I’m a 21 year old 170lb male that weight trains 5x a week. I’m looking to gain weight (and muscle) and I’m struggling to construct a practical diet somewhere around 3000 calories and 170g (1g/lb) of protein per day.
So far, the best thing I can construct is as follows:
Breakfast: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich + banana + string cheese (520 calories/20g protein)
Lunch (1hr preworkout): 4 eggs + 2 pieces of toast (525 calories/25g protein)
Dinner: .5lbs ground beef + 1 cup rice (880 calories/40g protein)
All in all totaling 1,925 calories and 85 grams of protein.
For the remaining 1000 calories and 65g of protein, I’m thinking some protein rich healthy snacks and a post workout shake would do the trick. I also feel like this diet is really slacking in vegetables, so if you have any suggestions on snacks, shakes and a way to work vegetables into my diet please let me know.
Alternatively, don’t be afraid to completely crap on the diet plan I have set out as I won’t take any offense, I have no idea what I’m doing. I really just want to start structuring my bulk as opposed to continuing the “throw as much food into my stomach as possible” bulking strategy that I’ve used thus far. Any pointers are appreciated, thanks.
Go for full fat (or even reduced fat if you must)! It’ll keep you full for much longer and contribute to the daily energy intake.
Recent studies have also shown that despite being primarily saturated, these fats are still beneficial when from fermented dairy sources (yogurts, kefirs, cheeses).