Hey guys

So, I've been in the gym for some time now, but the problem is - I'm not getting the correct types of food, enough protein, fat etc. So it'll be obvious I won't see that much difference in muscle gain when I'm not following a diet. I've checked out the Meal Planner as well, but as I don't exactly know which mealplan would fit. As Calorie distribution (on the mealplanner) is a bit foreign (the percentages). As I don't exactly know how much of which percentage of fat, protein and carbs I should aim for per day. Why I also "struggle" a bit to get a good meal plan is that I'm from South Africa, so not everything you have on some of the mealplans are available here.

I've tried to read on the internet about wide variety  - supplements, diets, workout routines etc.

At the moment I gym 5 days a week with 20min cardio before and 10min after. 

I'm not sure what to add more, I've my measurements on my profile but I'm not completely certain what my BF% is. As some sites says it's 16% others says 20 - 21%.

Thanks for any help/advice

Hey Jack, I'm still new as far as helping with meal plan stuff but I'll try my best.

So, I think i got confused as to what you're trying to do. Are you trying to get your muscles bigger? Or do you just want to lose the fat around the muscle you have?

I ask that because if you are looking for lean gains, like the thread title says, then we can help with your meal plan. If what you want is to gain muscle mass, then you should cut back on your cardio and load up on protein and calories. I had a very high body fat % and i was able to turn a lot of it into muscle, without propper nutrition. If you just keep going to the gym as much as you are, you will see results in muscle gain.

For your lean gains cardio is great! Thats currently what I'm working on and I'm starting to see the fat melt away but my muscle mass is still there from the intense, every day, lifting.

I'm eating a lot of chicken to keep my protein up but my fats low. I've also started incorporating more salads and fruit in my meal plan. To keep my protein high, I have my protein shakes.

I hope this was at least a little bit of help till someone else posts an answer :/. 

Hey Joey,

Now that I reread my first post I can understand why you didn't completely understand, hehe.

What I'm trying to get at is - It's a bit "hard" for newcomers to get a mealplan that would work for their goal they want to achieve. Of course there's other factors. As I'm looking for a good mealplan to build muscle. And which supplements I can take with it, as Scott and another member said; it's not going to help if you take supplements when your mealplan doesn't work with the supplements.

In regards to this question: "So, I think i got confused as to what you're trying to do. Are you trying to get your muscles bigger? Or do you just want to lose the fat around the muscle you have?" It's both. The belly fat is the most concerning at the moment, then my arms, which doesn't seem to lose the fat.

At the moment, I'm only able to do 3 exercises per muscle group, and doing 2 muscle groups per day with my cardio.

What I want to achieve before really getting into working out:

Get a mealplan that's suited for me

Which supplements to take at which time (I would like to take the most useful of them, as I cannot spend to much money on different supplements)

Which exercises to do with with eachother - E.g. Chest and abs, shoulders and legs. As an example.

Hope it answers the question xD

Also thanks for the reply, got me thinking a bit on what I want to do :)

Hey Jack,

When you log into the meal planner you need to enter your current weight / BMR and what weight you would like to be.  If you want to lose weight then your goal weight should be less than your current.  To gain muscle, you should make your goal weight higher than your current.

Once this information is entered the meal planner automatically calculates what your macro/micro nutrients should be.  From there all you need to do is stat adding food until the letters start to become "As" on your food reportcard.

Also, to LOSE WEIGHT, which you said is your goal, you need to be doing TOTAL BODY routines.  Use the ROUTINE section of the site to find the right total body routine.  You can actually search for only total body routines using the filter system on that page. :)

My name is Weston Hargis and im 17 years old, 6'2'' and 173lbs. Im wanting to lose fat but also i want to gain muscle. Im trainging for Track and Field.

Body fat about 15%

Weight 173lbs

Fat 25.95 lbs

BMR at rest 1969.84

BMR in motion=3053.26

BMR average=2511.55

+250cals

Protien= 220.5 grams=882cals

Carbs= 301.88grams=1207.05cals

Fat= 73.5=661.5

total cals=2750.55

looks pretty good.. but if you feel like you are doing A LOT of running and training combined with lifting... you might want to boost protein to like 250grams and carbs to 320grams.

You are going to have to see how things go week to week.

What is your gym routine like and your track training like?

Well i changed it this week to 3 days a week lifting monday- Full body ciruit, Wed-fully body heavy lifing like squats, bench, dead lift.... Friday- just likemonday. For running i try to do running 4 days a week in the morning enduence, sprints, and intervals. Im doing this lifting till track starts then im switching to a 4 days a week in the morning and track practice will be at night.

Hey man!

Sorry for the late reply. How have things been going with this schedule? Are you noticing results? Fill me in brotha! #HTH