36 Pounds.com » Nutrition

3 Things I Learned in Week 1 of Body Transformation Challenge

Adrian — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:41:39 +0000

OK guys, I think I learned a few things while the BTC III challenge has just started. Here they are:

1. It’s not that hard to get 3000 cals a day

Really… Milk, nuts, peanut butter sandwiches or sandwiches with chicken and ham help a lot! It’s not that hard to get 1000 cals from milk alone!!! You drink 6 cups of milk and you have around 960 cals! Add 50g of nuts and you have another 300+ cals. And you can eat that much nuts in one sitting (if you like them esp.). In a day you can have two sittings of nuts of 50 g each that amounts to 600+ cals. And those are just two snacks and you don’t have to drink 6 cups of milk at once. Once every two hours a cup and you are ok! Combined that’s around 1600 cals! And you still have 3 meals to eat and one more snack could be sneaked in! ;) 500 cals a meal is not very hard! And this has NO SUPPLEMENTS at all. Protein shake will add some more cals to it :)

2. It’s not that hard to drink 1 liter of milk a day

I don’t love milk. It’s ok but I could enjoy it more. And you wouldn’t have forced me to drink a liter of milk a day earlier. Now I just split it into cups and it’s not hard! Single cup is 250 milliliters usually and getting 4 of them is easy. You could go drinking 8 of them a day if you drank one each hour, or 1,5 hours!
Try it! Drink 4 of them a day, then 5 after a few days and then try 6 or 7 even ;) Lemme know how it goes if you dare to try ;)

3. Emotions play huge role in eating
Emotions whether positive of negative play a big role in my appetite… I had read this in the past but never really believed it. But hey, now I know better. When I’m very happy, I’m fulfilled and don’t want to eat, I enjoy my day without it. And when I’m real sad or depressed there is a strange feeling in my throat, like something is stuck there and I will throw up if I eat something. Well, both are wrong and I need to eat either way then.

Try and observe if you have this problem! If you do, gotta fight it!!!

Cheers,
Adrian

Big Interview Coming!

Adrian — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:58:33 +0000

I have some GREAT news!!! In the coming week or two I am gonna post an interview with one Big Name guy from Bodybuilding/Nutrition world who is well trusted and doesn’t talk BS! It’s gonna be an interview where I will send him questions about training and nutrition for skinny guys who want to gain muscle. This is one step towards making 36pounds.com the BEST place for skinny guys to come and learn about gaining muscle.

I’m really really excited about it! I can’t be exact with the timing now, but I got promised that interview will happen. I’m currently thinking about questions which I’m gonna ask.

Hopefully, this will be first of many interviews with people who know how to help skinny guys gain muscle!
Stay tuned,

Adrian

Do You Need To Follow Diet Percentages?

Adrian — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:49:58 +0000

I got a question from one reader about which diet percentage he should follow when gaining muscle. 50/30/20 or 40/40/20. For those who don’t know numbers represent the amounts of proteins/carbohydrates/fats in your diet. These are used by bodybuilders mostly as guidelines. But do you need to do it too?

Well…I think you should… Forget them. That’s just making things harder. It’s already enough that you have to count calories (which is boring..). So don’t get worked up about them. The only things you need to do in nutrition for gaining muscle is:

1. Know your BMR and eat 500 calories more than it is to be able to gain muscle!

2. Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of your weight!

3. Count calories in order to be sure you meet the first point!

These are only things you have to concern yourself with.

I don’t like percentages because they focus too much on proteins. For example:

If you follow 40/40/20 principle for example, then you will need to get 40 percent of your calories from proteins. For a 200lb (whose BMR is 3600cals +500) guy those 40 percents would be 1640 cals (which mean 1640:4=410 grams of protein per day!!!). Now screw that… that’s a shitload of proteins some professional bodybuilders don’t eat. That method sucks. Eating 200g of proteins per day is hard enough so stick with 1 gram per pound of weight.

Hope this was clear enough!

Best of luck with gains,
Adrian

The Ultimate Sports Drink?

Adrian — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:00:15 +0000

Would you like to know which drink is the BEST, the Ultimate drink when gaining muscle?? I think you do..so read on. Answer might surprise you!!!

It’s MILK! A big-name nutrition specialist Lyle McDonalds has a few posts on his blog. Here is a quote about milk BEING BETTER drink to rehydrate yourself after workout:

The researchers concluded that milk (with or without extra sodium) was superior to either water or Powerade at rehydration although the slight differences seen at the end of the study are unlikely to significantly impact on exercise performance in temperate climates.

Now if you are lactose intolerant than this is not for you but for everyone else Milk is great to drink post-workout! Here is a link to full article if you want to read it:

Milk as an Effective Post-Exercise Rehydration Drink

Another article compares chocolate milk to one famous sports drink that is advertised as being a very good one and the research shows that chocolate milk is at least as GOOD as the supplement. Now, you probably know I’m not fan of supplements. And since milk is THAT good this will be my replacement of supplements.

I am not an expert so I will give you the link to the actual article:
Milk: The New Sports Drink? A Review

Some Quotes:

Yet, objectively milk is an excellent source of high quality protein (a mix of casein and whey), carbohydrates (lactose, which admittedly some people have problems digesting) along with providing fluids, highly bio-available calcium, and electrolytes. Old time lifters often built large amounts of muscle mass with a program of squats and a gallon of milk per day; the idea is still around in various incarnations. In contrast to the anti-milk zealots, milk has been shown to have a number of potential health benefits beyond any sporting applications that may exist.

Quoting again from the paper itself, the researchers conclude that

“The limited literature that does exist suggests that milk is as effective as commercially available sports drinks at facilitating recovery for additional performance…Furthermore, milk is also a very effective beverage at promoting fluid recovery following dehydrating exercise in the heat.”

The bottom link is that milk can be an effective post-workout drink for both resistance trainers and endurance athletes.

Also, I just read in Mark Rippetoe’s book that milk has Insulin Like Growth Factor-1, which is a hormone that helps to gain muscle. This is why your mom was right that milk is good for you and your growth!

I hope that from now on you guys will drink milk as much as possible. I know I will!!! The thing is better than supplements and is not hard to get or expensive! Perfect thing for me!

Cheers,
Adrian

A Free Nutrition Guide for You Coming Soon!

Adrian — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:35:14 +0000

I am going to write a short guide on nutrition for everyone starting out or who needs help with nutrition (from my experience it’s most of the guys). I will go more in depth about nutrition, it will be like the 8 Rules of Nutrition For Skinny Guys post just expanded. Plus it will have an example of how I eat daily and a few recipes to help you out! This will be free for downloading. And only available at this blog!

I am really looking forward to writing it and sharing it with you guys! Should be a good help for you if you actually FOLLOW the advice given.

Cheers,
Adrian

P.S. Thank you for those people who visit my blog and share it on Social Networks. Last few days I had a lot of new visitors coming from Stumble Upon! I am incredibly happy because of it! This means I can help more and more guys to go from skinny to buff with my advice.

Foods For Gaining Muscle

Adrian — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:11:56 +0000

Hey guys,

I want to write more on nutrition to help you and decided to post foods that are best for gaining muscle. Here they are, proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats:

1-2 Gallons of Water a day

Protein

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Tuna (water packed)

Fish (salmon, seabass, halibut, sushi, mahi mahi, Orange roughi, tilapia, Sardines)
Shrimp
Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Round (92-96%)
Venison
Buffalo
Ostrich
Protein Powder (Whey, Casein, Soy, Egg)
Eggs
Cottage cheese, Ricotta
Yogurt
Ribeye Steaks or Roast
Top Round Steaks or Roast (stew meat, London broil, Stir fry)
Top Sirloin (Sirloin Top Butt)

Ground Turkey, Turkey Breast slices or cutlets (*no deli or sandwich meats)

Complex Carbs (nothing enriched, bleached or processed if possible)

Oatmeal (Old fashioned, Quick oats, Irish steal cut)
Sweet Potatoes, Yams
Beans (Black eyed, Pinto, Red, Kidney, Black)
Oat Bran Cereal, Grape nuts, Rye cereal, Multi grain hot cereal
Whole Wheat frozen Bagels, Pitas
Whole wheat or Spinach Pasta, Whey Pasta
Rice (Brown, white, jasmin, basmiti, arborio, wild)
Potatoes (red, white, baking)
Whole Wheat Bread

Fibrous Carbs

Green Leafy lettuce (red, green, romaine)
Broccoli
Asparagus
String Beans
Spinach
Bell Pepers (Green or Red)
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Carrots
Eggplant
Onions
Pumpkin
Garlic
Tomatoes
Zucchini

Fruit
bananas, oranges, apples, grapefruit, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons or limes

Healthy Fats

Natural Style Peanut Butter
Olive oil, Safflower oil
Flaxseed oil
Fish Oil
Nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts)

Dairy

Eggs
Cottage cheese, Ricotta
Milk
Low fat or non-fat yogurt

Hope I didn’t forget anything!
Best of luck,
Adrian

Calorie Balance Plain and Simple

Adrian — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:05:54 +0000

This is a guest post by JC, the author of JCD Fitness.

Out of all the questions I receive weekly, there are a few I have read multiple times over. “How do I build muscle?” and “how do I lose body fat?” are the most common. Calorie balance is a very simple concept, however over time it has been made extremely complicated. So who is right and who is wrong? Can you really build muscle or lose fat when eating cheeseburgers and washing them down with milk shakes? My answer is yes. Must you stick to a strict diet of broccoli and chicken whilst consuming starchy carbohydrates only around your workouts? No, that is just silly.

Allow me to address each question individually.

How Do I Build Muscle?
You do two things and you do them right. You eat enough to grow and you train in a fashion that is conducive to building muscle mass. Many of the skinny guys I run into who are looking to build muscle are lost in the minutiae. They usually have their heads buried in some supplement cluttered bodybuilding magazine whilst consulting with a trainer who is smaller and less knowledgeable than themselves. The truth is you don’t need some fancy supplements or special bodybuilding split to successfully build that coveted physique. You only need to eat more than you burn and you must give your body a reason to use the excess calories for building lean body mass as opposed to only adipose tissue.

Here are my recommendations. Eat about 500 calories over maintenance daily and train each body part two to three times per week. Ideally you will be in the gym for a total of three to four sessions each week while taking advantage of your days off to relax, eat and grow. As far as meal timing(outside of your pre and post workout meals), eat whenever you want. Meal frequency is usually not an issue, however some guys may need to eat a few more meals per day in order to make their caloric requirements. Don’t obsess over this though.

I don’t care where your calories come from as long as you consume 1-1.5x your bodyweight in grams of protein and get 3-5grams of EFA’s per day. Set a caloric goal of +500 calories over maintenance for the day and have fun stuffing yourself. I personally enjoy a higher carbohydrate diet but I realize some individuals do not do so well on a lot of starch. Strike a nice balance between macro nutrients and just EAT.

As long as you are training sensibly you will build muscle. It takes time but the outcome is well worth the journey.

How Do I Lose Body Fat?
Eat less and move more. No really, it’s that easy. Pertaining to calorie balance the dietary deficit is all that matters. If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. It’s the law of thermodynamics at work. Energy must come from somewhere and when you eat below your maintenance requirements your body will pull energy from body tissue. The energy will either come from lean body mass or fat mass depending on your diet and training.

When dieting I recommend consuming 1.5x lean body mass. I also recommend lowering your training volume significantly and focusing on the 5-8 rep range to maintain your strength and size gains from your previous muscle building cycle. When consuming this amount of protein you are providing enough protein energy to preserve your hard earned muscle mass. When you perform lower volume weight training, the intensity(weight on the bar) must be high in order to prevent muscle loss. By doing it this way, you are basically giving your muscles a reason to exist and retain their current size. This also ensures that body fat is being used for energy as opposed to lean body mass while maintaining a caloric deficit.

Can I Eat Whatever I Want?
Yes, as long as it’s within your caloric goals. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. As long as protein requirements are met, however you decide to reach your energy calorie requirements are totally up to you. I have weeks where I eat burgers every day and then I have weeks where I eat lots of sugary cereal and pop tarts. It really doesn’t matter in the long run. If you want to gain muscle, you eat more than you burn. If you want to drop fat, you eat less than you burn. To further prove my point, a few pieces written by Lyle McDonald explains my line of thinking perfectly. Is a Calorie a Calorie? explains in full the details about how the only factor affecting weight loss or gain is the amount of calories, not the types of foods deemed clean or unclean. Calories, Nutrients or Food also explains the ideals of calorie balance as well.

So keep it simple, pick a goal and work towards it. If you follow the principles I have laid out, you are sure to succeed in your fat loss or muscle building pursuits.

JC is the creator of JCDFitness.com. If you can appreciate a relaxed, no BS approach to looking great naked, then you may find his ideas about the fitness lifestyle to be very practical and applicable.

Scale tricks

Adrian — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:04:19 +0000

Guys, don’t fall for scale tricks… If you are serious about weight gain (most of you are if you read my blog) then don’t go weighting yourself daily. No need for that. You will just drive yourself crazy. Your weight fluctuates during the day because you eat, go to toilet, do intense physical work, etc. You should only weight yourself like once a week at most. Best option though is to weigh yourself once every two weeks. And if after two weeks you have gained about half a kilogram (or 1lb) than you are doing good. If you gained less or nothing, then you MUST WATCH your diet. Start eating more food. Add 500 calories to what you have already been eating. If you haven’t gained anything in next two weeks add 500 cals more. This is the only way to gain, mates!

I hope this short post helps!

Best of luck,
Adrian

8 Rules of Nutrition for Skinny guys gaining muscle

Adrian — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:16:39 +0000

Nutrition IS about 70 percent of gaining muscle!!! Want to be big and muscular? Eat good!
I learned it the hard way myself. No matter how hard you train you wont gain anything if you are not eating enough. I have wasted few months of good training and not gained any muscle because of this. This post’s goal is to help you guys with nutrition sharing all the tips I know and use. With this info you are definitely a big step closer to successful muscle gain!

1. Eat each 2-3 hours.

You need to constantly supply your body with nutrients. We skinny guys have a very fast metabolism and tend to under-eat. From now on, if you are working out and want to gain muscle – eat 5-8 times a day. Yes it will be hard to do, especially if you work 9-5. But take something pre-made at home to work and just snack it when you have free 10 minutes. I used to do it when working in a warehouse. I worked for 9 hours a day but was still able to gain because I’d manage to eat two times during the work hours. So, it is possible!

2. The more protein the better

Eat one gram of protein per pound of your weight. Yes that’s a lot of protein but you can get some help from supplements. But the best option is to eat proteins with every meal. Eat a lot of chicken, turkey, eggs, cottage cheese, fish etc. Protein is the fuel for muscle growth. They consist of amino-acids that are necessary for muscle and are building blocks of muscle!

3. Drink shake straight after the workout

Buy some whey gainer and make a shake at home before heading to the gym. Then after you are finished with workout drink it as soon as possible.
P.S. A shake an hour before workout can be good too. But you would better eat whole foods before workout.

4. Eat as soon as possible after a workout

Yes, you already drank a shake. But the most of it was used to restore your energy after a grueling workout and now you need to eat again to let muscle grow. A good healthy meal with meat and vegetables would be best. The hour after the workout is “magical” window. And the most of food you ate will go to muscles.

5. Eat breakfast

A huge thing. I usually didn’t eat breakfast before going to school or work. It was a big mistake. Your body is in catabolic state after the night’s sleep because it hasn’t had any nutrients for a long time. You must stop this state by eating good amount of carbohydrates because they will give you a nice surge of energy for the rest of the day. I prefer to eat rice or pasta because they are a great source of carbs. If I can’t I get cottage cheese, a fruit (banana or apple) or shake instead of fruits.

6. Drink a lot of water

Water is very important for muscle. It not only keeps your body hydrated but also helps your body to digest proteins. Also about 60-70 percent of all bodyweight in us. So drink water, drink water.. oh…and did I mention… drink water! ;)

7. You can cheat once in a while

We are not loosing weight so eating at McDonalds or pizza sometimes is good for us. This food has a lot of calories and we need that. But don’t make a habit of it. Once or twice a week you can cheat, but most of the time you should eat whole foods! No need to gain fat.

8. More calories In then Out of body

Your body only grows when you get more cals to your body than it burns during the day. Amount of calories per day depends on your bodyweight, activity and other things. The are a lot of ways to calculate your basal metabolic rate but I choose to follow this one. To calculate BMR multiplying your weight by 20. For example if you weigh 120 pounds you should eat 2400 calories at minimum a day. Now that you know your BMR you should add 500 calories a day to gain muscle. In total you should eat 2900 calories a day at 120 pounds to see gains.

Now we’ve got the basic covered. I swear, it’s huge mistake not to eat enough. I could have already gained more muscle if I was eating enough. Don’t make my past mistake. Use these rules daily and watch the muscle grow! If you liked the post and found it useful, you should subscribe to email updates from 36pounds.com, that way you will stay up-to-date with the newest posts from me always!

UPDATED: You can download a bigger, better, more in-depth Guide on Nutrition for Gaining Muscle! Do it and you will know everything you need to know about nutrition!

If you enjoyed this article, you should subscribe the 36Pounds.com Newsletter, it is available only for 100 guys. The stuff on the newsletter will be unique and wont be posted on the blog, I might even do some video and send it with that newsletter. You can subscribe here:

Cheers,
Adrian

BUSTED!: The Protein Myth

Adrian — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:15:06 +0000

Not so long ago I learned that one of most important things about nutrition I believed in was a MYTH.. Wow. And I was ready to defend it and spread a word as if it was true. Thank goodness I learned that I was mistaken. This is important for everyone who bodybuilds!

The myth is that protein from plants is not useful when bodybuilding. You should only count those from meat, milk, cottage cheese, eggs and fish, because protein from plants don’t have all the amino-acids necessary for body…. Well, how wrong was I to believe it.

Here is some proof for it:

One guy’s story – he is a vegan and looks pretty good, has changed his body very nicely. http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2008/05/meet-troy-a-bod.html

Also, here’s a quote from a great guy whom I trust a lot since I know he “walks the walk” not just talks.

The idea was that most plant foods only contained some of the essential amino acids, so you’d have to combine “incomplete” foods like beans and rice to form meals that contained complete proteins. This idea was put forth in the 1971 book Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé. It was a million-copy bestseller. Unfortunately, many people still aren’t aware that this theory was later found to be completely false, as Lappé herself recanted her original theory in later works that were far less popular. The truth is that most plant foods do contain all the essential amino acids, but furthermore, your body will store amino acids in a pool between meals — it doesn’t even need to get all the essentials in a single meal. So the theory of combining plant foods to form complete proteins isn’t even remotely correct. Of course, lifelong vegans already knew Lappé’s theory was wrong, as they weren’t suffering from protein deficiencies regardless of how they combined their meals.

There are a lot of myths in bodybuilding. I will bust them for you in this series which is called Busted! Looking forward to do it. Hope this helped you guys!

Cheers,
Adrian

P.S. Go eat some food!!!! Now! ;)