Diet 911: lean muscle.(NUTRITION NOTEBOOK).

Strawberries and protein, originally uploaded by jcoterhals.

I'm a longtime reader from Germany and a huge fan of "Diet 911." Unfortunately, I've had trouble implementing your tips in my diet I'm 27 years old, 5'9" and 160 pounds. I hit the gym four times a week, and want to gain lean mass and lose bodyfat. I'd appreciate any advice.

--JENS

Meal 1: Breakfast

1 whole-grain bun
1 Tbsp. low-sugar jelly
6 oz. chicken breast
500 mg green tea extract,
1 multivitamin, 1 g salmon oil

Meal 2: Lunch

1 cup white rice
9 oz. tilapia
1 cup mixed vegetables
500 mg green tea extract

Meal 3: Preworkout

45 min. before: NO-Xplode
30 min. before: 20 g whey protein,
3-5 g arginine, 2 g beta-alanine,
5 g creatine

Meal 4: Postworkout

40 g whey protein
20 Gummi Bears
3-5 g arginine, 2 g beta-alanine,
5 g creatine

Meal 5: Dinner

1 cup white rice
9 oz. tilapia
1 cup mixed vegetables (or salad with tuna and feta cheese)

Meal 6: Nighttime Snack

1 cup cottage cheese, 1 g salmon oil
Dear Jens,

Your diet looks solid, but a few changes could make a big difference. You currently eat just more than 2,100 calories, or 14 calories per pound of bodyweight--not enough to build muscle. The 1.5 grams of protein you eat per pound is adequate, but your 1.5 grams of carbs is too high. The diet at right provides more protein and healthy fat, and the carbs drop to about 1 gram per pound.

Your first meal of the day contains slow-digesting protein and carbs, which won't fend off catabolism. To prevent this, drink a whey protein shake with added sugar as soon as you wake up. The sugar stops your body from breaking down muscle and the whey replenishes muscle protein. Have a whole-food breakfast 30-60 minutes later.

Your fat intake is also too low: You get only about 10% of your total daily calories from fat. While it may sound strange to eat more fat when you want to lose fat, healthy fats keep your testosterone levels

high, which spurs muscle growth. That's why I suggest eating whole eggs at breakfast. Not only are they a good source of protein, but research subjects who consume egg yolks gain more muscle and strength than those who don't. Swap the whole-grain bun for berries because your diet lacks antioxidants.

Also switch out the white rice at lunch for brown and drop the rice at dinner. Even better, stick with your alternate dinner of a tuna and feta-cheese salad, but use an olive oil-based dressing to increase healthy fat intake. For more healthy fat, include walnuts in your lunch and nighttime snack. The omega-3 fats will help you lose fat and further slow digestion of the cottage cheese to help fend off catabolism during the night.

On rest days turn your preworkout shake into a snack, but drop the post-workout shake and the rice at lunch to keep your carbs under 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.

As far as supplements go, double your salmon oil at breakfast and before bed. Add 5-10 grams of branched-chain amino acids to all shakes and take your green tea extract between meals.

NEW DIET

Meal 1: Upon Waking

20 g whey protein + 4 tsp. sugar
500 mg green tea extract

Meal 2: Breakfast

3 whole eggs + 3 egg whites
1 cup blueberries
1 multivitamin, 2 g salmon oil
500 mg green tea extract

Meal 3: Lunch

1 cup brown rice
9 oz. tilapia
1 cup mixed vegetables
1 oz. walnuts (14 halves)

Meal 4: Preworkout

45 min. before: NO-Xplode
30 min. before: 20 g whey protein,
3-5 g arginine, 5-10 g BCAAs,
2 g beta-alanine, 5 g creatine

Meal 5: Postworkout

40 g whey protein
20 Gummi Bears
3-5 g arginine, 5-10 g BCAAs,
2 g beta-alanine, 5 g creatine

Meal 6: Dinner

9 oz. tilapia
1 cup mixed vegetables
(or salad with tuna, reduced-fat feta cheese, olive-oil dressing)

Meal 7: Nighttime Snack

1 cup cottage cheese
1 oz. walnuts (14 halves)
2 g salmon oil
TOTALS: 2,450 calories, 265 g protein, 160 g carbs, 70 g fat

NOTE: Mix all protein powders according to directions on label.

--Jim Stoppani, PhD

Source Citation
Stoppani, Jim. "Diet 911: lean muscle." Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness Jan. 2010: 206. Academic OneFile. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Gale Document Number:A212141459

Disclaimer:This information is not a tool for self-diagnosis or a substitute for professional care.