Hey all, I have been working out hard the last two weeks. Last year I remember I made great gains from April to July (went form 155ish to 170ish) but I have plateaued at 172. This is what my average (it varies a little of course) diet is, I am trying to keep as clean as possible but maybe I should boost the calories?

The meals are sometimes changed around

Meal 1: (breakfast, 9:00 AM)
4 egg whites, two yolks, brown rice (like a fistful), 1 serving fat free cheese (damn good stuff), veggies

Meal 2: (11:00 AM)
1 serving oatmeal in ff milk, 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter (somwhere between), 1 scoop nitrean in ff milk (8-10 oz)

Meal 3: (2:00 PM)
2 serving chicken or turkey breast, 2 slices whole wheat bread (180 calories, 30 g carb), salsa or honey mustard, raw spinach, sometimes swiss cheese (6 g fat, 90 calories)

Meal 4 (5:00 PM)
3/4 can tuna (like 30g protein, 140 cals), fistful brown rice, salsa or honey mustard, 1 tbsp peanut butter, ff milk

Meal 5 (8:00 PM)
Brown rice, lentil soup, a cooked vegetable, 2 Morningstar Grillers veggies burgers (30 g protein, 12 g fat, 260 cals total), glass of orange juice,

Meal 6(11:30 PM)
Either:
Nitrean in 8-10 oz ff milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter with 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice)
Or:
Cottage cheese (>2 servings, 30 g protein approx.), 2 tbsp peanut butter on 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice), 10 oz ff milk

I also eat around 2 bananas a day and a protein bar sometimes (Met-Rx, 190 cals).

Any ideas on how I should improve this? I feel I should eat more but I am running out of ideas for foods...

Thanks!
6' 2''-3'' 173 lbs, 10-15 % BF, 17 years old

Could be cleaned up a bit- you should really post totals when giving your diet. Do the footwork so we can really evaluate what you're eating.

What's your daily total?

Go to t-nation.com or johnberardi.com and read some articles on nutrition.

BTW, there's a big difference between 10%bf and 15%. It also doesn't appear that you have a PWO shake. Are you lifting at all? What's your routine like?


Hey all, I have been working out hard the last two weeks. Last year I remember I made great gains from April to July (went form 155ish to 170ish) but I have plateaued at 172. This is what my average (it varies a little of course) diet is, I am trying to keep as clean as possible but maybe I should boost the calories?

The meals are sometimes changed around

Meal 1: (breakfast, 9:00 AM)
4 egg whites, two yolks, brown rice (like a fistful), 1 serving fat free cheese (damn good stuff), veggies

Meal 2: (11:00 AM)
1 serving oatmeal in ff milk, 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter (somwhere between), 1 scoop nitrean in ff milk (8-10 oz)

Meal 3: (2:00 PM)
2 serving chicken or turkey breast, 2 slices whole wheat bread (180 calories, 30 g carb), salsa or honey mustard, raw spinach, sometimes swiss cheese (6 g fat, 90 calories)

Meal 4 (5:00 PM)
3/4 can tuna (like 30g protein, 140 cals), fistful brown rice, salsa or honey mustard, 1 tbsp peanut butter, ff milk

Meal 5 (8:00 PM)
Brown rice, lentil soup, a cooked vegetable, 2 Morningstar Grillers veggies burgers (30 g protein, 12 g fat, 260 cals total), glass of orange juice,

Meal 6(11:30 PM)
Either:
Nitrean in 8-10 oz ff milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter with 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice)
Or:
Cottage cheese (>2 servings, 30 g protein approx.), 2 tbsp peanut butter on 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice), 10 oz ff milk

I also eat around 2 bananas a day and a protein bar sometimes (Met-Rx, 190 cals).

Any ideas on how I should improve this? I feel I should eat more but I am running out of ideas for foods...

Thanks!
6' 2''-3'' 173 lbs, 10-15 % BF, 17 years old

Could be cleaned up a bit- you should really post totals when giving your diet. Do the footwork so we can really evaluate what you're eating.

What's your daily total?

Go to t-nation.com or johnberardi.com and read some articles on nutrition.

BTW, there's a big difference between 10%bf and 15%. It also doesn't appear that you have a PWO shake. Are you lifting at all? What's your routine like?

thanks for the reply. I will go to those websites later tonight and post my totals after consulting fitday (just quick post now).

I say 10-15 because I tested at 10.5 (caliper) about a month ago but I have been eating more in trying to bulk so I probably went up a little.

I am lifting four times a week (legs, chest/tris, back/bis, shoulders). My routine is complex, I will post it in journal section and link to it by tonight. I don't take a PWO shake right now...I used to drink gatorade and whey mixed. I no longer purchase whey (Nitrean instead). Now I either drink gatorade and then eat protein/carb or just eat protein/carb (a trainer told me all I really need is a source of protein).

okay, after looking at fitday I discovered I am not eating quite enough to reach my 3000 calories goal:
Cals: approx. 2700
Carbs: 300 g
Protein: approx. 190 g
Fat: approx. 80 g

I think I need to add one more meal (or add calories to one meal).

After reading berardi, I was confused...fruits or vegetables at every meal? Even at night (for example should I eat an apple with my overnight snack? :confused: ). Also, I don't understand why you should only eat other carbs during PWO period....

How could I clean my diet up? I thought it was fairly clean, but according to berardi it apparently isn't (but his restrictions are pretty pervasive)

One problem I have is knowing exactly how much I am eating in terms of numerical amounts...I don't measure out every bit of food I eat. Thus, everything I have posted is approximate (e.g. oatmeal is a 1-2 scoops with my old protein powder scooper rather than so and so grams)

How could I clean my diet up? I thought it was fairly clean

Meal 1: (breakfast, 9:00 AM)
4 egg whites, two yolks, brown rice (like a fistful), 1 serving fat free cheese (damn good stuff), veggies

Meal 2: (11:00 AM)
1 serving oatmeal in ff milk, 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter (somwhere between), 1 scoop nitrean in ff milk (8-10 oz)

Meal 3: (2:00 PM)
2 serving chicken or turkey breast, 2 slices whole wheat bread (180 calories, 30 g carb), salsa or honey mustard, raw spinach, sometimes swiss cheese (6 g fat, 90 calories)

Meal 4 (5:00 PM)
3/4 can tuna (like 30g protein, 140 cals), fistful brown rice, salsa or honey mustard, 1 tbsp peanut butter, ff milk

Meal 5 (8:00 PM)
Brown rice, lentil soup, a cooked vegetable, 2 Morningstar Grillers veggies burgers (30 g protein, 12 g fat, 260 cals total), glass of orange juice,

Meal 6(11:30 PM)
Either:
Nitrean in 8-10 oz ff milk, 2 tbsp peanut butter with 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice)
Or:
Cottage cheese (>2 servings, 30 g protein approx.), 2 tbsp peanut butter on 1-2 slice of ww bread (90 cals per slice), 10 oz ff milk

I also eat around 2 bananas a day and a protein bar sometimes (Met-Rx, 190 cals).

too much reliance on bread IMO.
honey mustard, cheese, soup, gillers, OJ save for once / week cheats but don't use these daily.

protein bar = glorified candy bar with a lot of protein in it.

too much reliance on bread IMO.
honey mustard, cheese, soup, gillers, OJ save for once / week cheats but don't use these daily.

protein bar = glorified candy bar with a lot of protein in it.

ok I can cut out honey mustard and protein bar (I was planning on getting that out anyways).
What is wrong with fat free cheese? And the veggie burgers :confused:?

The OJ is fresh squeezed (literally)...does that make a difference? And the soup isn't the packaged crap that comes in a can...it actually isn't really lentil soup, it is this indian dish my mom makes for dinner (which has lentils in it and is watery). I assume the problem is the sodium.

Thanks for the advice Gordo...I am continuing to read berardi tonight.

Chest/tris (I switch it up a little each week, but this is what last week looked like):
3 x 10 Fly Machine increasing weight each set
Chest Press: 1 warmup set 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps increasing weight each set
Incline Fly: 3 x 10 increasing weight each set
Incline Machine 4-10 reps with slow negatives, increasing weight each set (3 sets)
Then: Bodyweight Pec Deck, Flies (with another person providing resistance): 10 reps each
Tri Pushdown: 2 sets x 10 reps
Close Grip Press: 1 set of 10 reps
Tri extension and kickback: 1 set each of 8-10 reps

Legs:
Superset of Leg Press and Leg Curl, increasing weight each set, 4 sets each
Superset of Leg Extension and Walking Lunges, 3 sets of 10 reps of the former, 6-10 reps (increasing weight) of latter
Superset of Seated Calf Raise, Smith Squat, and Chairs (squatting against wall and holding): 3 sets, increase weight on squat, chairs for 60 sec

Back/Bis:
Wide Grip Pulldowns: 3 sets of 6-10 reps, increase weight each set
Close Grip Pulldowns: 3 set of 6-10 reps, increase weight each set
Upright Row (for rear delts): 3 set of 6-10 reps, try to increse weight
Wide Grip Row: 3 sets of 6-10 reps, try to increase weight
Close Grip Row: 3 set of 6-10 reps, try to increase weight
Bicep Curls: 10 x one weight, 8 x higher weight, 6 x same weight

Shoulders:
Superset of Shoulder Press and Rear Flyes on Bench--> 4 sets of shoulder press after warmup, increasing weight each set (4-10 reps to failure), same weight on Rear Flyes
Superset of Bent over Lateral Raise and Front Plate Raise: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (same weight)
Superset of Rear Flyes (two grips) on Machine with Static Lateral Holds of DBs, Flyes 4 x 10 reps, same weight. Holds 4 x 30-45 secs.
Bodyweight reverse flyes on bench (another person provides resistance): 2 sets
Plate Holds for 30 sec, followed immediately by bodyweight front raises with person providing resistance: 1 set
Dumbell hold to side for 30 sec, followed immediately by bodyweight side raises with person providing resistance: 1 set

I also do abs every day