Fuel the fire

I want share my current nutritional breakdown with everyone. I don't normally go into detail about this as everyones requirements differ but I would like to show people just how much fuel is needed to build muscle.

For a long time I thought I could fuel my training on very little food (bird like portions) and gain muscle - this is not the case. It wasn't until I started working with my current personal trainer that my intake was directly addressed and I put my trust in his guidance to get me started. Now I have the confidence to increase/adapt my intake as and when required.

For the first 8 weeks of this challenge the aim is to gain lean muscle mass (the final 4 will be a cut to drop body fat)
I have had to tweak my calorie consumption and macro nutrients over the first 6 weeks as I have gained size and hit a plateau a few weeks ago and the intensity of my training has increased. My intake now is working well, I'm gaining around 1lb per week and my body fat % has actually dropped from week 1 by 1.5%

Considering I am a small build it takes an awful lot of food to fuel my workouts and leave enough extra to build muscle. Here is the breakdown:

3500 cals
350g - 370g Carbs
215g - Protein
100g - 120g - Fat

This is spread over 7 meals which look a bit like this:

Carbs
5 meals = 42g
2 hrs pre w/o = 80g
post w/o = 80g (which comes from Muscle Fuel STS and a Banana)

Protein
6 meals = 28g
Post w/o = 45g

Fat
6 meals = 20g (I ommit fat from my post w/o meal)

I use these USN supplements to help meet my requirements, help with performance levels and aid recovery.

I try and stick as closely to this as possible and track everything on myfitnesspal. I plan all my meals the day before and prepare all my meals a day in advance so I am never caught out and can always hit my calorie requirements with clean foods. I will continue to follow this plan for the next 2 weeks taking me to the 8 week mark of the challenge.

I am currently researching a few different methods for when it comes to the final 4 week cut. I want to make sure I follow a plan that works for me as I am aware that this will be the first time I have really had to cut calories since I started recovering properly from my eating disorder. I know I will have the willpower to stick to the diet as this challenge means so much and I am dedicated to putting all my effort in to reaching the end goal. It's going to be a shock to the system but I am looking forward to seeing how my body changes and what more I can learn about my body etc. After all, it's all about results!!