Analyze my diet page

[nohup]

I'm definitely a hardgainer. My objective is to gain muscle mass. I work with a trainer and mix up my routine every 6-8 weeks. He knows my goal is muscle growth and lately that's what my routine has been geared towards (compound movements, lower reps, more weight, 3x week).


Here's a typical day for me:


Breakfast: 3-4 egg omelette with vegetables, OR shake with 1 scoop protein (30g), 1-2 tbsp of almond butter, 1-2 bananas and a scoop of frozen berries. The shake is much more common (it's really quick), except on weekends.


Snack: homemade trail mix (almonds, cashews, walnuts, ...)


Lunch: large garden salad, topped with either chicken or salmon and a tbsp of olive oil


Snack: if hungry, a piece of fruit or more trail mix


Supper: Much the same as lunch, a large salad is always on the table with a protein source such as chicken, beef or salmon


On workout days, I have a protein shake post workout (I usually go to the gym about an hour after supper).


I've also just started supplementing creatine. I just finished 4 weeks 5g/day and now I'm going off for 6 weeks, then I'll try again for 4 weeks.


Since I've been eating this way for a few months, I've managed to lose some bodyfat and get a bit leaner, but the raw muscle mass isn't coming. My plan is to continue eating like this but add a couple eggs into the mix for the extra calories and protein.


I'm a small guy, only about 120 lbs (5'5) so I obviously don't need a tonne of calories each day. I'm looking for some analysis and advice here... thanks all.

[arthurb999]

"I'm a small guy, only about 120 lbs (5'5) so I obviously don't need a tonne of calories each day. I'm looking for some analysis and advice here... thanks all. "


Well if you are trying to build muscle, then you do. Also what is your workout like? (NM I see your working with a trainer)

[ATZ]

For gaining appreicable muscle mass you should start at anywhere between 16-18 cal per lb bodyweight. Protein should be at 1g - 1.5g per lb BW, above this there seems to be a point of diminshing returns unless you are a chemically assisted Bodybuilder.


Building muscle is all about excess calories and a decent training regime. You need the excess calories to build muscle, you need sufficient stimulus of the muscle for it to grow. Mark posted a decent blog post on this recently too. You may need a slightly higher carb intake (timed around training) to sustain a high intensity training session and recover from than recommeded by the PB. At 120lbs my best advice would be EAT!