Hi All –
I will be graduating in a few weeks and am off to Boston after a brief summer vacation to start “real life.”
All throughout college I have told myself that I need to focus more on nutrition, and as a nutrition student I am fairly embarrassed by how I have approached my diet thus far. I begin with great intentions, but fall off the bandwagon pretty easily and end up justifying poor food choices with the fact that I “want to gain weight.”
I’ve posted around T-Nation a few times before, always focused on my lifting program (which has similar trends to my eating habits) but as I sit here today I think the best way to approach my fitness lifestyle moving forward is to really hone in on my nutrition and let the lifting take care of itself. I’m currently injured (shoulder and back) and haven’t been able to lift much recently so I think now (and the summer) will be a great time to focus on my eating and get into a routine that I can easily continue once I begin work in the fall.
All of that being said, below is some basic information about me:
Age: 22
Height: 6’0’’
Weight: 200
Body fat %: Unsure, but I have the classic “skinny” fat problem
Experience: On and off for 5+ years (never consistent enough)
Bench 1RM: 290
Oly Squat ATG 1RM: 300
Deadlift 3RM: 405
I’ve read a decent amount around T-Nation about nutrition and think that a plan similar to the “Quality Mass Diet” by Chris Shugart is a good approach for me. Mentally and physically I need to be more disciplined and having a strict, well-defined eating plan will be great for me moving forward.
What I am looking for from all of you is general guidance and support as I move forward with all of this. I know that there is a learning curve to establishing a diet plan such as the one I will be attempting, and I would greatly appreciate any advice, criticism, tips, tricks, etc. that you can all offer!
To start I will be using the equation BW x 16 + 20% for my kcal intake which sets me up with:
Kcal/day (workout days): 3,840
Kcal/day (non-workout days): 3,440
The macro breakdown I am a bit more unsure about – any thoughts on how to divide these on a daily basis? I think carb-cycling is a good approach for me, so the -400 kcal difference between workout and non-workout days will probably come mostly from a decrease in carbs.
PLEASE don’t hesitate to comment and start a conversation in the thread - I really do need the support moving forward to help me get started, and to stay on the course I set. Thank you in advance for all of your help!