Help W/ 4200k/cal Diet

Diet and Nutrition
1

I’m hoping you can give me some help with my 4200 calorie diet. I can eat it all with no problems, and I’m actually hungry quite a lot during the day, so I could probably eat more, but I’m already gaining a body fat, which means adding more food wouldn’t increase my rate of muscle gain, yes?

Couple of points to note first:

??I tried to roughly follow JB’s massive eating principles, but I find it gets annoying to split carbs and fat so rigidly when you go above 4000 calories. ??I workout between my first two meals of the day.
? For the past 6 weeks, I got 1.5g protein per lb LBM - about 240g protein per day. My strength on all my big exercises went up from that, but for the next 6 weeks I’m experimenting with 1g protein per lb LBM to see how it affects my progress, so I’ve redistributed the lost calories equally across carbs and fats.

7am - shake

100g Oats
100g Pineapple
125 Frozen cherries/berries
1 pint Skim Milk

Approx 150g carbs, 32g protein, 10g fat.

10.30am - same shake

2pm

500g Fat Free Yoghurt + 2tbsp Seeds
100g All Bran Cereal (Grape Nuts)
2 Apples

Approx 160g carbs, 40g protein, 30g fat.

5.30pm

4 eggs OR 125g Fish/Meat + 1 Avocado + Olive oil
75g Brown Pasta
200g Broccoli
100g Carrots
1 Banana

Approx 85g carbs, 30g protein, 45g fat

9pm

250g Cottage Cheese
1 Banana
3 tbsp oil (flax, hemp, olive - whatever)

Approx 20g carbs, 35g protein, 45g fat.

TOTAL: Approx 4200 calories - 575g carbs, 160g protein, 140g fats.

Am I eating too much fruit and veg? Any ways I could tweak this more better growth?

Thanks.

PS. The best bodyweight gains I’ve made have been with a diet similar to this but with 4 pints of whole milk added. I gained 17lb in 3 weeks from that, taking me to 190lb, but I was very bloated and thick-skinned looking, so maybe it was water retention. Plus the weight came off within a week of not drinking all that whole milk every day.

2

Mother of God that’s a lot of carbs. I’m following a 4300 kcal/day plan but mine has a much higher percentage of protein and fats. I usually don’t go over 300 carbs per day.

Berardi also discusses high protein intakes as a good way to reduce bodyfat gain as it results in a higher thermogenic effect to break down the protein. Try messing with your ratios a little bit and see if that helps.

3

You complain about gaining fat, then you say that you’re not following the principles he outlined?! There’s a reason he gives you that. I’m not sure exactly what kind of help you’re looking for, but my best advice would be to follow what Berardi’s article says.

If I was redesigning your diet I would give you this (one of my diets from 2 weeks in March, this one is at 4250. The protein powder used had 110 calories, so this should come up right around 4210 if you’re using Metabolic Drive):

Meal1:
1 Cup calorie countdown
1 cup pasturized egg whites
2 Scoops protein powder
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp olive oil
blenderize that shit

Meal2:
8 oz beef (leanest cut-- I have 93%)
1/4 cup walnuts
40 cal. carrots
2 caps Flameout

During training:
250 Calories during from gatorade
1 serving Surge post

Meal3 (PW):
1 Cup oatmeal
1 scoop protein powder
1 cup calorie countdown
20 cal cucumber
1 banana

Meal4:
8 Ounces chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
30 cal. green peppers

Meal5:
8 oz lean ground beef
1/4 cup walnuts
40 cal. broccoli
2 caps Flameout

Meal6:
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp sugar free fat free chocolate pudding
1 apple

(1/2 teaspoon of beta-alanine was taken with 1,2,4,&5. Creatine was in Surge.)

I’ve added more veggies to my most recent meal plan which is slightly higher calories. I’ve also started taking more fish oil in addition to Flameout.

4

Thanks for the replies so far. I should have made myself clearer in my first post, but I had literally 1 min to write it in, so it was rushed.

I’m currently experimenting with macronutrient ratios at the caloric level I know I need to gain - 27xLBM. For the last 6 weeks, I’ve been taking in 560g carbs, 230g protein and 115g fat. Now - after reading some articles about protein intake and discovering that Scott Milne, who must be twice my size, doesn’t exceed 200g protein per day -

I’m trying less protein but more carbs and fats. If there’s no difference in the gym/scale with the lower protein intake, I’m sticking with it to save money, as I’m saving for a 2" thick bar and some sandbags.

My main question is whether it’s OK to eat as much fruit/veg as I am, or would it be better to focus more on carbs like oats and pasta. Which is better for growth?

5

I suppose if you can tolerate the fiber level you should be fine consuming that much. Why not try substituting oats for some of it to see how it affects you? Wouldn’t help the fat gain issue I would imagine, but who knows, might help in other ways.

6

Yeah, I’ll just have to try it and see I suppose.

Judging from some of the replies so far, I think what I’ve said about fat gain might have been misunderstood. I didn’t say I was gaining too much fat. I said I was already gaining a small amount of fat, indicating that adding MORE food on top of my current intake would be pointless.

My muscle:fat gain ratio currently 2/3lb:1lb, which is great. I just want to see if I can optimise my macronutrient ratios.

Having the banana with my bedtime shake definitely helps me get to sleep quicker (melatonin), so I’m keeping that change for sure.

After reading that other diet posted above, I’ve got a real craving for peanut butter…roughly how many grams of fat in a tbsp?

7

What is your current weight. If it is 160 than carbs are way high. Also, try and space your meals out a little better so you dont take in so many carbs per meal.

My meal plan for around 4100 cals follows. Carbs are around 330 with protein approx the same and fat at whatever.

Breakfast

-2 scoops protein powder 300 cals
-1/2 cup swiss ceral (health food oats and shit)-285 cals
-1/2 cup lactose free milk 55 cals
-2 large fruits 120 cals

Snack Supershake

1 scoop protein powder-
2 scoops of pb-
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flax seeds
1/2 scoop protein powder or cottage cheese

Lunch

large pecie of meat (steak, chicken etc)
1 cup veges
1/3 cup nuts
30g cheese

Snack Same supershake

Dinner PW - (On non workout days same as lunch )

1 large peice of meat
85 grams of fusile (sp) pasta
1 cup veges

pre bed

1 scoop protein powder
1 1 scoop pb

Workout nutrition

1 surge
1/2 gatorade

On non workout days I subtract workout nutrition and add a protein bar.

Currenlty weight is at 170 but bf is going down and lean mass is going up. Lifts are also going up nicely.

IMO I think you going at this a little wrong. Its not difficult for most following Berardi’s percison nutrition and keeping g-flux high to gain muscle while either dropping or staying at the same relative bf.

8

Weight is 175lb. Lean body mass is 160ish (skinfold readings are never 100% accurate).

The diet you posted is pretty similar to what I was having for the last 6 weeks. I’m just trying something new at the moment.

BTW, you weigh 170 and you are taking in 330g protein per day…that’s VAST. You could be pissing away a lot of money, literally.

9

This is what I was having for the last 6 weeks:

Meal 1 (7)
75g Oats
600ml Milk
2 Orange
100g Pineapple
125g Blueberries

772.5kcal 144g carbs 30g protein 9g fat.

Meal 2 (10)
75g Oats
600ml Milk
100g Pineapple
2 Orange
125g Blueberries

772.5kcal 144g carbs 30g protein 9g fat.

Meal 3 (12)
500g Fat Free Yogurt
100g Grape Nuts
2 Apple

828kcal 162g carbs 40g protein 2g fat

Meal 4 (2:00)
600ml Milk

219kcal 30g carbs 23g protein 1g fat

Meal 5 (4:00)
600ml Milk

219kcal 30g carbs 23g protein 1g fat

Meal 6 (6:00)
4 Eggs + 1/2tbsp oil
200g Carrots
225g Broccoli

473kcal 23g carbs 30g protein 29g fat

Meal 7 (8:00)
100g Salm/Mack/Kipp + 1.5 tbsp oil
200g Carrots
225g Broccoli

457kcal 23g carbs 26g protein 29g fat

Meal 8 (10:00)
250g Cottage Cheese
1.5 tbsp. EFA + 1 tbsp Seeds

494kcal 3g carbs 35g protein 38g fat

Total: 4217 559g carbs 236g protein 115g fat

Reasons for change/experiment with new diet:

  1. I’ve got my university finals exams now, so I can’t eat so frequently.
  2. I want to see what happens with eating 5 times a day anyway.
  3. I want to see what happens with less protein.
    …but if any of my big lifts stall, then I’ll go back to the other diet.

Basically I’m just one of those people who likes to test everything. So far I’ve discovered that I respond to low reps, low volume and high intensity, training my major muscle groups once every 7 days. I’ve also discovered I gain at 27xLBM, maintain at 20-21xLBM and can lose fat whilst maintaining muscle at 18xLBM. And, for me, creatine and glutamine are useless.

10

Ahh yes university finals suck balls. I usually buy muscle milk RTD’s to drink at those times.

Man you must have some crazy carb tolerance. When I go over 350 my love handles fill up like crazy.

11

Yeah, my carb tolerance is pretty high. But I’m 21 with the metabolism from hell, so I’m not surprised. I’m just going to bombard my body with food and heavy weights until it can’t do anything but grow.

I’m up from 150 to 175 so far. Squat has gone from 200 to 350 - want to get 400 within 6 months. I’d like to gain 15lb more muscle within 1/2 years, then just push on slowly after that until I run into my genetic ceiling.

HOPEFULLY one day I’ll bench 350, squat 500 and deadlift 550-600.