Gaining Mass - The Diets

There are a few basic rules to eating for mass gain. First off we need to be in a calorie surplus. This means consuming more calories than you are burning up, giving yourself extra to both power your workouts and to fuel the growth you require. You need a decent mixture of the three macronutrients and these rations will depend upon your metabolism and goals.

Carbs/Proteins/Fats

Carbohydrates for mass – Carbohydrates offer the trainee the cleanest and easiest to use form of quick energy and when it comes to gaining mass you need plenty. Not just for the energy you are burning up throughout the day but extra for those punishing workouts you’ll be performing to grow. During mass gaining diets you want a mixture of slow releasing gradual energy carbs and some instant energy fuel, especially around workout times. Traditionally Carbs were eaten in vast quantities during bulking however today we recognise that a diet too high in carbohydrates not only neglects healthy fats and essential protein but the main cause of body fat gain is actually excess carbohydrates. When eating for mass it’s a careful balance between having the energy to grow and having so much excess your body starts to store too much unsightly fat gain. (Calories per gram 4)

Whole food sources: Sweet potatoes, wholemeal rice, oatmeal, limited pasta or bread (preferably wholemeal) Beans and legumes, some fruits, lots of vegetables (as much colour variety as possible for health reasons)

Supplemental sources: Weight gain drinks, Carbohydrate drinks, Post workout drinks.

Protein for mass – Protein as every bodybuilder and strength athlete knows is the primary source of raw building material for muscle tissue. Under eat protein and you deprive your body of the essential stuff to repair that damaged muscle and create new lean mass from the training stimulus. When eating for mass protein needs to be a blend of slow release to constantly supply the building process and also some faster release to feed hungry muscle tissue fast, especially during daylight hours. Because you will likely be eating a lot more food than average, protein is often best coming from both whole food sources (which contain a variety of extra nutrients – as well as tastes!) and liquid protein supplement sources. The liquid proteins can be digested faster and with better results so you aren’t weighed down by a full stomach by time the next meal comes around. (Calories per gram 4)

Whole food sources: Lean meats, chicken, oily fish, eggs, probiotic yoghurt, cottage cheese and other light cheeses.

Supplemental sources: Protein shakes and Meal replacement or weight gain mixes.

Fats for mass – Fats got a very bad reputation in the 80’s with the belief that fat kills you and you can pretty much ignore it with its dense calories. The only problem was, when everybody cut fat from their diets they denied the body a lot of essentials. Fats provide a lot of the raw ingredients for hormones, so testosterone crashed off the chart, the exact opposite of what a trainee needs. Fats also make up most of the joints and essential connective tissues in our body, not to mention most of our brains are made of fats. Fats are not created equal however, there are good fats that improve our bodies and health and ones that slow us down and cause problems. Generally EFAs (essential fatty acids) need to be eaten to keep us alive and MCT (Medium Chain triglycerides) can offer us a healthy form of energy almost a rival to carbohydrates. There are also specialist types of fat like CLA which have actively shown to reduce stored body fat. (Calories per gram 9)

Whole food sources: Eggs, avocados, olive oil, coconuts, oily fish, light cheeses.

Supplemental sources: EFA oil blends, fish oil and CLA capsules

Calorie calculations for Mass gain:

The simple way to start a calorie calculation is to take your bodyweight in pounds and times this by a number to reach a basic guideline.

For mass gain we generally start at BM x 14 = calorie count starting line.

So for example a 180 pound man would be 180 x 14 = 2520 calories.

This is a starting point. If you have a demanding physical job you may need to add anywhere between 500 – 1000 calories on top of this to start with. For everyone else give yourself 250 calories on top of this to ensure growth.

Now this is obviously an estimation and will need refining as we go along. Each week you should be seeing a gradual increase in bodyweight. In the range of 1 – 2 pounds a week is a sensible change. If not, you need to add a small amount of around another 250 calories until you see a regular change. This should also be balanced out by checking your waist size. If you are adding much more than a quarter inch per week to your waist you are gaining fat too quickly and need to either perform more training or cut calories back a little (stick to 250 calories at a time going up or down).

Macronutrient ratios:

When eating for mass we can divide your calories up between the aforementioned carbs/proteins/fats and this ratio can help you work out how much of what you should be eating.

For the purposes of gaining we need to start with a ratio of approximately 45/30/25 as a start line. This means 45% of your daily calories coming from carb/30% from protein/25% from fat. This is a good starting place but again will require adjustment depending upon your individual metabolism. If you are gaining more waist size fat than that quarter inch try lowering carb intake to 40% and raise fat intake to 30%. Keep protein exactly the same. This often suits people who put on fat too easily as the fats consumed oddly are less likely to be stored as body fat as the carbs which may blunt insulin response over time.

For those who are having trouble with the 1 pound a week gain it may be necessary to go the other way and drop fat to 20% and up carbohydrates to around 50% (still always keeping protein at 30% of total calories). This tends to suit skinny individuals with faster metabolisms who handle higher carb intakes without huge fat gain. As with calorie counts be prepared for a few weeks of adjusting until you find the right ratio for you.

Re-assessment:

You can’t keep on mass gaining forever otherwise there would be no end in sight. Besides your body will down regulate its capability to grow, insulin response becomes blunted and fat gain starts to overtake muscle gains. Also, the changing size of your body means the calorie count you started with will no longer apply after a month or so. At the end of each monthly cycle of training it’s best to repeat the calorie calculation for your new size and alter the amount you eat accordingly.

When you start to see fat gain becoming unacceptable it’s time to consider a fat loss diet, or reduce calories for a little while until you can find a new training method to shock new growth out of your system.

Aids with mass gaining:

There are all kinds of aids to mass gaining from creatine loading products to testosterone boosters. They can all make a difference but your foundation will always be quality food, protein or weight gain supplements and extra carbs, fats and plenty of water. Once you have the foundations in place and are gaining weight you can start looking at our supplement guides to see what else you can use to boost your efforts.

Putting it together:

Eating for mass requires a steady but dedicated approach to food consumption. You can’t eat extra on one day and then miss meals the next and hope your body will keep up. Planning ahead is still required on a mass gaining diet as much as a fat loss one.

Dividing your meals up into at least six a day is also an excellent idea for getting a constant stream of nutrients into your system without overloading your digestion and insulin response (which will lead to more fat gain than muscle mass). Some people may even need seven or eight meals a day which will mean eating something every hour and a half to two hours throughout the day. This is where having supplemental shakes/snacks/ready-to-drink-mixes can come in handy to carry with you throughout your day.

You should never feel hungry on a mass gaining diet. In fact your meals should arrive just as you start to feel ready for them. On the other hand you shouldn’t feel so full you are going to be sick. If you are stuffing too many calories in one sitting – spread the meals out into smaller ‘snacks’ and you’ll feel better and get more benefit to your physique.

The largest meals of the day should be breakfast and the all important post workout meal. These are when insulin is most primed to shuttle nutrients directly into muscle tissues and away from fat cells. Up to 25% of your daily calories can come in each of these meals when bulking up. Spread the rest of your calories into the other meals equally. On non-training days, split the calorie load a little more evenly.

This will all require some planning at first but once you get into the habits of regularly eating for mass, it will become second nature. It’s a good idea to plan ahead in the evening to the next day – prepare food and shakes ahead of time if necessary so you aren’t forced to skip meals or eat the wrong things.

Remember eating for Mass may mean a high calorie diet but to avoid fat gain this is still about eating quality foods and not endless streams of junk just to weigh more on the scales. The goal is bigger muscles not a bigger waistline. Still you should still be able to have one day a week where you consume ‘cheat’ foods that you enjoy. If you find your fat gain is getting out of control cut this down to a single cheat meal a week until it’s under control.

Water

Although high water intake is usually associated with fat loss plans and athletic pursuits remember that while mass gaining your body still requires a lot of hydration and dehydrated muscles will not grow no matter what you eat. So use as much water as you can with shakes and weight gains, drink a few extra cups in-between meals and around training times and don’t forget that green tea and a little juice can hydrate and be healthy.

Alcohol consumption will generally lead to fat gain and disrupts a lot of muscle gain, however it’s also important to remember that the more alcohol you consume the more dehydrated you become, so extra water is needed whenever you drink alcohol (which you should limit if you want a muscular physique without the fat).

Overview:

Complete your calorie assessment and ensure you have chosen the correct macronutrient ratio for your starting point. Give around two to three weeks to re-assess your requirements adding or subtracting calories until you find a balance between muscle gain and fat gain. Re-assess overall size and calories approximately each month. Be aware that after 6 – 9 months your body will probably not be growing as rapidly and it may be time to try a maintenance style diet or, if you have gained too much fat, a mild fat loss routine may be appropriate for a few months. You can then return to the mass gaining diet afresh.

Remember a mass gaining diet needs a mass gaining training regime. Neither will work without the other.

Always keep notes, it helps to know what you’ve done that worked so you can repeat and develop those times and avoid the ones where mistakes were made. You will make mistakes but having a log of where you went right and wrong will help you guide your future plans.