that would be good actually. i have never really done a program for muscle gain so my fears are somewhat irrational ( did weights and cardio for weight loss for over a year) the main reason i get deflated is because i cant really visualise myself with more muscle (on my bone structure) i get the impression i haven't been eating enough for muscle gain.
my typical diet is:
breafkast 5am - corn flakes and low fat soy milk (prob double recommended serve)
snack 9am - apple and or banana + coffee with low fat milk and 2 sugar
lunch noon - salad with pita bread and ham or cold chicken (usually contains avocado cheese or walnuts for fat content)
second lunch 3pm - ive been trying to eat rice, pasta or stirfry (with no cheese) for extra energy, somtimes i dont eat this meal coz i cant be bothered making anything and sometimes its subway or similar
dinner 6pm - whatever mum makes lol. nearlly always contains a good serve of meat+3 vegetables but varies heaps.
somtimes have desert of low fat icecream and fresh fruit
nearly every day have 2 squares of dark chocolate
thats about it for during the week. since ive been eating the second lunch and really watching the fat ive started to notice im dropping fat (abs starting to show) but haven't lost any weight.
weekends is probably where i eat(drink) the worst, usually consume 10 cans or so of bourbon and coke or other alcohol. i don't see myself giving that up as its a social thing so thats why i watch my fat intake so much. the other thing is i usually dont wake up till lunch on weekends then its often a pub lunch. so i might only eat 2 meals on a sat or sun.
anything stand out? i know the alcohol is probably the killer and im starting to look at that a bit more. ive allways been skeptical of diet coke and haven't used it because it doesn't taste as good and is meant to be bad for u although it seems like i could cut allot of calories by switching. do you drink much? i know some beers are low carb but tend to taste hollow and i couldn't drink any volume of it.
another thing ive noticed is that when i do drink heaps on a weekend or holiday i tend to actually lose weight rather than gain (prob coz running around pissed)
hmmm. couple things I notice here, first - sounds like you are eating enough meals through the day, but you are not eating enough protien and You want to completly eliminate any type of sugar from your diet, this includes simple sugars found in white flour/bread, cerals, white potatoes...etc. you need to consume lean protien (chicken breast, tuna, 90% lean beef, fish, whey protien powder....etc) at EVERY meal, and your carb source should be things like:
100% whole wheat breads
oats
sweet potatoes
brown rice (my favortie)
fats are essential before bed, and you'll want to avois them before and after your workouts. healthy fats include
'raw' nuts - no salt, unroasted
natural peanut butter
avocados are good!
as far as you're drinking goes....10 cans of soda will ruin anything your trying to acomplish. try switching to diet soda, or even better just soda water. my drink of choice is a vodka soda. no sugar!
I drink too on the weekends, sometimes a little too much! its a part of our culture and social life for a young guy and its important to go and have a good time and socialize. remeber - everything in moderation...
and you only losing weight on the scale after drinking heavily because your extreamly dehydrated - not because you're burning fat. trust me. our muscles are made from 20% protien and 80% water!
when i drink alot of alcohol, I tend to avoid eating before bed, and consume a huge amount of water before i go to sleep - this helps.
head over to
www.bodybuilding.com and read up on nutrition and basic training for a beginner. teach yourself everyting you need to know, and avoid all the 'experts' at the gym, and defanatly avoid any roids, or prohormoes, expecially with our condition. 90% of the guys in the gym dont know what they are talking about anyway!
the info is out there man, just gotta take the time to arm yourself with it.