Help with diet please

[PWoody]

I’m trying to put on some size and am looking for some help with my diet. I have done some research and am trying to get mine in check the best that I can in the situation that I am in. I live on an air force base and am on a meal card, meaning all food at the chow hall is free of charge, so I take advantage of that. This being so, it’s quite difficult to keep a constant diet. But, this is what I have got so far and have been doing for a few weeks now.



3:00pm: muscle milk shake (350cal, 32pro, 12carb)
2 pints of skim milk (180cal, 16pro, 24carb)
1 ½ cup cereal, either "Complete wheat bran flakes" or "Total" (160cal, 4pro, 40carb)
Total: 690 calories, 52g protein, 76g carbs

5:00pm chow hall food. Try to take in around 600-700cal, 60pro (meat, beans, 2 pints milk), 50carb (rice or potatoes usually)
Total: 600-700 calories, 50-60g protein, 50-75g carbs

6:30pm sweet potato (around 170cal, 4pro, around 37carb) 1 cup cottage cheese (160cal, 24pro, 16carb)
Total: 330 calories, 28g protein, 53g carbs

7-9:00pm gym. About 1:45 is spent lifting, other 15 is to and from gym

9-9:15pm muscle milk shake (525cal, 48pro, bout 20carb)
Total: 525 calories, 48g protein, 20g carbs

10:45pm chow hall food. 4 eggs (4 whites, 1 yolk(80-100cal 14pro)) possibly a meat if some is left over (300cal, 30pro) 1 biscuit (about 150cal, 5pro, 30carb) 2 pints skim milk( 180cal, 16pro, 24carb)
Total: 710-730 calories, 35-65g protein, 54g carbs

12:00am 4 Tb peanut butter (380cal, 16pro, 30carb) 1 bagel (around 150cal, 5pro, 30carb) 1 pint skim milk (90cal, 8pro, 12carb) Total: 620 calories, 29g protein, 80g carbs

2:30am Chow hall boxed lunch at work. Either 2 tuna sandwiches (around 500cal, 45pro, 50carb) or a turkey sandwich( around 300cal, 25pro, 30carb) an apple (65cal, 20carb) nutrigrain bar (140cal, 26carb)
Total: 505-705 calories, 25-45g protein, 76-96g carbs

5:00am barely anything right now usually only something like 2 packs of crackers, 14 oz of oj, and maybe 1-2 more Tb peanut butter
Total: around 500 calories, 5-12g protein, 60g carbs maybe

7:30am 1 cup cottage cheese (160cal, 24pro, 16carb) usually around 1 oz of nuts (170cal, 7pro, 6carb)
Total: 330 calories, 31g protein, 22 carbs

8am-3pm sleep


Daily Total: around 4200 calories, around 260g protein, close to 450g carbs



notes
* I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 180 pounds
* I’m working from 11:30pm-7:30am
* some of the time there is no skim milk, so that is replaced with 1%, adding a few more calories and some fat.
* the 2 chow hall meals I eat always have some sort of vegetable with them (usually corn, peas, tomatoes, or carrots)
* I snack on nuts in between meals when I am not working. I eat a container of 24 ounces of nuts every 10-14 days



I know this is hard to work with, but was hoping for any advice or possible suggestions for my 5:00am meal. I need something that if at all possible doesn’t require refrigeration, is high in protein and carbs, and is easy to carry around. Also, the cheaper the better. Thanks!

[PWoody]

bump

[Shibby]

For just the 5am meal you need something non-perishable? If so just add some nuts in there.

There are a lot of things you could change around. You are mixing a lot of protien sources high in fat with carbs. You want to try and seperate that as much as possible. So for example, the sweet potato is good pre-workout, but the cottage cheese is not. The fat will make you sluggish. Have the potatoe with a lean meat (e.g. tuna, chicken, turkey). The muscle milk has a lot of fat in it. I don't like the idea of putting fat's in your first meal of the day. You don't want to slow down your digestion. You could have a iso protien shake here or some egg whites. It would probably be easiest if you take this info and rearrange your diet to go a long with what you have available at each time of day.

[PWoody]

Alright, thanks a lot. I appreciate the reply.

Also, about the cottage cheese not being good for pre-workout due to the fat in it, what if it is fat free cottage cheese?