My bodybuilding career has been largely uneventful. I have never made significant gains in neither size nor strength. The only indicator of my desire for success is not achievement, but a dedication to go to the gym and to consume a disciplined diet [neither of which has yielded results]. At the root of my problems is, I believe, the aforementioned diet.
I believe it is my diet because of a lack of success in several training principles and methods I've employed [HST, HIT, Hardgainer, 3x3]. I took some prohormones recently to see if they could get me out of what I thought was a rut [how I managed to convince myself that years of labor with any significant return could be considered a rut, I don't know]. They couldn't, and had I not commited several novus' errors, I doubt the results would have been different.
My endless, cyclical cutting/bulking phases are so similar it is embarrassing. I start at around 165 lbs (I am 21 years old, 5'11" at around 10% BF at this point). Then I bulk until I'm around 180-5. At this point, I feel fat and miserable, so then I decide to lose some weight [I also believe I am sacrificing too much muscle in these all-too-familiar cutting cycles]. Eventually, I return to 165 [with only the most minute improvement].
So, what does my diet look like? Allow me to outline my atrocious diet while I was using the PHs recently (my normal diet is similar, and in brackets are what I usually eat for cutting). When bulking, I've tried eating between 3200 and 3600 calories, and I either got no results or fat. When cutting, I get around 1800-2000 kcals. In either case, the same 8 items on my grocey list make up my bulking and cutting diets. I've varied the foods somewhat over time, but not much.
Morning
1.5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats [3/4 cup if cutting]
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 can of chunk tuna fish in water (I put ketchup on this, so as to make it edibe without raising calories too much)
2/3 cup of oatmeal (prior to adding water) [foregone when cutting]
Late Morning/Afternoon
1 Everything Bagel with 2-3 slices of turkey [1/2 bagel when cutting]
1 can tuna fish
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1.5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats [foregone when cutting)
Late Lunch
2/3 cup of oatmeal (prior to adding water) [1/3 cup when cutting]
1 qt. of fat free milk
Evening Meal
1 Bagel with sliced turkey [1/2 bagel when cutting]
2 servings of whole wheat macaroni [foregone when cutting]
1 tablespoon of peanut butter [foregone when cutting]
1 Can tuna fish
Late Meal
2 eggs
another can of tuna fish if I've not met protein requirements
On days that I lift, I exchange one of the midday meals for pre and post workout shakes. They include:
1/2 tablespoon of flax oil
2 cups milk
5g creatine (not in post shake)
4-5 teaspoons of dextrose
1 serving of ON whey protein (22g protein)
When cutting, I often put the creatine, oil and protein in water without sugar and milk to cut more calories.
Isn't that horrible? Why do I eat like this? Part of it is that I am poor and in college, but it has mostly to do with my refusal to think rationally (which is a shame, considering how much I enjoy reading objectivist philosophy). If you'd like more horror, I have some spreadsheets I've used to count calories from several months ago, so that you may see the non-progress yourself.
What I am asking of you? What I want are some helpful eating suggestions, goals for calorie consumption, ideas for what a daily diet should look like and any helpful advice you can offer. I'm not planning on quitting, but I am planning on not wasting any more of my time and youth by not getting results. Thank you for reading. I hope you will offer me some sage advice.
PS I should mention what I want from my training. My ultimate goal (at the moment) is 200 lbs at 9% BF. I also want above-average cardiovascular endurance (I've cut this out from my routine thinking the cardio was interfering with my gains).
I believe it is my diet because of a lack of success in several training principles and methods I've employed [HST, HIT, Hardgainer, 3x3]. I took some prohormones recently to see if they could get me out of what I thought was a rut [how I managed to convince myself that years of labor with any significant return could be considered a rut, I don't know]. They couldn't, and had I not commited several novus' errors, I doubt the results would have been different.
My endless, cyclical cutting/bulking phases are so similar it is embarrassing. I start at around 165 lbs (I am 21 years old, 5'11" at around 10% BF at this point). Then I bulk until I'm around 180-5. At this point, I feel fat and miserable, so then I decide to lose some weight [I also believe I am sacrificing too much muscle in these all-too-familiar cutting cycles]. Eventually, I return to 165 [with only the most minute improvement].
So, what does my diet look like? Allow me to outline my atrocious diet while I was using the PHs recently (my normal diet is similar, and in brackets are what I usually eat for cutting). When bulking, I've tried eating between 3200 and 3600 calories, and I either got no results or fat. When cutting, I get around 1800-2000 kcals. In either case, the same 8 items on my grocey list make up my bulking and cutting diets. I've varied the foods somewhat over time, but not much.
Morning
1.5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats [3/4 cup if cutting]
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 can of chunk tuna fish in water (I put ketchup on this, so as to make it edibe without raising calories too much)
2/3 cup of oatmeal (prior to adding water) [foregone when cutting]
Late Morning/Afternoon
1 Everything Bagel with 2-3 slices of turkey [1/2 bagel when cutting]
1 can tuna fish
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1.5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats [foregone when cutting)
Late Lunch
2/3 cup of oatmeal (prior to adding water) [1/3 cup when cutting]
1 qt. of fat free milk
Evening Meal
1 Bagel with sliced turkey [1/2 bagel when cutting]
2 servings of whole wheat macaroni [foregone when cutting]
1 tablespoon of peanut butter [foregone when cutting]
1 Can tuna fish
Late Meal
2 eggs
another can of tuna fish if I've not met protein requirements
On days that I lift, I exchange one of the midday meals for pre and post workout shakes. They include:
1/2 tablespoon of flax oil
2 cups milk
5g creatine (not in post shake)
4-5 teaspoons of dextrose
1 serving of ON whey protein (22g protein)
When cutting, I often put the creatine, oil and protein in water without sugar and milk to cut more calories.
Isn't that horrible? Why do I eat like this? Part of it is that I am poor and in college, but it has mostly to do with my refusal to think rationally (which is a shame, considering how much I enjoy reading objectivist philosophy). If you'd like more horror, I have some spreadsheets I've used to count calories from several months ago, so that you may see the non-progress yourself.
What I am asking of you? What I want are some helpful eating suggestions, goals for calorie consumption, ideas for what a daily diet should look like and any helpful advice you can offer. I'm not planning on quitting, but I am planning on not wasting any more of my time and youth by not getting results. Thank you for reading. I hope you will offer me some sage advice.
PS I should mention what I want from my training. My ultimate goal (at the moment) is 200 lbs at 9% BF. I also want above-average cardiovascular endurance (I've cut this out from my routine thinking the cardio was interfering with my gains).