Am I eating right – maintain weight, build muscle

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christhezulu
christhezulu Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
Sorry if this is a long one, but I know you guys appreciate as much information as possible, hopefully this is the right information, I’m still new! I’m not looking to be a body builder, but just want to build some muscle so I am stronger and also show that I go to the gym, up until recently nobody would have thought I went!

I’ve been working to loose some weight and build some muscle over the last few months and managed to get some results, so I’ve gone from about 78kg down to 69.2kg when I weighed in last night (I’m about 175cm tall). I’m looking to maintain the weight now and build more muscle so I’m starting to lift a bit more and do shorter runs at a higher intensity for about 10-15 mins at a time. I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and drink a lot of water, at least 2 litres by 1700, maybe 500ml when in the gym and then anything else at home.

Here’s my food diary for yesterday which is a pretty typical weekday allowance of food. After advice yesterday on here, I will probably start making my own lunches so I can get more food for the calories and more nutrition than a pre-packaged sandwich! The overall calories though are fairly low, so wondered if I do need to consider raising the amount that I eat to substitute my gym sessions and if so, what you guys recommend I start including?

From today, I have added an additional protein shake in the morning (I’ve only ever have 1 about 30mins before the gym). I had this (and will in the future if recommended?) about 60/80mins after my breakfast. I have also bought a few packs of beef jerky as a bit of a snack between breakfast and lunch. I live on 3 meals a day generally but hear I should try keeping my metabolism up through the day by eating little bits in-between, so jerky in the morning, and some fruit between lunch and dinner. The timing for those 3 meals are
06:20 – Breakfast
12:40 – Lunch
18:15 – Dinner
19:30 – Protein shake
20:00 - Gym

Looking forward to your help/advice. Please let me know if you need anymore (P.S – well done for reading this far!)

Replies

  • default
    default Posts: 124 Member
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    Your food diary from yesterday only had 1610 calories, that's really not a sufficient quantity to build your muscle mass. You need a surplus of calories in order to build more muscle mass. Take your protein shake after working out.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    The overall calories though are fairly low
    How do you know how many calories you're consuming? You're diary appears to be empty. 1600 cals.? Not nearly enough to bulk. Eat more.
  • christhezulu
    christhezulu Posts: 12
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    i've been slack on the diary recently, but the one day yesterday is a fair representation of an average day for the last 2 months for me to loose weight and get rid of my belly. now i've achieved that, i guess i need to up the calories with good nutiotional food.

    Is it not a good idea to have a protein shake in the morning then, keep it centered around the workout itself?

    I'm going to try being stricter with myself when it comes to keeping a diary. i've really portioned down when it comes to my food, so i will work to increase that, i just have the worry that i will put the fat back on? hopefully someone has gone through a similar transition/plan and has some advice on that aspect... maybe im being overly concerned!
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    i guess i need to up the calories with good nutiotional food.
    Yes.
    Is it not a good idea to have a protein shake in the morning then, keep it centered around the workout itself?
    Protein shakes are helpful if you find yourself falling short of your protein goals. Beyond that they are not a magical potion that you build a routine around.
    i just have the worry that i will put the fat back on?
    If you are attempting to build muscle you will put some fat on along with the muscle. It's the way it is. If you've learned how to properly lose weight you can lose the fat after you've put on some muscle. With weight gain you're adding muscle and fat. With weight loss you're losing muscle and fat. With a proper diet and exercise you can reduce the amount of muscle loss when you're losing weight. It's a balance.

    The thread topic is a bit confusing. You want to maintain your weight and build muscle. It would be easier to pick one as a goal. Doing both at the same time is difficult and can take a long time to see minimal gains. When you're maintaining your not feeding your body enough calories to effectively build muscles.

    Check out the gaining weight forums, lots of good info there.

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