I work in a supplements store and every day several times a day I will see skinny guys come in and say to their mate “no matter what I eat the weight just doesn’t go on”
but when you get down to the nitty gritty their diet usually looks like this;
Breakfast 2 scoops of protein with milk.
Lunch is probably a couple of sandwiches
Evening meal is usually pizza or some kind of junk food.
And they think this is eating lots when in fact it probably wouldn’t even equate to 2000 calories.
So now you realise you have to eat big to get big you need to adjust your diet accordingly taking in ample amounts of proteins and amino acids to help repair and rebuild your muscle. You need a mixture of fast and slow releasing carbohydrates to provide valuable energy for the gym, you also need good quality calorie rich healthy fats.
What it boils down to is knowledge or lack of knowledge when it comes to calories, like the above sample diet they may think this is a high amount of calories but in reality it is very low, if in doubt read the nutritional label on the back of the packaging! There are other reasons people do not eat enough and that maybe due to appetite which can be related to high levels of hormones such as catecholamines but that is beyond the scope of this article.
To gain weight you need to eat more it’s that simple, so plan ahead, and plan every meal in advance so you know what you need to eat to get the correct number of calories inside you for that day. If you need to bump up calories don’t be afraid to use full fat products or add good oils into your cooking or sauces, or even just add peanuts, avocados or a scoop of whey to each meal.
To gain weight firstly you need to work out how many calories per day your body needs just to maintain your weight in accordance to your daily activity level. To do this all you need to do is calculate your BMR (base metabolic rate) this will determine how many calories you need to take on board daily just to maintain what muscle you have. This is the method I prefer the Harris-Benedict equation.
For Men: BMR= 66+(13.7xweight in kg)+ (5xheight in cm)-(6.8 x age in years)
For Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)
Then you need to decide on the amount of exercise you are doing.
Amount of Exercise Daily Caloric Requirement
Sedentary BMR x 1.2
Very Light Exercise BMR x 1.375
Moderate Exercise BMR x 1.55
Heavy Exercise Daily BMR x 1.725
Extremely Heavy Exercise BMR x 1.9
For example I am a male weighing in at 95kg, I am 180cm tall and 31 years old and I exercise heavy and daily. So taking this into consideration...
66+(13.7x95)+(5x180)-(6.8 x31)
66+(1301.5)+(900)-(210.8) =2056.7 kCals. This would be the number of calories I would need to take on board daily if I did no exercise but as I exercise heavy and daily I multiply this by 1.725...
2056.7x1.725=3547.8 Kcals daily every day just to maintain.
This amount of calories will most likely come as a shock for those “hardgainers” who thought they were eating a lot, but in all honesty they are probably not even eating enough to maintain what they do have. If I wanted to gain weight then I would add at least another 500 calories daily onto the above figure so;
3547.8+500=4047.8Kcals
Have you ever actually seen how many calories that is laid down, eggs, chicken, oats, nuts, avocados etc.
So below is a meal plan to give you a rough outline of how much you need to eat to gain weight.
Meal One:
6 eggs whole eggs scrambled – 36gp/3gc/30gf/426Kcal
25g whey shake – 25gp/2gc/2gf/126 Kcal
100g Oats – 9gp/70gc/7gf/379 Kcal
Total 70gp/75gc/39gf/931Kcal
Meal Two:
200g cooked chicken – 45gp/0gc/2.5gf/202.5Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
Large Banana 1gp/28gc/0gf/116Kcal
Total 51gp/79gc/3gf/546.5Kcal
Meal Three:
250g tinned tuna – 58gp/0gc/2gf/250Kcal
200g quinoa 9gp/37gc/3.5gf/215.5Kcal
Total 67gp/37gc/5.5gf/465.5Kcal
Meal four: Pre workout
200g cooked chicken – 45gp/0gc/2.5gf/202.5Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
Large Banana 1gp/28gc/0gf/116Kcal
Total-51gp/78gc/3gf/546.5Kcal
Post Workout Shake in water
50g whey protein 50g Malto
Total-50gp/48gc/0gf/392Kcal
Meal Five
200g steak – 45gp/0gc/9gf/261Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
100g avocado-1.9gp/1.9gc/39gf/366.2Kcal
Total-51.9gp/52.9gc/48.5gf/855.2Kcal
Final meal of the day:
300g Low Fat Cottage cheese – 33gp/9gc/18gf/330Kcal
30g Natural peanut butter-9gp/4gc/14gf/178Kcal
Total-42gp/13gc/32gf/508Kcal
Calories = 4244.7
Protein = 382.9
Carbohydrates = 378.5
Fats = 131g
So there you have it if you are trying to bulk you have to eat a large amount of calories, adjust the above macros to suit your bmr and calorie needs also try add some green veg to your main meals, if you cannot physically eat that much due to work/appetite/other then make sure you have a good quality weight gainer shake to hand. You can add sauces etc to your meals to make them more palatable but remember to factor in those calories too. If your adding weight too fast reduce your calorie intake a little, if after a few weeks you are still not gaining then increase your calories by adding larger portion sizes or the addition of an extra weight gain shake through the day.
Points To Note:-
1g Protein=4 Calories
1g Carbohydrates=4 Calories
1g Fat=9 Calories
Concentrate your training around compound movements, Squat, Bench, Deadlight, Military shoulder press, use anywhere between 5 and 12 reps utilizing time under tension. Forget about squat rack bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and other half arsed exercises instead focus on shifting heavy weights with good form, plenty of food, plenty of rest and you will grow. Remember results do not come overnight stay patient and consistent and you will reap the rewards!
Also take into consideration you cannot gain 10lbs of lean muscle in 1 month it’s just not possible so the weight gain you see on the scales will most likely be a combination of muscle, fat and water. It is inevitable that you will gain a little bit of fat whilst gaining muscle if you’re not happy with the extra lard then use the mirror and not the scales to assess your body composition, I think realistically you will gain around 1-2lb muscle per month the rest will be glycogen and fat. All dependant on training and rest.
but when you get down to the nitty gritty their diet usually looks like this;
Breakfast 2 scoops of protein with milk.
Lunch is probably a couple of sandwiches
Evening meal is usually pizza or some kind of junk food.
And they think this is eating lots when in fact it probably wouldn’t even equate to 2000 calories.
So now you realise you have to eat big to get big you need to adjust your diet accordingly taking in ample amounts of proteins and amino acids to help repair and rebuild your muscle. You need a mixture of fast and slow releasing carbohydrates to provide valuable energy for the gym, you also need good quality calorie rich healthy fats.
What it boils down to is knowledge or lack of knowledge when it comes to calories, like the above sample diet they may think this is a high amount of calories but in reality it is very low, if in doubt read the nutritional label on the back of the packaging! There are other reasons people do not eat enough and that maybe due to appetite which can be related to high levels of hormones such as catecholamines but that is beyond the scope of this article.
To gain weight you need to eat more it’s that simple, so plan ahead, and plan every meal in advance so you know what you need to eat to get the correct number of calories inside you for that day. If you need to bump up calories don’t be afraid to use full fat products or add good oils into your cooking or sauces, or even just add peanuts, avocados or a scoop of whey to each meal.
To gain weight firstly you need to work out how many calories per day your body needs just to maintain your weight in accordance to your daily activity level. To do this all you need to do is calculate your BMR (base metabolic rate) this will determine how many calories you need to take on board daily just to maintain what muscle you have. This is the method I prefer the Harris-Benedict equation.
For Men: BMR= 66+(13.7xweight in kg)+ (5xheight in cm)-(6.8 x age in years)
For Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)
Then you need to decide on the amount of exercise you are doing.
Amount of Exercise Daily Caloric Requirement
Sedentary BMR x 1.2
Very Light Exercise BMR x 1.375
Moderate Exercise BMR x 1.55
Heavy Exercise Daily BMR x 1.725
Extremely Heavy Exercise BMR x 1.9
For example I am a male weighing in at 95kg, I am 180cm tall and 31 years old and I exercise heavy and daily. So taking this into consideration...
66+(13.7x95)+(5x180)-(6.8 x31)
66+(1301.5)+(900)-(210.8) =2056.7 kCals. This would be the number of calories I would need to take on board daily if I did no exercise but as I exercise heavy and daily I multiply this by 1.725...
2056.7x1.725=3547.8 Kcals daily every day just to maintain.
This amount of calories will most likely come as a shock for those “hardgainers” who thought they were eating a lot, but in all honesty they are probably not even eating enough to maintain what they do have. If I wanted to gain weight then I would add at least another 500 calories daily onto the above figure so;
3547.8+500=4047.8Kcals
Have you ever actually seen how many calories that is laid down, eggs, chicken, oats, nuts, avocados etc.
So below is a meal plan to give you a rough outline of how much you need to eat to gain weight.
Meal One:
6 eggs whole eggs scrambled – 36gp/3gc/30gf/426Kcal
25g whey shake – 25gp/2gc/2gf/126 Kcal
100g Oats – 9gp/70gc/7gf/379 Kcal
Total 70gp/75gc/39gf/931Kcal
Meal Two:
200g cooked chicken – 45gp/0gc/2.5gf/202.5Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
Large Banana 1gp/28gc/0gf/116Kcal
Total 51gp/79gc/3gf/546.5Kcal
Meal Three:
250g tinned tuna – 58gp/0gc/2gf/250Kcal
200g quinoa 9gp/37gc/3.5gf/215.5Kcal
Total 67gp/37gc/5.5gf/465.5Kcal
Meal four: Pre workout
200g cooked chicken – 45gp/0gc/2.5gf/202.5Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
Large Banana 1gp/28gc/0gf/116Kcal
Total-51gp/78gc/3gf/546.5Kcal
Post Workout Shake in water
50g whey protein 50g Malto
Total-50gp/48gc/0gf/392Kcal
Meal Five
200g steak – 45gp/0gc/9gf/261Kcal
250g Sweet Potato –5gp/51gc/0.5gf/228Kcal
100g avocado-1.9gp/1.9gc/39gf/366.2Kcal
Total-51.9gp/52.9gc/48.5gf/855.2Kcal
Final meal of the day:
300g Low Fat Cottage cheese – 33gp/9gc/18gf/330Kcal
30g Natural peanut butter-9gp/4gc/14gf/178Kcal
Total-42gp/13gc/32gf/508Kcal
Calories = 4244.7
Protein = 382.9
Carbohydrates = 378.5
Fats = 131g
So there you have it if you are trying to bulk you have to eat a large amount of calories, adjust the above macros to suit your bmr and calorie needs also try add some green veg to your main meals, if you cannot physically eat that much due to work/appetite/other then make sure you have a good quality weight gainer shake to hand. You can add sauces etc to your meals to make them more palatable but remember to factor in those calories too. If your adding weight too fast reduce your calorie intake a little, if after a few weeks you are still not gaining then increase your calories by adding larger portion sizes or the addition of an extra weight gain shake through the day.
Points To Note:-
1g Protein=4 Calories
1g Carbohydrates=4 Calories
1g Fat=9 Calories
Concentrate your training around compound movements, Squat, Bench, Deadlight, Military shoulder press, use anywhere between 5 and 12 reps utilizing time under tension. Forget about squat rack bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and other half arsed exercises instead focus on shifting heavy weights with good form, plenty of food, plenty of rest and you will grow. Remember results do not come overnight stay patient and consistent and you will reap the rewards!
Also take into consideration you cannot gain 10lbs of lean muscle in 1 month it’s just not possible so the weight gain you see on the scales will most likely be a combination of muscle, fat and water. It is inevitable that you will gain a little bit of fat whilst gaining muscle if you’re not happy with the extra lard then use the mirror and not the scales to assess your body composition, I think realistically you will gain around 1-2lb muscle per month the rest will be glycogen and fat. All dependant on training and rest.
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BULKING PLAN
