Trying to design a meal plan to follow

[Chevyz28]

Hi guys, I've been lifting for a long time. I haven't seen the results I'd like and I really want/need things to change. I think my biggest issue is that I don't eat enough carbs and that I focus solely on protein and calories. I've been lifting for around 5 years, with a year off after some injuries and I lost a ton of weight but I've been back in the gym for about a year. Currently at 160 lbs and I am following Layne Norton's PH3 workout plan.

My goal is to figure out exactly what I need so that I can make an excel spreadsheet with a diet plan. I really want to nail down my diet and see better results. Primary goals are weight gain and strength with the big 3, although I'd like to stay relatively lean.

What should my macros look like? Using the IIFYM calculator I ended up at 19% protein, 17% fat, and 64% carbs. This ended up being 160g protein, 63g fat, 538 carbs, and 3350 calories. Does this sound accurate? I've always had trouble gaining weight even when my calories were north of 3400 (if my weight gainer shake's nutritional values or at all accurate..) 160g of protein doesn't sound like much to me, and 538 carbs sounds like a lot.

 

[lifted67]

I like to run as close to 40/40/20 as I can during a bulk.

If you're looking to keep carbs way up buy a decent rice cooker and like 5-10lbs of brown rice (and white rice-post workout). It's dirt cheap and they last forever.

1-1.5 cup(s) of oats in the morning mixed with a good tasting protein powder and some natty PB is great for calories and carbs.

Potatoes!

You can make steak, egg, and cheese omelets and put them into Tupperware for easy reheat later if you need to eat on the go.

Lots of options if you can find a good grocery store to grab food. (See if there is a GFS) in your area.

Staying lean I wouldn't start higher than 2800-3000 cals a day. And adjust accordingly, if you're staying natty and been lifting 5 years you should aim to gain 1-2 pounds a week.

Other factors include age and training split but this should be at least a good jumping off point.

 

[john.patterson]

What should my macros look like? Using the IIFYM calculator I ended up at 19% protein, 17% fat, and 64% carbs. This ended up being 160g protein, 63g fat, 538 carbs, and 3350 calories. Does this sound accurate? I've always had trouble gaining weight even when my calories were north of 3400 (if my weight gainer shake's nutritional values or at all accurate..) 160g of protein doesn't sound like much to me, and 538 carbs sounds like a lot.

Those macros seem incredibly high for someone who's 160 lbs. I would assess how many calories you're eating now and slowly increase them over a few weeks. Jumping into a 3400 calorie diet could be a disaster, but its hard to tell from not seeing you in person. I would figure out your current intake and increase by 300-500 calories per day. Keep protein at 1-1.3g/pound of lean body mass, 20% of your calories from fat, and the rest from carbs. The IIFYM calc looks a bit skewed with carbs, and I would not suggest simply jumping into a high calorie diet like that from where you are now

 

[Chevyz28]

Thank you guys! I used to track calories awhile ago very closely and never saw results under 3400 (This is including gainer shakes, so I figure their numbers probably weren't the most accurate).

I've always primarily focused on strength and actually wanted to stay around the same weight, but it's time to gain some size.

 

[Chevyz28]

I like to run as close to 40/40/20 as I can during a bulk.

If you're looking to keep carbs way up buy a decent rice cooker and like 5-10lbs of brown rice (and white rice-post workout). It's dirt cheap and they last forever.

1-1.5 cup(s) of oats in the morning mixed with a good tasting protein powder and some natty PB is great for calories and carbs.

Potatoes!

You can make steak, egg, and cheese omelets and put them into Tupperware for easy reheat later if you need to eat on the go.

Lots of options if you can find a good grocery store to grab food. (See if there is a GFS) in your area.

Staying lean I wouldn't start higher than 2800-3000 cals a day. And adjust accordingly, if you're staying natty and been lifting 5 years you should aim to gain 1-2 pounds a week.

Other factors include age and training split but this should be at least a good jumping off point.

Why is brown rice better pre and white rice better post? I never used to eat much rice or oats. After seeing the nutritional value of oats, I wish my head wasn't up my ass the past few years. Not a big fan of eating them, but with that many carbs, it's so worth it.

 

[lifted67]

Why is brown rice better pre and white rice better post? I never used to eat much rice or oats. After seeing the nutritional value of oats, I wish my head wasn't up my ass the past few years. Not a big fan of eating them, but with that many carbs, it's so worth it.

Is that's whole glycemic index, brown rice digest slower for and provides stable energy through carbs. White rice effects the blood sugar, digests quick if taken with protein allegedly gets it into the muscle faster.

Find yourself an amazing protein powder flavor (no bake cookie, birthday cake, Chocolate caramel cookie Stix) and mix it with oats and it makes this yummy dessert batter taste.

 

[Lee_Westwood]

The fact you said gainer shakes makes me wonder how many you were having and could give you the answer to the gain question.. assuming you has 2 servings daily that would be like 1800-2000 of your daily calories from what a gainer ? Which would leave 14-1600 from whole foods .. swap that around .. ensure that you are getting 75% of your daily macronutrients from whole foods with good digestibility .. then if you want to add in the shakes .. i HATE weight gainers mind id rather make my own using oats whey milk peanut butter .. atleast that way you can customise your ratios and trust the quantities and sources


Secondly 3400 seems very steep for a 160lb male .. im 176 and get about 2400 in per day .. 400 from 3 scoops of whey split into 1.5/1.5 and the rest from food .. when i mentioned digestibility you want something thats going to make you feel good .. to pass through your systme with ease and set you up for your next meal or session .. not something that will sit around and make you a gassy bloated mess .. my go to's are the afore mentioned

Jasmine rice
Cream of rice
Oats
Chicken
Mutant isosurge whey / dymatize iso100
Natural peanut / almond butter
Salmon
Avocado
Whole nuts
Potatoes
Cruciferous vegetables

Some good info from the guys on here to find something to suit ive been training for 6 years myself and ' dieting ' as in eating at regular intervals to a specified amount etc. For 18 months so im still toying with my own .. however the above is what i do thus far and ive seen some pretty decent results ?

 

[Chevyz28]

The fact you said gainer shakes makes me wonder how many you were having and could give you the answer to the gain question.. assuming you has 2 servings daily that would be like 1800-2000 of your daily calories from what a gainer ? Which would leave 14-1600 from whole foods .. swap that around .. ensure that you are getting 75% of your daily macronutrients from whole foods with good digestibility .. then if you want to add in the shakes .. i HATE weight gainers mind id rather make my own using oats whey milk peanut butter .. atleast that way you can customise your ratios and trust the quantities and sources


Secondly 3400 seems very steep for a 160lb male .. im 176 and get about 2400 in per day .. 400 from 3 scoops of whey split into 1.5/1.5 and the rest from food .. when i mentioned digestibility you want something thats going to make you feel good .. to pass through your systme with ease and set you up for your next meal or session .. not something that will sit around and make you a gassy bloated mess .. my go to's are the afore mentioned

Jasmine rice
Cream of rice
Oats
Chicken
Mutant isosurge whey / dymatize iso100
Natural peanut / almond butter
Salmon
Avocado
Whole nuts
Potatoes
Cruciferous vegetables

Some good info from the guys on here to find something to suit ive been training for 6 years myself and ' dieting ' as in eating at regular intervals to a specified amount etc. For 18 months so im still toying with my own .. however the above is what i do thus far and ive seen some pretty decent results ��

Thanks for the info dude! Yeah, I have been getting way too much of my nutrients from shakes. I've always had digestive problems and issues eating so it seemed like a good way to get my calorie count high enough. Definitely changing things. Also getting away from gainer shakes and going to make my own, can't believe how easy they are and how nice it is being able to adjust macros accordingly.

 

[TheMovement]

I think Layne has a diet template/calculator for people running the PH3. I love everyones responses and theres alot of info and YES, your calories need to come from more whole food choices, but I will tell you.

IF YOU THINK YOU WILL BE EATING ENOUGH....YOU WILL NOT BE

Im talking hunger that woke me up at 3am, insatiable throughout the day to the point that the bank account and budget were in question. The program takes its toll and the gains are great, but there are no replacements without proper nutrition and SLEEP. Definitely make sure everything is dialed in or else more than performance will suffer.

 

[Chevyz28]

I think Layne has a diet template/calculator for people running the PH3. I love everyones responses and theres alot of info and YES, your calories need to come from more whole food choices, but I will tell you.

IF YOU THINK YOU WILL BE EATING ENOUGH....YOU WILL NOT BE

Im talking hunger that woke me up at 3am, insatiable throughout the day to the point that the bank account and budget were in question. The program takes its toll and the gains are great, but there are no replacements without proper nutrition and SLEEP. Definitely make sure everything is dialed in or else more than performance will suffer.

I absolutely agree. This is why I want to get serious about my diet although I used to think I was serious enough. I did the program once through with my squat and deadlift numbers programmed lower than I really maxed as a way to get back into this style of lifting. Saw great results but there's so much more potential. I want to do this right and see even better results this time around.

 

[Lee_Westwood]

Chevyz28 yeah i bet the gainer was messing with your digestion too as most of them contain maltodextrin etc .. which for me personally causes havoc on my guts.. i used to use mutant mass religiously and it just used to make me bloated for ages! Personal favourite shake of mine is

250ml almond milk unsweetened
1/2 avocado
1tbsp peanut butter
1/2c oats
1.5 scoops whey

The avocado makes it creamy AF lol like a mcdonalds milkshake if you add in ice!