How important is nutrition for gainz?

I think protein is BS

Think about it, the strongest animals eat grass
 
puppybird said:
I think protein is BS

Think about it, the strongest animals eat grass
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Nah bro, you ever see a killer whale? Those things are really swole. The key is to swallow a live seal or penguin whole.
 
NurseKnuckles said:
There's no better guide to eating for gainz than this right here:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=137831493&page=1

Read it, digest it and excrete its greatness!
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Awesome. The problem is that diet guidelines are targeted at the mainstream that is sedentary and obese. My office used to have semi-annual "weight loss challenges" where people would challenge each other to lose the most weight. I was the only one who was like "WTF I'm trying to gain 10 lbs."

I spent 15 years in a plateau thinking I was a "hard gainer" while lifting heavy 5-6 days/week and eating what I thought was a "healthy" diet with lots of vegetables, lean meat, skim milk and little junk food. I'd have infrequent "cheat" days where I'd hit up an all you can eat buffet, but in hindsight that's what was driving the little gains I made.

If you're relatively lean say <15% bf and do a lot of cardio or otherwise burn a lot of calories in your job, you're not going to make real gains unless you: 1) lift heavy with adequate recovery and sleep; and 2) eat a metric shit ton of food for caloric surplus.
 
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I put on weight when I don't sleep well....
 
DoctorTaco said:
basically, I eat like an asshole because I have a really active job and a high metabolism. We’re talking 3200-3500 calories a day and I’m not gaining weight.

I’m pretty active overall but recently have started lifting more to try and put some muscle on so this job stops tearing my body apart. Both trainers I’ve talked to have been big on nutrition- clean eating and all that.

Can’t I continue eating pizza and pad Thai and Chinese food and lift heavy things to get bigger, or do I actually have to eat healthy AND a lot of it while lifting?
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My general tip when helping people with nutrition is look for the green label on the nutrition part of the packaging. This means you won't be over eating and putting on weight. Most food has a fat, salt and sugar percentage on the package.

Try to get plenty of fruit and veg if you can stand it and don't skip breakfast.

Don't eat too much fat otherwise....you'll get fat. No brainer

Try to avoid
 
ChickenBrother said:
Awesome. The problem is that diet guidelines are targeted at the mainstream that is sedentary and obese. My office used to have semi-annual "weight loss challenges" where people would challenge each other to lose the most weight. I was the only one who was like "WTF I'm trying to gain 10 lbs."

I spent 15 years in a plateau thinking I was a "hard gainer" while lifting heavy 5-6 days/week and eating what I thought was a "healthy" diet with lots of vegetables, lean meat, skim milk and little junk food. I'd have infrequent "cheat" days where I'd hit up an all you can eat buffet, but in hindsight that's what was driving the little gains I made.

If you're relatively lean say <15% bf and do a lot of cardio or otherwise burn a lot of calories in your job, you're not going to make real gains unless you: 1) lift heavy with adequate recovery and sleep; and 2) eat a metric shit ton of food for caloric surplus.
Click to expand...
I’m shredded beef and walk around 10-12% bf. I’m a striking coach with a focus on pad holding so I burn a shit ton of calories daily. I’ve been lifting heavy 3x a week and eating more, but when work gets busy I don’t take time to eat enough. This is helpful, thanks!
NurseKnuckles said:
You're probably eating less than you think.
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i eat either like an asshole or barely at alll depending on my schedule and how prepared I was for a busy day
 
DoctorTaco said:
i eat either like an asshole or barely at alll depending on my schedule and how prepared I was for a busy day
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Yeah, I would say to try to get a little more consistent with nutrition. I know my post about Dave Tate's story at Westside was tongue and cheek, however it does speak to the process of gaining weight. I was 155 in 2012, I thought I ate well and I blamed being a ":hard gainer" but when I plugged in my numbers on average I was eating like a 16 year old girl. Once I corrected that, I found the weight came on quite easily.
 
I was always big on eating just to fulfill my macronutrient and calorie requirements.

If i needed 200g protein, 300g carbs and 60g fat, i ate anything that allowed me to hit that goal. I was always able to lost or gain or maintain the way i wanted to doing it this way.

However, my wife wanted to lose some fat, and she truly believes eating "healthy" is the way to go. Whatever not my thing.

So i switched from a true IIFYM eating style to a mostly "bro" diet, of chicken, beef, fish, rice, greek yogurt, fruits and veggies and about a month in I became a believer. I digested my meals better and felt better all around. Could also train harder without getting sluggish.

Did i get better results in the fatbloss department? I 100% did BUT it was not because of my food choices. My calorie intake was the same as before. The reason my fat loss sped up was because i was able to train harder, longer, more frequently withiut getting gassed. Thats where the food came in.



Tldr
Focus on your calories and macronutrients 1st and foremost
Then if you want to take things a step further, look at your food sources and clean them up
The major thing is adherence over long periods of time
 
DoctorTaco said:
I’m shredded beef and walk around 10-12% bf. I’m a striking coach with a focus on pad holding so I burn a shit ton of calories daily. I’ve been lifting heavy 3x a week and eating more, but when work gets busy I don’t take time to eat enough. This is helpful, thanks!
i eat either like an asshole or barely at alll depending on my schedule and how prepared I was for a busy day
Click to expand...

I'm a lazy eater too - if I don't have something ready to go I'll just graze on whatever is around maybe some bread or nuts or chips or something. That's exactly what will kill your gains and it's why I spent 15 years at 160 lbs around 10% bf while lifting 5x/week to failure. Have something prepared - big pot of boiled meat stew keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge easy and you can freeze leftovers in single serving tupperware. Buy a big tub of pre-made potato salad at the grocery deli. Make a big pot of pasta and keep single serving tupperwares in the fridge ready to go. Eat spoonfuls of peanut butter whenever you feel like it and always have at least 2 gallons of whole milk available in the fridge. I chugged at least a half gallon a day on top of meals.

If you want to make gains, you have to change your eating habits and eat more food than you think. You will gain some fat too but if you are lifting heavy and getting enough sleep, you WILL gain muscle. And after making gains, your body gets used to the new weight and it becomes easy to maintain.
 
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ChickenBrother said:
Awesome. The problem is that diet guidelines are targeted at the mainstream that is sedentary and obese. My office used to have semi-annual "weight loss challenges" where people would challenge each other to lose the most weight. I was the only one who was like "WTF I'm trying to gain 10 lbs."

I spent 15 years in a plateau thinking I was a "hard gainer" while lifting heavy 5-6 days/week and eating what I thought was a "healthy" diet with lots of vegetables, lean meat, skim milk and little junk food. I'd have infrequent "cheat" days where I'd hit up an all you can eat buffet, but in hindsight that's what was driving the little gains I made.

If you're relatively lean say <15% bf and do a lot of cardio or otherwise burn a lot of calories in your job, you're not going to make real gains unless you: 1) lift heavy with adequate recovery and sleep; and 2) eat a metric shit ton of food for caloric surplus.
Click to expand...
Nice post.
 
Agree 100% with the macro based approach. At age 48 I started doing this with a coach to help me lean out. I was a soft 189lbs. Within 14 weeks I had cut down to 164lbs and proceeded to go back on the feed for many months building back to 170lbs while remaining lean and getting stronger. My "gain" macros were 375c/75f/210p - around 3200 calories a day. At 51 I use 2200-2500 cal a day for maintence and some cut numbers and can hold around 172-173lbs no problem.

Cutting out booze is a big one...helps a ton as does a lot of sleep, water and consistent exercise.

dannysmith said:
I was always big on eating just to fulfill my macronutrient and calorie requirements.

If i needed 200g protein, 300g carbs and 60g fat, i ate anything that allowed me to hit that goal. I was always able to lost or gain or maintain the way i wanted to doing it this way.

However, my wife wanted to lose some fat, and she truly believes eating "healthy" is the way to go. Whatever not my thing.

So i switched from a true IIFYM eating style to a mostly "bro" diet, of chicken, beef, fish, rice, greek yogurt, fruits and veggies and about a month in I became a believer. I digested my meals better and felt better all around. Could also train harder without getting sluggish.

Did i get better results in the fatbloss department? I 100% did BUT it was not because of my food choices. My calorie intake was the same as before. The reason my fat loss sped up was because i was able to train harder, longer, more frequently withiut getting gassed. Thats where the food came in.



Tldr
Focus on your calories and macronutrients 1st and foremost
Then if you want to take things a step further, look at your food sources and clean them up
The major thing is adherence over long periods of time
Click to expand...
 
Punch nutrition in Google and you'll be confused for a decade with the amount of conflicting information. That being said, if I could summarize nutrition into 5 bullet points, it would sound like this:
  • Calorie balance matters. Balance vs. deficit vs. surplus will determine the effect on your bodyweight.
  • Total protein intake matter. 1g/lbs of bodyweight is the recommendation to maximize lean body mass.
  • Protein timing matters. It needs to be split over the day, your body cannot produce some amino acids.
  • Micro-nutrients minimum threshold matters. They feed your cells and are important; no point in over-consuming.
  • For the rest of the calories, carbs might be better for hypertrophy, fat might be better for endurance.
 
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