Evening guys,

Basically i've had the ambition of becoming more "defined" and to increase my muscle mass. I took the plunge and have joined a gym but i just cant seem to find the right meal plan or know what types of foods i should be eating other than chicken and pasta. I havent been to the gym since i signed up as i dont see the point in working out untill i'm eating properly.

I've had a look around these forums for possible foods and soe sort of meal plan but i'm still a little confused..

Any help would muchly be appreciated.

Thanks

basically...

1.eat a little more than you need = get bigger, heavier, stronger, more mass but still fairly lean
2.eat a little less than you need = lower body fat, limited growth
3.eat alot more than you need = get bigger, heavier, fatter, stronger, less definition
4.eat alot less than you neeed = lower body fat, maybe more definition but maybe eve less muscle mass from over training etc

CHOOSE OPTION 1.

add in cardio when you want to strip the fat even more, keep the sets 60 seconds apart or less.

start of with a more normal diet and increase it as you start to lift heavier and make exercise part of your life: metobolism will be higher, muscles will need more to grow etc etc

start off:

breakfast: porridge, protein shake
brunch: apple + nuts
lunch: chicken breast and wholegrain rice
post workout: shake
dinner: meat or fish, vegetables and potatoes, pasta, rice or low fat oven chips.
before bed: protein shake

just something smple like that to start with. when you start getting more serious and have got a good basic mass routine (if your goal is more mass) have a look at the beginners mass diet on here.

remember the 3 rules:

1. never sacrifice form before weight when lifting, but dont pick a weight you can do without breaking a sweat.
2. consitency in both diet and training (dont cheat yourself!)
3. keep it simple

Thanks for that!...Has given me a basic idea of where to start :)

What sort of pasta is best?

try to go for wholegrain in stead of white carbs becuase wholegrains release their energy slower, less salt, healthier etc. but tbh i have what ever i fancy ha. dont notive any difference. mix it up. Just have clean food that you will look forward to having so you keep it up.

heres what i ate testerday

07.00....2 scoops whey,75g oats with blueberries
10.00....150g chicken(cooked weight), 125g cous cous, 100g green beans
12.30....same as 10.00
15.15....same as 07.00
16.30....train
18.00....2 scoops whey,50g dextrose
19.15....200g salmon,200g steamed baby potato, steamed brocoli
10.00....3 ryvita, 200g cottage cheese


ok its not the best diet but its a good start......food weight/quantity will vary from person to person due to weight,goals etc

Diet seems like the hardes part for me, i do eat pretty healthy but im always tempted to get a dominos pizza and some ice cream

i know the feeling tomo but once you find something that works and stick to it the benefits are immense

footsoldier

pizza is actualy one of the best foods for bulking if you get the right one (dominoes pizzas arent actualy that bad!) and save the ice cream for post workout with a shake! ha