What the hell should I eat?

[Crazzed]

I'm 5'9", 140lbs. I've been away from the gym for about 6-8 months now and am ready to get into it for real this time. One thing I'm unsure of is nutritional plans. I really don't know anything about what I should eat, how many times a day to eat, etc.

If any of y'all could lead me in the right direction or offer some advice that'd be greatly appreciated!

[Lethalidgaf]

I'm 5'9", 140lbs. I've been away from the gym for about 6-8 months now and am ready to get into it for real this time. One thing I'm unsure of is nutritional plans. I really don't know anything about what I should eat, how many times a day to eat, etc.

If any of y'all could lead me in the right direction or offer some advice that'd be greatly appreciated!

Since you're at a really low weight and higher height than me.. I'd recommend to clean bulk, itll require a strict diet of 300 calories surplus at most for optimal muscle gain although clean bulk takes more time to build strength i believe it is the best way. You should be having plenty of greens and lean meats. Monitor your weight weekly to make sure you don't gain too much. Since you're still a beginner like I am pretty much though I'd say 500 surplus, cut when you see yourself getting too fat. Hope this helped

[Crazzed]

Since you're at a really low weight and higher height than me.. I'd recommend to clean bulk, itll require a strict diet of 300 calories surplus at most for optimal muscle gain although clean bulk takes more time to build strength i believe it is the best way. You should be having plenty of greens and lean meats. Monitor your weight weekly to make sure you don't gain too much. Since you're still a beginner like I am pretty much though I'd say 500 surplus, cut when you see yourself getting too fat. Hope this helped

300-500 calories seems to be a very low caloric intake/day even at my small size doesn't it? Also, I've heard that it is best to bulk up heavy for muscle gain then cut down to preferred size (cutting keeps muscle but loses fat). Any truth to this?

What about supplements? I'm willing to buy whatever I need to succeed.

[Lethalidgaf]

300-500 calories seems to be a very low caloric intake/day even at my small size doesn't it? Also, I've heard that it is best to bulk up heavy for muscle gain then cut down to preferred size (cutting keeps muscle but loses fat). Any truth to this?

What about supplements? I'm willing to buy whatever I need to succeed.

No I meant 300-500 Calories ABOVE maintenance..so if you burn 2000 a day you'd take in 2500

[do13]

Since you're pretty light, I would be less focused on fat gain. Bulk at 500 cal surplus, or even more to utilize your noob gains. Hit your macros. And that's all there is to it. Use google to research IIFYM and caloric maintenance.

[Crazzed]

No I meant 300-500 Calories ABOVE maintenance..so if you burn 2000 a day you'd take in 2500

Ahhh ok now I understand what you meant by surplus, forgive me I'm a noob lol.

Since you're pretty light, I would be less focused on fat gain. Bulk at 500 cal surplus, or even more to utilize your noob gains. Hit your macros. And that's all there is to it. Use google to research IIFYM and caloric maintenance.

I will look into IIFYM, it seems promising.

Thanks y'all. If anyone else wants to add some more input it is still more than welcome. I'm a blank slate so I'll take all the info I can get.

[SebastianMorar]

Read the stickies for more information.

[Crazzed]

Read the stickies for more information.

Will have them all read within the next couple of hours.

So I did the IIFYM. I'm trying to post pictures/links of my results but don't have 50 posts-.- I guess I'll just type them out real fast nbd got too much time on my hands anyways lol.

..................................CARBS........PROTEIN........FAT........FIBER........||........CALORIES
GRAMS per day:...........[342.8]...........[140]...........[63]........[28-35].......||.......[2498]
GRAMS per meal:..........[114.3]...........[46.7]..........[21]........[9-12]........||........[833]

^ That's at 3 meals/day. So for the 500 calorie surplus suggestions I've gotten I suppose I would fill in those calories with snacks throughout the day? By snack I mean things like yogurt, peanut butter or something of that nature. Then I'd be taking in 3k calories/day how's this sound??

[Alek23]

If you do IIFYM you can eat anything you want but it all has to fit those numbers by the end of the day

Literally anything! and your small anyway so you could get away with going over those numbers just make sure you hit them constantly

[Manc33]

how many times a day to eat

This isn't anything you should be worrying about. Its what beginners always see first "Eat 6 times a day" and it isn't relevant.

[Crazzed]

If you do IIFYM you can eat anything you want but it all has to fit those numbers by the end of the day

Literally anything! and your small anyway so you could get away with going over those numbers just make sure you hit them constantly

Ok so I will try to make sure and hit at-least 2,500 calories per day. Do you recommend any specific calorie counters? I suppose I won't be so strict on exactly what I eat since you say anything is fine. However, I'll be staying away from sodas, snack food, etc. I'll also work on learning how to cook a little maybe so I can cut back on microwaved foods.

This isn't anything you should be worrying about. Its what beginners always see first "Eat 6 times a day" and it isn't relevant.

Ok thats cool. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt thought to just eat a yogurt here and there throughout the day. With my small size I could probably just eat whatevers in the house (not worry about low-fat non-flavored yogurt or something lol).

Within the next week or so I should have a more solid schedule so I'll be completely sure of the times I'm able to get into the gym. At that time I'll probably give the following workout a try, it seems promising (no links till 50 posts -,-):

Tom Mutaffis 3-Day Split
Monday: Pulling (Back/Biceps/Deadlift)
- Deadlifts (3 sets)
- Chins (3 sets)
- One-Arm Dumbbell Rows (2 sets)
- Close Grip Pulldowns (2 sets)
- Barbell Curls (2 sets)
- Hammer Curls (1 set)

Wednesday: Pushing (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (3 Sets)
- Incline Barbell Bench Press (2 sets)
- Dips (2 sets)
- Seated Dumbbell Military Press (3 sets)
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension (2 sets)
- Side Laterals (2 sets)
- Pushdowns (2 sets)
- Cable Crossover / Pec Deck (1 set)

Friday: Lower Body (Legs)
- Squats (4 sets)
- Strait Leg Deadlifts (2 sets)
- Walking Lunges (2 sets)
- Leg Curl / Feet High Leg Press Superset (2 sets)
- Calf Raises (3 sets)

For initial compound movement in each workout I generally work in the 3-5 rep range. For the next compound movement I typically go with 5-8 reps, and then I finish the rest of the workout (accessory/isolation movements) in the 8-12 rep range.

On some of the smaller muscle groups (deltoids, biceps, triceps) I will generally perform drop sets.

Could someone explain these terms please? I've made their color red and bolded em' as well.

[Crazzed]

Initial compound movement, next compound movement, accessory/isolation movements

^ could someone explain to me what those are please, thanks.

[Allen253]

Definitely go for clean bulk. Make sure to keep a good diet throughout this.

[jit15]

Initial compound movement, next compound movement, accessory/isolation movements

^ could someone explain to me what those are please, thanks.

Bro just start watching tons of videos on youtube of bodybuilders and people lifting weights as well as browsing the forums, you will become very educated on all these things in no time

[KobiDC]

Eat the foods you enjoy to satisfy your nutritional requirements. Simple.