In dire need of critiquing my diet!

[ryno4567]

Well I have made into my 3rd month of training. I underwent a diskectomy in September for 2 ruptured disks and took a hiatus (to say the least) from the gym until given the ok to start training again in Feb. My muscle memory has been great, although I am not as lean as I was before I hurt my back, but I do not think I should be too worried about that right now.

My Stats are: 6' 1" hovering between 213.5 and 215 lbs in the mornings and guessing roughly between 12 to 15% bf. Closer to 12 though IMHO.

In an attempt to get back to my original shape prior to surgery, I opted to follow a Beverly diet due to the low carbs they recommencd.

The diet would allow me to "clean" bulk for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks of cutting. The cutting was basically assisted by eliminating my postworkout shake (540 cals, 86 grams of carbs, and 40 g pro) and increasing my cardio by 25%. In stead of this I just added 2 days of walking after lifting for 20 min at a medium pace.

Everything has worked great so far, body fat has decreased a good bit, and my weight has pretty much stayed the same indicating to me the increase of lean body mass. This is more than likely the result of the introduction back to lifting and the dietary changes as well. But now my weight has plateaued and I am really feeling the need to bulk. But still do it "cleanly" as I do not have a problem eating the amount that is required with whole foods, but I want to try and stay somewhat appreciable to look at. The problem I have is that I feel that I am carb sensitive to the point that I do not want to include any HI GI carbs in my diet, although maybe I am wrong. I do realize that the cottage cheese includes sugar in it, but this is about the only sugar included that could have a lot of effect on me.

If anyone could take a look at my current diet and possibly offer any opinions on where to increase in my meals or possibly switch some things around whether it be protein, carbs, or fats I would greatly appreciate it.

Meal #1
5 egg whites + 1 whole egg
5 oz. 92/8 ground beef
1/2 cup oats

Meal #2
6.5 oz. can of tuna
1.5 cup 2% cottage cheese
1/4 cup oats

Meal #3
8 oz. chicken (before cooking)
2 cups of salad (lettuce only)
2 Tbs Newmans Own Vinegar and Olive Oil
1 cup kidney beans

Meal #4
Same as Meal #2

Meal #5
8 oz. 92/8 ground beef
2 cups green beans

Meal #6
5 egg whites + 1 whole egg
5 oz. 92/8 ground beef
1 cup green beans
5 flax oil caps

Postworkout (Training Days Only)
2 servings of Mass Maker by Beverly
540 cal
86 grams of carbs
40 grams of protein
1.5 grams of fat


I was thinking though that I could start adding calories ( around 400) in the form of carbs and fat to my first meal for 4 weeks and then stay with that and add in more to my second meal and so on. Basically going off of that approach and just going on a gaining phase, but keeping the cardio as well. I dont know, like I said I am just pondering.

I want to start creatine soon also, but I do not want the water weight gain associated with that to make me think that the diet itself is what is causing the weight change.