When looking to build muscle it is absolutely crucial that you are eating to support your goal. You can have the most scientific weight training programme in the world with all of the parameters written perfectly for you but if you are not eating adequately you will not be able to gain weight, period. On the other hand it is very possible that you can gain muscle by eating well and doing a very basic training programme, as long as you work hard enough. Using that theory, nutrition is the first thing you need to put more effort into to get results.
Case in point, find anyone who has a lot of muscle mass and ask them what they eat. The common link is they all know how to eat big. Success leaves clues!
When faced with a problem the most important thing is to gain the knowledge to overcome that problem. You do not want to be like the majority of people in any commercial gym who barely make any progress despite going multiple times per week and thinking they are “doing everything right!”
So, where to start?
Know your calories! A calorie is defined as the energy needed to heat the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1⁰C. In short, it is usually referred to as the energy in food. It is commonly accepted that if you consume fewer calories than you expend, you create a deficit and you lose weight. If you consume more calories than you expend, you create a surplus and you gain weight. There are many more factors that affect this but on the whole it is an important starting point.
You will find many equations to calculate your caloric needs for the day. As there are so many variables which influence this it is important to note that none of them are exact science. They should be used as a starting point. For this reason I like to keep it simple.
Take your bodyweight (in pounds) and multiple by 16 to find your starting point for maintenance. If you are a 200lb male then 200 x 16 = 3,200 calories. This would be your starting point to maintain weight. You can take into account the amount of lean body mass and body fat percentage but like I say, it is definitely not an exact science so get a starting point and work from there.
Once you have your starting point for maintenance you add an extra 500 calories on and this is your starting point for gaining weight. To look at it in very simplistic terms imagine sitting on one side of a see-saw and putting the food you eat on the other. If you are eating at maintenance the see-saw is staying level, your job is to add food to the other side until your end of the see-saw (your weight) starts going up.
If you get this right you will start adding weight. If after two weeks your bodyweight is not increasing then add another 500 calories per day to your nutrition plan and reassess. Repeat this process until you are adding weight at your desired rate.
Everyone is different and some methods that work for person A won’t necessarily work as well for person B. The key is to know how to troubleshoot should you not get the desired results. Here are some common problems.
You start adding weight but feel you are adding too much fat rather than muscle tissue. If this is the case then the first thing you look at is the quality of your calories. Steak would be considered cleaner calories than a beef burger, a chicken breast would be considered cleaner calories than deep fried chicken. Some foods are synonymous with being unhealthy and notorious for adding body fat. Clean up your diet so you have leaner sources of protein, fewer sugars and no sources of processed fat (deep fried etc). If you are adding weight too quickly in general then it is inevitable that some body fat will come on with it. There is only so much new muscle tissue the body can create. Simply scale back your calories slightly and continue once your find a point you are happy with.
Additional methods:
- The hyper-caloric method. For people who eat very cleanly and like maintaining a low body fat percentage you can have a hyper-caloric day and every fifth day increase your calorie intake by 50% (for one day only). You may want to use this as your psychological break from eating cleanly the rest of the time. Avoid foods containing trans-fats and use some common sense in regards to ‘cheat meals’.
- The alarm method. Set your watch to beep 2.5 hours after you finished eating. This will remind you to eat again. This is to get into the habit of eating frequently so it becomes second nature. It also prevents the problem of forgetting to eat when you have a busy day or other things on your mind.
- High calorie snack. Keep healthy, high protein, high calorie snacks on you to eat between meals. Mixed nuts and fruits are very calorie dense and unlike most protein bars they naturally contain many valuable micronutrients.
- Liquid snacks. To supplement a diet you can add in good quality protein shakes between meals to increase your protein consumption. The problem with this method is that it is often used incorrectly when people consume whey protein instead of solid meals. Get your food in first and add these in between. They are an extra source of calories, not a replacement.
There is a joke among veteran trainees that those struggling to gain weight despite eating ‘loads’ are delusional and often have no idea how much they are eating in the first place. This article gives you a simple starting point and strategy to ensure you are not one of those people who are unable to add appreciable amounts of muscle. Start changing your physique today, you know how.
