Too many times when I talk to potential
clients, friends, or even strangers in the gym I hear the words "No matter what I do I can't gain weight."
False. Lies. Blasphemy. You can gain weight; you're just not
eating enough. Reaching your goal weight is brought about by three different
scenarios:
Scenario 1: Calories Consumed >
Calories Expended = Weight Gain
Scenario 2: Calories Consumed <
Calories Expended = Weight Loss
Scenario 3: Calories Consumed = Calories
Expended = Weight Maintenance
So how do we go about scenario 1? Very
simple, we consume more calories to allow growth to take place in our body. Whether
this growth is muscle gain or fat gain, it is determined by a myriad of variables. These
variables include training
stimulus, the size of the caloric surplus, genetics, and current body
composition. So this article will be a guide on how to determine your
maintenance caloric level, how to get above that level, and by how much. In a future post I'll discuss how
different phenotypes (Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph) should manipulate
their calories in different ways to see the best results. I'm going to
assume for the sake of this article you partake in weight training or some form
of exercise and you're goal is to gain muscle, since gaining fat isn't exactly
what's in nowadays.
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| When bulking goes wrong. |
Step 1: Determine Maintenance Calories
Determining your maintenance calories is
never a "one-size fits all approach." Again, everyone's body is different,
so with different bodies there are different metabolisms, genetic abilities,
and amount of active movement, which affects caloric maintenance. When I say caloric
maintenance or maintenance calories I simply mean, the amount of calories
necessary to maintain your given weight. This is also known as your TDEE,
or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
So how do we go about figuring out how
many calories we should take
in, in order for our body to
maintain our given
weight? There are two different approaches. Approach number one is a
simple mathematical equation. Lyle McDonald uses this method with his
clients, and Lyle is a brilliant author. He recommends multiplying your
bodyweight by 14-16 cal/lb. So let's go in the middle and say 15 calories
per lb of bodyweight, again, this is an estimate, so a 150-pound male's
equation would hypothetically look like this:
150lbs x 15cal/lb = 2,250
Calories
The second approach is to use a formula
that will take into account everything from height, weight, activity level,
body fat % (If known), and sometimes other variables. Personally, I find the equation to be far
too tedious but you can use websites with TDEE calculators. Two I
frequently use are http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ (My
favorite one) and http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/.
Simply fill out the information given and it will automatically estimate
your TDEE. I will note that the activity calculator seems to best work
when estimating activity OUTSIDE the
gym, or your workout. For example, as a college student my day consists
of waking up, working out, eating, doing homework, going to class, playing
Xbox, and hanging out with friends or the girlfriend. Not very active
other than the gym, so when I click my activity level, I use the "Lightly
Active" scenario.
Simply follow this caloric estimate for a
week and see what happens to your weight. if it goes down, increase by
100-200, if it goes up, decrease by 100-200 calories. While tracking your
calories can be annoying, it is extremely beneficial. If you do so for a week
to get an idea of portions and how much you should be eating.
Step 2: Determining How Many Calories
Over Maintenance to Grow
Some will say 500 calories over
maintenance because of the theory of 3500 calories = 1 pound, so 7 days x 500
extra calories a day = 1 pound per week. This is a good starting point, but I
like to go by percentages. For example, I'd say to gain weight, you
should consume an extra 20% of calories over maintenance. So for our 150
male above who needs 2,250 calories to maintain their weight, the equation will
look like this:
2,250cal x 1.20 = 2,700 calories
So assuming the true maintenance calorie
level for this individual is 2,250 calories, 2,700 calories would be a good
place to start to gain weight and muscle. Again, I would suggest tracking your calorie and macronutrient intake for a week so
you get an idea of portion sizes and how much you should be eating. I would
suggest shooting for about 1-2lbs per week for beginners, as gains will be seen
much more quickly, a.k.a "Newbie Gains." Those who have been
exercising for years will want to see gains of about 1-2lbs per month.
Now eventually you will reach a point where you will stop gaining weight. When this
occurs it just simply means your body and metabolism have adjusted to your new calorie intake, and a simple increase, again, will result in more weight gain.
Step 3: Determining Macronutrients
So now determining your macronutrients
comes into play. Again, there is no one size fits all approach. Some
do better high carb and low fat. Some will say low carb and higher fat
makes them feel better. You need to experiment with different ratios and see what gives you the
best results and makes you feel better. How I go about figuring out my
macros is as follows:
Protein
All you need to grow is 0.8 g/lb. However,
higher protein intakes have shown to be beneficial for a myriad of reasons. Some are an increased feeling of satiety (Feeling full), improved retention of lean body mass when dieting, and
greater thermic effect of food (The body uses more energy to break down
protein). And eating a lot of meat is freakin' awesome. Unless you
have a kidney or other stomach issue and a doctor restricts your protein
intake, I recommend going to 1.0-1.5 grams of
protein per pound of bodyweight. So for our 150 lb male above, this
means anywhere from 150g - 225g of protein per day. In this example we'll
go with 200 grams of protein. Protein is roughly 4 calories per gram, so
this protein allotment will take up 800 calories of our total daily intake (200
x 4 = 800).
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| Don't be that guy. |
Fats
While fats have gotten a terrible rep in
the supermarket industry, fats are essential for proper hormone levels. Both
saturated and unsaturated fats are necessary for proper hormone production and
regulation. Trans fats should be avoided, but saturated fats from sources such
as red meat and egg yolks are perfectly acceptable. Natural nut butters
are great sources of fats, as is olive oil, flax oil, and fish oil. In my
opinion, fats should be set as a minimum of .45g/lb. I'd go with .5g/lb
just to make the math easier, so our 150 lb male above should strive to get 75g
of dietary fat per day. Fat is about 9 calories per gram, so this will
take up 675 calories (75 x 9 = 675).
Carbohydrates
Ahhh carbohydrates. The carbphobia
in the fitness industry is insane, and I'll admit, I fell into it. Many
claim they're "insulin resistant" and can't handle carbs. While
many people may not be able to tolerate a high amount of carbs, few will
attempt to find a middle ground. It's either you go high carb, or low carb,
never a medium amount of carbohydrates. So keep this in mind when you
start tracking your macronutrients. If you find that you're constantly
bloated and lethargic, then try lowering carbs a bit and adding dietary fat to
keep the calories the same. Find what balance fits for you.
Anyway, when determining how many carbohydrates to consume, simply take your remaining calories, divide by 4 (Since carbs are about 4 calories per gram), and BAM, there's your carb intake. So for our 150 lb male example he's receiving 800 calories of protein and 675 calories from dietary fat, which leads to 1,475 calories so far. We've estimated he'll need 2,250 calories to maintain his weight, and 2,700 to gain lean mass. So the equation would look like this:
Anyway, when determining how many carbohydrates to consume, simply take your remaining calories, divide by 4 (Since carbs are about 4 calories per gram), and BAM, there's your carb intake. So for our 150 lb male example he's receiving 800 calories of protein and 675 calories from dietary fat, which leads to 1,475 calories so far. We've estimated he'll need 2,250 calories to maintain his weight, and 2,700 to gain lean mass. So the equation would look like this:
To Maintain Weight:
2,250cal - 1,475cal = 775 calories
775 calories / 4 = approximately 194g of
carbohydrates daily
To Gain Weight
2,700cal - 1,475cal = 1,225
calories
1,225 calories / 4 = approximately 306g
of carbohydrates daily
So to recap, our 150lb male needs
approximately 2,700 calories to gain weight.
To get to that 2,700 calories, he'll
consume 200g of protein, 75g of dietary fat, and 306g of carbohydrates. So
about 45% of calories will come from carbs, 25% from dietary fat, and the
remaining 30% from protein.
Again, this is just basic estimates and
guidelines of where to start. Write down how you feel for the week with
certain macronutrient percentages to see what suits you best. I know I'm
someone who feels better with a middle amount of carbohydrates, but it took
weeks of playing around with different ratios and percentages to see what
worked best. You
need to experiment. Please understand, a balance diet is key. Eliminating
one macronutrient isn't always healthy and can lead to binging and cravings,
which can derail any diet. In a future article I'll go over food choices for
each macronutrient, but for now, those who are looking to gain muscle
should use the above template as a place to start their quest to get fuarking HUGE.
