New member + diet question

[masfirme2]

Hello. I just joined the forum. I have been at the gym for about 3 weeks now and my friend put me on a meal plan which I wanted to get checked out by you guys. First, I am 5'8 185, 25yrs old. Iam trying to burn off my stomach and build muscle. I eat 1500 cal/day, 20g fat 116g carb 198g protein and about 80g sugar. I've lost about 3lbs so far

My diet consist of:
9:30am - protein shake (22g) w/ 12oz skim milk + 1tbs all nat pb +1 banana and (multi vit, omega3)
12:30pm - 2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices thin deli turkey, 1 slice non fat cheese
3:30 pre workout 12oz skim milk + protein shake (22g)
5:00 post workout protein shake w/ water + 3 slices white bread
8:00 1 skinless chicken breast +1 cup greens
11:00 fat free cottage cheese (6oz)
1 gal water per day

Am i consuming too little calories? I workout as:

Day 1 - chest/tri
Day 2 - back/bi
Day 3 - off
Day 4- leg
day 5- off/abs
day 6- off

I throw about a mile of eliptical on days 1 and 2 as well.

Thanks for the help. I didnt mean to crowd the page up with a long post.. ; )

 

[Rabid_Goose]

I'm 5'7" and weigh around 194ish right now and I'm cutting. I was consuming 2200 calories and was losing 3-4 pounds a week almost so now I'm going to start eating 2440 calories and give me my ratio of 40/30/30. 177g of Protein, 129g of Fat, 128g of carbs. 1500 calories is not enough, I'm sure you could eat more then that.

 

[masfirme2]

I'm 5'7" and weigh around 194ish right now and I'm cutting. I was consuming 2200 calories and was losing 3-4 pounds a week almost so now I'm going to start eating 2440 calories and give me my ratio of 40/30/30. 177g of Protein, 129g of Fat, 128g of carbs. 1500 calories is not enough, I'm sure you could eat more then that.

actually im more around like 1650. It did take me about 2 weeks in the gym to build up enough endurance for a decent workout... I believe im about 19-20% body fat, it is clearly in my stomach/love handles. Maybe I shouldnt even be worrying about it at this point and trying to build bulk muscle instead? Anyone around here in the same boat in terms of height/weight/bf?

 

[Rabid_Goose]

I think I am, 5'7", 5'8" if ya round up haha. 195 ish pounds, probably 21% BF or 20%, no idea. Can't find a decent guy with some calipers.

If you want a cutting diet I have one, 40pro/30carb/30fat ratio, only have to cook chicken so really easy to stick with.

 

[masfirme2]

I think I am, 5'7", 5'8" if ya round up haha. 195 ish pounds, probably 21% BF or 20%, no idea. Can't find a decent guy with some calipers.

If you want a cutting diet I have one, 40pro/30carb/30fat ratio, only have to cook chicken so really easy to stick with.

no big deal, i love to cook..I'm italian, so you can imagine everything i cook involves some unhealthy pasta lol

 

[whitedragon]

You need to eat about 2200 cals a day too. You don't want to kill your metabolism and set yourself up for failure.

 

[poysyn]

You need to eat about 2200 cals a day too. You don't want to kill your metabolism and set yourself up for failure.

absolutely..my 10 year old sister eats about 1,000 more calories than you do at what you are intaking. Not consuming enough calories will result in a lot of muscle loss and most likely lead to adverse results. i would say no less than 1900, and ideally around 2200..

you can play around with it a little as it does vary from person to person..

 

[masfirme2]

What would be an easy way to add about 4-500 calories to my diet? Maybe eat something more with my lunch? or? any ideas on what type of food? Brown rice maybe ? My friend tells me I probably burn somewhere around 3-400 calories at the gym in a workout.

Thank You,

Chris

 

[poysyn]

What would be an easy way to add about 4-500 calories to my diet? Maybe eat something more with my lunch? or? any ideas on what type of food? Brown rice maybe ? My friend tells me I probably burn somewhere around 3-400 calories at the gym in a workout.

Thank You,

Chris

Keeping track of how many calories you burn is extremely difficult and IMO is a complete waste of time. The more exercise you perform the more you need to eat in order to sustain muscle. If you do 4 hours of cardio every day and lift 5x a week, you will obviously require more calories to function correctly.

In order to add calories to your meals..well I have no idea what your diet looks like. Post a sample of your diet and a lot of people on these boards can make suggestions for ya.

Are you eating something before bed to keep your metabolism going? If not, you can easily add some cals there. I'd also recommend adding calories to breakfast if it is a light meal as of right now. Else, just make sure all your meals are fairly evenly divided. If ya need to add something here and there in order to hit your target cals then go for it. Just keep the additions clean and you will be good to go.

 

[*Bunny*]

Keeping track of how many calories you burn is extremely difficult and IMO is a complete waste of time.

While I usually agree with his posts... I do not agree with this statement.

masfirme2 post your diet so we can have a look.

Healthy fats (i.e. almonds can add about 165 cals per ounce, generally speaking)

Once you can get an idea for cals, foods, etc you dont need to track everything everyday. Keeps most people I deal with daily honest with themselves about what they are really eating, over eating or not eating and making sure they are not adversely affecting his/her training by lacking in protein carbs and not to forget fats.

I do agree that 1500 cals is too low, esp if you want to build muscle, that is below a cutting figure for you.

9:30am - protein shake (22g) w/ 12oz skim milk + 1tbs all nat pb +1 banana and (multi vit, omega3)
12:30pm - 2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices thin deli turkey, 1 slice non fat cheese
3:30 pre workout 12oz skim milk + protein shake (22g)
5:00 post workout protein shake w/ water + 3 slices white bread
8:00 1 skinless chicken breast +1 cup greens
11:00 fat free cottage cheese (6oz)
1 gal water per day

^^ put an average day into fitday and let me see the macros (Protein/carb/fat %'s)

IMO you need more veggies and healthy fats / EFA's
Stay away from the processed bread products and try to eat better carb sources like sweet/baked potato, brown rice.

You could add a tbsp of anpb to your pre workout shake (NOT post postwork) and maybe some more fat pre bed with the cottage cheese.