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Hello again fellow readers. Your knowledge now about
bodybuilding supplementation is much better since you
have read my previous articles about what supplements
can help you get bigger and what supplements can help
you get leaner. But most of you have another question
from what l understand from the emails that you sent
me. And this question is: "John, l am a hard gainer and
whatever l do, l can not get even 1 pound. What do you
suggest?"
Well here is what we are going to talk about today. l will give
you one of the best nutrition programs for serious
quality mass that will help you all.
First of all, you should remember that everyone is
different, so results might vary. Some of you might
get 10 pounds (most of them muscular of course), and
some others more. But the point is that every one of
you will get bigger while at the same time your body
fat levels won't have increased more than 2%-3% for
sure. So here we go!
1) As l said, you have to understand that everyone is
different, so you should adjust my program according
to your needs. In order for you to do that, you must
know EXACTLY how many calories (and from what they are
consisted of) you consume everyday.
Remember, the point is not to eat anything your fridge
has inside in order to get bigger. The point is how
you can get the best quality mass, when at the same
time you give the maximum protection to your body and
you don't feed it with dangerous and harmful
macronutrients.
So the most important thing you have to remember is
how many calories the "good" foods for bodybuilders
have. lf you don't know them, let me write for you the
most basic. Of course l can not write all of them that
you might eat, but l think you will learn the "20
best". Also remember that my estimation is for every
100 grams of roasted or boiled food (Approximately 3 1/2
oz), except egg whites and milk. l will write them,
first with portion (l wrote for 5 egg whites), and for
milk l wrote for 1 lit (33.8 fl.oz). Also l used
approximate numbers for the weight gainer that you
will use, but most of them in the market are very
close from the numbers l am writing. l did the
same for vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers,
lettuce, carrots, cabbage). For cereals, l
preferred the ones that have actually a very good taste
and a much higher amount of protein from the others
(Protein Plus Cereal, from Miracle foods). Also
other cereals, where the quantity of sugar is no higher
than the 1/3 of the quantity of total carbs is
another good option. (For example if the total
quantity from carbs for every 100 grams of cereals is
60g, the sugar should never be higher than 20g which
is exactly the 1/3), and finally oatmeal is another
very good option.
Ok so far? So what you have to do next is to buy a
cheap scale for foods. lf you want to get bigger you
need more help. lf you try to estimate all the time
what you eat, most likely you will be + - 500
calories, and that number is huge, but after some
period of time it will be easier for you to estimate
with your eye if you put the adequate amount of food
on your plates. Also, it's very important to know what
you eat now! Take 20 minutes from your life and find how
many calories you eat everyday. (This site has
great info about food nutrients here)
2) The program sounds simple, but always words are
easy and actions are difficult. So the next step is
to start your mass diet from a specific point. Maybe
many people have told you that if you want to get
bigger, you should try around 4000-5000 calories per day.
But that's not the case because if your body has not
adapted to eat so much, so fast. Two things will
happen:
a) Your body will find it very difficult to digest all at
once this extreme amount of calories that you will try
to provide to it. The final result will be that you
will end up with a bloated stomach, you will feel sick
and nauseous, and you will stop this kind of diet from
the very first day.
b) Even if for some of you it will be ok to digest
this extreme amount, and to get on some pounds, most
from these pounds will come from fat. Also don't
forget that your body is an extremely adapted machine.
Of course, as l said before, your body will find it
very difficult to go from small calories to huge, but
if you overcome the digestion problems, and your gains
will stop very soon. Why? Because after a few weeks,
your body will feel it's normal of eating 4000 calories per
day and it won't give any more signals to grow more. So
what you can do?
Here is the most important part of the article today!
You have to "trick" your body! How are you going to do
that? Very easy. You will provide it more calories
in a specific period of time, using the right
progression, until it will give a "signal" that it
has regulated its own system again. Then you will supply it
with even more calories. Some scientific research
has shown that your body can get easily adapted with
many variations that have to do with food every two
weeks. So that's what's going to be your target point!
Every second week, you will increase your calories by
300!
Why 300 and not 1000 or more? Because with a
bigger than 300 calorie quantity your body will start to
realize that "something is wrong here". End result?
Even though you will get some pounds, they will be
based again on fat. And in contrast with a less than
300 calorie quantity you won't get the full advantage.
lt's like you will try to "cheat" your body every
second week.
So here is the dieting program. ln order to make the
whole process more understandable to you, l will use
an example. Your job, based on this example,
will be to use your mind and make the right
modifications.
Remember also that cardio workouts are never good
when you want to pack on mass. But some of you want
the necessary cardiovascular protection that only
cardio exercise can provide to you. And some others
are obliged to do cardio because their major sport is
not bodybuilding, or some other people have very
active lifestyles and they burn more calories than
people that are focusing only on bodybuilding. My
program can also make these people estimate
precisely what they have to do.
3) l will use as an example a guy that weighs 200
pounds who wants some serious mass, but without
getting like a "sumo" wrestler. He finds out from my
example that he eats as much as 2,400 calories per day, he
is working so he is "moderately" active, but he is not
much into sports and he is not doing cardio now
since he wants mass. He is more focused on
bodybuilding. So here he has to do two things.
a)To increase his caloric consumption by 300 every 2
weeks
b)To multiply his bodyweight by 24 (he is working so
he is moderately active, 25 for more active friends
that are either playing sports or they don't want to
eliminate cardio exercise, and 23 for less active,
and they don't do any kind of cardio).
Pay close attention here. He weighs 200 pounds, so
his target point is to reach 4,800 cal. (200 x
24=4,800 He can not go more than that number. Make the
right adjustments to yourselves.
But as l said before, he can not go from the 2,400
that he eats now to 4,800. So he increases his
calories by 300 every 15 days. Like so:
Weeks 1 & 2 = 2,700 cal
.So this guy in just 15 weeks gained 10-20
good quality pounds. The same will happen to you. Now
if you are going to take 10 or 20, remember, everyone is
different and total results might vary. But l can
guarantee that you will see a dramatic
difference on your bodies for sure. But let's take his
last week from his program and see what (and when) he
was eating in order to be so good. Now instead of
writing every second week differently, let's see his
last week, since it has the most calories and maybe it
sounds the most difficult for you to adopt. (lf you
understand what it takes in order to eat as much as
4,800 calories per day, it will be much easier for you to
understand what you have to eat when you want
3,000-3,500 or 4,000 per day)
Don't be
scared with the numbers you will read because these
are not the numbers that you will start, but the
numbers that you will finish, after almost 4 months.
Remember finally that every meal should be seperated
from each other in a 2-3 hours distance period, and
also you don't have to follow strictly the food
regiment that l gave as an example. lf you want to make
some modifications (but at the same time remember
to keep the calories/protein/carb/fat, around the
ratio l gave), feel free to do it. Of course
remember that if someone consumes 4,800 calories per day
and every meal consists of around 60 grams of protein
and 120 grams of carbs, it is a total of 800-900 cal per
meal. For you that will start at almost half those
calories, you will consume 30gr of protein, and 60gr
of carbs in a total of 400-450 cal per meal.
This
program also supposes that the 200 pound guy,
is training around 8-9 hours after he has woken up. lf
you train later, or earlier on this day, eat smart!
Substitute one meal with some other. Just remember
always that the pre and post workout meals must be the
same and the meals that are close to bedtime have
to have less quantity of carbs, because you are less
active that time, and you won't be able to burn the
extra carbs for fuel. (You want to get mass, not fat).
Also if you consume so many calories, unfortunately
you should eat 7 meals per day, but don't
worry too much because you won't do that for more than
2-3 weeks. For at least 12-13 weeks, you will eat your
regular 6 meals per day.
Breakfast: 1 large bowl of cereals (100gr), with 0.5
lit (16 oz) skimmed milk, and 6 egg whites with 30gr
of cottage cheese with 1 tbs olive oil.
Calories:800, Protein:50, Carbs:95, Fat:25
Lunch: 200gr of pasta with 150gr extra lean steak, and
2 whole wheat bread slices. Also one small bowl of
salad, with 1 tbs olive oil.
Calories: 830, Protein:57, Carbs:83, Fat:22
Pre-workout (90-120 min before): 100gr chicken
breasts (3 1/2 oz), with 100gr of rice.
Calories:300, Protein:31, Carbs:30, Fat:4
Also something very important the 300cal
with that ratio (1:1 between carbs and protein) remain the same from the
first untill your last week. (You don't want to go to train with a bloated
stomach of course and eat more particularly at that time). So this pre-workout
meal is the only one that does not change.
Also if you are at work and you can not eat normal food, it's totally ok
if you replace it with a good protein bar, that provides almost the same
ratio between carbs and protein (1:1). Another good option might be to make
your own chicken, turkey, or tuna sandwiches. Just remember to stay around
the same numbers l gave.
Post-work out (immediately after): 200gr from your
weight gainer powder, with 0.5 lit (16 oz) milk.
Calories:975, Protein:60, Carbs:144, Fat:13
(At that time your first post-workout meal must be a
supplement so that it can get into your system rapidly
to start the process of glycogen storage and
recovery).
2 Hours later: 200gr baked potatoes (7 oz), with 150gr turkey breasts.
2
slices of whole wheat bread, and
one small bowl of salad, with 1 tbs olive oil.
Calories:910, Protein:60, Carbs:121, Fat:19
Dinner: 200gr rice (7 oz), with 100gr tuna in water,
50gr of cottage cheese, and 1 slice of whole wheat
bread, and one small bowl of salad, with 1 tbs olive
oil.
Calories:650, Protein:40, Carbs:80, Fat:17
Before sleep: 75gr from your weight gainer powder,
with 0.25 lit (8 oz) milk.
Calories: 390, Protein:25, Carbs:57, Fat:5
TOTAL: CALORIES: 4,855 PROTEIN:323 GRAMS CARBS:610
FAT:105
And finally the ratio is: PROTEIN:27.6 %
CARBS:52.2 % FAT:20.2 % (TOTAL 100 %)
Don't be scared about the high amount of fat. Most of
it consists of the essential fatty acids.
You need them if you want to have a good diet. And if
you wonder why l am saying that, read my previous
articles that l have written specifically about EFA's.
(Olive oil is one of the best also for your heart.
People that use it often in the Mediterranean,
have some of the smallest percentages of having heart attacks
in the world).
Also the consumption of protein is high, because
without a sufficient amount of protein you can not
build muscle, (around 1 to 1.5gr for every body pound
that he weighs), and the carbs have the right ratio
with the protein for someone that wants to get bigger
(almost 2:1).
One last but very important thing. When you will add 300cal every second
week, it should be based from the same amount of your total consumption.
(For example these extra 300 calories should be consisted from 50%-55% of
carbs, 25%-30% of protein, and 15%-20% of fat).
For better results try
to add 50-60 more calories to all of your meals, except the pre-workout
meal, (for example 50-60 cal X 5-6 = 250-360 more calories), in which the
calories remain always the same. (Around 300).
This is the Perfect Mass Diet Program.
4) Some other very important factors that you should always remember!
a) Your recuperation. You should sleep at least 7-8
hours every day for maximum results.
b) Not to skip a meal. As l said don't be scared with
that program, because you won't do it for more than two
weeks. Maybe it's hard to eat 7 times a day (every 2-2.5
hours), but if you do for your last 2-3 weeks, you
will be happy with the results for sure.
c) Lift heavy. The heavier that you can lift, (but
always with very good form), the easier for your
muscles to get bigger since they will have to adapt
always to higher and higher levels.
(Does that sound familiar?) That's the
best way to avoid stagnation.
d) Remember to make the right adjustments. l repeat
that l just gave you a sample that is based on someone
that found he needed to eat 4,800cal per day in his
FINAL WEEK. ln order to find the maximum
amount of calories that you will reach after some
period of time, remember: lf you are not active,
multiply your weight by 23, if you are moderately
active (like the guy l gave you the example), by 24,
and if you are more active by 25.
e) You don't have to follow this program step by step.
Don't get me wrong, l don't mean
you should do something completely different, but l mean, you don't
have to eat the exact same foods for lunch or for dinner
that l wrote. Taste plays also a very important role
so if you like some foods more than others you
can replace them. Just remember always to make the
right replacement. (For example you can not replace
the turkey breasts with rice, but you will replace it
either with tuna or with chicken breasts. The same
also for carbs. You won't replace your baked potatoes
with steak but with rice or pasta. (Carbs with carbs,
protein with protein). Just don't replace the pre and post
workout meals, and
finally don't replace the salads with anything else.
Fiber is one of the most important nutrients for your
body, and you can get a very good amount of it, only
if you eat enough vegetables every day.
f) You can have one day per week as your junk day.
Of course l realize that very few people could follow
a strict program like that for 15 weeks in a row, so
it's ok if for one day per week, you eat whatever you
want, in order to praise yourself that you did
everything right the previous 6 days.
g) For taste variety you can add some very low calorie sauce to your foods.
(Up to 30cal). Just don't exceed 1-2 tbs. Also add your favourite spices
(black pepper, oregon), for an even better taste.
h) Remember to drink lot of water. lt's not easy for your stomach to digest
so much food if you don't drink enough water. Shoot for 1 1/2 to 2 gals
per day.
i) The days you don't train, skip your pre-workout meal, and continue with
your next.
j) As l said at the last 3 weeks you will have to eat 7 times per day when
you train. (6 when you don't), but when you start your mass diet, you might
start from 5 meals per day in order to give your bodies a sufficient time
till it will get adjusted. Just remember that the right ratio of your foods,
must be consisted from 50%-55% of carbs, 25%-30% of protein, and 15%-20%
of fat.
k) And last but not least, it's very important never to
forget your right supplementation. lf you supplement
your bodies with extra nutrients, such as Creatine,
Glutamine, and Multi vitamin/mineral formulas, you
have an extra advantage.
This was my 5th article, I hope it provided you with one of
the best programs for serious mass. ln my next week's
article we will cover exactly the opposite, because
most of you might wonder: "Ok John, and after we reach
the highest amount of food that we should eat, what's
next? Do we stay for more weeks on that or do we change
it?" You will change it because you will want to
avoid some unavoidable fat pounds and keep ONLY
your muscle pounds. How are you going to do that? Just
wait for one more week, and you will learn everything.
Stay tuned!
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
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Article #5 - The Ultimate Mass Gaining Program
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