Journal: I want to be a sexy rocket

[TheRedRocket]

This will be a journal/blog following my journey and seeking feedback to basically have a sexier body. Currently I am 5'10 150 this year I've been as low as 143 but have really started to try to eat regularly. My normal eating habit was to have something like a sandwich around 12-1, a few soda pops, and then something for dinner around 8-9, and a few more soda pops.

In terms of numbers I have three goals
goal #1 get to 155
goal #2 get to 160
goal #3 get to 165

I broke it like that so I can focus on achievable results (5lbs) and get a sense of accomplishment at each step.

I think the most important thing will be how much and what and I eat. I have also started working out but my apartment's fitness room contains 1 4 station machine which makes it tough until I join a gym. Currently I work out every other day doing bench press, lever pec deck fly , a modified squat which uses the a bottom pulley but maxes at 110bs, dumbell crunches, captains chair, and bicycle exercise. I am thinking about adding dips as well.

I'll follow this post which my daily food calender which I've used the daily plate for. According to that site based on my height and weight I need to take in 3163 calories a day to gain 2lbs/wk. I'm not sure how accurate that is but I am shooting more that and will calibrate based on results and feedback I receive here.

I will go through mon - today in following posts below

thank you for any advice or feedback

[TheRedRocket]

Monday

1.5 servings of oats
4 servings of peanut putter
2 servings of whey protein
2.5 servings tuna fish
3 eggs
2 servings top ramon
1 taco bell nacho supreme
3 servings whole milk
1.6 servings mountain dew
1.5 servings chocolate milk

total calories 3067
fat 119g
carbs 314g
protein 203g

I'm not sure how much the mountain dew and taco bell hurt me but I thought the distribution between fat/carbs/protein was good.

Tuesday
1.5 servings oats
3 eggs
5 servings whole milk
1 serving kraft easy mac
2 servings whey protein shake mix
2.5 servings tuna
1 potato
2 servings V8 splash
1 servings carrots frozen
1 servings green beans frozen
5 servings peanut butter
32 oz mountain dew
1 servings beef jerky

calories 3155
fat 105g
carbs 375g
protein 209g

So far so good

[TheRedRocket]

Wednesday

1 serving oats
1 serving whey protein shake powder
2 servings strawberry jelly
2.5 servings tuna
3 eggs
1 servings frozen carrots
1 servings frozen green beans
1.5 servings whole milk
1.5 servings chocolate milk
3 servings peanut butter
2 servings apple sauce
1 banana
6 servings vodka [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

total calories 2288
fat 59g
carbs 229g
protein 140g

I was doing well and then went out with a friend and end up drinking away my progress neither getting in my desired calories or protein.

[TheRedRocket]

Thursday

1.5 servings oats
4 servings peanut butter
2 servings whole milk
2.5 servings tuna
1 egg
1 servings whey protein shake mix
3 servings skim milk
2 servings chef boyardee ravioli
1 wendy's double delux cheeseburger
1 serving string cheese
1 serving minute maid oj w/ calcium
2 servings vanilla icecream
1 serving wheat bread

total calories 3200
fat 123g
carbs 316g
protein 217g

Friday

1 serving oats
1 wendys ultimate grill chicken sandwhich
1 serving whey protein powder
2 servings cambells chucky clam chouder
2 servings 3lb smoked sausage
1 serving kraft easy mac
2 servings whole milk
1 wendys large frosty

calories 2550
fat 107g
carbs 297g
protein 139g

I fell short again. At this point consistency is my biggest problem.

[kinda]

more protein less carbs, especially if you're lifting weights.

[TheRedRocket]

[ QUOTE ]
more protein less carbs, especially if you're lifting weights.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is there a number of g I should aim for? I've read anywhere from 1 per 1 lb to 3 per lb. Right now I am hitting 150 - 200g/day.

[kinda]

2g per pound is a good start for bulking. I prefer to use percentages of total calories to determine the amount of protein/carbs/fat to eat in a day. A very good ratio is 50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat, although this is more for the super-dedicated, nutjob people who want to gain mass with as little fat as possible (i.e. 400g protein/day for your 3200 cal regime, which can be very difficult). You can definitely be more lenient. But let's take a look at your Thursday tallies:

Thursday

total calories 3200
fat 123g
carbs 316g
protein 217g

This works out to:

protein: 217g * 4cals = 868 cals = 27% of total cals
carbs: 316g * 4cals = 1264 cals = ~39% of total cals
fat: 123g * 9cals = 1107 cals = ~34% of total cals

That's too much fat and not enough protein. You will still gain mass from eating like that, but a good bit of it will be fat instead of muscle. Let's look at a sample using the 2g/lb guideline, which should be a good compromise for you. 2g * 150lbs = 300g per day.

protein: 300g x 4cals = 1200 cals = 37.5% of total cals
carbs: 300g x 4cals = 1200 cals = 37.5% of total cals
fat: 90g x 9cals = 810 cals = 25% of total cals
(3210 calories total)

Since you're getting over the 200g protein mark, I don't think it would be too hard to reach the 300g mark. Eat more meat (chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef/pork), add an extra scoop of protein to your shake or an extra shake per day, add some egg whites to your eggs (good way to cut back on fat + add protein = make your eggs with 2 whole eggs + 4 whites, then throw some hot sauce on it of course). Might want to switch to a reduced fat milk too.

Your carbs seem to fluxuate around 300g except for that one day at 375 (might have to watch those sodas) so that shouldn't be a big problem. Will just have to try and cut back on the fatty foods.

The emphasis on protein is because if you are lifting weights your muscles need lots of it to grow properly. I know your goal is to add some pounds, I just don't know if you want it all to be muscle or if you just want the extra weight.

[TheRedRocket]

Thank you for the information. That seems daunting but I will start making some adjustments.

as far as whether I want to gain all muscle of just extra weight I would be very happy to keep the same ratio I currently have. I have very little fat on me now so I added both at around the same mix I think it would look fine

[kinda]

Don't let it intimidate you. I am one of those people who spent hours and hours everyday reading up on lifting and nutrition and treating it as a science. I'm a nut like that.

I probably should have just said "Try to eat about 300g of protein and lessen the amount of carbs and fat you eat" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]