Im gonna start the Max OT training but what should i look to be eating all day long. I work 9-5. Im 22, 180lbs. Was 165 when 19 and 210 when 17 and 18 so my weight fluctuates. Im quiting booze for a while and see what happens. Now. Im gonna prolly be hitting up the store tonight or tommorow and stocking up on things. What should i be picking up and also eating during the day. What during what meal. A sample day would be great. Something that worked for you that i could try.

Bulking?

Yes. Something that will let me grow while cutting my bodyfat.

well... have u cutt yet? because trying to cutt and get big are kind of opposites and are hard to do togeather...

Cut?? Ok i think im confuses. Im gonna start doing the Max-ot workout, and want to know what to eat to get get stronger and cutter. Turn my extra fat into muscle. I see that eating around 2000 calories was recommened. I weight 180lbs. Used to weight 215 during football way back, but i just lost weight somehow. Im stupid when it comes to these things.

Basically what im asking is should i bulk or cut. Im guessing bulk. Now if im bulking to gain mass while staying between 180-200 whats a good split for me 40-40-20. Ive been reading that 5-6 meals a day is ideal. Now in these meals what should i be eating. I mean like 4 cans of tuna a day 2 pieces of chicken breat etc. I have the money to buy things i need, i just need a sample of what to eat during the day. I really want to get bigger while retaing a good weight yet changing the fat to muscle and lowering my bf%. What should i be drinking? Do you guys eat the same thing every day? How many calories should i be getting. Im really looking foward to stopping drinking or cutting it down and being able to look good for spring :drool: Can you guys point me in the direction of a planned out meal plan. Ill eat just about anything. I want to start this thing soon
Theres a current picture of me.

get about 1.5lbs of protein per lb of LBM, 20-25% fat, and the rest carbs
you can have some more protein if you dont wanna take in so many carbs, but you really dont need it

get about 1.5lbs of protein per lb of LBM, 20-25% fat, and the rest carbs
you can have some more protein if you dont wanna take in so many carbs, but you really dont need it

Yea ive seen people saying though like 300 calories, 300 grams of protien and 180grams of carbs
now what are some foods to eat during meals for maximum results
Also how much fat. Ive seen 6 meal plans. Anyones that stand out

Here's a sample of one day of meals for me on a lifting day...this has allowed me to do the oft-thought-impossible task of gaining muscle and losing fat, cause my scale weight has not changed in 6 weeks, but there's no way I havent gotten leaner, I can see muscles I could never see before...(up until about a week ago, I was convinced I didnt have lat muscles :p )
Anywho, here's a day for me:

Meal 1 (8:30): Protien Pancake (whole grain pancake mix, eggs, whey powder & flax oil) 4 eggs, scrambled (1 whole egg, 3 whites) 8 oz water

Meal 2 (10:30): Another Protien Pancake...more water

Meal 3 (12:45ish): 1 cup brown rice, steamed veggie, 4 oz (or so) chicken breast...more water

Meal 4 (4:00): The rest of what I cooked for meal 3 (generally a slightly larger meal, since I will be lifting about an hour after this meal)............more water

5:30 - Workout
PWO Shake - 1 scoop whey (20g protien) 5 rolls Smarties (30g dextrose)

Meal 5: (6:30ish) A variety of things...(GF cooks dinner :drool: ) usually a chicken breast (roughly 8 oz) and some form of complex carbs (brown rice, yams, whole wheat pasta...etc) and steamed broccoli/carrots/whatever veggies we have around drizzled in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for those who dont watch Rachel Ray :p )....more water (anyone sensing a theme here??)

Meal 6 (9:00): 1 oz. cashew nuts and a double-scoop whey shake

For me (165 lbs, 5'10" 24 year old male) this is right about where I want to be for a cutting phase (actually, I'm taking in a little more than I should for a dedicated cut, but thats coming soon...)

Check out the Nutrition Guide for Weight Loss at the top of the fat loss thread and get yourself some numbers to start with and check your food lables and see what you can come up with to get to those numbers. For your weight, its probably going to be roughtly 400 calories per meal, spread out over 5-6 meals. The macronutrient ratios are really up to you and your goals (more about this in the Nutrition Guide)

Anywho, when I started about 6 weeks ago, I looked very similar to what you do in your pic. While I'm not where I want to be yet, I have seen AMAZING results in just 6 weeks, and all I did was change my diet. Its so important to eat clean and eat to support what you put your body through in the gym...I only wish I had learned it sooner!

Anywho, :gl: and keep us posted

Tanis

so you eat that everyday??? How much protien,calories, fat and carbs is that?

I mean i should just follow what you eat and add a few more things to accomadate my weight of around 15lbs more than you.

See the problem with me is i read this stuff, then look at other peoples meal plans and cant come up with something. If you were my personal trainer what would you tell me to eat if you constructed me a meal plan.

Im 6' 180lbs and damn sexy (had to add that). I got the 5-6 meal thing down. I want to increase muscl mass and decrease body fat. Im going to the store tonight so i want to know what to pick up.

well, first and foremost, get some chicken...lots, and lots of chicken. I usually go through about 10 chicken breasts in under a week. its cheap, easy to cook and a great source of lean protien.

next on the list would be rice...the browner the better. I know some people cant stand brown rice...if you're one of these people, white rice is OK, IMO...but the browner and wholer (thats not a word...the more whole perhaps?) your foods are, the better they are for you.

after that, go for the veggies...fresh are better, but not everyone has the time to cut, steam, clean....blahblahblah all that stuff, so canned are fine also, just be aware that you'll be taking in more salt that way then you would if you ate them out of the ground.

Get yourself some good whey protien powder too...I dont think you'll find it possible to get enough protien without supplementing it. look for something with at least 20g per serving.

as far as "snacking" goes, nuts are great...both protien and fat in a calorie dense little package...just watch how many you eat. i myself measure out exactly 1 oz and put the can back to avoid eating more than i should. I'm also a fan of carrots & celery with a little dressing of your choice, just dont overdo the dressing.

I dont think i mentioned eggs...gotta have eggs. personaly, i go through at least 6 of em a day. Granted, thats only 2 whole ones and 4 whites...but still...eggs are CHEAP and a good source of protien.

Damn near everyone here will tell you that plain oatmeal (you know...raw oats right out of the can) are the best breakfast, and from a nutritional standpoint, i have to agree...but i hate them...with a passion. There's a cereal made by Kashi called GoLean Crunch thats pretty darn good (its really nothing more than a big bowl of fiber...) and I've had some good experience with whole grain and/or buckwheat pancake mix...you can experiment and make all kinds of stuff with pancake mix. (hint...it mixes well with whey powder :D )

Basically, just check your lables while at the store...try and stay away from anything that has ANY added sugar, all that does is give you excess calories and not real nutritional value. I'm going to Marcus' post a little later (starting a more focused, calorie-counting type of cutting diet next week) so when i plug in my numbers and get all that info, i'll plug in yours too and post them for ya.

And yes.....I eat that everyday. :eat: It breaks down to 2300 calories, 165g protien, 50g fat & ~290g carbs. Those are rough numbers, and as i said, i'll fine tune it more later today. Admitedly, its a bit of a pain at first, and you cant really expect to just jump in to it full bore and expect to have it stick...it takes time and patience. but after a few weeks, it will become habit. I also have the benefit of having a job that has a fridge and lets me take a break whenever i need to to go eat. If your schedule doesnt permit this, i'd suggest tupperware. :p

Yea i usually buy 5lb tubs of Optinum Nutrition chocolot. Pretty good stuff
Servings Per Container: 77
Nutritional:
Calories 110
Calories from Fat 15
Total Fat 1.5 g 2%*
Saturated Fat 1 g 5%*
Cholesterol 25 mg 8%*
Total Carbohydrate 2.5 g 1%*
Sugars 1 g
Protein 22 g 44%*
Minerals:
Calcium 168 mg 17%*
Sodium 55 mg 2%*
Potassium 220 mg 6%*
Suggested Use: Take 2-3 servings daily
Serving Size: 28.4g (one scoop)
Chocolate shown. Slight variations may occur among flavors.

So what if i follow what you eat? Maybe add a few more eggs in there or chicken. BTW shouldnt u have more like 300grams of protien and 180 grams of carbs

Here's some numbers to get you started...

As a 22 year old male, 6' 180 lbs...and factoring in your excercise program, the amount of calories you need daily to maintian your current weight is 3021. To lose 1 pound a week (I wouldnt go over that...you'll end up losing more muscle than fat) you need to cut 500 off of that number. rounded down, you're looking at 2500 calories per day...since i was there and looking at the formulas, i broke down the macros for ya too... it looks like this

2500 calories
180g protien
55g fat
318g carbos
(about 29% protien, 20% fat, 51% carbs)

as a comparison...here's my stats as a 24 year old male, 5'10" 165 lbs

2300 calories
165g protien
50g fat
293g carbos

anywho, I hope this helps...it helped me a great deal. if nothing else, it will give you a place to start. the numbers are nothing more than an aproximation...every body is different and will react to training/dieting differently. you'll have to experiment to find what works best for you. use the experiment time to find what kinds/portions/recipies you can eat to fill these guidelines and go from there

:gl:
Tanis

"BTW shouldnt u have more like 300grams of protien and 180 grams of carbs?"

Not in my opinion...300g of protien a day is a waste (your body will turn excess protien into fat), and low carb diets are crap...the timing of how and what you eat is important, but i wouldnt get too concerned with that yet...I'm still playing with that issue myself. read around the boards and try to get SwoleCat's or KarateTricker's ear for some good info on that subject

ok cool. Hows cheeses??? Worth it? Like blocks of chedder?

while i'm not a big cheese fan...i dont see why it would be a problem, just so long as you account for the cals and carbs and all that jazz in your daily intake...when it all boils down, the best foods for your meal plan are the ones you'll actually eat. is oatmeal better than Kashi GoLean? yeah probably...but i'll eat Kashi, so it wins. at least its not Sugar O's or something equally as processed and sugarized

your diet looks good, i would add in some omega-3 fats, try supplementing with fish-oils or having salmon for dinner (slap your GF and tell her to cook salmon damn it.... or just open a can :p)

however if i were you i would have oatmeal for breakfast, oats are a breakfast for champions, eat up!

also i dont belive in eating "leftovers" for a meal, because there shouldnt be any leftover from each mean, you finish all your meals, then you have another fully planned meal next! none leftover :D

post-workout, you need more carbs, throw in a potato, rice, oats, skim milk after your workout

Nice 2-6oz cans chunck light tuna for $1 today at the grocery store. Gotta grab that!!!

Man this is gonna be hard putting together a meal plan. Im ordering more protien today :db: I have so many packets of quaker regular oatmeal in my cabinet. Everyone ate the good ones, left the regular.
Seriously though. So i guess from reading i need to get
Eggs
Tuna
Chicken Breast
Whey Protien
Wheat Bread
Brown Rice
A water tower

What else am i missing? Do i need other sourced of protien or carbs or calories

a water tower..... :lol:

yeah, your list looks about right...like taffer said, i would add some fish in there once or twice a week too...(i LOVE salmon...but i have to cook it myself...GF doesnt like fish)

like i said, its going to be kind of a pain at first, but it will become routine if you stick to it. what i did to make it eaiser on myself...i need 2300 cals/day...2300/6=383 calories per meal. so what i did is come up with some "recipies" that equal that number of cals, using those foods you have listed. ~4oz of chicken and 1 cup brown rice for example. or my protien pancake...i forget exactly what that breaks down to, but its perfect for breakfast & second breakfast. experiment and enjoy what you're eating...you'll never stick to it if you hate all the foods!

naw i eat everything. Almost nothing i dont like except olives. THEY SUCK :d_eek: Have you done the Max-ot routine?? And were the effects incredible?

i'n not too sure what the Max OT program is...
What I've been doing for the past month or so is compound excercises that work a large amount of muscle (bench, pull-ups, squats, power cleans, deadlift, chin-ups...that sort of thing) and doing HEAVY weights at 5 sets of 5 (or six...depends on how i feel at the end of the set)

Ok so if i eat the amount you said, and do the max ot workout which is found on the front page under training, i will turn this extra fat into lean muscle and stayaround the same weight? Also how much sodium is to much sodium?