New Diet - please critique

[The Living Legend]

Based upon threads and posts in this forum, mostly written by Warboss Alex, I've put together a diet that I plan to follow to steadily build muscle, burn fat, and get myself into shape. Right now I've got a serious case of skinny-fatness so either bulking or cutting in themselves wouldn't be so great. If I cut, I'd have next to no muscle mass whatsoever. If I bulked, I'd probably add a bunch of fat due to an already high body fat percentage. I've posted the diet below. I ask anyone to critique this as harshly as possible, as I'd like to get as many bugs as I can out of this diet.

My exercise program focuses on the big lifts and cardio 3 times a week, but that's a whole other topic. I'm 6'3", 185 lbs, ~20% bf. I know, it sucks.

Meal 1:

-1 cup of oatmeal (made with skim milk)
-1.5 scoops of ON whey protein in 12 oz. of skim milk
-1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil

773 calories - 60g protein - 58g carbs - 25g fat - 10g fiber

Meal 2:

-Peanut Butter Sandwich (two slices of whole wheat bread with two tablespoons of natural peanut butter)
-1.5 scoops of ON whey protein in 12 oz. of skim milk
-1 serving of ultra fuel (adds 100g carbs - only on workout days)

710 calories - 62g protein - 69g carbs (+100g on workout days)-
38g fat - 8g fiber

Meal 3:

- 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 0.5 cups of cooked brown rice

319 calories - 50g protein - 23g carbs - 7g fat - 5g fiber

Meal 4 (repeat of meal 3):

- 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 0.5 cups of cooked brown rice

319 calories - 50g protein - 23g carbs - 7g fat - 5g fiber

Meal 5:

-1.5 scoops of ON whey protein in 12 oz. of skim milk

294 calories - 36g protein - 6g carbs - 16g fat - 0g fiber

Meal 6:

-1.5 cups of cottage cheese
-1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil

372 calories - 54g protein - 9g carbs - 17g fat

Total for the day: 2732 (+400 on workout days) calories - 324g protein - 205g carbs - 96g fat - 28g fiber

My biggest notes/concerns with this diet are:

Variety. I'm bored with the diet just by writing it. I'm just looking to get started, then add some spice to the diet once I get the fundamentals down.

I don't mind following a strict diet. Believe me when I say I've done much more monotonous things in my life than follow a stringent diet every day. I'll take cheat meals if a reason comes along.

Protein. Is it enough?

Liquid food. I don't like having three protein shakes in the diet, but I'm on the go all of the time and I'm just trying to get this off the ground until it becomes habit.

Fruit/Veggies. I hate veggies. Manning up and eating whatever works for me on anything but most veggies. I'll almost definitely add some fruit. This is just what I've put together for now.

I'm probably missing some stuff but I can't think of them right now. Any input guys? Be brutal.

Thanks all.

 

[Create Reality]

There's an ongoing discussion about if milk is all that good for people to drink, but this looks like a solid plan. Yes add some fruit post workout and in the mornings. Personally I like Cantalope and Bananas (what am I saying, I like almost all fruits!)

It's gonna be a ***** choking down all those chicken breasts. I suggest you add some sauce to that plan to put on your chicken, but that usually adds a bit of fat. Sauce goes a long way in making food more appealing to eat.

Liquid food worries? It's not like you've lived in a brutal POW camp for the last year. No worries.

 

[AgonyUncle]

Consider replacing chicken with fish every other day.

You need to add more veg to that diet. Your greens like Broccoli and string beans are high in fiber, and will give your body an additional source of nutrients. Veg is not only low in calories, but being high in fibre will help you feel full for longer.

Your protein count is high, so you are getting more then enough in. Its a good diet though.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I like the structure and quality of the diet, but have some comments.

First, your protein needs to be as close to 400g as possible - that's slightly in excess of 2g per lb and I would go as far as to recommend something like 2.25g even, it's especially important if you want to burn fat and build muscle at the same time. Muscles are built from protein - the metabolic effect of high protein keeps the metabolism up.

A peanut butter sandwich is mixing fats and carbs - if you can get away with this more power to you, I don't believe in a meticulous seperation myself but if you're having trouble losing the fat you might want to reconsider the meal. Keep it for now though.

I would also say more carbs or fats, your calories are low (higher fats on off days, higher carbs on workout days). I'd say you'd have to get in a good 3500kcal minimum (and quite possibly more). A high calorie diet is crucial to building muscle but also keeps the metabolism up, the digestive system working well and forces the body to become more adept at partitioning nutrients.

Re the milk et al - if dairy doesn't bother you stick with it. If you have trouble dropping fat cut it out for a month and see what happens. *then proceeds to dollop heavy cream all over his oatmeal*

You don't mention post-workout nutrition anywhere - do you take a post-workout shake or meal? Either is fine but both are better. Fast protein and fast/slow/both carbs after a workout followed up with a balanced meal about an hour later.

You have chicken and brown rice for two meals of the day - and you say you don't like it, find a way to make your chicken and rice taste nice or consider swapping it for something else. You guys in the states have loads of cal-free or fatfree sauces etc, take advantage of them! If the food don't taste nice it won't go down.

I see no eggs or red meat in your diet - the two most anabolic foodstuffs in my opinion. I would try to incorporate one or both (maybe swap a chicken meal for beef).

Veggies are a must for fibre and vitamins. Try to eat some at least. You won't die without them but you won't be doing yourself any favours either. Don't you like ANY veg?

Three liquid meals are okay, I'd prefer a 2:1 ratio or better of solid:liquid meals though. Try some egg shakes (whole eggs + whey) as well for calories and anabolic goodness.

I don't get how you can follow a strict diet but get bored with the variety in your current one? Anyhoo - in short, more calories, more protein, more solid food if possible, eggs, red meat, greens. Don't forget to take your multivitamins, antioxidants (I recommend green/white tea) and EFAs (though you take flax so you should have this covered).

To burn fat and build muscle your training must be up to scratch - low volume, high intensity workouts are the name of the game here, plus LOTS of fat-burning cardio - 5 times a week minimum (offdays being leg day plus one day of total rest if you feel you need it), 30-45 minutes a time .. start at 45 and see if you need less (there is a WORLD of difference between 30 and 45 min sessions).

I'd like to see your training schedule too.

 

[TheTrader]

alex can i get your opinion on lean pigmeat is this a good substitute for the more expensive lean beef?

 

[The_Lifter]

While it is possible to do what you are describing, a 'recomp', wherein you attempt to lose fat while building muscle, it is beset with difficulty. Unless you're doing something really intelligent like UD2.0 and know your body inside out, you're better just chosing one rather than doing a half-assed attempt at both.

Warboss, your claims for protein requirements are VASTLY misguided. I don't know where you're pulling your figures from, but I'd venture your ass. The only way anyone would need that much is if they were on the sh.it or, equally stupid, doing long bouts of keto.

Adjunct:

Fu.ck the 'fat burning' cardio (which I interpret to mean low intensity bulls.hit). Unless you're doing it alpha mediated, low intensity cardio is bollocks. Read the two articles on sprinting below and slam in two sessions a week. It's all you'll need, I can assure you.

Sprinting 1: http://www.mindandmuscle.net/magmain.php?issueID=21&pageID=274

Sprinting 2: http://www.mindandmuscle.net/magmain.php?issueID=25&pageID=309

 

[Warboss Alex]

edited - not worth the bother. I'm not gonna argue the toss anymore, you guys are not willing to listen, not willing to be open to new ideas, take Men's Health, bbing.com and studies as gospel and generally are doing the same as what 90% of the guys in gyms today are doing - not growing or growing very slowly (there are exceptions of course) just because you don't think the body can assimilate more than 30g protein at a time, that any more is wasted and will destroy your kidneys, everything is calories-in/calories-out, can't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, let's bulk and cut, culk and but, dumbbell kickbacks and god knows what else.

Stick with what you're doing, everyone. Then in five years time, see where you are (if you're where you want then more power to you) but if you're not, take a look at what people who DID grow significantly did, and maybe you'll change your minds.

Trying to talk to you guys is like flogging a dead horse sometimes.

the trader - pigmeat/pork is fine as long as it's fairly lean, but you can't eat it undercooked like you can beef so don't try medium rare pork chops.. (it's a bit harder on the digestion though)

 

[TheTrader]

alex -

just wanted to say that i really appreciate your posts and im in the process of following your advice. it's hard to change habits espiacially if you havent lifted seriously for a while but i aim for above 2g protein and will do the cardio in the morning and cut back on carbs in the evening and eat instead some vegetables and get some red meat and eggs daily.

all i can say is that when i had a protein intake of 300-400g daily(mainly through whey though) i made good progress but i got pretty fat due to no cardio and pizza for evening. im excited how my body will develop when i've changed my habits of eating white toast with nutella to what you recommend =)

 

[Shiftkey]

I'd add some vegies and come up with some alternate meals. Lean beef, fish, and eggs are great sources of protein.

What has your diet been like in the past? If you're on a fast food diet with lots of saturated fat and crap carbs, you should make a lot of progress with this diet. If you ate OK and made half ass attempts to eat healthy in the past, you might be eating too many caleries. I'm guessing you're somewhere in between, like most people. I'd stick to this diet (with vegies and more variety) for a month or so. If you're losing weight overall, stick with it. If you're gaining weight, you're probably not losing fat and you'll need to cut the caleries by 500 or so. At 20% BF, fat loss should be your primary goal. Don't worry about gaining muscle at this point.

 

[zip]

You should add 5 things:

#1 oranges. Eat an orange a day. Full of vitamin C, no extra sugars and crap like the juices in the store. Just one whole orange. They are good for your skin also.

#2 blueberries. The most important fruit ever. Eat a ton of them.

#3 green tea. you wonder why the japanese have the longest life expectancy.

#4 almonds. the best nut for men. no more than a few a day. DO NOT just snack on these all day - not good, very high in fat, just a few a day.

#5 spinach. NEVER EVER BY LETTUCE AGAIN. IT HOLDS NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE. Always use spinach leaves. Eat spinach every day.

edit: and replace one of the chickens with a can of tuna fish (white tuna) max intake for canned tuna = 2 cans a week. no more.

 

[zip]

also....

EGGE WHITES! If you get tired of just eating chicken for protein- go to egg whites. Like 4 for a meal.

 

[Shiftkey]

Originally posted by zip
also....

EGGE WHITES! If you get tired of just eating chicken for protein- go to egg whites. Like 4 for a meal.

And don't worry about ingested cholesterol either. Ingested cholesterol does NOT turn into actual cholesterol; saturated and trans fat does.

 

[semag]

To The_Lifter:

Being my age, I think you should chill out a bit, because trust me, we have not been on the earth long enough to know anything of how to really get anything accomplished.

To original poster:

I think that when combining fats and carbs, bad things can happen (pizza, ice cream, burgers, sandwhiches w/ cheese, etc) And to minimize those bad things, go for something like this...

fat/pro meal = no more than 10 g carbs
fat/carb meal = no more than ~8g fat

 

[The_Lifter]

Careful sweetheart, making unfounded generalisations like that will get you into trouble. How is it that you be so sure of anyone's worldly experience? Personal milieu? Don't you see the fallacy you're committing?


Warboss: I didn’t have an opportunity to read your retort, but I would have liked to. Don't feel bad about being called on the lack of evidence for the protocols you trumpet - I deal with people like you every day in the gym. If you think you know better; you’re welcome to that opinion. I don't read BB.com and I certainly don't read Men’s Health. I know what works and I know what doesn't. I tend to base my stratagems for optimal hypertrophy on scientific fact as opposed to gym science or numbers plucked from the ether of invention. Do you even know what UD2.0 is? Do you think glutamine actually works? Have you ever visited Pubmed or Medline to evidence what you’re saying? Didn't think so.

I can't be too harsh though, I'm fully aware this isn't a bodybuilding board.

 

[manuva]

Is the attitude really necessary Lifter?