Need some Diet&more Help

[woolitz]

I am in high school currently, and I am 5'9'' 168. I have a somewhat average-athletic build. I lift 3 days out of the week and do cardio every day for the last 5 months. I've been noticing small gains and I think its due to my poor diet.

I know I need to get 6 meals in a day, but that is difficult. Right now my breakfast consists of a 30g protein bar. After 2nd period I eat another one. I have a typical lunch PB&J, apple, water, chips. Post workout I have a snickers energy bar (22g protein). When I get home I have another protein bar. Sometimes I eat dinner and sometimes I don't. When I do its usually a steak-like meal. (not lean). Then I go to bed.

My workout currently (this for upper body). I do lower body too of course, I just think that work out is fine and I'm not worried about it.

@ my high school
Bench
EZ Bar Curls
Seated Dumbbell Press
Military Press
Barbell Shrugs
@ my athletic club
Incline Bench Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Declined Push Ups
Dips
Pec Deck Butterflys
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
Decline Abdominal Crunches
Cross Crunch
Stretch

My goal, as lame as it sounds, is to have a really attractive body. like a hollister model or something. Right now I just look average. not fat not skinny not toned. Thats my primary goal. In about a month soccer will be starting up and I am a keeper for that. I also play football. So bulking up and being strong is important to me. But I know I need to be down in the single digits of body fat to get muscle toned like that, and that is more important to me than being stronger.

What I am asking from you is ANY suggestions. Also what supplements should I be using, and would you recommend any steroids etc to help me? I have a source I can get most stuff from. I have been thinking about using DNP to get rid of all the extra body fat and do a bulking cycle.

Thanks for your help!

 

[jasthace]

Your Goal to have a nice physque is not lame.
Staying natural and being healthy with a well ballanced lean physque is a great goal
Add a couple of back exercises to your workout.
Split your routine into three days,say
Back/biceps
legs
chest/shoulders/triceps.

Try the carb cycling diet
which consists of
Day 1-High carb.
Day 2 -low carb.
Day 3- no carb.

Check out the thread below for details

Bodybuilding.com - Twin Peak - Carbohydrate Cycling: What You Need To Know!

p.s- you say you a re getting small gains,thats great and all you can expect.
Its a long road and the small gains,acummulate into a nice physique over the period of two three years.

How old are you now?
I'm 37yo and started at 17yo,it's something that some of us just keep doing.

 

[woolitz]

im 16 right now. thanks for replying. are there an specific foods I can eat for high carb/low carb etc?

 

[bigbench]

Well, it looks like your getting four meals in just in the first half of the day. Since you have to keep up the cardio for soccer, you are going to have to increase the meals. With the protein bar in the morning, add in a cup of oatmeal. For second period, throw in a banana. Four luch, add a chicken sandwhich. After school, eat some fruits and maybe a protein shake before your workout and imedialty after (you need carbs to grow just as much as protein) you also should be eating the same thing before your runs. If you dont get the nutrients you need before your cardio, then you are going to be burning up the muscle you are using. Also, the workout routine ACE laid out is pretty good. Is there any way that you can work out four or five days a week? or is three the most? Also, never skip dinner. Make sure to get some good protein and before bed, have a protein shake also. With that, you will be adding plenty of cals to show a difference

 

[woolitz]

Ok heres my diet manifesto.... suggestions are greatly appreciated! All the protein bars protein and carbs add up to the desired specs. I drink a bottle water at each of these intervals. I am gonna use creatine during this unless there is any reason not to. a protein bar with carbs has around 20. w/o it has 2 or 3.

No Carb Day

7:00- No Carb protein bar, tangerine, celery
9:35- No Carb protein bar, tangerine, celery
10:30- No Carb protein bar, tangerine, celery
Post Work-out: No Carb protein bar, tangerine, celery
3:30- no carb protein bar
6:30-no carb protein bar + whey

Low Carb day

7:00- Protein bar, tangerine, carrots
9:35- Protein bar
10:30- turkey sandwich, tangerine, carrots
Post Work-out: protein bar, tangerine
3:30- No Carb protein bar
6:30- No carb protein bar + whey

High Carb Day

7:00-Protein bar, tangerine, carrots
9:35-Protein bar, tangerine, carrots
10:30- Turkey Sandwich, all bran cereal, tangerine
Post Work-out: protein bar and tangerine
3:30- no carb protein bar
6:30- no carb protein bar + whey

 

[jasthace]

It isn't quite right.

The only time I eat fruit on no carb day is directly before and or after workout.
But if you must then swap out the tangerine for grapefruit.
Grapefruit Health Benefits

You've not added any healthy oils to your meals.
What you are trying to achieve is to change your body from a carb/sugar burning machine into a fat burning machine.

You need to choose a low GI carb source for your carbs days,I see you have carrots and tangerines.Both are high GI.
You need to minimize your insulin{storage hormone} response to food during the day,this with elevate insulin sensitivity,so when you have your post workout meal with carbs,simple sugars and protein it will more effectively be shuttled into your muscle to promote glycogen storage and anabolism.

The post workout meal even on "no carb days" is to contain,a serving of simple sugars & carbs{and protein, of course}
Its been proven many times that the nutrients will be shuttled into the muscle and not be stored as fat.
This it a very important meal to stop you from becoming catabolic.
The key is in the size of your carb serving,you'll have to the judge of that,it may take some time.
Start small/moderate

 

[bigbench]

Ace just nailed it on the head. Like he said, you need to eliminate fruits from your diet. Execpt for your pre and post workout meal. On no carb days, take in no more than 20 grams of carbs and only imediately post workout. This will not affect glycogen stores in the muscles and cause a shuttle effect without much rise on insulin levels. It will also help to lower cortisol levels after your workout to stop your body from eating its muscle. On low carb day. You can go to 20-30 grams of carbs (high glycemic... fruit, sugars.. ) before and after your workout and some outmeal in the morning ONLY. Then on high carb days... Fruits the same as other, but eat the oatmeal, brown rice and sweet potatoes with every single meal. Thats really the only BIG differences I would make.

 

[Bleo83]

Not sure if this will help you or not.

But when I was younger I was very very small! like a twig one might say. when I first started lifting as a young teen and like most I hit the gym ok but the diet was not spot on and it wasn;t until I added more calories that I put on my first decent amount of weight and I did not get fat.
So maybe you can try adding a few more cals or just play around with your diet and get some more advice from guys liek BigBench etc they would know alot more than myself.
But just saying what worked for me.
hope that helped some how.

Good luck with your goals