Needs some help with my diet to put on lean muscle

[Jester2893]

I have been working for over a year regularly now, and I have seen some gains and such, but now I am ready to start focusing more on my diet then I have ever done before. I am not going to lie, when it comes to food and what I should be eating so I don't loose my toned stomach, but also get bigger overal I am clueless...

I am have been searching the last few days and sorta came up with a plan that I think I could work with and stick to.

Specs:
-Currently 178lbs
-Lean out some, but mostly interested definition and tone.
-Recommended Daily Intake: 3170 Carbs: 317g Protein: 317g Fat: 70g
-Most of my protein is going to come from the lean broiled chicken and the carbs from whole grain rice and oats(possibly a better substitute for oats?)

Information: I am starting to look heavily into my diet now so I can improve the look and get the gains I want. I have not closely watched my diet before so this I don't have previous history of what works for me or not, but I am looking at suggestions for a busy schedule and what to eat.

My main goal is to be defined and toned out. I want to gain lean mass while not loosing my somewhat toned abs (hope to even further my definition in my abs with my better diet). I am not a hard gainer by any means, I use to be very overweight when I was younger (age 16 @ 225lbs), but worked it all off and fluctuate between 172-178, so it is rather easy for me to gain weight unfortunately its not always the good weight I want to gain....
I want to make sure I have a diet that is going to get me where I want to be, but like I said I am knew to this end of the working out,I am use to just focusing on the gym portion only.


I will not do fish or tuna which is why you wont see it on my plan lol.

This is what I cam up with but I am open to improvements since I am new to this. I am a huge vegetable lover (carrots/broccoli/spinach) and fruit lover (apples,grapes,bananas,pineapple,strawberries,cant aloupe), but not sure what I could replace/add these into the plan I set up below.

This is what I was doing for the last hour, if anyone wants to help/critique it or suggest alternatives to go with my goal I would appreciate it!

Pre-workout: (Meal 1)
Protein Shake:
• Whey Protein
1 Serving Calories: 110
Fats: 1 Gram | Protein 22 Grams | Carbs 1 Gram
• 1/2 Skim/Fat Free Milk Calories- 100
Fats: 0.10 Grams | Protein: 4 Grams|Carbs: 6 Grams
• Banana
1 Large Calories: 105
Fats: 0.4 Grams | Protein: 1 Gram | Carbs: 27 Grams
• 1 TBSP Natural Peanut Butter: 94
Fats: 8 grams| Protein 4 grams| Carbs: 3 grams

Post-Workout: (Meal 2)
• Universal Post Workout
Serving Size 3 Scoops: 302
Fats: 1.5g |Protein: 20g |Carbs: 52g

Meal 3:
• Oats
1.5 Cups Uncooked Calories: 461
Fats: 7.5 Grams | Protein 19 Grams | Carbs 81 Grams
• Egg Whites
4 Eggs Calories: 68
Fats: 0.2 Grams | Protein 14.4 Grams | Carbs 0 Grams
• Whole Eggs
2 Eggs Calories: 147
Fats: 10 Grams | Protein 12.6 Grams | Carbs 0.8 Grams

Meal 4:
• Muscle Milk Calories: 160
Fats: 5 Grams | Protein 20 Grams |Carbs 9 Grams
• Oats
1 Cup Uncooked Calories: 312
Fats: 6 Grams | Protein 12 Grams | Carbs 54 Grams

Meal 5:
• Chicken Breast
4 Oz Calories: 186
Fats: 4 Grams | Protein 35 Grams | Carbs 0 Grams
• Brown Rice
2 Cups Cooked Calories: 432
Fats: 3.6 Grams | Protein 10 Grams | Carbs 90 Grams
• Broccoli
1 Cup Calories: 55
Fats: 0.5 Grams | Protein 3 Grams | Carbs 11 Grams
• Olive Oil
0.5 Tbs Calories: 60
Fats: 7 Grams | Protein 0 Grams | Carbs 0 Grams

Meal 6:
• Natural Peanut Butter
2 Tbs Calories: 190
Fats: 16 Grams | Protein 8 Grams | Carbs 6 Grams
• Wheat Bread
2 Slices Calories: 260
Fats: 4 Grams | Protein 8 Grams | Carbs 46 Grams

My days usually start at 8AM and end at 12pm, but some days I will go to the gym in the morning and other days later in the evening, so of course these plan will fluctuate sometimes. I also do not plan to eat anything after 9:45PM, since I go to bed usually 12-1am every night.

[miscbrah]

How does diet affect residual muscle tension?!

[Jester2893]

Diet is a key factor to building muscle...

[pops]

Diet looks fine. Give it a month, see how you look, and tweak it from there.

[Chilledman]

Ok I have to ask do you guys actually follow this ?

There's no way I am taking the time to measure out my food or figure out this at all.

- this probably should be a thread by itself ....

[kryptonik]

It's really not hard to measure food.

I do it to keep track of my protein. It adds one step. I take the meat out of the fridge. Place it on a food scale. Then place it in a pan.

Simple as pie.

[Jester2893]

It is harder to have to always watch and keep track, but doing all this will truly male someone feel better and get better outcomes from working out. Your body needs clean food so you can have clean muscle gains from working out.


Anyone suggest a good scale for measuring chicken/beef?


Also what flavors can i mix with the oatmeal to make it taste better? Something thats not gonna throw off my micros or macros, maybe cinamon?

[pops]

It is harder to have to always watch and keep track, but doing all this will truly male someone feel better and get better outcomes from working out. Your body needs clean food so you can have clean muscle gains from working out.


Anyone suggest a good scale for measuring chicken/beef?


Also what flavors can i mix with the oatmeal to make it taste better? Something thats not gonna throw off my micros or macros, maybe cinamon?

Dude, you're not an IFBB pro cutting for your next show. If you like cinnamon, throw in some cinnamon. A lot of people will dump in a scoop of protein powder. I'm sure you can find a food scale on Amazon that will work just fine, it's not like you need it to be accurate to the nearest thousandth of a gram.

Go lift heavy, give your diet a shot and if you don't like the results after a month, make some changes.

Edit: can you please explain to me what dirty muscle gains looks like, because at this point, I'll take whatever I can get.

[AggvGtivr6]

Dude, you're not an IFBB pro cutting for your next show.

x2 just increase the clean protein and dont stop til you're full. = more muscle

[kryptonik]

For weighing, just go to bed bath and beyond and buy what you can afford. Mine was 20 bucks I think, and it works real well.

[Papa Dras]

I think it's great that some of you want to be precise with measurements and accuracy of your diets, but realize that it is not necessary. You aren't training for a BB competition in a month. Eat protein, fats, slow carbs and minimal fast carbs. Eat the calories you need to for growth in one meal or 8 meals- it doesn't matter. Focus on keeping tension on your muscles and not on lifting as heavy as you can. Sleep as much as possible.

If you get to complicated, you'll never stick to it.

[SpiffyGTI]

Stop making sense.

[kryptonik]

I think it's great that some of you want to be precise with measurements and accuracy of your diets, but realize that it is not necessary. You aren't training for a BB competition in a month. Eat protein, fats, slow carbs and minimal fast carbs. Eat the calories you need to for growth in one meal or 8 meals- it doesn't matter. Focus on keeping tension on your muscles and not on lifting as heavy as you can. Sleep as much as possible.

If you get to complicated, you'll never stick to it.

Some may find it easier to do this, by tracking their diets.

I think everyone should do an honest and accurate track for a while. It's usually pretty eye opening. I have had friends who thought they ate a lot, be shocked when they saw what they actually were. And, vice-versa.

I know for me, I have no problem eating well into the 3500 calorie range. It's easy, I love eating. Problem is I end up putting on too much weight too fast.

I only track my protein intake, so I know where I am per meal per day. I want between 200 and 225g of protein, and can say that I accurately get that, daily.

My girlfriend on the other hand, tracked for a while, just so she could see how many carbs she was actually getting.

I think everyone on here understands they aren't IFFB pro bodybuilders, but, a lot of people find it a lot easier to measure what they eat, and keep track of it that way. Especially if they are following a IIFYM diet.

[Papa Dras]

It goes back to what I said- if you make it too complicated, you won't do it. If you happen to need to measure and track everything, then go for it. Just realize that it isn't a sustainable way to go about it for very long in most cases, unless there is a specific reason to know exact amounts of fat, calories, etc...

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see this than someone eating fast food and drinking sodas wondering what they need to do to get fit.

[kryptonik]

I guess I just don't see why you feel it isn't a sustainable way to go about things?

When I first started, I tracked and measured 100% of what I ate. It maybe added 5 minutes of time to my day. After a few weeks, it would take a minute or two. It is very easy and I did it for months.

The only reason I'm not doing it 100% now, is because one, I'm not trying to cut weight anymore, and two, I now have a good gauge at exactly where I want to be food wise. But, with it I found it very easy to monitor exactly how many calories I had, and once I hit my protein, I could run in my carbs/fats until I filled my caloric requirements for the day. Made life very easy.

I guess what I'm getting at, is that I found it is not anywhere near as difficult as it seems and it was very satisfying IMO.

And, I think as far as manipulating weight, it makes the task VERY simple, if you know precisely where you want your macros to be. But, the only way to know those macros, are by trial and error, and figuring these things out.

[Papa Dras]

I don't want to carry this on- but based on 20+ years of experience, you are an exception with your dedication to knowing exactly where your macros are. The only people that I have ever witnessed that stick with this are bodybuilders that compete.

My only point in this whole topic is that you do not need to get down to every gram of this or that to build lean muscle. It is not that difficult, and I take issue with people thinking that you need to do this to be successful. Yes, it is a good baseline to get an idea- then stop worrying about it and eat, sleep, and get your ass to work.

[AggvGtivr6]

Made life very easy.

[leakypipeDCI]

Tone.

[Chilledman]

It goes back to what I said- if you make it too complicated, you won't do it. If you happen to need to measure and track everything, then go for it. Just realize that it isn't a sustainable way to go about it for very long in most cases, unless there is a specific reason to know exact amounts of fat, calories, etc...

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see this than someone eating fast food and drinking sodas wondering what they need to do to get fit.

Psh what ever chicken nuggets are great for you there all protein ! :lol:

[Papa Dras]

You kidding me, I love chicken nuggets! I do make my own, though. Unless there is a chick-fil-a close by.

[miscbrah]

Diet is a key factor to building muscle...

Please tell me more!

Tone.

You kidding me, I love chicken nuggets! I do make my own, though. Unless there is a chick-fil-a close by.

There's something satisfying about getting drunk and eating 40 mcnuggets.

[bill mark]

Gym is my passion and i do 5days a week and two days for rest.I do it to keep track of my protein. It adds one step. I take the meat out of the fridge. Place it on a food scale. Then place it in a pan.