Good Clean Mass

[Stoneman]

So hey guys, I spent the last 6 months losing 40 pounds, and now I would like to replace that pudge with pure beef, but I am terrified of getting fat again. What should my diet look like? How much should I eat?

I've been browsing training diets and I'm just still wary of carbs. How much is safe, knowing I have a tendency to spread?

I'm 23 and I weigh 170 at 6' right now.

[Stoneman]

Am I overcomplicating this? Should I just eat as my appetite dictates (more)? How much should I rely on protein powders and muscle milk? Is this not the most opportune forum for questions such as these? Should I continue doing cardio in hopes of continuing to lose fat while I try to pack on the muscle? How much muscle can I reasonably expect to grow in 3 and a half months? What should I eat when 'good' carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice) are not readily accessible? Is it possible to count calories without access to nutrition facts? How imperative is calorie-counting?

I'm full of questions.

[inflated]

Eat lots of fresh vegetables, avoid fruit juices and soda, lean meats, eggs, whole milk, this should be the foundation of your diet. Brown rice and sweet potatoes are available everywhere on the planet-except for antarctica. Make food the night before and bring to work in a container. Avoid fast food, late night sugary or salty snacks. One simple rule the less processed it is, the better it usually is. Stay away from the middle aisles in the grocery store--no food there, only processed crap for the convenience of lazy fat people. If food does not eventually go bad, its not food, beware of overprocessed, over preserved foodlike products. Do not count calories it will drive you crazy, its better to eat healthy and keep a food diary.

[mewletter]

A daily food journal sounds alien to me, but at least can keep track of what you had eaten today or even yesterday. I'm sure most of the people can't recall what they had eaten last Tuesday night.

Maybe I should get one, although my mom's dinners are very hard to keep track since it's kind of exotic and unique. (sweet and sour pork mixed with sweet potatoes and onions with a pinch of sesame seeds, anyone?)

Just eat clean and had frequent but 'moderate' meals daily, and you be fine.

[Stoneman]

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I'm following most of the rules, I have another pesky question though:

Do you count vegetables (fibrous carbs) as carbs?

[Stoneman]

So what do you fellas do when you're trying to gain mass, and you gain a little more fat than you intended to?

Cut down on fat intake?

Cut down on carb intake?

Cut down on food intake?

Or just up the cardio?

[inflated]

Originally Posted by Stoneman

So what do you fellas do when you're trying to gain mass, and you gain a little more fat than you intended to?

Cut down on fat intake?

Cut down on carb intake?

Cut down on food intake?

Or just up the cardio?

Cut down on carb intake and up the intensity of your workouts a bit--that could mean lifting heavier, more reps, with slow deliberate form etc. Cutting out fat will not make you leaner----Adkins diet allows fat and people get leaner because they eliminate carbs. The body goes into storage mode and produces fat when there is an abundance of sugar (carbs) in the system. Most Americans are fatter today because of carbs mostly sugar but also a lot of starches.

[BIGJOEY]

i found it amazing that none of the replies answered his question. He stated he wanted to replace what he lost with muscle. First you have to realize that fat and muscle are 2 different cell things in your body and one cannot change into the other. For you the following would be good ;

a small meals a day each containing protein and a good carb source. For you i would in th beginning do 3/4 of a gram of protein per 1 lb of body weight. its not really a big amount when broken down over 5 meals. protein sources, lean beef, chicken, fish( white) , eggs, cottage cheese, turkey, natural peanut butter. carb sources, oatmeal, yams, brown rice, broccoli, asapragus, gree beans carrots and red skin potatos. for portitions sizes i would suggest the following for proteins 4-6 oz. carbs, oatmeal 1/2-3/4 cup. yam or sweet pot 1 medium size, red skin 6 oz, all veggies 1 cup. for now your worksout should be about 1 hour long. 3-4 working sets 5-7 reps .

Now to carbs. your body does need them to a point. the ones you dont need are the usless ones. whits breads, pasta, sugars, sweets, white rice , etc. as for meals at night try cottage cheese. one thing your body does use what is called good fats. Good fats are essential to good health of your joints and your glands . Good fats are omega 3's such as flax oli, olive oil, . If you need more help contact me

[nnnrg]

One of the recommendations I got from my diabetic training was a rule of thumb that's very effective for controlling food. Divide your plate into quadrants. One quadrant gets the serving of protein appropriate for the meal. A typical rule is that it's about the size of a deck of cards if it's meat. An adjacent quadrant gets a serving of carbohydrate - basically the same general volume as the meat. The other two quadrants are filled with vegetables, as close to raw as is reasonable. The veggies are things like string beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage, whatever ... root vegetables like turnips and potatoes are highly starchy, we want the veggies to be not-starchy. No sugary dressings. No highly fatty dressings. Use olive oil or omega-3 type oils as dressing in small amounts if you want them. Eat four to five meals a day, spread out over the day, with your daily caloric intake calculated and distributed over those meals.

Sounds simple, right? Is hard in practice, but it can be done even if you use fast-foods (just choose the right foods in the right proportions and throw away the stuff you don't want, like the extra buns if they insist on providing them.)