I have been lifting for a couple of months as well. It depends on where you currently are in regard to health and weight. Are you looking to gain weight? Are you looking to lose weight? Are you simply looking for more toned muscles?
If you are aiming for aesthetics and wanting to lose weight, then you will probably want to cut out complex carbs and go with meats and vegetables.
If you are currently fairly skinny, then I'd recommend on focusing on bulking right now. Gain as much weight as you can while sticking to your lifting routine. While you will gain some fat, you can cut later. In this bulking scenario, you just want to make sure you're getting adequate protein (shoot for 1 gram per pound of body weight) and hitting a calorie surplus. Some people follow a "eat anything in sight" approach when it comes to bulking, while others go for more of a clean bulk. For health reasons, I'd recommend trying to go as clean as possible. Get your carbs from potatoes and white rice, eat tons of meat, make sure you're eating at least a snack right after your workout. Carbs are best consumed right after working out--they help replenish muscle glycogen stores.
Some trainers have recommended drinking a gallon of milk a day for those who are looking to gain weight. This would absolutely tear me up and I'm not sure that anyone should really be drinking milk, but if you think you can tolerate it, then this may be a decent approach. Milk, while very difficult to digest, does have a decent amount of protein, fat, nutrients--all good for building muscle.
Try to avoid the empty calories--soda, candy, other sweets, etc. These aren't going to do anything for you in terms of building muscle. Plus, you won't want to eat as much of the other stuff (meat, potatoes, veggies, etc.) if you're eating this crap.
You probably also want to stick with higher reps for the most part--at least 7 reps and probably no more than 12. This range will get you in the hypertrophy range.
Stick to working out 3-4 times a week if you're still fairly new to it. If you're trying to gain weight, then anything more won't really help you. It takes muscle 48 hours to recover from a workout anyways.
Build your workouts around the compound movements (bench press, shoulder press, squat and deadlift). These movements are going to do the most for you in regard to building muscle. Opt for free weight instead of machines too.
Also, if you're in a flare, then adding weight will probably be pretty tough to do. You would also want to really make sure you're not overdoing the exercise part either.
Post Edited (NostalgicCowboy) : 4/23/2017 7:47:40 PM (GMT-6)