Hi and welcome!

If you could post a typical day of meals with portion sizes that would help.

The long of the short of it though is to gain muscle you may need more of a calorie increase than what you are currently eating...post your plan though and people will chime in to help!

OK fair point...

Breakfast- two pieces of whole grain toast with a portion of cottage cheese and a tomato

Shake - high in carbs and protein + extra piece of fruit such as banana/berries

Lunch-Portion of cous cous, apple, portion of tuna/salmon, tomato, cucumber, onion

Shake

Dinner-portion of red meat/chicken marinated, portion of vege such as carrot, portion of potato or pasta.

When i write it out it doesnt seem like a lot huh... but thats going on what the book says as far as i can make out anyway.  Thanks for any feedback i get!!

How much protein do the shakes have?  At your weight I would shoot for around 150 grams of protein a day.  If you are falling short on what you are eating you might want to bump it up a bit.  I'm not sure how much protein is in your serving of cottage cheese but that looks like the one meal to me that the protein might be lacking a bit.  You might want to add a 6th meal as well.  Even if it is only a source of protein.    It will help with the hunger as well as the bump in protein.

You should be eating at least your weight in protein per day. Honestly, probably a bit more like 1.5 times your body weight if you want to put on mass. So if you weigh 150 divide that by 6 meals is 25 grams protein per meal and the same for carbs...also gotta add in some good fat like olive oil or fish oil... I would say 25g each (protein and carbs) is the bare minimum you need.

See my comments in RED

Breakfast- two pieces of whole grain toast with a portion of cottage cheese and a tomato

what is the portion size of the cottage cheese? make sure you are getting the proper amount of protein here. Why not try egg whites and oats here?

Shake - high in carbs and protein + extra piece of fruit such as banana/berries

What is the Nutritional info on the protein powder? The shake and fruit is not bad

Lunch-Portion of cous cous, apple, portion of tuna/salmon, tomato, cucumber, onion

Looks good, again what are the portions?

Shake

same as above

Dinner-portion of red meat/chicken marinated, portion of vege such as carrot, portion of potato or pasta.

Portion sizes, and I agree with Boltsfan...add in a sixth meal...

When i write it out it doesnt seem like a lot huh... but thats going on what the book says as far as i can make out anyway.  Thanks for any feedback i get!!

You have received some great advice. I agree with ayummymommy and Boltsfan you need to eat more protein to gain muscle mass. It takes hard work in the kitchen and in the gym.

Carbs serve mainly as energy for the body, while protein provides the necessary amino acids to build and repair muscle. For muscle growth, carbohydrates are not as essential as protein and fats. High quality protein, which the body breaks down into amino acids, should be the center point of all your meals. There are many studies that show intense exercise increases demand for amino acids, which support muscle repair and growth. To build muscle, you should try to get at least 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Trying adding more protein and repost your diet.

Here are some ideas for additional protein. Natural peanut butter, Tuna, Swordfish, Chicken, Turkey, egg whites, lean beef.

Regards,

Lori

Doesn't look like you are eating nearly enough calories to gain.  If your trying to gain muscle mass don't skimp on the calories.  Eat clean, but eat a lot.  "Lift big and eat big".  Definitely over 3,000 calories / day to gain.  Try adding a gallon of whole milk a day (GOMAD).  That should help you pack on weight.

Take a look into startingstrength.com.  Most of the people there are trying to gain muscle and bulk up.  Most of us here are trying to trim down and I think this program is more geared to weight loss than weight gain.  I will probably get flamed for saying this.

I wish I was trying to gain weight!  Maybe by the summer if all goes well...

Kahoona...I agree with your statement most are trying to trim down...I WISH I had to gain lol!!!

Thanks for all the great advise everyone!  I have just looked at the protein content of everything i am eating, the shake has 24 grams per serving so i am getting the minimum there, every other meal especially breakfast is way down!  cottage cheese is half as much as the minimum you guys suggest, tuna is up there close but it seems thats where i will improve for next week.  the milk idea sounds good also that would go great with the shake so will do that!  I am aware this is geared around mostly losing weight but some of the transformations people have had into muscle based around the BFL has been very impressive also so just seems tweaking it to get it right with a bit of help from the forum is the answer!!  Kahoona, no maybe about it, if you decide to do it and go hard then you know what youl be capable of and youl achieve it!!  Good luck!

Amazing...we look forward to hearing good things!!

I think if you get your food in order you will do great! Work hard, eat clean!

Bryan,

I usually drink Myoplex Lite or chocolate milk right after a workout to replace the glycogen burned during the workout and get the protein my muscles need to repair and rebuild into my system.

For a shake, it sounds gross but tastes delicious, I use a cup of eggs whites (***from a carton that's pasteurized not raw eggs***), a scoop of vanilla 100% whey protein, and whatever fruit I'm feeling.  You can bump up the calories with a cup of yogurt, milk or OJ.

Just remember you have to feed the muscle to grow the muscle.  Be persistent, you're just getting started.  I dropped a bunch of weight at the start and then flatlined for weeks as my muscles took off.  I could see my body leaning out, but the scale stayed the same.  

Matt