Off Season Diet- Phase 1

[canadianmuscle0803]

I just recently started working with a pro and I figure I would share some of the knowledge passed down to me.. here is my current bulk up diet, phase 1.. things will change as i progress..

Offseason Program

Wake up:
1000mg Vitamin C 1 Omega 3-6-9
1 Multi Vitamin/Mineral 1 B-Complex
400iu Vitamin E 50mg Zinc
2000mg BCAA’s

Meal 1
60g Whey Protein
2 Cups Oatmeal Cooked or 2 Whole Wheat Bagels (any additions can be made for taste)
1 Banana

Meal 2
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Past or One Medium Potato

Meal 3 (pre-workout)
60g Whey Protein
10g Creatine Monohydrate
1 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread
2000mg BCAA’s

Meal 4 (post-workout)
50g Whey Protein
100g Dextrose
10g Creatine
5g Glutamine
2000mg BCAA’s

Meal 5 (1hr Later)
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta or 5 Rice Cakes
1 Cups Veg or Med Salad

Meal 6
8 Egg Whites
4 Whole Eggs
1 Tbsp. 100% Peanut Butter

Meal 7 (if needed for late night snack)
60g Whey Protein
Small Bowl Cereal or 1 Cup Frozen Yogurt

Repeat all Vitamins and Minerals from morning before bed.

[ironwill]

Looks good bro, very similar to my diet....finally nice to see some protein in diets, looks about 2 grams per lb of lean bodyweight......perfect IMO......
Good of you to share with us....appreciated..

[Ritch]

Very cool for sharing this with us.

[Praetorian]

You dont need the BCAAs' waste of money. I would suggest taking a good fatty acid supplement which you are missing instead.
Your meals are not very balanced...you should try to balance your macros for each meal...ie some are devoid of fat etc (post workout shake excluded)
Glutamine is unecessary as well. Rice cake are crap throw them out the whole wheat pasta is much better. Your late meal shoudl be pro/fat no carbs especially simple carbs like cereal...not good. Watch yoru fat gain using 100g dextrose post workout...most guys will put on fat easily using that much.
P

[canadianmuscle0803]

You dont need the BCAAs' waste of money. I would suggest taking a good fatty acid supplement which you are missing instead.
Your meals are not very balanced...you should try to balance your macros for each meal...ie some are devoid of fat etc (post workout shake excluded)
Glutamine is unecessary as well. Rice cake are crap throw them out the whole wheat pasta is much better. Your late meal shoudl be pro/fat no carbs especially simple carbs like cereal...not good. Watch yoru fat gain using 100g dextrose post workout...most guys will put on fat easily using that much.
P

I appreciate your comment.. but i have to follow this to the tee.. i wont be using rice cakes.. thats just an option if i dont have pasta made or whatever.. im working with this IFBB pro for this offseason and then contest.. i just want to do what he says and not mess with it.

[ubcpower]

is this the diet he used for his offseason or has he tailored this specifically to you?

[4031]

thanks for sharing, i find off season alot harder to eat than pre contest, trying to eat that many calories day in and day out gets tough after awhile, good luck and stay motivated bro!

[canadianmuscle0803]

is this the diet he used for his offseason or has he tailored this specifically to you?

geared towards me bro.. his diets are similar..

[Andre]

I appreciate your comment.. but i have to follow this to the tee.. i wont be using rice cakes.. thats just an option if i dont have pasta made or whatever.. im working with this IFBB pro for this offseason and then contest.. i just want to do what he says and not mess with it.

If you trust your trainer, follow the guidance you are given and do not listen to anyone else...

[canadianmuscle0803]

If you trust your trainer, follow the guidance you are given and do not listen to anyone else...

well, hes a IFBB pro who has trained many competitors and i have not seen one of them that looked bad.. if anything they looked amazing.

[Skyblob]

Are you on cycle bro or off? if your on cycle what is it ? :)

[St]

Looks good,but you don't need Bcaa's,since there in Protein shakes 15 grams per 100 grams dry Protein powder.

[canadianmuscle0803]

Are you on cycle bro or off? if your on cycle what is it ? :)

500 sustanon
500 test e
600 deca
50mg drol

just started last week or so.

[Praetorian]

I appreciate your comment.. but i have to follow this to the tee.. i wont be using rice cakes.. thats just an option if i dont have pasta made or whatever.. im working with this IFBB pro for this offseason and then contest.. i just want to do what he says and not mess with it.

I understand...i would also offer this bit of advice. Just because someone is an IFBB pro doesnt mean they actually know what they are doing (training, drugs, nutrition).
Some do yes and are very knowledgeable and many know very very little and just tell you what they basically do (what someone told them). The problem is that you most likely do not have the freak genetics that they do which is the reason that they are a pro in the first place. They can get away with poor nutrition, bad training, and some pretty awful cycles....you on the other hand cannot. I would suggest this...if something seems a bit off ie cereal at night, lack of essential fats, unbalanced meals etc then at least question this yourself. Find out the reasons for this...instead of just following blindly. You probably would be surprised how much you know compared to them.
Good luck!
P

[natenator]

looks familiar...

[theslime]

This is very interesting as Im planning my own offseason diet. I have a few questions:

1) Are you allowed any cheat meals? How many?
2) What protein are you using (brand? isolate?) ?
3) Can you add something to your morning bagels like cream cheese or peanut butter, or plain butter?
4) What are your goals and how much do you weigh now?
5) How many phases and for what competition are you preparing for?

I know this is a lot of questions but if you had the time it would help me understand the reasons why it is planned this way.

[ubcpower]

I agree w/ Praetorian. Just because they are an ifbb pro doesn't mean you cant talk constructively with them about the diet and/or ask them to reason why they suggest this meal or this food choice..etc. Just chose a way to approach it that doesnt offend them...more as you trying to learn from them. Remember, the genetic factor of pros that make their diets a little easier than the average person. Most of the top bodybuilding gurus out there are not ifbb pro's (Palumbo, Rambod, Nichols..etc) and some dont even bodybuild.

[JonnyO]

Is the guy your working with Fouad???

[tiramisu]

That's a lot of dextrose pwo. Are you also doing 20 iu's of slin and gh?

[canadianmuscle0803]

This is very interesting as Im planning my own offseason diet. I have a few questions:

1) Are you allowed any cheat meals? How many? 1 a week
2) What protein are you using (brand? isolate?) ? optimum nutrion whey and isolate
3) Can you add something to your morning bagels like cream cheese or peanut butter, or plain butter? yes
4) What are your goals and how much do you weigh now? im 260, gonna go up as much as possible then cut up for a show.
5) How many phases and for what competition are you preparing for? a competition next year, not sure which one

I know this is a lot of questions but if you had the time it would help me understand the reasons why it is planned this way.

look up.. i answered.

[canadianmuscle0803]

That's a lot of dextrose pwo. Are you also doing 20 iu's of slin and gh?

10iu slin.. 10 grams per IU

[Chaps]

You dont need the BCAAs' waste of money. I would suggest taking a good fatty acid supplement which you are missing instead.
Your meals are not very balanced...you should try to balance your macros for each meal...ie some are devoid of fat etc (post workout shake excluded)
Glutamine is unecessary as well. Rice cake are crap throw them out the whole wheat pasta is much better. Your late meal shoudl be pro/fat no carbs especially simple carbs like cereal...not good. Watch yoru fat gain using 100g dextrose post workout...most guys will put on fat easily using that much.
P

All excellent suggestions.

[gsxr750]

I'll be following this for sure keep us posted!! Like P said, i'm also curious of a few things he's suggesting in that diet. Maybe you could ask him his reasoning behind it, i'd like to better understand the theory there.

[Andre]

look up.. i answered.

260lbs is serious weight considering you are planning on bulking up... how tall are you? Can you post some progress photos?

[Chaps]

I understand...i would also offer this bit of advice. Just because someone is an IFBB pro doesnt mean they actually know what they are doing (training, drugs, nutrition).
Some do yes and are very knowledgeable and many know very very little and just tell you what they basically do (what someone told them). The problem is that you most likely do not have the freak genetics that they do which is the reason that they are a pro in the first place. They can get away with poor nutrition, bad training, and some pretty awful cycles....you on the other hand cannot. I would suggest this...if something seems a bit off ie cereal at night, lack of essential fats, unbalanced meals etc then at least question this yourself. Find out the reasons for this...instead of just following blindly. You probably would be surprised how much you know compared to them.
Good luck!
P

Couldn't agree more I know two guys that worked with a well known IFBB pro in the off season and he had them eating massive amounts of food and going against things that had worked for them in the past and they both got wayyyyyyyyyyy too fat and had to drop some serious chub come contest time.

[L3]

how tall are you? Can you post some progress photos?

+1

[tiramisu]

I think several of the comments depend on your goals, how much fat you are comfortable gaining, your sensitivity to insulin.

I'm not sure, but I would guess that he will be working with the person who set the initial diet as he progresses to tweak the diet to suit him. Not everyone tolerates carbs well. But if you do they are darn good energy.

10 grams of sugar per IU is a safe place to start and if I was working with a stranger I would start there too. I'm personally using 5 per iu with 12 iu's pwo and 50 grams of isolate but I'm thinking of moving to 6 or 7 as I'm finding 5 a bit too low.

I plugged the diet into fit day because unlike praetorian I can't just eyeball and guess.
The sugar blasts pre-workout is an interesting approach. I'm more of a large coffee guy but I'd be curious to see what kind of difference this made in terms of workout quality.

I really appreciate seeing a starting point bulking diet as I will be looking to start growing again come september long weekend.

[nisser]

Are you maintaining on this? It doesn't seem like a lot of calories if you're wanting to bulk.

[natenator]

Are you maintaining on this? It doesn't seem like a lot of calories if you're wanting to bulk.
you need to do some math my friend...

[Skyblob]

very nice bro! ill try out something similar this winter for bulking.. now on cutting,, doing keto to shed all the fat.. then bulk :)

[Andre]

I think several of the comments depend on your goals, how much fat you are comfortable gaining, your sensitivity to insulin.

I'm not sure, but I would guess that he will be working with the person who set the initial diet as he progresses to tweak the diet to suit him. Not everyone tolerates carbs well. But if you do they are darn good energy.

10 grams of sugar per IU is a safe place to start and if I was working with a stranger I would start there too. I'm personally using 5 per iu with 12 iu's pwo and 50 grams of isolate but I'm thinking of moving to 6 or 7 as I'm finding 5 a bit too low.

I plugged the diet into fit day because unlike praetorian I can't just eyeball and guess.
The sugar blasts pre-workout is an interesting approach. I'm more of a large coffee guy but I'd be curious to see what kind of difference this made in terms of workout quality.

I really appreciate seeing a starting point bulking diet as I will be looking to start growing again come september long weekend.

Could you please post the macro nutrient breakdown... I am curious to see what this looks like...

[nisser]

Meal 1
60g Whey Protein
2 Cups Oatmeal Cooked or 2 Whole Wheat Bagels (any additions can be made for taste)
1 Banana

250 cals, 700 cals, 100

Meal 2
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Past or One Medium Potato

250 cals, 200 cals

Meal 3 (pre-workout)
60g Whey Protein
10g Creatine Monohydrate
1 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread
2000mg BCAA’s

250 cals, 300 cals

Meal 4 (post-workout)
50g Whey Protein
100g Dextrose
10g Creatine
5g Glutamine
2000mg BCAA’s

Meal 5 (1hr Later)
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta or 5 Rice Cakes
1 Cups Veg or Med Salad

250 cals, 200 cals

Meal 6
8 Egg Whites
4 Whole Eggs
1 Tbsp. 100% Peanut Butter

100 cals, 270 cals, 100 cals

Meal 7 (if needed for late night snack)
60g Whey Protein
Small Bowl Cereal or 1 Cup Frozen Yogurt

Repeat all Vitamins and Minerals from morning before bed.[/QUOTE]

rougly 3000 (+ PWO which I didn't include and no meal 7)..that's a bulking diet?

[theslime]

look up.. i answered.

thanks bro. How tall are you and are you fairly lean?

[tiramisu]

That doesn't match my count from fitday:

I'll be damned if I can figure out how to paste a table...
Looks to be about 3700 calories per day to me.

[ironwill]

Meal 1
60g Whey Protein
2 Cups Oatmeal Cooked or 2 Whole Wheat Bagels (any additions can be made for taste)
1 Banana

250 cals, 700 cals, 100

Meal 2
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Past or One Medium Potato

250 cals, 200 cals

Meal 3 (pre-workout)
60g Whey Protein
10g Creatine Monohydrate
1 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Bread
2000mg BCAA’s

250 cals, 300 cals

Meal 4 (post-workout)
50g Whey Protein
100g Dextrose
10g Creatine
5g Glutamine
2000mg BCAA’s

Meal 5 (1hr Later)
8oz Steak or 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta or 5 Rice Cakes
1 Cups Veg or Med Salad

250 cals, 200 cals

Meal 6
8 Egg Whites
4 Whole Eggs
1 Tbsp. 100% Peanut Butter

100 cals, 270 cals, 100 cals

Meal 7 (if needed for late night snack)
60g Whey Protein
Small Bowl Cereal or 1 Cup Frozen Yogurt

Repeat all Vitamins and Minerals from morning before bed.

rougly 3000 (+ PWO which I didn't include and no meal 7)..that's a bulking diet?[/QUOTE]
\



Add in line #4, why wouldnt that be included??.........missed a few cals my friend.....I dieted down on almost 3000 calories, so i figured wtf.....and noticed missing cals..

[tiramisu]

Reverse engineering the diet I'd be guessing that 3700 for a 220 pound adult male ( seeing as I'm a 220 pound male) is a good 800 calories over maintenance. Should be good for about a pound and half a week of weight gain if he isn't training for a marathon.

[canadianmuscle0803]

its close to 4k cals.. not 3..

[tiramisu]

I counted chicken twice and no bagels. :)
make one meat meal beef and have your bagels and you're up to 4k

[tiramisu]

deep fried bread bad but beef good :)

[JonnyO]

8oz of steak yields a lot more than 250cals as Nisser has listed.

And why is everyone trying to nit pick this guys diet? He's posted up what his trainer has him on you think your doing any good or going to change anything for him? Hes pumped to be workin with this guy, as I would be too, so is posting what he's got him doing which is a very good break from all the shitty cycles and what labs people are on threads going on here all the time. So many cycle threads and very little on training/nutrition its sad.

[nisser]

That doesn't match my count from fitday:

I'll be damned if I can figure out how to paste a table...
Looks to be about 3700 calories per day to me.

Our totals are pretty similar if I include the PWO shake. I generally don't count it b/c people don't work out every day and on those they work out, (the hope is) that you're breaking a sweat anyway.


Also there's a pretty sizable calorie difference b/w steak and chicken. I was using the chicken values.

edit: and johnny I think we're not as nitpicking so much as discussing it. Hope he doesn't mind.

I do agree with praet though that it it's lacking EFA and that cereal late at night is very questionable.

[Andre]

Honestly, if he's 260lbs and I assume relatively lean as he is starting bulk then he must have some idea what he's talking about as I don't know that many guys that are a lean 260lbs...

[JonnyO]

I do agree with praet though that it it's lacking EFA and that cereal late at night is very questionable.

If he's bulking who cares? Do we know what kind of cereal it is? I like the idea personally as I love cereal, but I would try to make sure it was Ezekiel or something like that.

I am sure after a few weeks if he seems to be adding a bit too much fat things will be adjusted accordingly. Everyone will react differently, I can handle carbs at night without getting out of control. Even precontest at the start of the diet my last meal before bed I was having some outmeal.

[Andre]

The cereal depends on the type of cereal... I used to eat a bowl of Kashi Go Lean at night with skim milk... the nutrient profile is pretty good...

I doubt (at least I hope!) he's not eating Fruit Loops :)

This is the Kashi Go Lean Cereal... The cereal alone has 13G protein, almost no fat, and 30G carbs (10G coming from fiber, only 6G sugar and 14G starch)... combined with some milk it's a pretty clean pre bed snack...

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 cup (52g/1.8 oz)
Servings Per Container: About 8
Amount/Serving %Daily Value*
Calories 140
Calories from Fat 10
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 85mg 4%
Potassium 480mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 10%
Dietary Fiber 10g 40%
Soluble Fiber 1g
Insoluble Fiber 9g
Sugars 6g
Protein 13g 20%
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 6%
Iron 10%
Phosphorus 20%

[hyperlite32]

andre, how much do you weigh?

[JonnyO]

The cereal depends on the type of cereal... I used to eat a bowl of Kashi Go Lean at night with skim milk... the nutrient profile is pretty good...



I did the same love that cereal! I'd mix half with the Ezekiel and add some honey...man I'm drooling right now its been almost 8 weeks dieting, 6 weeks no cheat, no nothing! Boo.

[tiramisu]

Not nitpicking at all. It's not often that someone posts a good diet with a real purpose. Breaking it down is extremely educational. That this has been posted is a bit of a gift.

[tiramisu]

Breakfast cereal makers should for the most part be publicly horsewhipped. They market "shit in a box" as a healthy breakfast on the assumption that you add milk to their shit. Kashi is one of the exceptions. A bit expensive but when you compare it to cheerios, corn flakes, raisin bran (shit in a box) the price seems a lot more acceptable. Decent ingredients and it tastes good. I need to buy myself a big bag of oatmeal.

[natenator]

Not nitpicking at all. It's not often that someone posts a good diet with a real purpose. Breaking it down is extremely educational. That this has been posted is a bit of a gift.
not sure how it is a gift?

bulking diets are not rocket science now I've never hired someone for an offseason nutritional program but to me offseason (if you can keep it clean) is not rocket science.

Pick a macro break down (I generally like 50/40/10) and go with it. If your gaining too much fat then adjust and if not gaining enough, adjust again.

[JonnyO]

They market "shit in a box" as a healthy breakfast on the assumption that you add milk to their shit. A bit expensive but when you compare it to cheerios, corn flakes, raisin bran (shit in a box) the price seems a lot more acceptable.

I agree those cereals are shit in a box! Bring on the CapnKrunch, Lucky Charms, cococrisp, Count Chocula now thats more like it.

I remember doing my first show I would go shopping and I'd see foods I was craving, buy them, when I got home had to give them to my roomate to hide for after the show. His closet was full of cereal, cookies, gummies candy bars, etc. Thats shows I gained something like 37lbs 4-5 days after the show it was disgusting.

[poncho101]

i have a friend whose training with chad nickels, and has created very similar bulking diets for him for his off season.

[Andre]

andre, how much do you weigh?

Up until I got sick a month ago I was 230lbs... Right now I am pretty lean 220lbs @ 5'10"... In my avatar photo I was 180lbs... I have very small joints (my wrists are only 7") so people think I am heavier than I am...

I am actually thinking about doing a level 1 show (it would be my 1st) at around 210lbs... My goal is to alway stay in decent shape, no crazy bulking diets for me :o

[Andre]

I did the same love that cereal! I'd mix half with the Ezekiel and add some honey...man I'm drooling right now its been almost 8 weeks dieting, 6 weeks no cheat, no nothing! Boo.

Kashi has an even better tasting version called Go Lean Crunch... It's a little high on the sugar side for me, so I sometimes do a 50/50 mix with the regular Go Lean... here's the Crunch info...

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 cup (53g/1.9 oz)
Servings Per Container: About 8

Amount/Serving %Daily Value*
Calories 190
Calories from Fat 25

Total Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 95mg 4%
Potassium 300mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 36g 12%
Dietary Fiber 8g 32%
Soluble Fiber 3g
Insoluble Fiber 5g
Sugars 13g
Protein 9g 14%

[Blue Hefner]

Kay's Naturals makes a decent all natural gluten free cereal as well.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 Ounce (28 g)
Servings Per Container: 9.5

Amount Per Serving % Daily Value*

Calories 100
Calories From Fat 11
Total Fat 1.5 g 2%
Sodium 140 mg 6%
Total Carbohydrates 15 g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3 g 12%
Sugars 3 g
Protein 9 g 15%
Calcium 4%
Iron 8%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
**Daily Value not established.

Ingredients: Soy Protein Isolate, Yellow Corn Flour, Rice Flour, Natural Honey, Tapioca Starch, Inulin, Pea Fiber, Evaporated Cane Juice, Partially Defatted Almond Meal, Canola Oil, Cinnamon Powder, Vanilla Extract, Natural Flavoring, Baking Powder, Double-Acting Leavening Agents, Salt.

[ironwill]

8oz of steak yields a lot more than 250cals as Nisser has listed.

And why is everyone trying to nit pick this guys diet? He's posted up what his trainer has him on you think your doing any good or going to change anything for him? Hes pumped to be workin with this guy, as I would be too, so is posting what he's got him doing which is a very good break from all the shitty cycles and what labs people are on threads going on here all the time. So many cycle threads and very little on training/nutrition its sad.
couldnt agree more, let him run with it, we can all learn from different approaches, and i personally am looking forward to CMuscles progress....
have fun, and as you are doing, do your thing, dont wory about anything else....