Hi BigBennyM!  I only have a minute.  2 cups of brown rice is way too much.  Cut that in half.   Try to eat 40 g of both carbs and protein with each meal and as you lose weight adjust that down.  Your daily protein consumption should be about what your weight is (240 lbs = 240 g protein);  divided by 6 meals is 40 g per meal.

I'm not an expert at the proper amount of calories to take in, but I would think around 2200 will get the job done.  (I eat 1600-1800 per day and I weigh 155 pounds).

Sorry... gotta run.  

All the best!

Benny, what is a while?  And is that meal what you eat for 6 meals a day?  Do you do shakes or other on-the-go type meals?  If so what do they consist of.  I am not an expert in any of this, but do believe that Laurie gave you great advice.  When I read your post I thought, whoa that sounds like a huge amount of food.  

Ok, this is what I have devised as my new menu.  Tell me what you all think.

Three times a day I will drink a protein/oatmeal shake:

2 scoops protein and 40g oats: Calories 430/Protein 54/Carbs 27

Total: Calories 1290/Protein 162/Carbs 71

Meal 1:

171g Pinto Beans/4 egg whites/1 whole egg:

Total: Calories 370/Protein 37/Carbs 45

Meal 3:

195g Brown Rice/4 oz Chicken Breast

Total: Calories 400/Protein 41/Carbs 45

Last Meal Before Bed:

1 Cup Cottage Cheese

Total: Calories 200/Protein 30/Carbs 15

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Total: Calories 2260/Protein 270/Carbs 175

If I add a tablespoon of olive oil it would bring it up to 2400 caloies.

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I find it easier to eat the same things every day.  When I supstitue a meal I keep it to the same calorie/protein/carb count as the meal replacing.

For six weeks I ate close to 3000 calories a day the scale stayed the same, but I was tired a lot.

For six weeks I ate 2600 calories and the scale stayed the same -- maybe dropped a pound or two during this time.

I just switched to eating 1800-2200 calories the last two weeks.  I have dropped 4 pounds of scale weight and feel full of energy.

I like the way I feel at the 1800-2200 calorie range, but I don't want to be burning muscle and lowering my metabolic rate.

Benny, it sounds like you are finally on the right track.  And if you are feeling good, that is a great indicator.  I am a bit perplexed at what you said with 6 weeks and another 6 weeks.  Are you on the full bfl program, following the workouts as well so you build muscle, and not burn it?  How far into the full program are you?

Benny:

Those shakes are not very balanced as far as protein vs. carbs.  I would cut back a little on the protein and add a little more carbs.  Have you tried the Myoplex shakes?  They are the perfect meal replacement shakes.  As a woman, I drink two Myoplex Lite shakes every day.  Everything else looks pretty good.

Just one more note..... variety is a good thing.  It would be OK to follow something like this for a challenge but eventually you'll get burned out on it.  Plus, our body needs a variety of foods to get proper nutrition.  Don't forget to add veggies to two meals every day, too.

Don't forget.... this is for life.

If you are eating balanced meals 6 times a day and following the BFL workouts, you will not burn muscle.... on the contrary.  Just don't add a lot of extra cardio.

I follow the workout and cardio routine to a 'T'.  I push myself to the 10's on every workout.  I do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, but my weight training is done after work (schedule issues).

I am consistantly making gains as far as strength is concerned.  

So the workout is not the issue.  It is the diet.  I have always weighed my food and went for calorie counts.  This was only because it seemed like a lot to eat, if I did the fist method.  My fist is 2 cups, and depending on the stuff I ate that could mean a lot of calories.  Two cups of beans or rice is a lot of calories.  I could keep the calories down, if I ate only fruit.  Two cups of fruit is about half the calories.

I recently got my body fat tested for the first time in my life.  I am going to make a normal thing now.  Same person each time and once every 6 weeks.  I guess that will tell me if I am on track.

That's a great idea.  I get mine checked every four weeks.

What I read on the shakes said they were around 40g protein and 20g carbs.  Which is why I decided to make my shakes about the same.  

I make my own, because I cannot afford the meal replacement shakes.

I will adjust my shakes to make them more even.  They will remain the same calories but they will be closer to 40g protein and 40g carbs.

I didn't know that about the regular Myoplex shakes.  The Lite are balanced (20 g each).

I think all these little adjustment will made a big difference.

Laurie...that 1600-1800 range you mentioned...is that your maintenance range or your "losing" range? I'm trying to lose 10-15 lbs of scale weight and/or 5% BF (currently at 31% yikes!) and I can't tell if my calories are too low or too high or just right (like Goldilocks!). I'm eating around 1400-1500 a day (more on free day, of course) and I'm 5'6", 26 y/o, and 154 lbs. The online calculators seem to put that at a good calorie goal, but I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks so I just don't know. I don't think I can go lower without being hungry and cranky all the time! My ratios are usually right at 40/40/20.

I take a look at what is recommended to eat and what past champions have eaten and they supplement 3 shakes in to their diet.  Each myoplex shake has 42g protein/20g Carbs/ and 300 calories.  If I make my shakes equal to that, then my calories would come down to around the 1800-2000 calorie range.

Sounds good, Big Benny!

Soon to Be Mrs J (love the name!) -

It makes me nervous to give out a lot of advice about calories since I am not an expert at it, but I am so compelled to help that I can't help myself.

For me.... 1600 is for weight loss.

1400-1500 does sound very reasonable for you.... make sure you hit your 10's when you workout.  It is very possible to lose 5% bodyfat in 12 weeks.  The only thing that seems high to me is your fat intake.  Other than the fat I get in fish, myoplex lite shakes, what little is in chicken, the tiny bit I occasionally put on salads, etc, I buy everything fat-free that I possibly can.  Because I'm a runner, I eat a bit more carbs now so I would say my ratio is approx 40/50/10.  How many weeks into your challenge are you?  For women, it can take several weeks to see a change on the scale.  Did you take your measurements?  That is a much better indicator of progress.  Who cares what the scale says as long as you're getting smaller.