Many trainees blame their workout program or their genes for not making any progress in the gym. But in most cases the main problem is their diet, they simply don’t eat enough for size.
And when I say they don’t eat enough to put on size I’m not pointing just the protein consumption. I’m referring to protein, carbs, healthy fats, supplements – in other words the total amount of calories consumed during the day.
The total calorie intake is the amount of energy that you consume from macro nutrients like protein, fats and carbohydrates. The main thing you need to remember here is that if you want to build muscle, the total amount of calories you consume in a day should be higher than the amount you spend during the day.
A good rule of a thumb is about 20-25 calories per pound a day. So a physically active person will need to eat 20-25 calories for every pound of their bodyweight (depending on their metabolism) to start building muscle. As an example a 160 lb person would need around 3200-4000 calories a day.
You probably heard the saying: “What you eat is what you are”. Eating for size is not about eating everything you’ll find in your path. A good diet should be constructed around consuming precise amounts of protein, carbs, and fats. For gaining muscle I recommend a high protein/medium carbs/medium fats diet.
This said, I recommend consuming about 1.1-1.3 grams/lb of protein from lean meats, eggs, fish and protein shakes. So if you weigh 160 lbs that’s anywhere from 160-208 grams of protein and around 650-830 calories from protein a day.
Next on the list are the fats. They should cover around 25% of your calorie intake and should come from healthy fat sources like fish oil, olive oil, nuts, almonds, peanut butter and omega 3 supplements. That is around 800-1000 calories from HEALTHY fats.
The last but not least on the list are the carbohydrates that should cover the other calorie needs. Carbohydrates are the energy that will fuel your workouts and activities, so the more intense your workouts the more calories from carbohydrates you’ll need. Tend to eat low glycemic carbohydrates (except right after your workout) and plenty of fiber. This way you can control your blood sugar and insulin secretion.
Eating for size sample meal plan:
meal 1
6 eggs 2 cups of cooked wheat1 piece of season fruit1 Spoon of Fish oil
meal 2
170-180 g of tuna1 cup of rice1 spoon of flax seed oil
meal 3
200g of lean beef2 cups of pasta1 salad with 1 spoon of olive oil
meal 4 (pre -workout)
1 protein shake (50g of protein)1 banana
meal 5 (post – workout)
protein shake (50g of protein)banana
meal 6
200 g of chicken1 cup of rice1 salad with 1 spoon of olive oil
