Gaining Mass Not Fat

Written by Joe Clayton Saturday, 11 June 2011 08:30

When you're looking to pack on the mass without becoming the michellin man it is very important to get your calorie intake just right. You should aim to take onboard enough of the macro nutrients in the correct ratio. In this article I explore the basics.

If your calorie consumption is less than your body requires there is a greater chance of catabolism (muscle break down). Keeping the body anabolic is a key to building muscle. On the other hand over consumption will result in fat storage regardless of a low fat diet.

Lets look at the figures:

1g Carbs = 4 Kcal (Lower GI take longer to release this)

1g Protein = 4 Kcal

1g Fat = 9 Kcal

Your diet should be composed of:

45% Carbs

35% Protein

20% Fat

So an example: 70kg very active male you should consume 3500 calories:

1575 cal from Carbs

1225 cal from Protein

700 cal from Fat

Hence:

1575/4 =393g of Carbs

1225/4=306g of Protein

700/9=77g of Fat

There are some other key considerations here:

• Your body needs to be fuelled regularly so spread over six meals a day, and load more on calories earlier in the day and after a training session
• Your calorie consumption will depend on your sex, body weight, body composition, and the type of activity you undertake. If you sit all day in the office you are kidding yourself if you think you need a higher than average amount of calories
• Avoid trans fatty acids, these are bad for your heart. Instead look for oils like flax seed, olive oil or fats from fish.Saturated fats help to increase testosterone level but should be consumed in small quantity.
• Carbs are not created equally, slow GI ones are generally healthier, and some things listed as Carbs are actually fibre not absored as calories by the body. Donuts may have the same carbs as another meal but your body processes it differently.
• Fat with a meal reduces the GI of the meal
• Protein is also not created equally, you need a broad mix of the amino acids, especially the essential ones which our body cannot create. Aim for variety not day in day out repitition
• Keep a food diary, it does not lie, you do! Research has shown that people fail to remember what passes their lips, track it and tune your calorie intake based upon how things progress
• The percentages are guidelines, feel free to vary them slightly to see what works for you, but if you're looking at packing on the mass do not cut out fat as your body needs this for growth

If you're looking for some supplements to help you check out the following:

Bsn True Mass 2.61kg

Met-RX Xtreme Size Up 2.72kg

Muscletech Anator P70 (1Mth supply)

Gaspari Real Mass

Dymatize Mega Gainer 3.63kg

On a final note if you're looking to gain mass, you need sufficient rest between workouts, if you blast your legs then conventional wisdom would be that you leave it another week before training them again.