We all know that to grow we need to eat. And if we want to grow a lot we need to get ourselves into a caloric surplus and we need to stay there. This is one of the few points on the web that isn’t really a point of contention amongst lifters and coaches.
The debate always comes over the details.
How much protein? How many carbs? What about fat? What kind of fat? Can you build muscle without fat? How much body fat is too much? What about pre/post workout nutrition? Intermittent fasting? Keto? Paleo?
It goes on and on.
It’s confusing by design because everyone is trying to sell something new and revolutionary in the diet world. It’s also because producers know that consumers want something easy, and everyone wants to be huge, ripped, and strong without having to do all the hard annoying shit that gets you huge, ripped, and strong. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.
Even the honest brokers in the industry contribute to the misinformation by parroting the results of various “studies” that are inherently flawed in their methodology and don’t square at all with what we see actually working (or not working) in the real world. Some dishonest brokers manipulate the results of the studies in order to sell supplements or the newest diet fad.
What I will propose is nothing new or revolutionary. There is variations of this all over the web, magazines, books, etc. (maybe there is a reason for that?) But it’s mainly just what I’ve seen work with myself and others in the gym over the past 20+ years or so.
It’s practical, simple, and fits with the goals of most guys trying to put on mass. That is to say, we want to get bigger and gain weight, but not so much weight that we put on 25 lbs of blubber in the process. A little fat is inevitable, too much fat doesn’t help us build more muscle, and in fact may slow that process down. Your abs may not stay visible as you are putting on weight, but you don’t need your belly hanging over your belt either.
So, let’s walk through the process I use when building out a diet for a client…….
Protein Intake
Step One is to set the protein requirements in place and then spread that out over 5-6 meals. Not 2, not 3, 5-6 is best. I do believe we grow and recover best when protein is injected into the system roughly every 3 hours in moderate doses. Unless you are Ronnie Coleman, I don’t think your body can do much with 80-100g of protein at a sitting, and you cannot store protein for later. So eating waaay over and above what you can assimilate at a sitting is a waste of calories, IMO. For most of us 30-50 grams is probably the sweet spot. So for a 200 lb male who wants to slowly bulk up to 225 lbs, we’re looking at about 200-250 grams of protein per day (yes, I like the 1 – 1.5 grams per lb of body weight rule, assuming adequate carbs and fat are supplied for energy).
So let’s just say we’re going to average about 40 grams of protein per sitting, we’re going to spread that out over 6 meals per day.
- Breakfast – 40g
- Mid-morning – 40-50g
- Lunch – 40g
- Mid-afternoon – 40-50g
- Dinner – 40g
- Before Bed – 25 – 50g
- Post-workout – 25g.
This will average out to be about 240 grams per day, which is perfect. (+/- a few grams is fine, don’t get neurotic).
The protein requirements will basically stay fixed 7-days per week. Again, we can’t store protein so feedings need to be continual, and if we are training hard and heavy 3-5 days per week, then we can assume our body is pretty much in a constant state of repair/recovery so there is really no reason to ever lower these requirements. In fact, I’d argue it’s just as important to keep protein high on rest days or even deload weeks as on training days.
Now, as far as the TYPE of protein we are eating……as long as it comes from complete sources (egg, meat, fish, dairy) it’s not terribly important, however, I do like to vary my protein sources just to cover my bases. I don’t know if there is anything to that to be honest, but it makes some sense, and there isn’t any risk in doing so.
For the mid-afternoon and mid-morning meals, I typically recommend protein shakes here. Why? Because they are easy and convenient. Usually around 10 am and 3-4pm is when most working adults are busy with their jobs. It can be inconvenient to sit down and plow through a chicken breast or a steak at this time, and if you are busy with meetings, sales calls, etc, it’s just easier to gulp down a shake really quick then heat up or cook meat.
I try and have clients cook meat just 1x/day (or cook a bunch in bulk every 3-4 days). And so whatever type of meat you cook for dinner (chicken, steak, fish, etc) just cook a double portion and make that the next days lunch. 40g is about 6 oz cooked of most lean meats. Again, it doesn’t have to be exact, but around 6 oz would be good in this example. It could be 4 oz for a smaller individual or 8-10 oz for a larger individual.
Breakfast is usually eggs or egg whites. I am partial to whole Omega-3 eggs for the micronutrient profile as well as the healthy fats, but egg whites can be quicker in the morning if you are in a rush. You actually don’t need to even cook your egg whites. 1 carton of 100% liquid egg whites is 40-50g of high quality protein and can be drunk straight. It’s pasteurized and will not make you sick. They have no taste, but the texture is off putting for many. This is a quick and easy protein fix and I prefer it to simply having another shake. I try not to get too many meals per day with shakes as the primary protein source. If I do egg whites during the work week, I try to switch to whole eggs on the weekends when I have more time to cook.
Bedtime is often 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a slow digesting protein that will stay in your system for a while, while you sleep. On non-training days, you can mix 1 cup of cottage cheese (25g protein) with 1 scoop of chocolate whey for a pretty good protein pudding. On training days, just have the 1 cup of cottage cheese as the single protein scoop will be used in your post workout drink.
So now we have:
- Breakfast (6-7am) – 6 whole Omega-3 Eggs or 1 Carton of 100% Liquid Egg Whites (35-50g)
- Mid-morning (9-10am) – 2 scoops of Whey Protein (40-50g)
- Lunch (12-1pm) – approx 6 oz of cooked chicken breast, fish, lean steak, or lean ground beef/turkey (~40g)
- Mid-afternoon (3-4pm) – 2 scoops of Whey Protein (40-50g)
- Dinner (6-7pm) – approx 6 oz of cooked chicken breast, fish, lean steak, or lean ground beef/turkey (~40g)
- Bed-time (9-11pm) – 1 cup cottage cheese (25g)
- Post-workout – 1 scoop whey (20-25g) or add this to night time meal on rest days
Fat Intake
I actually don’t have clients add in a lot of excess fat sources (olive oil, nuts, avocado, etc) to the diet when trying to build mass. I simply ensure that at least several days per week we are taking in protein sources with a higher fat content. So while chicken breast and egg whites are 100% a-ok, just make sure that several times per week (or even daily) you are getting in some whole eggs, salmon, some steak, or ground beef. Even the leaner sources will have a decently high fat content. With enough carbohydrate present in the diet, we don’t need to add in tons of excess fat. I avoid very high content fat sources like 80/20 ground beef, sausage, or deli meats (salami, etc). Stick to Sirloin / NY Strip steaks, and 90/10 ground sirloin, etc
Carb Intake
Now comes the trickier part. Carbs is where we really manipulate things to find the right balance of total calories. By and large this will have to be trial and error-ed in and out of the diet to find the right pace for gaining weight. Protein intake stays SET, and we don’t really track fat down to the gram. With weight gain, about .5 – 1 lbs per week is plenty for most if you are training your ass off. Faster than about 2-4 lbs per month you might find that you are adding more body fat than you want. So we just manipulate carb intake until we start hitting that sweet spot of about .5 – 1 lbs per week. Remember that this number might be close to 50/50 water retention and lean tissue with an increased carb intake. So at 1 lb per week of weight gain, we might be looking at a half lb of lean tissue and a half pound of water weight on average. Lean tissue is good, water is inevitable, but we want to minimize fat accumulation.
If you are more of an endomorphic body type (i.e. a natural fatty) with a slower metabolism and a higher sensitivity towards carbohydrate, then start with about 1 g of carbs per pound of body weight. If you have a higher metabolism and struggle to gain weight then start around 2g of carbs per pound of body weight. This is a very general starting point and may inevitably have to be adjusted up or down week to week based on scale and mirror feedback from each individual.
But now we have something that looks like this for someone shooting for 200g of Carbs per day……
- Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oatmeal (uncooked) ~27g
- Midmorning; 1 Banana ~30g
- Lunch: 1/2 cup rice (uncooked) ~35g
- Midafternoon: 1/4 cup Cream of Rice (uncooked) ~35g (just throw this into the shake)
- Post-workout: 1 bottle of Gatorade ~60g
- Dinner: 1 Red Potato ~25g
This comes out to roughly 215 g of carbs per day which is close enough for a starting point.
If the lifter is not putting on weight with this amount of carbs then we simply bump things up by maybe 50-100g per day. Using this set up, we’d simply double a few of our portion sizes.
For an extra 50g per day, just bump the oatmeal up to 1 cup (uncooked) and add an additional red potato at dinner. Now we’re at 250g per day. If we need more still, then we could get an additional 50grams (approximately) by doubling our rice portion at lunch (35g) and adding in a small apple or orange to the pre or post workout meal (15-20g).
So for 300g of carbs per day, our menu is like this:
- Breakfast: 1 cup Oatmeal (uncooked) – 54g
- Midmorning – 1 Banana ~30g
- Lunch – 1 cup Rice (uncooked) ~70g
- Mid-afternoon – 1/4 cup Cream of Rice ~35g
- Post-workout – 1 bottle of Gatorade ~60g, + 1 orange ~15g
- Dinner – 2 red potatoes ~50g
This gives us approx 315g of carbs. Again, close enough as an estimate.
We would follow the same pattern in reverse for a trainee accumulating too much body fat while bulking. Simply remove about 50g of carbs at a time for a week at a time and watch the scale to see what happens.
The moral of the story is simply to start with an estimated baseline of carbs and then adjust 50-100g at a time each week based on feedback. Don’t adjust daily or you can’t get an accurate picture. And don’t adjust 10g at a time. That doesn’t represent enough change to even cover the inevitable inaccuracy in our food estimates. So make changes 50-100g at a time and stay with the new numbers for a week before going up or down even more.
Trace Macros……
What I mean by this is the trace amount of carbs we get in our fibrous vegetables, like broccoli. Or the trace protein we get in our oatmeal. I never factor those into the equation. The reality is that unless you are getting ready to step on stage for the Mr. O, then you don’t need to be that OCD about your macros and calories.
Instead we need to be in the ballpark on everything and we need to be consistent. An extra 5g here or there of anything doesn’t matter. Now, lathering your chicken breast in a 1/2 cup of BBQ or Teriyaki sauce? Yeah, you might be putting in an extra 20g of sugar you didn’t realize you were consuming and that can throw you off. So read labels and watch for hidden carbs and fats. If your protein drink has 25g of carbs, you need to factor that in. If it has 2g, don’t worry about it.
Count the carbs from starch and fruit. Count the protein from meat, shakes, and eggs. Don’t count fibrous vegetables as anything, but include them in your meals for the fiber and micronutrients. Keep it simple.
Sodium
Sodium isn’t going to make you fat, but it does lead to water retention. This is mainly important because it skews your readings on the scale and you can’t accurately gauge weight gained or lost. If you marinade your steak in an extremely high sodium marinade on Thursday night and weigh yourself on Friday morning, you might be up an additional 2-3 lbs. You may not realize that this is mainly water retention from a giant sodium bomb the night before. Bagged chicken breasts are notorious sodium bombs.
I recommend eliminating things like marinades and other sauces (soy, etc) that have very high sodium content. Learn to eat without a shit ton of condiments. Use sodium free seasonings on food and use Mortons Light Salt for your food. It has less sodium and does an adequate job of flavoring your food.
The Wrap Up……
As a final summary, below is a picture of a diet that is about 200g of protein per day and 200g of carbs per day using the examples from above. If you are not building muscle or if you are just getting fat, start eating more in line with these recommendations and you will grow in all the right places.
Effective Diet is like training……it’s so simple a fool cannot comprehend it, and so brutally hard that a lazy man will refuse to accept it.
- 7:00am: 6 Whole Eggs scrambled with onion and peppers + 1/2 cup Oatmeal (uncooked) made with water
- 10:00am: 2 Scoops Whey in water + 1 Banana
- 1:00pm: 6 oz cooked chicken breast + 1/2 cup rice (uncooked) + 1 cup broccoli
- 4:00pm: (Pre-workout): 2 scoops Whey mixed with 1/4 cup Cream of Rice cereal (dry) + 1 Orange
- 6:00pm: (Post-workout): 1 scoop Whey mixed with 1 bottle of Gatorade (immediately post workout)
- 7:00pm: 6 oz Sirloin (cooked) + 1 red potato + Asparagus
- 10:00pm: 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
Most guys send me a diet that looks like this when I start working with them as clients:
- Breakfast: Bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit
- Lunch: Sandwich and some pretzels
- Snack: some fruit or almonds
- Dinner: whatever my wife makes
Of course they also include about 42 different types of supplements they are taking. Throw that shit out. Spend your money on food if you want to grow.
And if you are eating like this, your program won’t matter, so stop engaging in internet fighting about volume vs intensity, high bar vs low bar, training frequency, or whatever. None of that shit matters when you don’t fuel the growth and recovery. Training is simply a stimulus. That’s it. We grow and get stronger while we’re sleeping and eating. Start treating your diet with as much focus as your training and you’ll find that again, whatever program you are currently following will all of a sudden become a lot more effective.
– Andy
P.S.
If you want to grow and transform your physique in a big way, then pair up the dietary advice in this article with the KSC Method for Power-Building.
