Goals for the start of 2011

This month I'm planning on some hard gaining. I lost a good 10 lbs last year when I blew out my left knee. I'm just now getting back to my 185, but I don't want to stop gaining there. My goals for early 2011 is going to be to get to 195 solid mass. Right now I'm taking NO (Force Factor) and Creatine along with my normal protien mix. Just cycling them in for the month and then next month clean living and eating. I also just purchased some Cyto Gainer (Muscle Milk Mass Gain Powder), so I hope to up my Calorie intake to about 3,000-4,000 calories per day with that in the mix.

Now I have a HUGE benefit at my workplace, we have an amazing cafeteria that is open all day. So when I realize I haven't eaten anything it is very easy for me to just walk down the hall to the Cafe and pick something up. And the variety is pretty healthy so it's easy to always grab something that's good for me.

A typical food day for me looks something like:

Waking up:
Whey Protein Powder – 110 Calories – 26g Protein
(16 oz water)

Trip into Work:
Venti Non-Fat Carmel Macchiato – 280 Calories – 17g Protein

Breakfast:
2 slices turkey bacon – 70 Calories – 4g Protein
Hash browns – 150 Calories – 2g Protein
Wheat Toast – 90 Calories – 6g Protein
2 Eggs – 140 Calories – 12g Protein
Quaker Oat Meal – 160 Calories – 4g Protein
Tropicana Orange Juice – 210 Calories – 4g Protein
Apple – 65 Calories – 0g Protein

Lunch:
Chicken Tostadas – 350 Calories – 24g Protein
Chicken Soup – 170 Calories – 12g Protein
Orange – 50 Calories – 0g Protein
(16 oz water)

Afternoon Snack:
Yoplait Light Yogurt – 100 Calories – 5g Protein
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich – 300 Calories – 12g Protein
(16 oz water)

Dinner:
2 Grilled Chicken Breast – 562 Calories – 70g Protein
Sautéed Broccoli and Onions – 200 Calories – 6g Protein
Juicy Juice Orange Tangerine (Juice Box) – 130 Calories – 0g Protein

Evening Snack:
1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter – 80 Calories - 4g Protein
Whey Protein Powder – 110 Calories – 26g Protein

Totals: 3327 Calories - 234g Protein
Hopefully the Cyto Gainer 500 Calories and 50g Protein per serving should push me much closer to my goal of 4k Calories and 280g+ Protein per day.


Side note:
Hard Gaining is a lot harder than losing weight, eating the right calories with the right types of workouts to get results you are looking for. There's a simple secret to gaining size though EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT. Even when you feel like your going to be sick, keep on eating. It's the only way to gain size.

Also I keep hearing people say "but I try so hard to gain weight and I can't do it". I've been a Tri-athlete coach for many years and it's usually the people that are big on the biking and running. You have to have 1 goal at a time, if you want to work on your running and biking and endurance and you want to gain weight? You are going to fail. You need to STOP all of your cardio and just focus on eating and gaining mass. That needs to be a single goal. OR you need to be focused on your biking and running and swimming. You're setting yourself up for failure if you try to do both at the same time. Pick 1 goal, and do that for 6-10 weeks, then pick a different goal and focus on that for the next 6-10 weeks.