Diet for gym? Suggestions please! :)

Tuna, eggs and egg beaters mix, oatmeal (steel cut is better, a little more time to make), chicken, spinach, protein powder. Last time I watched my body, I was eating basically this, I still drank a lot of vodka daily, I was able to lose a lot of weight and put on a lot of muscle. Dropped around 25 pounds while putting on muscle. I gave up soda and fast food though, I live in Los Angeles and this is not as easy as it sounds living here in the world of fat. I was running 5 miles, 4 times a week, and 30 minutes lifting weights 5 times a week as well.

Not sure what you have available in India, but you want to eat as lean as possible with taking in as little carbs as you can. Think of this like SEO, you need different colored hats working for your body all at once. You need to take in less calories then you give out, and depending on how you go about this the better it is for your body. Starving yourself from certain foods will get you sandboxed immediately and it takes time which so many people want the quick fix.

Milk + Banana is a bad combination as it can increase your weight instead of decreasing. Instead of Banana go for Apple or some other fruit. I normally have Juices + fruits + Salads after my hardcore gym regime.

Abstroose, do you have time for an online consultation? I'm looking to start also a "gym plan" because I'm kinda skinny and I don't like myself.

I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Rippetoe workout/diet plan for bulking up. It is IMO the best workout plan/diet for anyone starting out. You can check it out here:


While doing this, eat clean, eat LOTS (3000+ calories) and eat often. As for protein, it is essential for muscle repair and making them bigger. The best time to get your protein is right after a workout. Personally I use Promasil, however, it's pretty expensive, so a good old fashioned whey would be fine.

Also, do yourself a favour and get a good multivitamin and a fish oil supplement. You may not see or feel a difference using them, but I just feel like they are good to have.

Once you start seeing some decent results you may also want to consider a creatine supplement. Creatine will basically allow you to lift a little bit more which will get your muscles bigger, faster.

Anyway, good luck with your goals. One more tip though, just like IM, there's not one set way to do things. You have to find what works best for you. Do your research and again, just like IM, TAKE ACTION (bet nobody's ever heard that line before).

Cheers,
xxf8xx

If you are looking to bulk, you must remember the three golden rules: EAT, EAT, EAT!!! A lot of people don't eat enough and they wonder why they don't see results.. so even if you feel full, you need to eat more..I'd recommend teaching yourself to eat faster so that by the time you feel full you've eaten considerably more food than you usually would have.

portugalkix said:

Abstroose, do you have time for an online consultation? I'm looking to start also a "gym plan" because I'm kinda skinny and I don't like myself.

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I too . Need to increase weight

my diet usually and im pretty in shape

breakfest 9am-ish

oatmeal
banna

sometime inbetween
a protien shake

lunch 1pm-ish
2 chicken breast
corn/barcorilli
beans with cheese
large tea

sometime inbetween
a protien shake

dinner 6pm-ish
Tuna sandwhiches or with crackers
a large cup of water

before workout a protein shake

{workout}

after workout a protien shake.


this is usually my diet, alot of fat is cut out big time where we get the fat from is the protien shake, I no pro at this but this is what I do and it works for me. I also work like the hulk when I do it. Usually I never diet but soetime I go hard and need to loose like 10 pounds so I can look pretty cut when I take my shirt off in the summer for the bitchies and this is what I do, I usally stick to this the whole summer havented started yet but will start on may 1st/

Thanks for all suggestions buddies

extremephp, will be nice to know your latest choice since you want to bulk up. I'm in the same boat. Thanks

I had to gain weight 4 years ago cause of an overactive thyroid issue which caused me to lose weight way too fast.

The one thing that worked BEST for me while going to the gym was nuts/peanut butter. It was easy to get sufficient calories with nuts and they do have some protein as well.

I would make large mixes of nuts and dried fruits to snack on all throughout the day while working to reach my calorie goals set by the doctor.

I did have to drink a protein shake as well which I thought were nasty. Peanut butter mixed it made it better but YUCK!

extremephp said:

Oh! I am sorry, I meant to post this thread in Bodybuilding.com and I accidently posted it here thinking it was the other site.

Dude, come on.

But I am sorry if this thread pissed you off. But I dont really get frustrated on the threads posted in the Lounge. Moreover, I didnt post this in Blackhat SEO subforum

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That's not the point. See what jon said below.

jon_xx_x said:

Rule 1, don't come to a blackhat SEO forum for advice. 95% of people don't know what they're doing with SEO nevermind their bodies

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You need to eat a lot and frequently. Eat every two to three hours, goal is never to be hungry. Also make sure all your meals include protein, carbs in the morning and for lunch, if you're looking to bulk up lean mass, discard carbs from your diet in the late afternoon and in the evening. Include protein shakes after and before workouts and in-between meals when you don't have time to eat something substancial. Get rid of sugars (candies, cookies, cakes etc.). Before sleep, eat low fat cottage cheese or casein shake to keep your body fed during the night time. 1g protein per 1lb of body mass is a must, and so is 8 hour sleep and a challenging workout routine which should be 4 times a week tops as you don't want to overtrain yourself. That's about it, no big mysteries, just discipline and hard work. Good luck

portugalkix said:

extremephp, will be nice to know your latest choice since you want to bulk up. I'm in the same boat. Thanks

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I bought a Whey Protein pack of 2lbs as the first step. I am yet to receive it. + I am going to get to a better routine very soon. I am eating more than what I was having before. Also consuming some nuts and stuff.

I think thats it for now.

Move in with some italians, food becomes more important than everything else. If eating a diet of pizza,pasta,arancini and risotto doesn't fatten you up i don't know what will. Thats before the salumis and various other pig meats.

Whey in my opinion is rubbish, just eat cream cheese instead and lots of it. Add milk to your diet, when eating drink some sort of milk instead of fizzy drinks or water I used to weigh about 135-140lb now i'm up to just under 190lb

Who cares what the weight scale says? -NO ONE except the "NUTRION SPECIALIST, PERSONAL TRAINERS" and all those that make a living telling other people how to lift weights, while they're boney (most of the time) and have no clue what it means to build muscle or for this matter, losing weight. Look in the mirror and do a weekly picture progress.

Here's a few guidelines:
-No carbs after 6PM.
-Your diet should consist of mainly protein. To make yourself full throw in vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, salad etc.).
-Do your 30 min. mandatory cardio. You should be hitting around 3-5 KM on the treadmill or 4-6 Miles on the eliptical
-Pump for 60 minutes a day.

What people fail to know is the AFTERBURN effect from the cardio sessions. They're crucial. It is about raising your BMR and not focusing on the micro-issues (how many egg yolks you having? - wtf? Read on the net that too many will increase your cholesterol. It's a given).

And your diet given above is too vague. We don't know you, we don't know your stats and more importantly we don't know how your body responds - only you do.

If you have money available, purchase shakes. You can get cheap, high carb high protein shakes on the net. Have 1 with breakfast, one after workout, one 30 minutes before bed.

Make sure you put everything into your workouts, but also your diet too.
I once heard that great workouts and an average diet will make the same result as an average workout and a great diet.

MrSmith said:

Who cares what the weight scale says? -NO ONE except the "NUTRION SPECIALIST, PERSONAL TRAINERS" and all those that make a living telling other people how to lift weights, while they're boney (most of the time) and have no clue what it means to build muscle or for this matter, losing weight. Look in the mirror and do a weekly picture progress.

Here's a few guidelines:
-No carbs after 6PM.
-Your diet should consist of mainly protein. To make yourself full throw in vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, salad etc.).
-Do your 30 min. mandatory cardio. You should be hitting around 3-5 KM on the treadmill or 4-6 Miles on the eliptical
-Pump for 60 minutes a day.

What people fail to know is the AFTERBURN effect from the cardio sessions. They're crucial. It is about raising your BMR and not focusing on the micro-issues (how many egg yolks you having? - wtf? Read on the net that too many will increase your cholesterol. It's a given).

And your diet given above is too vague. We don't know you, we don't know your stats and more importantly we don't know how your body responds - only you do.

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More brutal advice.

Well, OP it depends on your weight and goals.

Let's say you weigh 175lbs. Thus, to maintain weight at 175lbs you need a caloric intake of around 2700 calories, granted you have a somewhat active lifestyle. If not, lower it to 2600 or so per day. Say you want to hit around 200lbs, you will need around 3100 calories. You want roughly 50% of your calories to be carbs, 30% to be protein, and 20% to be fat. So you will want around 170g of protein, 300g of carbs, and about 80g of fat per day. It is generally recommended to space out your protein intake throughout the day so I would suggest eating 5 meals.

Meal 1:

2 slices whole wheat bread w/sardines
1 cup of nonfat greek yogurt
1 fruit
1 cup of oatmeal

700 calories

Meal 2:

2-3 eggs (or 3-4 egg whites)
1 fruit
8oz glass of whole milk

400-500 calories

Workout

Meal 3:

Protein shake (1 scoop of protein)
1 serving steamed brown rice w/beans or whatever
1 cup of oatmeal

600-800 calories

Meal 4:

8-10oz Salmon or chicken breast or occasionally steak or lamb
Side of vegetables such as broccoli and corn
1 baked potato
Fruit juice

1000 calories

Meal 5:

Small snack of choice
8oz milk with 1 scoop of protein powder

200-400 calories

Here you have fruits and vegetables for glycogen production, antioxidants, etc. Then you have complex carbs from the brown rice and whole wheat bread along with simple carbs from the fruit juice. You have plenty of good quality protein from yogurt, beans, meat, etc. and 2 scoops of whey throughout the day. You have some fat from the whole milk and the yogurt. Your caloric intake throughout the day based on what I gave will be around 2500-3200 or so roughly. Then just follow a 5 day split routine such as MadCows starting strength. Focus on compound lifts and PERFECT FORM, going nice and slow, 2sec up, 1 sec contraction, 3 sec down. (Depends on the exercise). If you don't have perfect form and a good diet, then don't even bother. Recovery and sleep is very important too. Working out 1x a week, 2x a week max is way better than 3x or 4x a week. Your muscles grow when you sleep, not in the gym.

Hope this helps anyone that may be trying to get mass.

Focus on recovery.. and for recovery protein alone is not good.. You need to have sufficient quantities of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals.

1) Avoid Rice (however if you like rice then go for brown rice), and go for finger millet, Oat meal or whole wheat. Fiber is very important for people in body building. It ensures slow and continuous release of glucose to the body.
2) Drink a liter or more of Reduced milk, but don't go for fat free.. Fat is important as milk has added vitamin A and D, both fat soluble vitamins.. yogurt/buttermilk churned from yogurt is better as it helps in your digestion as well as overall assimilation of nutrition.
3) Like you said bananas are good.. also have a variety of fruits.
4) Drink good amount water. Especially start a day with 2-4 liters of water.. You can also drink tender coconut water, that helps you with maintaining good potassium to sodium ratio in the body (important for body builder).

P.S: avoid taking egg whites alone.. It is true that egg white is full of protein and no fat however it has huge amount of anti-nutrients packed in it and can prevent the body from absorbing many vitamins and other nutrients. If you want to have eggs have them along with the yolk.

Edit: Don't give too much of importance for calories.. The quality of the food is more important than calories.. a spoon of dextrose has the same calorie count as corresponding amount of honey or jaggery. but while honey and jaggery is good for you dextrose/refined sugar is not. The same things goes with refined wheat and whole wheat. In theory dietary fiber & protein too add to the calorie count, however they are not used as energy sources in the body under normal circumstances. So worry less about the calories and focus on the quality of food you take.

you need to start eating huge amounts of protein: chicken breast, tunafish (and a burger once in a while), eggs are good too. drink plenty of water so you don't get kidney stones, though. also, lift like a beast...focus on bench and squat to build mass, do supersets, and throw in some static contractions.

if that fails, try injecting elephant growth hormone....of course, you have to fly to africa and kill and elephant first.