dieting for muscle gain

Question
Hi,

I'm a 27 year old guy 5'8" who is currently seriously body building for 4 mos.  I am currently 140 lbs and I am thinking of gaining about 10 more, but I'm worried about my fat gain.  As it is, I am quite thin, but my body fat is quite high (maybe 11%).  I am looking for a diet that can help build lean muscle mass. My current diet is as follows:

Breakfast: 48 grams oatmeal, 120 grams cottage cheese and 5 egg whites.

Lunch : 6 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup white rice and 1/2 cup green veggies

Snack 1: 1 sccop GNC Weightgainers 2200 shake (600 calories)

Snack 2: 5 egg whites

Snack 3: 1 sccop GNC Weightgainers 2200 shake (600 calories)

Dinner: 6 oz sirloin beef or white fish, 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup veggies.

I have maybe 2-3 cheat meals a weak. Is this ok or what should I eat instead.  Thanks a lot for the help.

Answer
Well, first off I don't think that 11% body fat is too high! For males in your age range body fat percentage should be between 8-19%, so you are in a healthy range. And I'm sure as your body building progresses some of your fat will be replaced with more muscle, which is more dense that fat as well (meaning muscle weighs more than fat... This does not mean that a lb. of muscle weighs more than a lb. of fat. It means that given a specific space to fill, muscle filling that space would weigh more than if fat were filling that space). Why so many egg whites??? I know that they are protein packed, but there are so many other foods that have that much protein and are more calorie dense, hence you would maybe gain some more weight. Protein shakes are excellent! Drink up! They have tons of calories, lots of protein, and are generally healthy for you. But don't replace food in your diet with those shakes... just drink more shakes in addition to the food you are already taking in. You eat quite a bit of rice... why not try replacing one of those servings of rice with a plate full of pasta (brown rice, wheat pasta is generally healthier for you than white rice and white pasta). You can have more veggies than just a half of a cup too! You aren't even getting the recommended servings! Eat double the servings at both meals. Have you tried builders bars (made by clif http://www.clifbars.com). Those are packed with healthy good for you stuff... and may help with your body building as well). Overall, it sounds like you could add more calories to your diet... don't be afraid of variety!!!

Leigh-Anne

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