Hi guys,
I would like to bulk and gain more weight and have a toned body but i am having difficulties understanding what do i need to look out for
Some articles says i need to get more calories while avoiding carbs and to also get protein, while some article says i need carbs etc.
Can someone explain to me what is the purpose of these? EG: What is carbs? How is it different from calories, what is calories for and what is protein etc. I can’t seem to find a layman article anywhere explaining all these. Any other additional info would be very helpful!
In: 4
You need enough calories to balance out the exercise done and have enough left to create more muscle (which due to the protein content of muscles is quite a lot)
You need enough calories to balance out the exercise done and have enough left to create more muscle (which due to the protein content of muscles is quite a lot)
You need all 3 for your body to bulk properly. Fats, proteins, and carbs.
They all have multiple roles in your body but fats provide energy and help regulate healthy cell function. Carbs also provide energy and help with breaking some compounds down. Protein is the building blocks your body and muscles need to grow, so you’ll need a lot.
For fat, try to make sure you don’t get more than ~25-30g of saturated fat, aim for mono/poly unsaturated and omega fats as your primary source (fish, nuts, etc), hell even olive oil is a great source of healthy fats, so coolk with that instead of butter/other unhealthy oils when you can.
Proteins can come from chicken, turkey, fish, nuts. There are many kinds of protein and they’re not all the same, so the bigger your variety of protein sources the better. It’s why you can’t just eat lots of soybeans and expect to bulk from that.
Carbs can come from veggies, fruit, grains, they’re broken down into vital sugars. Sugar has a reputation of being a dirty word but there’s many kinds of sugar, your body definitely needs healthy sugars and also fiber to help with the process of breaking it all down, so aim for high fiber fruit. and other sources.
NOTE: The bad sugar is the stuff that gets added to processed food and is already in sugar form, which can overload your blood sugar levels pretty easily, so avoid when you can.
NOTE NOTE: There’s also simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs are mainly from fruits and they can be used to provide a quick amount of energy because they’re easier for your body to break down, so it’s especially a good idea to have fruit before a workout so you feel more energetic during it. (And have protein after so it’s ready when your body needs it the most during recovery)
Basically maximise your intake of veg/fruit/fish/chicken/turkey/nuts/oats(and other grains). Eat as much of those as you can to hit like 3000-3500 calories a day. (Which leaves you with about 1000+ calories after basal rate, and if a good chunk of that is protein then you’ll be sitting pretty)
Obviously you can dirty bulk (junk food) occaisionally to help.with your goals, and also weight gainers and protein shakes.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful of your salt intake when you do bulk!! You can easily blow past 2000mg a day if you’re not careful.
Also, fluids are important for your body to make the best use of all this (and needs it to flush excess junk and byproducts while it grows) so drink plenty of water!
So, bottom line. Keep your added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat down, while pumping everything else up. Drink plenty of water, get plenty of sleep.
Good luck!
Carbs are sugars, they’re good for giving you immediate energy which is why people will “carbo load” before they do extended rigorous exercise but for the most part they make it very easy to intake an excess of calories and since they’ve very simple molecules they convert very easily to fat. If you’re having trouble putting on weight at all though then increasing your carb intake somewhat can help keep your body from consuming your muscles for energy.
Proteins are the molecules that muscles are made of which are obviously present in meat but also in beans and some other stuff. Because the molecules are so similar protein converts more easily into muscle on your body than it does into fat. Additionally in many countries (notably the United States) beef cows get juiced up with hormones to make them bigger, more muscular so that they produce more meat and when you eat that meat you get some exposure to those same hormones. This last point is kind of contentious, not just about whether it’s good or bad but also about if it’s even true or not.
Carbs are sugars, they’re good for giving you immediate energy which is why people will “carbo load” before they do extended rigorous exercise but for the most part they make it very easy to intake an excess of calories and since they’ve very simple molecules they convert very easily to fat. If you’re having trouble putting on weight at all though then increasing your carb intake somewhat can help keep your body from consuming your muscles for energy.
Proteins are the molecules that muscles are made of which are obviously present in meat but also in beans and some other stuff. Because the molecules are so similar protein converts more easily into muscle on your body than it does into fat. Additionally in many countries (notably the United States) beef cows get juiced up with hormones to make them bigger, more muscular so that they produce more meat and when you eat that meat you get some exposure to those same hormones. This last point is kind of contentious, not just about whether it’s good or bad but also about if it’s even true or not.
You need all 3 for your body to bulk properly. Fats, proteins, and carbs.
They all have multiple roles in your body but fats provide energy and help regulate healthy cell function. Carbs also provide energy and help with breaking some compounds down. Protein is the building blocks your body and muscles need to grow, so you’ll need a lot.
For fat, try to make sure you don’t get more than ~25-30g of saturated fat, aim for mono/poly unsaturated and omega fats as your primary source (fish, nuts, etc), hell even olive oil is a great source of healthy fats, so coolk with that instead of butter/other unhealthy oils when you can.
Proteins can come from chicken, turkey, fish, nuts. There are many kinds of protein and they’re not all the same, so the bigger your variety of protein sources the better. It’s why you can’t just eat lots of soybeans and expect to bulk from that.
Carbs can come from veggies, fruit, grains, they’re broken down into vital sugars. Sugar has a reputation of being a dirty word but there’s many kinds of sugar, your body definitely needs healthy sugars and also fiber to help with the process of breaking it all down, so aim for high fiber fruit. and other sources.
NOTE: The bad sugar is the stuff that gets added to processed food and is already in sugar form, which can overload your blood sugar levels pretty easily, so avoid when you can.
NOTE NOTE: There’s also simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs are mainly from fruits and they can be used to provide a quick amount of energy because they’re easier for your body to break down, so it’s especially a good idea to have fruit before a workout so you feel more energetic during it. (And have protein after so it’s ready when your body needs it the most during recovery)
Basically maximise your intake of veg/fruit/fish/chicken/turkey/nuts/oats(and other grains). Eat as much of those as you can to hit like 3000-3500 calories a day. (Which leaves you with about 1000+ calories after basal rate, and if a good chunk of that is protein then you’ll be sitting pretty)
Obviously you can dirty bulk (junk food) occaisionally to help.with your goals, and also weight gainers and protein shakes.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful of your salt intake when you do bulk!! You can easily blow past 2000mg a day if you’re not careful.
Also, fluids are important for your body to make the best use of all this (and needs it to flush excess junk and byproducts while it grows) so drink plenty of water!
So, bottom line. Keep your added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat down, while pumping everything else up. Drink plenty of water, get plenty of sleep.
Good luck!
To gain muscle mass, you need a couple of things. First, enough food to build tissue, and of the right kind. This means a moderately high protein diet (not as much as fitness websites make you think, but try to get a little extra), and enough fat and carbs to provide energy needed to build tissue and increase weight. You don’t really NEED to make this ultra healthy whatever, you can gain muscle eating Big Macs, though healthy is nice.
Eating excess calories is step one, but step two is directing your body to build muscle mass and not just store it as bad. You need to repeatedly and increasingly challenge your muscle mass so your body builds more in anticipation of future effort. This means fairly heavy exertion, done regularly, and at the mind of intensity that can’t be done for long – think lifting something less than 20 times before you’d no longer be able to. This tells your body to invest resources into growing muscle tissue. Exactly how to do this is a bit tricky – there are lots of different approaches and goals. You can do mostly body weight stuff, you can use barbells, you can do strongman stuff, whatever.
Then losing weight is keeping protein somewhat elevated and then not eating much of the rest, which causes your body to consume tissue for energy.
Then you get to have your body choose to burn fat tissue and keep muscle mass by continuing to stress your muscles regularly.
This is called a ‘bulk and cut’ method of body building. There is a lot of nuance to it but that is the basics. Athletes in other areas may follow different approaches.
To gain muscle mass, you need a couple of things. First, enough food to build tissue, and of the right kind. This means a moderately high protein diet (not as much as fitness websites make you think, but try to get a little extra), and enough fat and carbs to provide energy needed to build tissue and increase weight. You don’t really NEED to make this ultra healthy whatever, you can gain muscle eating Big Macs, though healthy is nice.
Eating excess calories is step one, but step two is directing your body to build muscle mass and not just store it as bad. You need to repeatedly and increasingly challenge your muscle mass so your body builds more in anticipation of future effort. This means fairly heavy exertion, done regularly, and at the mind of intensity that can’t be done for long – think lifting something less than 20 times before you’d no longer be able to. This tells your body to invest resources into growing muscle tissue. Exactly how to do this is a bit tricky – there are lots of different approaches and goals. You can do mostly body weight stuff, you can use barbells, you can do strongman stuff, whatever.
Then losing weight is keeping protein somewhat elevated and then not eating much of the rest, which causes your body to consume tissue for energy.
Then you get to have your body choose to burn fat tissue and keep muscle mass by continuing to stress your muscles regularly.
This is called a ‘bulk and cut’ method of body building. There is a lot of nuance to it but that is the basics. Athletes in other areas may follow different approaches.
for ELI5
1. Sugar is for energy right now
2. Carbs are for ongoing energy during the day. has 4 calories/gram
3. Protein has a similar energy density to carbs, but is also used in building muscle tissue. has 4 calories/gram
3. Fats are the energy of last resort in your body. fats in foods have 9 calories/gram
Excess energy not used during the day is converted into fat. To build muscle you have to be in a calorie surplus. To maximize muscle growth you need to hit a protein thresh hold so that you can build muscle. Too many calories and you get fat. Too few carbs and you will feel drained at least until you go into ketosis (which is a whole other thing). Too little protein and you can’t build muscle (and possibly your body could scavenge muscle for it). If you increase cardio a lot, you stunt muscle growth (which is why marathon runners don’t look like body builders).
I would watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BKbu_s8p1Q&t=774s) video. Jeff Nippard is an all natural body builder who has series where he does dives into the science behind different ideas in working out. Most of working out is BroScience, so this provides the framework that he fills in with his own experience
for ELI5
1. Sugar is for energy right now
2. Carbs are for ongoing energy during the day. has 4 calories/gram
3. Protein has a similar energy density to carbs, but is also used in building muscle tissue. has 4 calories/gram
3. Fats are the energy of last resort in your body. fats in foods have 9 calories/gram
Excess energy not used during the day is converted into fat. To build muscle you have to be in a calorie surplus. To maximize muscle growth you need to hit a protein thresh hold so that you can build muscle. Too many calories and you get fat. Too few carbs and you will feel drained at least until you go into ketosis (which is a whole other thing). Too little protein and you can’t build muscle (and possibly your body could scavenge muscle for it). If you increase cardio a lot, you stunt muscle growth (which is why marathon runners don’t look like body builders).
I would watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BKbu_s8p1Q&t=774s) video. Jeff Nippard is an all natural body builder who has series where he does dives into the science behind different ideas in working out. Most of working out is BroScience, so this provides the framework that he fills in with his own experience
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