Struggling to fill spaces... Looking for advice please

[froobage]

Hi all,

I'm struggling to get in more CH and fat into my meal plan, just wanted to see if anyone could help me find some quick and easier ways to add a little extra. I'm mainly lacking in fats so is there any suppliments that are high in fat that I could put in a shake for example?

Im 5ft 10, currently weigh around 12stone (76kg)

Doing 3-5 days exercise my maintainance kcals should be: 2258 with 167g Protein, 342g Carbs and 76g Fats. I'm looking for an "easy win" as it were for a way to increase fats. As it is im struggling to try to get all my meals in so ideally i'd want something that can be put with a current meal, or in a shake. I do want to bulk up slightly so i've add one 300 kcals as a target to bring it up to 2585.

Here is my plan so far:

Breakfast
Eggs x4 596kcal 22g Pro 2.16 CH 17.64 Fat
Choc Oats 206kcal 9.4g Pro 29.6g CH 5.3g Fat

Snack
Peanut Butter 376kcal 16g Pro 12g CH 32g Fat
Wheat Bread x2 176kcal 8g Pro 30.2g CH 1.4g Fat
Apple 77kcal 0g Pro 21g CH 0g Fat
Banana 90kcal 1g Pro 23g CH 0g Fat

Lunch
Chicken Breast 110kcal 23.5g Pro 0g CH 1.7g Fat
Sweet Potato x1 115kcal 2g Pro 26g CH 0g Fat

Snack
Protein Shake 196kcal 38g Pro 3g CH 3g Fat
Whole Milk 120kcal 6g pro 10g CH 6g Fat
Apple 77kcal 0g Pro 21g CH 0g Fat
Banana 90kcal 1g Pro 23g CH 0g Fat

Dinner
Chicken Breast 110kcal 23.5g Pro 0g CH 1.7g Fat
Wheat Bread x2 176kcal 8g Pro 30.2g CH 1.4g Fat
18g cheese 69kcal 4g Pro 0g CH 6g Fat

Totals 2584kcal 162g Pro 232g CH 76g Fat

Just under on CH

Would really like some advice here please, maybe a meal swap? (something with not alot of prep and doesn't cost the earth )

Many Thanks!

[WonderPug]

You day you're struggling to get more fat into your diet, but you eat 4 egg whites. Think about that.

Also, please be advised that your diet is acutely deficient in fat and micronutrients. Also, if you're consuming tuna more often than once or twice a week, you're at risk for health issues.

[SuffolkPunch]

My default gap fillers are currently peanuts, almonds and full fat greek yogurt.

[Makween]

As has been stated you need more micros, so get more veggies in basically. Also, why remove egg yolks if you aren't eating enough fat?

It's hard to tell you what to eat without knowing what you like. At the moment I'm eat a lot of salmon, tinned mackerel and sardines in olive oil (which would be good replacements for your tuna), cheese, nuts, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, avocado and peanut butter. Many of these could quite easily be incorporated into your plan...not that having a preset plan is necessarily a good idea anyway.

[froobage]

@WonderPug, i've changed the meal plans, does this look any better? although im still over on kcals and under slightly carbs

[JaredPunch]

Also, if you're consuming tuna more often than once or twice a week, you're at risk for health issues.

I think even more than that would be not a concern
EPA states that "for most people mercury in fish is not a health concern" and mostly advise pregnant women and young children to avoid big amounts of those fish
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguida...vice_index.cfm

Not much of an evidence of adverse effects from mercury contamination from eating fish in people outside pregnant and nursing women and children
I still wouldn't eat tuna everyday but more than once or twice a day is probably safe as well

[froobage]

As has been stated you need more micros, so get more veggies in basically. Also, why remove egg yolks if you aren't eating enough fat?

It's hard to tell you what to eat without knowing what you like. At the moment I'm eat a lot of salmon, tinned mackerel and sardines in olive oil (which would be good replacements for your tuna), cheese, nuts, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, avocado and peanut butter. Many of these could quite easily be incorporated into your plan...not that having a preset plan is necessarily a good idea anyway.

Hi Makween, i'm a very fussy eater, I don't like fish normally, but i can bare tuna, although i never realised it could cause health risks. Cheese i'm fine with, but what could cheese go with that won't add on even more kcals?

Cheers.

[MetilHed]

Cheese i'm fine with, but what could cheese go with that won't add on even more kcals?

Seriously ? Your eggs, your rice, your chicken, your sweet potato, your wheat bread (if you're not using it for peanut butter), your apples. You could just eat it plain, it's cheese.

[Makween]

Hi Makween, i'm a very fussy eater, I don't like fish normally, but i can bare tuna, although i never realised it could cause health risks. Cheese i'm fine with, but what could cheese go with that won't add on even more kcals?

Cheers.

As Metilhed has said, the cheese could easily be fit in to most of those meals. I also think you're confused, as you've said that you want more carbs and fat in your diet but are now saying you don't want to add calories. How do you expect this to be achievable?

Also, if you're a fussy eater then this thread is basically pretty pointless. Add a fat source you enjoy to your meals.

[froobage]

if i added 18g of cheese, id hit the fat and protein marks, but id be under on carbs by 17 and over on kcals by 400 (800 over my maintainance kcals).

Any suggestions how I could lose some kcals?

[froobage]

As Metilhed has said, the cheese could easily be fit in to most of those meals. I also think you're confused, as you've said that you want more carbs and fat in your diet but are now saying you don't want to add calories. How do you expect this to be achievable?

Also, if you're a fussy eater then this thread is basically pretty pointless. Add a fat source you enjoy to your meals.

Tbh i'm not really sure how to go about things, i do want to bulk a little, but i dont want to add fat like a balloon in one go. Ideally i'm looking for a cheap and easy way to achieve a diet for my requirements, maybe i'm expecting too much though with what I have as my meal plans.

[WonderPug]

I think even more than that would be not a concern
EPA states that "for most people mercury in fish is not a health concern" and mostly advise pregnant women and young children to avoid big amounts of those fish
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguida...vice_index.cfm

Not much of an evidence of adverse effects from mercury contamination from eating fish in people outside pregnant and nursing women and children
I still wouldn't eat tuna everyday but more than once or twice a day is probably safe as well

Not exactly:

I don't think that you understand the basics of the safety issue. Heavy metals are chemical elements with a specific gravity that is at least five times the specific gravity of water, which is 1 at 4°C. The specific gravity may be considered as a measure of density of a given amount of solid substance, when it is compared to an equal amount of water. For example some heavy metal specific gravities are: Arsenic, 5.7; cadmium, 8.7; iron, 7.9; lead, 11.3; and mercury, 13.5. As these heavy metals are not metabolized by the body, they accumulate in the soft tissues or in the bones causing toxic effects. This is not something limited to tuna or swordfish and mercury. You obtain heavy metals basically by either ingesting them or inhaling them. You can ingest heavy metals from other foods you eat. For example, if your vegetables are grown in contaminated soil, they can take up metals by absorbing them from the soil. The same vegetables can also absorb metals from polluted environments as the plant is exposed to the air.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is very toxic, and impacts the human nervous system when ingested. This is a fact, whether or not you are experiencing whatever symptoms you perceive necessary to trigger concern.

It is recommended to limit your intake of canned light tuna to 12 ounces per week from a mercury standpoint, but canned WHITE tuna should be limited to 6 ounces per week.

See, Quantitative approach for incorporating methylmercury risks and omega-3 fatty acid benefits in developing species-specific fish consumption advice. Ginsberg GL, et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2009 Feb;117(2):267-75. Full text at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...HP-117-267.pdf

By the way, in a recent review of canned tuna (in Nevada) researchers found that more than half of all canned tuna examined was above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) safety level for human consumption (0.5 ppm), and 5% of the tuna exceeded the action level established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) (1.0 ppm). See, An evaluation of mercury concentrations in three brands of canned tuna. Gerstenberger SL, Environ Toxicol Chem. 2010 Feb;29(2):237-42.

Recently, Gerstenberger and colleagues analyzed three variations of canned tuna type (solid white, chunk white, and chunk light) that is packed in either oil or water), over a four month purchase period. The researchers reported that 55% of all canned tuna examined in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA was above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) safety level for human consumption (0.5 ppm), and 5% of the tuna exceeded the action level established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) (1.0 ppm). Here is an excerpt from the paper: “All three brands analyzed contained Hg in tuna above the U.S. EPA standard for safe consumption, and two of the three brands contained concentrations higher than the U.S. FDA standard.”

The researchers even addressed the speculation of some that the overfishing of the tuna population would require a younger and smaller target over time so that mercury would decrease as a result of smaller and younger fish being caught.

Here is a quote from the authors:
“To explore this idea, we compare the results of the present study with four similar studies spanning a period of 15 years (Fig. 2). Yess’s study took place in 1991 [24], Burger and Gochfeld’s over a period from 1998 through 2003 [1], Forsyth et al. in 2003 [25], Shim et al. in 2004 [3], and the data for the present study were collected between 2005 and 2006. These combined data do not suggest a decreasing trend but rather reflect a slight increase in overall Hg concentrations over the past 15 years.”

Here is a graph that illustrates this data.


Results compared to other studies of canned tuna. Data are expressed as means+/_standard deviation (when available). Dark bars = white tuna; white
Bars = light tuna.


The authors were careful to note, “However, the methodologies throughout these studies were not designed to be comparable and more consistent data are needed to make any concrete conclusions.” Here is a graph that illustrates this data.


Results compared to other studies of canned tuna. Data are expressed as means+/_standard deviation (when available). Dark bars = white tuna; white
Bars = light tuna.

See, An evaluation of mercury concentrations in three brands of canned tuna. Gerstenberger SL, Environ Toxicol Chem. 2010 Feb;29(2):237-42.

[MetilHed]

Protein and Fat macros look alright, so drop some carbs. Carbs are not "necessary" in the same way that Protein and Fat are, you can drop some and see if/how it affects you performance wise, and modify from there.

[WonderPug]

if i added 18g of cheese...

It sounds like you're on the path to ortherexia, if not worse.

[froobage]

Protein and Fat macros look alright, so drop some carbs. Carbs are not "necessary" in the same way that Protein and Fat are, you can drop some and see if/how it affects you performance wise, and modify from there.

Managed to drop the kcals and have both protein and fats right, just lacking on carbs, does this look ok?

Cheers

[MetilHed]

It sounds like you're on the path to ortherexia, if not worse.

I think (hopefully) he just going a little overboard and trying to make it absolutely *perfect*

Managed to drop the kcals and have both protein and fats right, just lacking on carbs, does this look ok?

OP, no need to make it all absolutely perfect. Are you going to cut the corner off a piece of cheese if it's not exactly 18 grams ? A few cals/grams or there (as long as you are not grossly over or under estimating) will not mess it all up. All of those #'s are estimates anyways. Try it out for a few weeks and see how it's going. After you've done it awhile, assess whether it's working or not, and adjust from there.

And start thinking up some alternatives while you're in your first week or two, because it will get boring eating the same stuff over and over, most likely.

[WonderPug]

I think (hopefully) he just going a little overboard and trying to make it absolutely *perfect*

His attempts show a systemic misunderstand about nutrition.

[froobage]

It sounds like you're on the path to ortherexia, if not worse.

Well when i say 18g of cheese i wont be weighing it on scales or anything, just grate away. My fear is putting too much fat on, so i want to stick as closely as possible to the amounts. Don't get me wrong i'd probably still have a burger king here and there.

[froobage]

P.S chers for the replies and advice

[texicus]

@OP I haven't counted all the macros in forever, just total calories and protein. tons of other people do this and as long as you hit your fat minimum (you can ballpark, mine is 40-50g) you should be fine, bulk or cut.

[keramon02]

You day you're struggling to get more fat into your diet, but you eat 4 egg whites. Think about that.

Also, please be advised that your diet is acutely deficient in fat and micronutrients. Also, if you're consuming tuna more often than once or twice a week, you're at risk for health issues.

For a 76 kg man, roughly that amount is the amount indicated in the stickies--8 grams short roughly. Please explain how 8 grams under the minimum (and it's only a rough minimum--many successful natural bodybuilders have been successful on much less) would negatively affect him.

[WonderPug]

For a 76 kg man, roughly that amount is the amount indicated in the stickies--8 grams short roughly. Please explain how 8 grams under the minimum (and it's only a rough minimum--many successful natural bodybuilders have been successful on much less) would negatively affect him.

Reading comprehension: see post #5.