If your goal is to gain healthy weight or 10 pounds of muscle mass in just four short weeks, you need to eat a lot of protein, a lot of carbohydrates, and even a good bit of fat. But it’s not as easy as eating anything and everything you can get your hands on — if it was, every Tom, Dick, and Joe would have their IFBB pro cards.
Major muscle growth isn’t achieved solely by training, but even beginner trainees know that. The gym is where the muscles are sculpted, but the marble that will eventually be your Adonis is made in your fridge and on your stovetop.
Sure, going to McDonald’s and scarfing down two Big Macs, large fries and a Coke on a regular basis will help you gain weight—but you’ll end up looking more like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. In fact, according to McDonald’s nutritional facts, that meal in itself would come out to 1,705 calories, which, yes, would put you at caloric excess but more than you’d ever need and your body would turn those stored calories into fat instead of muscle.
Building quality muscle, minus a protruding belly, takes a well-formed plan, one that has you eating the right types of foods, at the correct time of day, and in optimal proportions.
It might seem complicated, but we’ve broken down how to gain healthy weight in one month, nice and simple. All you’ll have to do is train, eat and track your results in the mirror.
Let’s talk specifics: You’ll need to consume at least 25 calories per pound of bodyweight per day, made up of at least 2 grams of protein, close to 3 grams of carbs and about 0.5 gram of fat per pound of bodyweight. That’s more than 4,500 calories, 360-plus grams of protein, nearly 540 grams of carbs and 90 grams of fat daily for a 180-pound bodybuilder.
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Pre- & Post-Workout Nutrition
For those wanting to pack on quality mass, the most critical window of nutritional opportunity is around the workout. This is when you can put down a plethora of protein and carbs without worrying about them turning into bodyfat since they’ll be used to grow muscle like at no other time of the day. Not only do we recommend the usual pre- and post-workout shakes, but we also advise drinking a shake during your workout to gain more mass. In addition to providing ample amounts of protein and carbs, each shake includes supplement ingredients such as creatine, glutamine and branched-chain amino acids. The more the merrier, since they’ll all be used by your muscles to support recovery and growth.
Another key time for mass-gaining is the first few minutes after you wake up in the morning. Do you like to brush your teeth and shower first thing? Change that habit real quick by incorporating two breakfasts into your mornings—one as soon as you wake up and the second 30-60 minutes later.
In fact, those first few moments of the day can make or break your muscle-gaining efforts. Why? Your body uses liver glycogen for fuel overnight, and when those levels get low, your body then uses muscle protein for fuel. To stop this you need fast-digesting protein and carbs, so your first breakfast should include whey protein and a piece of fruit, white bread or Vitargo (an advanced carb supplement). The aminos from the whey will rapidly enter your bloodstream so your body can use them, not muscle, for fuel. The fast-digesting carbs will quickly restock your liver glycogen and signal your body to stop feeding off your muscle.
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Nighttime Nutrition
Right before bedtime is the day’s last important window of time in terms of bodybuilding nutrition. You’ll want a slow-digesting protein such as casein to provide a steady supply of amino acids to your muscles throughout the night to keep the body from catabolizing too much muscle while you sleep. Another option is cottage cheese, which is high in casein protein. Our meal plan combines the healthy fats from flaxseeds, walnuts, mixed nuts and peanut butter with the aforementioned protein sources at bedtime to further slow protein absorption.
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Eggs
We’re talking about whole eggs, yolks plus whites. Researchers at Texas A&M University (College Station) found that subjects who followed a weight-training workout and consumed three whole eggs per day gained roughly double the muscle mass and strength as subjects who ate no more than one whole egg per day.
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Whey Protein
It may be considered a supplement to some, but at M&F we label it as a food, and a superior one at that. A milk protein, whey is the fastest-digesting protein you can swallow. It’s also rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and provides peptides (small protein fragments) that enhance blood flow. To build muscle, you’ll want to drink a whey protein shake every day upon waking, as well as before and after workouts.
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Casein Protein
The other milk protein, casein, is also critical for gaining mass. Research shows that when subjects add casein to their postworkout whey shake, they gain more muscle mass than those who don’t. Another study found that while whey significantly decreases hunger and leads to reduced food intake, casein protein doesn’t. When you’re trying to pack on mass, you need to eat—a lot. Casein will help you get in plenty of protein and calories without filling you up.
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Beef
Red meat has gotten a bad rap nearly everywhere except in the bodybuilding community. The saturated fat and cholesterol in beef has been shown to increase testosterone levels as well as strength and muscle mass. Beef also contains vitamin B12, creatine, iron and zinc, among other nutrients, all of which support muscle growth and strength. Mass-seekers should eat at least one beef meal every other day.
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Omega-3
The omega-3 essential fatty acids found in salmon are now known to encourage muscle growth, decrease muscle breakdown, increase fat loss, aid joint recovery and provide numerous other health benefits. Try to consume at least 2-3 salmon meals per week. Walnuts also pack a decent amount of omega-3s, as do flaxseeds, which are great sprinkled on cottage cheese or peanut butter.
