Diet for bodybuilding

Tonto86

Hi folks,

I posted this in the fitness section but i think ye folk with your ultimate wisdom might be able to help me a bit more!

I'm currently doing a stronglifts program and im thinkin the diet below will help me gain, see what ye think

At the mo im 5'11 and 77kg

Breakfast
Bowel of gluten free porridge
2 Boiled Eggs
Multivitamin, fish oil and fibre supp

Snack
Protein Shake, Banana

Lunch
Can o tuna w/mayo, boiled egg
Pint of milk

Snack
Protein Shake

Dinner
2 Chicken breast or steak, potato's w/butter, carrots

Snack
2x Can o tuna w/mayo

All together this comes to:

2825cals, 211g Carbs, 302g protein and 69g of fat

On a side note, i've got a bit of a fecked up stomach. I'm not able to eat gluten, a lot of fruit/veg or highly processed food etc etc Thats why it may seem very bland/basic

Just lookin for any advice, if ye have any pointers/criticism :pac:

EileenG

For a start, what is your goal? Are you cutting or bulking or what? What's your current bodyfat level? What is your lifting routine like?

What have you based that diet on?

NO green veg?

metamorphosis

+1 to eileen - what are your goals? How heavy are you? You prob do not need 300+ gms of protein to be honest and vary it up a bit more and deffo more veg and maybe a little more fat.

insebayguy

Guys,

Any chance of a dig out please...?
I'm trying to get the diet right.
At the moment I'm 78 Kg's. I'm 5' 11"
I lift every weekday for 30 - 35 mins each day (routine below). All free weights, little or no machines. Basic compound movements where possible.
My goal is to build a little bit more lean mass but to also get rid of the fat. I have roughly 19% body fat at the moment. Would love to get below 15% this year then go better next year. Not looking for a quick fix or anything!
Monday - chest
Tuesday - Biceps/Abs
Wednesday - Shoulders
Thursday - Back
Friday - Triceps/Abs
I sometimes squeeze in a leg session on a Saturday.
On Wednesday night I play indoor football. Thats it for cardio really. I sometimes squeeze in a leg session on a Saturday.
I've been studying up on the nutrition and what my needs are but every site gives different amounts of each and I'm not sure which to run with...
Where I've gotten to so far is that i should be getting about 2780 cals per day, 30% of which should be protein, 50% of which should be carbs and 20% of which should be fats.
Does that sound about right to you..?
Any other suggestions..?

insebayguy

Just realised that this is a fairly old post. Sorry for dragging it back up again.
Any help is appreciated. Cheers

thegreatiam

insebayguy wrote: »

Guys,

My goal is to build a little bit more lean mass but to also get rid of the fat. I have roughly 19% body fat at the moment. Would love to get below 15% this year then go better next year. Not looking for a quick fix or anything!

Id say pick one. either try to lose body fat or gain mass. Doing both requires a lot of know how on your diet.

once you've decided calculate your BMR with a BMR calculator online (google one, as they are all the same)
then take your BMR, add in the calories you burn from doing exercise. that's the total you need to stay the same. Now eat more or less than this depending on your goal.

@19% BF (how do you know this BTW?) I would suggest losing weight first. get down to 10-12% and then start gaining.

To lose weight at a steady and sustainable pace eat 500 cals a day less than you daily total (that we worked out earlier)

Once you think your body fat is low enough then you can begin to bulk up. start to eat more than what you use.

Aim for a good mix of protein, fats and carbs. Say around 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. You can adjust it as you go.

insebayguy

I bought a body fat calipers and worked it out that way.
Gym is going grand, have been at it consistantly since March 2010 and have made great gains in size and strength.
10-12% is hard to get to. I'm 33 and work in an office. I know I need more cardio but time just doesn't allow it. I train at lunch hour and mornings are taken up with a creche run etc etc.. A house move in the near future should look after that and I'll start hitting the cardio in the morning and keep douing weights at lunch hour.

thegreatiam

cardio isnt necessary for losing weight, its about diet.

Ant11

thegreatiam wrote: »

cardio isnt necessary for losing weight, its about diet.

Agree with this. If you continue your weight training, follow the BMR advise above you can cut down to a lower bf% without doing cardio.

a 50/20/30 mix (p/f/c) isn't ideal for cutting bodyfat.

I'd be more of a 40/50/10 advocate. Get your body into ketosis and feel the burn! (Google a CKD and TKD - cyclical Keto diet and Targetted)

insebayguy

Cheers Folks. Never heard of ketosis so I'll look it up.
I'm not a newbie I've trained on & off for 10+ years. Have no problems with programmes etc but diet is something I've always struggled with firstly because I was a picky eater and secondly because I had no clue what does what (except for proteins) and how much of each was needed. I'll eat pretty much anything now so I'm gonna give it a bash properly this year. I've always heard that diet is 70% of it so I suppose I should give myself a chance.

insebayguy

Ant11, I'm not against doing Cardio, just time doesn't really allow it.
Would much prefer to include it though, just have to arrange this house move and I'll be laughing

Ant11

insebayguy wrote: »

Ant11, I'm not against doing Cardio, just time doesn't really allow it.
Would much prefer to include it though, just have to arrange this house move and I'll be laughing

I wasn't saying do cardio, I was saying if you know your BMR and daily cal expenditure and are in a cal deficit you can lose weight and get your bf down without doing cardio. It will be done by your diet not cardio.

insebayguy

I know what you were saying Ant11, I was just saying that personally I'd prefer to include some cardio into my week when time allows. My BMR works out at 1814.86, based on the Harrid Benedict formula I should be getting 2813 cals per day in order to maintain current size. I think I'll cut that by 500 for the rest of the month to see how I get on.
Any suggestions on a diet starting at 7:30 in the morning with oats, orange juice etc and training at 1:00 pm to 1:35 pm..?

Ant11

insebayguy wrote: »

I know what you're saying Ant11 but I was just saying that personally I'd prefer to include some level of cardio somewhere along the way.

Ok so we agree that you know what I'm saying and I know what your saying but correct me if I'm wrong but your goal is to get your body fat down to below 15%, right?

You also mentioned that you don't have enough time to fit in cardio but you would like to do more of it, which is fine. Having said all that, you have been told here that you CAN reach your goal without doing cardio since you don't have the time for it. I don't mean to be smart but is that not the solution to reaching your goal?

insebayguy

Of course it is man, sorry for wrecking your head :P
you're correct 100% goal can be achieved in the current circumstances (without cardio). Will give this a bash.
Wish I'd had a look on these forums ages ago.
Any suggestions on the diet or how to break it up would be appreciated.

insebayguy

insebayguy wrote: »

Any suggestions on a diet starting at 7:30 in the morning with oats, orange juice etc and training at 1:00 pm to 1:35 pm..?

Carbs and carbs? Good way of keeping your bf% high alright...

You'll need to think about what you're eating long before you eat it!

Build yourself a menu for the day and run it through the macro / calorie counter on myfitnesspal.

If you have an IOS device (ipad etc) mynetdiary is a great app.

Ant11

insebayguy wrote: »

Of course it is man, sorry for wrecking your head :P
you're correct 100% goal can be achieved in the current circumstances (without cardio). Will give this a bash.
Wish I'd had a look on these forums ages ago.
Any suggestions on the diet or how to break it up would be appreciated.

Well you've worked out that your daily expenditure is 2780 calls, which sounds about right so you need to eat at a calorie deficit. 3500cals is equivalent to 1 lb so if you have a 500 cal daily deficit you should drop around 1 lb a week. So maybe start with something like 2300 or 2400 cals a day and stick to it for a week and see if you drop weight.

I agree with Emmet to reduce carb intake when cutting and increase fat intake. I'd also get rid of any junk food, sugary crap, bread n anything that contains wheat. as Emmet said if you have a smart phone you can use myfitnesspal to track your cals.

thegreatiam

insebayguy wrote: »

Wish I'd had a look on these forums ages ago.
Any suggestions on the diet or how to break it up would be appreciated.

Read the stickies when you have time, soon youll be suggesting diets for people ;-)

Mean time try a variation of this:

breakfast
Unsmoked Bacon Rasher, 2 Rasher (65g)
Home Cooked - Hard Boiled Egg, 2 Ex large egg

lunch
tuna salad, 1 serving(s)

dinner
Chicken - Breast, Meat Only, Cooked, Dry Heat, 8 oz
Mixed Peppers, 50 g
Beansprouts 100 g, 50 g
Onions -, 100 g
Fresh - Garlic Clove, 3 cloves (9 g)
Tesco - Spring Onion (Salad Onion), 25 gms

Snacks
Mixed Nuts - Mixed Nuts Asda, 1 oz - 26 pieces
Generic - Banana, 3 oz
Generic - Beef Biltong 100g, 100 g

Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sugar

Totals 1,447 66 55 150 26

Plenty of room for changes and additions.

insebayguy

Cheers. Will download those onto the phone and have a look.
What's the best way to start the day so, would it be scrambled egg whites..?
Should I just have carbs post workout and none on non workout days..?
Really have to do a LOT more homework on this.
Have straightened out the diet for the moment at least. I'm a disaster for having a mars bar & can of coke while watching family guy at night! Plus Chicken rolls for lunch with can of coke & nibbling at sweets during work. Thats all been stopped so I should see a big difference with that alone.
Just have to figure out what goes with what and when. Would you agree that 2300 cals should be enough for a day for me, maybe broken down 50-30-20 (p/c/f)..?

Need to balance the carbs/fat thing properly.

If you can get to

55% Fat
40% Protein
5% carbs

You will see the bodyfat melt off of you.

However that's a really tough goal to get too. Instead I'd aim for a 50/40/10 split.

You need to be eating good fats (oils, fish, eggs, avacados) galore. 'Teach' your body to use fat as its fuel and not carbohydrates.

Eggs with yellow! You need the fat in there, you lose most of the nutrients by avoiding them yellowy globes of beauty too!

insebayguy

Thanks again for the input pal.
I'll have a look into this in more details.
I've bought a decent scales for measuring out the portions etc. Have started on the wallnuts and cashews etc. No prob with the fish & eggs etc, avacados can be done also.

thegreatiam

Deleted User wrote: »

55% Fat
40% Protein
5% carbs

You will see the bodyfat melt off of you.

However that's a really tough goal to get too. Instead I'd aim for a 50/40/10 split.

sorry don't mean to hijack OP but i will. ;-)

where my diet lacks at the moment is I dont really balance my macros efficiently. Emmett can you point me towards some sources of this info?
and could you post a daily diet example that gives that ratio?

thegreatiam

thegreatiam wrote: »

sorry don't mean to hijack OP but i will. ;-)

where my diet lacks at the moment is I dont really balance my macros efficiently. Emmett can you point me towards some sources of this info?
and could you post a daily diet example that gives that ratio?

macro setup is all goal-dependent.

What are your immediate goals? What are your long term goals?

How do you train? How often do you train? How good are you at cooking? Is there anything you don't eat ?

thegreatiam

Deleted User wrote: »

macro setup is all goal-dependent.

What are your immediate goals? What are your long term goals?

How do you train? How often do you train? How good are you at cooking? Is there anything you don't eat ?

Immediately, lower BF to under 12%. long term, strengthen weakened muscles, build up whole body strength. increase fitness.

weights 3 days, 1 hour each.
BJJ 1 session, 2 soon if I can take the pain 1 hour each
Muai thai ditto^
Occasional cycling, HIIT, Ive only been the once so far.

Yes I can cook, don't like to eat tomatoes, pasta, potatoes or fish. mushrooms are out too as my and the missus share a diet and she hates them.

lower body fat => cut carbohydrates and increase fat intake to replace the fuel lost.

You will struggle to cut bodyfat and build strength at the same time. Ideally you would strengthen(bulk) and then cut while trying to maintain strength.

For a cutting diet the key is getting the carbohydrate intake right down, and the timing of the carb intake is important too, try to get simple carbs into you directly after training with your protein shake etc. This will improve recovery time without causing too much of an insulin reaction.

Not liking pasta and potatoes is good, cause they're banned.

You will need to get over the fish thing, if you physically cannot then you will need to supplement with fish oil and fish oil capsules. I much prefer just eating the ****ing fish though!

thegreatiam

Deleted User wrote: »

You will need to get over the fish thing, if you physically cannot then you will need to supplement with fish oil and fish oil capsules. I much prefer just eating the ****ing fish though!

Well I can eat tuna, all other fish is off the menu can't stomach it. I eat tuna 5/7 days and I'm already on glucosamine and cod liver oil for bad joints.

insebayguy

Hi Bailey Lazy Ringleader, if you had a few mins could you please give me an example of a diet using your proposed breakdown from earlier. I'm 5' 11". I weight 78 Kg's, 33 years old. Apparently my daily caloric intake should be 2813 per day. Aiming to reduce this to 2300 per day. I train at 1:00 pm, 1st meal (brekkie) is at 7:30 am. Monday - Chest. Tuesday - Biceps & abs. Wednesday - Shoulders. Wednesday night - 1 hour indoor football. Thursday - Back. Friday - Triceps & Abs. Sat & Sun normally rest days. I work in an office so am sedentary most of the day. I've been taking 2 scoops of Myofusion directly after training and eating my lunch around 2:20 pm.
I know that's a bit to take in but if you had a few mins I'd appreciate a dig out. It can be very rough. I'm just looking for a template to see how you model it or work it out. Then I can tweek it as I go.
Nothing is out for me as far as foods go. I'll eat anything

Can't access the logging sites in work, but feel free to experiment with the following. Think that the macros should be close enough, but I'm a far smaller calorie (~1900 presently) so won't have portion sizes right.

breakfast

4 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon

lunch

homemade meat balls (200g of mince beef, one egg) {make into patties if easier}. 100g of spinach, 100g of brocolli (cook both in butter).

Dinner
Again, heap of meat. Pork / Steak / Chicken / Salmon fillet. Baked/Grilled / Roasted. Add again a mass of green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables.

Snacks throughout the day
handful of almonds or macademia nuts
tin of tuna with 3 tblspoons of full fat mayonaisse
Half an avacado with chilli flakes and lime juice
Protein Shake (with water or Full Fat Milk - milk makes a massive calorie dent so note this)

insebayguy

Thanks Emmet.
Will look into the caloric values for that later.
What about the likes of supplimenting with Cod liver oil and a daily multivitamin..? Yay or nay..?

yay.

You should aim to get as much of the nutrients required from whole foods. If/When you cannot, supplement as needs be.

insebayguy

Found a decent website called fitday.com
seems very handy, like myfitnesspal but a bit better with the breakdown of nutrients in each food.
seems a little bit slow though, might be worth a look.

hefferboi

When cutting out carbs(potatoes + pasta) what could I substitute them with? Usually I'd have meat like steak, chicken, turkey breast or pork chops w/ potatoes and carrots/beans/peas or else just pasta with no veg.

more veg.

green leafy vegetables galore!

thegreatiam

more meat,
have a steak, with a steak instead Of chips, and a Third steak to substitute your Carrots

hefferboi

thegreatiam wrote: »

more meat,
have a steak, with a steak instead Of chips, and a Third steak to substitute your Carrots

Ideal;)

kumate_champ07

try squatting once a week, that will do wonders.

your training schedule looks pretty bad, you could improve it alot. squats will work your legs, abs,back and make everything else grow too.