and thank you I really appreciate your input!
I think your first diet is a bit too high for you.
I'd dial it back a bit, I'd rather see English muffins in place of the bagel. 2 English muffins are 52g a bagel is around 54g carbs depending on brand.
Also do t know what chocolate mix is.
But 4300 Cals is high and you're already higher bf%.
The second diet will lean you. It's carbs at are at 20-25 per meal.
Not even close to
Same diets.
Everything I had was literally all the drugs I was on. The minute I took the drugs out everything went with it so I have no foundation.
I meant to say chocolate milk not mix. Sorry. But what do you think should be adjusted? My only reasoning like I said for bulking currently is because of what happened when I started to cut. The cut did its job but I got embarrassingly weak which leads me to believe I don't have enough lean mass to cut yet. But even though the second diet looks like a cut I think that's just the starting point and we'll be adding more food each weak to kind of taper up to it