[kgp123]

I eat on average 6 times a day consisting of purely of eggs(mornings) whole wheat bread, light mayo with tuna (5 cans/day), apples/oranges, and protein shakes after workouts and again 2 hours before sleep. I dont know, seems like Im eating the right amount. Am i just eating the wrong foods? ANY suggestions welcome...

[Ziricote]

Can you give more detail of your diet and training routine? Off the top of your head how many calories are you eating? Seems to me you're just not eating enough complex carbs or whole source proteins.

[lgkitfox]

Be sure to get alot of greens in your diet, at least a small amount every meal if you can wrangle it. Think of it this way, the more nutritionally balanced your diet is (macronutriet composistion, proper amounts of EFA's and other fats etc, lots of protein, complex carbs and fiberous..etc), the stronger your immune system is.

Poliquin (one of the best strength trainers in the world) believes, and rightly so, that the less your body has to worry about it's own health due to what you feed it, the more resources it dedicates to the growth you stimulate it.

Nuts, oils, eggs, (flax, grape, coconut, fish) are good fats.

brown rice, oat meal, bran fiber, wheat fiber (and any other variety of fiber really) are excellant complex carbs (stay away from the white grains!!).

where as fruits (especially berries for their potent anti oxidants) ie apples, blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate, cranberry, grape, etc are a good source of sugarous carbs.


Best thing you can do is log what you eat for a week or two using a program like www.fitday.com ...keep track of how many carbs/fats/protein grams per day and the total caloric intake for a regular day for you is. At the end of this week/two weeks check the scale, measurments and the mirror, and see any changes that have occured, and adjust accordingly (increase calories if you havent gained weight).

[fasthumpman]

Originally Posted by kgp123

I eat on average 6 times a day consisting of purely of eggs(mornings) whole wheat bread, light mayo with tuna (5 cans/day), apples/oranges, and protein shakes after workouts and again 2 hours before sleep. I dont know, seems like Im eating the right amount. Am i just eating the wrong foods? ANY suggestions welcome...

5 cans of tuna a day! Wow.... if you keep that up you might run the risk of mercury poisoning. replace some of that tuna with chicken breast. also you need to count the amout of calories you eat on a normal day and then bump it up by 500 to 1000. or multiply your body weight by 18 or 19 and thats the amount of calories you should be consuming to put on the lbs. when i first started out i ate normally throughout the day but threw in 2 home made weight gain shakes in the mix(1 in the morning and 1 before bed) protein is another big factor try to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per lb of body weight. good luck man just remember that everybody's body is different and you just have to experiment until you find what works for you.

[tattoopierced1]

gd thats alot of tuna... i'd look to cut that down IMO.

to add to what lgkitfox said, there is another carb source you can look into that has a great macronutrient profile called Quinoa, it is pretty calorie dense, is a good source of carbs, and has a good amount of fiber in it. Taste is pretty neutral so adding things into it for flavor work well.

[warriorway]

Somebody said stay away from the white carbs, but a little pasta might stick to your bones. Your probably at the age where you could eat almost anything and your metabolism could handle it.

[Nabisco]

I would highly recommend you stop eating 5 cans of tuna a day. Thats just asking for mercury poisoning right there. IMO I'd cut that down to 1 can of tuna/day at the most. Replace those other 4 cans with lean ground beef, lean steaks, chicken, turkey, or other fish (salmon, tilapia, flounder, trout).

First thing first boss, red meat contains a lot of minerals and omegas that your body requires. Obviously you don't want to consume large quantities of fatty red meat, but a steak here and there and lean (93% or better) ground beef is an excellent option. And the fact that you're trying to gain weight you could even dip to 85-90% lean ground beef. Another alternate is lean ground turkey which you can find at nearly any grocery store.

Chicken man. Lots of chicken. Easy to cook, low in fat, and high in quality protein. Just stick a bunch in the oven and bake them, then toss them in tupperware to eat throughout the week. Choose your own seasoning or even dipping sauces since you're on a bulk.

Fish should be a required part of everybody's diet, but many people do without. Salmon is a fish high in good fats. And something that is not well known outside the bodybuilding industry is that you NEED good fats to build muscle.

Eggs are also a great source of solid protein as well as healthy fats, but you are already eating them so no need to go into detail there.

With each of these meats, add a complex carb source. You're bulking, so eat wheat pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, Quinoa, rice, or Ezekiel bread.

In addition to your meat, your complex carb source, add veggies. Nothing stokes your metabolism and has so few calories as green veggies like broccoli, grean beans, and leafy greens.

Lastly, add some additional good fats. Fish Oil, Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil. If you'd rather just eat things as opposed to dosing oils, almonds, natural peanut butter, and the fish mentioned above. If you don't like almonds, try another form of nut (walnuts aren't half bad either).

If your plate looks like there is too much food on it, then you're making a start. Too many people underestimate what they are taking in. And for some people (I was 5'11, 150 up until my third year in college) its necessary to eat very far over maintenance calories to gain weight.

Here is an easy way to start. Build three solid meals. You said you are already eating eggs and wheat toast for breakfast, a good start. Add more egg whites, as you don't want to eat too many whole eggs everyday. Add some form of fruit. And slather natural peanuts butter on your toast. At lunch have a large serving of fish/chicken/beef with some complex carbs and veggies. Then repeat for dinner.

Then build three simple and quick meals. This is where a can of tuna, and some fruit. Or a home-made weightgainer shake will come in handy.

I find its easier to start if you only have to build 3 large well balanced meals. Obviously it would be better if you built 6 large well balanced meals, but thats not always possible. So start with the three meals and add those shakes. There are plenty of good shake recipes on the board and everyone here has one they swear by. A simple but easy one is to grind up 1.5 cup of oats in a coffee grinder, add in milk, peanut butter, and some whey protein. Its a simple and easy ~500 calories. Three of those a day is 1500 calories added to three well balance meals should have you sitting at about 3500 calories.

Good luck boss and feel free to ask anymore questions you may have as there are plenty of guys and gals on here with a ton of experience.

[lgkitfox]

Originally Posted by warriorway

Somebody said stay away from the white carbs, but a little pasta might stick to your bones. Your probably at the age where you could eat almost anything and your metabolism could handle it.

He can eat wheat pasta

to add to what lgkitfox said, there is another carb source you can look into that has a great macronutrient profile called Quinoa, it is pretty calorie dense, is a good source of carbs, and has a good amount of fiber in it. Taste is pretty neutral so adding things into it for flavor work well.

Great post here, Quinoa...forgot about this ancient grain, another one is Kamut!

[kgp123]

thanks for steerin me in the right direction as lost as i was. ill try out some of that carb stuff

[VolcomX311]

Can you buy Wheat Pasta anywhere? That keto pasta tastes like crap.

[kgp123]

actually yeah, i can. thanks for the tip

[kw1k]

Originally Posted by kgp123

I eat on average 6 times a day consisting of purely of eggs(mornings) whole wheat bread, light mayo with tuna (5 cans/day), apples/oranges, and protein shakes after workouts and again 2 hours before sleep. I dont know, seems like Im eating the right amount. Am i just eating the wrong foods? ANY suggestions welcome...

Hey man

I'm turning 20 in 2 months, and I'm also 5'6. 2 years ago i started off at 135 lbs. Today I weigh in at 173lbs @ 14-15% bf. The advice that everyone has posted is basically what i did, i ate my nuts off and trained hard.


Oh and btw Squats and Dead lifts are a must!

good luck!

[bassgod272]

Originally Posted by VolcomX311

Can you buy Wheat Pasta anywhere? That keto pasta tastes like crap.

Barilla is a company that makes wheat pasta. It comes in a blue box and the logo is red and white. It tastes awesome, but i have never had it plain. I always make spaghetti with it