Tips For Daily Eating
1. Eat lean protein with every meal: Good proteins include chicken, lean beef and turkey, tuna and other fish, eggs (also has fat) and egg whites, and protein supplements.
2. Eat unprocessed carbs: The bulk of your carb consumption should be in the form of quality, unprocessed, low glycemic carbs such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, rice, whole-gain pastas, breads, and cereals.
3. Eat fruits and vegetables everyday: Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and many nutrients vital for good overall health, wellness, and growth.
4. Eat good fats with every meal (except post-workout): Dietary fat is very important for proper body functioning and hormone production. Most people have an unbalanced view of dietary fat and therefore limit it. Good sources of fat include almonds and almond butter, peanuts and peanut butter, avocado, flax seed and olive oil, and eggs.
5. Don't eat until you feel like you are going to vomit: When trying to gain weight, some hard gainers eat to the point of vomiting. This is not healthy or necessary. Instead of eating huge meals, I recommend eating 6-7 decently-sized meals that make you feel full but not stuffed and bloated.
6. Cook meals in advance: Have food already cooked and ready to go when it is time to eat makes getting enough calories much easier and less of a burden.
7. A macronutrient ratio for bulking is 50:30:20/carbsrotein:fats: One should always get 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, this is your primary objective. Above that, carbs and good fats will make up the bulk of your calories.
If you are consuming 3,000 calories, this would equate to:
Carbs = 375 grams
Protein = 225 grams
Fat = 67 grams
8. Eat the bulk of your carbs around your workout: Weight lifting increases the body's need for glucose, therefore it makes sense to eat carbs around your workout.
For ectomorphs who struggle to gain weight we recommend consuming a fast digesting shake post workout consisting of essential amino acids/whey protein and a high glycemic carbohydrate, such as Scivation Whey and/or PrimaForce Primal EAA + PrimaForce Carb Slam, with no fat. This same shake can also be taken pre-workout. After this post-workout shake resume your normal protein+carbs+fat meals.
9. If you aren't gaining weight you need to increase your calories: While some people might be able to gain muscle on 3,000 calories you may need to eat 4,000 or even 5,000 calories a day in order to grow. It is important to monitor your weight and body fat% so you can tell whether or not you need to increase your caloric intake.
10. A cheat meal here and there won't kill you: If you eat 6 meals a day that means you are eating 42 meals a week. Having one or two "off" meals will not kill you and can be psychologically refreshing. If you want to enjoy a meal out with your friends and family that is fine and encouraged.
Mesomorphs
Mesomorphs tend to be in the middle when it comes to metabolic rate. While ectomorphs struggle to gain weight and endomorphs have trouble gaining too much weight (specifically fat:muscle ratio), mesomorphs seem to have the best of both worlds; they can gain muscle with limited fat gains.
Mesomorphs naturally have more muscle than ectomorphs and have better insulin sensitivity than endomorphs, which makes it easier for them to gain more muscle and less fat when eating a hypercaloric diet.
The primary factor that determines whether you gain or lose weight is your caloric intake (how many calories you eat). If you eat more calories than you burn (hypercaloric diet) you will gain weight and if you burn more calories than you eat (hypocaloric diet) you will lose weight.
When you eat exactly the same amount of calories as you burn it is called a maintenance caloric diet. Mesomorphs trying to gain muscle need to eat a hypercaloric diet like anyone else who wants to gain weight, but they do not want to eat too many calories above maintenance.
A simple calculation to determine your maintenance caloric intake is to take your body weight and multiply it by 15; this gives you your total calories to be consumed eat day. For example, a 200 pound person would consume 3,000 calories a day. Now this is a very basic way to determine your maintenance caloric intake and should be used as a starting point. For mesomorphs I recommend starting at 250-500 calories above maintenance calories with their calories come from:
Carbohydrates = 40%
Protein = 30%
Fat = 30%
Using the 3,000 calorie as an example this would be:
Carbohydrates = 300 grams
Protein = 225 grams
Fat = 100 grams
A 200 pound mesomorph would want to start 250-500 calories above their maintenance caloric intake, so adding 500 calories to the above example we get:
Carbohydrates = 350 grams
Protein = 263 grams
Fat = 117 grams
In addition to controlling your caloric intake, as a mesomorph you want to control insulin secretion. This can be done by limiting carbohydrate consumption, specifically high glycemic carbohydrates. Managing your insulin levels will allow you to keep your gains leaner.
Control Your Caloric Intake And Meal Size With Frequent Meals
One way to control your caloric intake is to eat frequent meals. Going long periods of time with no food causes your body to send signals to the brain telling it the body needs food.
If you eat sporadic meals you will most likely overeat on those meals. It is better to eat smaller, more frequent meals to prevent overeating. Eating smaller meals allows insulin secretion to be more controlled. Eating a 600 calorie meal will result in less insulin secretion than eating a 1,200 calorie meal (macronutrient content aside).
Limit The Bulk Of Your Carbohydrates To Specific Meals
Limiting the bulk of your carbohydrates to times when your body needs them most will aid in muscle growth and limit fat gains. I recommend mesomorphs to limit the majority of their carbohydrates to breakfast and pre/post workout. For example, if someone workouts at 6 PM I would recommend they consume the majority carbohydrates at:
Breakfast: i.e. 2 slices whole-wheat bread (~30-50 carbs depending on bread)
Pre-workout: i.e. 1 cup oatmeal (~60 carbs)
Post-workout: i.e. 8 oz. sweet potato + 1 tbsp honey (~90 carbs)
For all other meals mesomorphs should consume less carbs (i.e. 1/4-1/2 cup rice), green vegetables, and small amounts of fruit. If you workout first thing in the morning, I would recommend following a similar setup, keeping your carbs in your first three meals (pre-workout meal, post-workout meal, and third meal of the day).
No matter what your schedule is I do not recommend consuming dextrose, maltodextrin, or other high glycemic carbs post workout for mesomorphs. Some mesomorphs may do very well using high glycemic carbs, but our general rule is for mesomorphs to stick to low glycemic carbs.
Skeletal muscle has the ability to uptake glucose post workout without "spiking" your insulin.
Studies do show that increasing insulin levels post workout does enhance protein synthesis, but I do not feel one needs to jack insulin levels through the roof with dextrose. I do feel that it can be beneficial for mesomorphs to take some high-glycemic carbs pre workout. Studies have shown that protein synthesis is elevated the greater when high glycemic carbs combined with free-form essential amino acids (EAA) are consumed pre workout.
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