What foods to eat to put on lean body mass

Hey there: Alright I think I need to change my FB profile pic. I put up the picture from my Hallowe'en costume and the feedback has ranged from:

'That is so creepy'  to

'The girls are hot, Chris is not'  to

(my personal favourite)  'I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth'
So to salvage any sort of shred of confidence I may have this pic will have to come down haha. Good times though.

Anyways for most people the goal when they go to the gym is to lose bodyweight. They are carrying a few extra pounds and would like to tone up or just get lean.

But what about for the other people? There are some people out there who are looking to gain weight. I was one of them. I graduated high school at 154 lbs and then got up to 217 lbs in university. So it can be done. Below is a question from ST. He writes:

Hey Chris, I really having problems with my diet. I'm really  not eating at the right times or nearly enough i think. I did about 3 weeks of the workout we did, and not even a dent on the scale. I  really think its a diet issue, just having troubles keeping up to it and eating enough. So should i be eating about 5 meals per day? I just need a couple tips maybe and a bit of modivation haha. Is there something that i can consistently have for a few of the meals and it not be unhealthy or anything? Once i start to see some results i get pretty motivated, but when im in a lul like this it makes it harder for me to get to the gym (vicious cycle and so on). Just looking for a  few ideas along the diet and motivation lines.
Thanks,
S
You know what's interesting? Even though the goal is the opposite of many, the frustrations and the challenges are the same. S mentions not eating at the right times or the right amounts, not seeing results, feeling confused, looking for a simple solution and needing a spark to get on track.

Who cannot identify with these sentiments? I think everyone has felt this way at some time.

So S, I'm going to make it really easy for you. Eat these foods until you get sick of them and need a change or you start getting some results.

breakfast - cereals, bagels, peanut or almond butter, juices, milk, fruit, oatmeal with trail mix or honey, eggs

lunch - whole grain breads, deli meat, cheese, vegetables, mayo and mustard, fruit, avocado

dinner - pastas, rices, potatoes, yams, beans, fish, meat, poultry, wild game, pork, beef, olive oil

snacks - dried fruit, shakes with peanut butter, nuts, coconut milk, dairy

What you need to do is select calorie dense foods. For example you could eat a half pound of broccoli and get less than 100 calories. Or you could eat a half pound of pasta and get 800 calories! Similarly you could eat a cup of raisins and get 500 calories or a cup of watermelon will provide around 46 calories. Huge difference.

This should get you started. Remember however to eat real foods and don't go for window delivery options.

Let me know how this works for you.

Chris                                                                                                                                                                                                                      okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'