Eating right to gain muscle (sample diet please advise)

[bandit1981]

I tried to get as much protien as I could from real food instead of shakes and make sure I can fruits and veggies as well. I also take a vitaim. Hows this looks any ideas. I weight 160 right now.

BreakFast
3 hard boiled eggs (whites only) 15
1 scoop Protien Shake/milk 32
Snack
1/2 cup cottage cheese 14
banna
Lunch
Chicken Breast 29
Cup Brown Rice 6
Yougart 7
Snack
3 hard boiled eggs (whites only) 15
apple
PW
2 scoop Protien Shake 48
Dinner
Turkey Breast 20
Green Beans
2 Cups of Milk 16
Snack
1/2 cup cottage cheese 14
any fruit

Total Protien INtake 216

[Travis28]

That's a lot of protein! Are you lifting hard and heavy? You should be able to gain a ton of muscle on this diet. Nevertheless, if you don't utilize ALL your protein intake, your body will convert and store the excess as fat.

Also, how's your energy level? Looks like you could use a few more carbs for energy in your diet. Complex carbs like oatmeal, brown rice, etc. are best.

Let us know how you progress. What is your target weight?

[bandit1981]

I am doing the stronglift 5x5 program atm. I would like to get to the 170s nothing to huge. I seem to have pretty good energy its just almost impossiable to eat carbs and all that other food without my feeling like i wanna die. I run 3 miles each day on non lifting days. If you think I can cut the protein back some that would be great and I could eat more foods.

[jill75]

Are you also trying to lose some fat on some areas? Well your diet is ok since not too much fat but seems a lot so need a balance of the exercise or maybe cardio as well. BTW, what is your height?

[Bradford]

In order to build muscle mass, you have to make a calorie surplus of between 300-500 calories above your preservation level. This simply means you must eat more calories than you burn, so there is enough energy left over for building muscle mass. The simplest method for calculating your caloric requirements is the basic multiplier. For this method, you simply multiply your bodyweight by 17-20 to give you the amount of calories you will need to consume to create a calorie surplus within your body.


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[TooBad4U]

In order to build muscle mass, you have to make a calorie surplus of between 300-500 calories above your preservation level.
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I hear often that every 2,000 calories you take in without burning adds a pound to your weight.

[mrgrewal@sbcglobal.net]

Since you currently weigh 160lbs, you should probably start around 180g of protein per day. That should be plenty-IMO. Rather than 2 cups of milk (Whole milk? Nonfat milk?) at dinner I would replace with a complex carb such as brown rice or a whole grain pasta.

Also, need a better balance of healthy fats. Dont be afraid of 1-2 egg yolks per day, maybe some natural peanut butter, or healthy nuts in your diet as well.