Mass Gain Diet Help

Hey guys,

Ive been working out for 2 years, but still consider myself a beginner. I am strill trying to get deadlift and squat form perfected as well as diet. This is my proposed diet for myself. I am 5’9, 161 lbs @ about 10-12% bf.

My goal is to gain lean mass and i am very, very serious about sticking to my diet. I will be using the Super Hero program from CT as my workout for the next 12 weeks, aka summer time. Heres my diet, i appreciate the criticms…constructive or critical.

About 2550-2700 calories, on days i play soccer i eat a bigger pre-game meal and sip on gatorade and whey throught out. Any suggestions would be great.

7am - Meal 1 (Complex Carbs + Simple Carbs): 450
1 Medium Banana - 110
3/4 Cup Rolled Oats ? 150
2 eggs + 3 egg whites ? 190
Multi-Vitamin
Glutamine 5g (optional)

10am ? Meal 2 (Complex Carbs): 400
1 Cup Whole Grain Pasta ? 175
3oz Extra Lean Ground Beef ? 200
Salad with low calorie dressing - 25

11:45am ? Pre-Workout (Whey Protein): 100
20g Whey Protein ? 100
Caffeine (coffee or tablets ? ? hour to hour before workout)
2g Creatine (optional)

12pm-1pm ? Work-Out
1pm ? Post-Workout (PWO): 450 calories
1 scoop Whey Protein (30g) ? 150
Mixed in 1 cup Juice - 180
1 Large Banana ? 120
2g Creatine (optional)
Glutamine (optional)

2:30pm ? Meal 5 (Complex): 400
1 Cup Wild Rice ? 240
4oz Chicken ? 130
Salad with Low Calorie Dressing - 30

5:30pm ? Meal 6 (Complex): 400
1 Cup Whole Grain Pasta ? 175
4oz Chicken ? 130
Salad with Vegetables and Dressing or An Apple- 100

8:30 pm ? Meal 7 (Complex): 300
2 Cups Vegetables ? 50
Cooked in 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil ? 80
5oz Chicken Breast - 170

10:30 pm ? Meal 8(No Carbohydrates):150
1+1/2 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter - 150
Celery - 0

12am ? Bedtime
15g Whey with Fiber Supplement - 80
Glutamine 5g (optional)

it looks pretty good overall, but one thing I will say is to watch yourself when it comes to the low calorie salad dressings. the main ingredient is usually high fructose corn syrup. Try using balsamic vinegar+EVOO instead.

[quote]A-Dizz wrote:
it looks pretty good overall, but one thing I will say is to watch yourself when it comes to the low calorie salad dressings. the main ingredient is usually high fructose corn syrup. Try using balsamic vinegar+EVOO instead.[/quote]

hey thx brah, ill try that then. or maybe replace dressing with just more veggies. either way thx bro

Eat more.

You want to gain mass, right?

Why are you eating maintenance (barely calories?

Well your diet plan looks good save for the glutamine. Drop it, it’s a waste.

As far as training programs, CT is a genius. I think his stuff is fantastic, but not the best for gaining mass.

I would look into Waterbury’s HFT methodology. It will put more sheer mass on you. Then you can specialize the CT’s training.

The beauty of using Waterbury’s techniques is that you can use CT’s exercises with in the scheme, but adjust to the workout to high frequency methodology. When doing “The Waterbury” I noticed my recovery speed doubled, and I am old. So it should do wonders for you. That’s my $.02. Do what you will with it.

this woulnd tbe maintence for me, it would be a clean bulk. I want to add as minimal fat as possible, anything more then 2700 cals will def have me fattier.

[quote]pat36 wrote:
Well your diet plan looks good save for the glutamine. Drop it, it’s a waste.

As far as training programs, CT is a genius. I think his stuff is fantastic, but not the best for gaining mass.

I would look into Waterbury’s HFT methodology. It will put more sheer mass on you. Then you can specialize the CT’s training.

The beauty of using Waterbury’s techniques is that you can use CT’s exercises with in the scheme, but adjust to the workout to high frequency methodology. When doing “The Waterbury” I noticed my recovery speed doubled, and I am old. So it should do wonders for you. That’s my $.02. Do what you will with it.[/quote]

thx pat, ill read some of his articles.

Have you been gaining a lot of lean mass? Because I also think you’re under eating. I eat more than that and I’m a bit over 120.

I think you are undereating too. YOu need to read the following by Dr. Berardi for sure.

Massive Eating Reloaded, Part I
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459429

Massive Eating Reloaded, Part II
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459431

He even has an example meal plan listed, I’m using it currently hand having great results so far. You can adjust the portion sizes as you need to based on what your caloric intake should be, make sure you go to the caloric intake calculator linked in the articles.

Your going to be surprised to see the number it gives you, but remember if you want to be big you have to eat big.

Undereating+afraid of gaining fat…

Sounds familiar…

2700 is just under 17 cals/lb.

At that rate, youre not going to be in high enough of a surplus to gain much mass. You are going to need a much higher surplus to gain mass.

It is extremely difficult to gain mass without gaining some fat, if you cant get past that, you are likely to not ever see the results you want.

It does seem like it is a bit low on calories but if you gain weight after two weeks on this diet that is all that matters. If after 2 weeks you weigh the same or less add 300-500 calories.

Hi GlenMowen,

I’m going to actually map out your caloric needs for you using the calculations from Berardi’s “Massive Eating part 1”, in hopes that perhaps some other noobs might read it, and it might hopefully prevent future posts of people saying that they’re consuming ~2,500 kcals and trying to gain muscle mass.

  1. convert weight to kilograms
    Lbs/2.2 = kg
    161/2.2 = ~73.2 kg (I rounded up)

  2. multiply fat % by bodyweight (kg)
    10% (.10) X 73.2 = 7.32 kg

  3. subtract #2 from #1 to get FFM (fat free mass)
    73.2 - 7.32 = 65.88 kg FFM

  4. figure out RMR
    22 X FFM + 500 (for athletes) = RMR
    22 X 65.88 + 500 = 1,949.36

  5. determine cost of daily activity
    RMR X Activity factor (see actual article for activity factors) = cost of daily activity
    1,949.36 X 1.6 (I used a sedentary activity factor since you’re a student, it may be more depending on your daily routine) = 3,119 (I once again rounded up)

Now, keep in mind that up until this point I haven’t even factored in any exercise outside of your daily routine. No soccer, no weight training, nothing. This means that you’re not even eating at maintenance without any recreational/supplemental exercise.

Next, let’s add in the exercise factors. In your original post you listed that you had an hour long workout. I’m going to assume that this is a weight training workout, since you stated that you’re trying to build lean mass. So,

  1. Cost of exercise activity
    Body mass(kg) X Duration (in hours) X MET value (free weight training has a MET value of 6) = Cost of exercise activity

73.2kg X 1 hour X 6 = 439.2

  1. add #6 to #5
    3119 + 439.2 = 3,558.2

  2. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
    RMR X 0.15 (for high protein diet, more than 1 gram per pound of bodyweight) = TEF

1,949.36 X 0.15 = 292.4 (I rounded down)

  1. add TEF to #7
    292.4 + 3,558.2 = 3,851 (I rounded up) kcals

So, without having ever played soccer, your daily caloric needs are a whopping 3,851 kcals per day! Now, factor in your soccer caloric needs and that number will only get bigger.

Don’t be too alarmed though, that number is actually fairly low. My daily caloric needs are around 5,000 kcals per day. And I’m sure there are people here with higher needs than that.

Hope this helps, and prevents at least a couple future posts requesting the same advice.

Good training,

Sentoguy