Be Realistic!

Muscle takes time to grow and the rate of growth will be determined by the intensity of training, adequate nutrition and rest, and your own genetic potential. A weight gain rate of 0.5 kg per week is realistic over short periods. Rapid weight gain can also mean an increase in body fat.

“Eat well, train hard, rest enough and stick with it!”

Eat More!

At present your are probably eating enough food to maintain your current bodyweight. If you want to add muscle you are going to need to eat more, and a general guide is around an extra 500 calories per day. All meals should be balanced, that is each meal should contain some carbohydrates and protein. There is no real need to add fat, as most foods will contain fat anyway.

Eat small meals often

Try to eat a small meal about every 3 hours and aim for around 6 meals per day – no excuses! By doing this you will be supplying your body with a constant supply of the nutrients it needs to build muscle. This will also supply your body with more sustainable energy throughout the day.

Never get hungry

By the time you become hungry the body has already started to revert to ‘surival mode’. This is an ancient response hardwired in our brains where the body thinks it is beginning to starve and holds on to as much fat as possible to help it through what it perceives is the forthcoming ‘famine’. In this state muscle is burned for energy.

Never miss meals!

This will make you hungry and lead to a slowing of your metabolism and an increase in fat storage via the body’s ‘survival mode’ (see above).

Breakfast – truely the meal of champions

Breakfast really is the important meal of the day as you usually will not have eaten since the previous night, so your body will be feeling as if it is beginning to starve. Secondly, you need a large breakfast to give adequate energy to face the day.

Do not have Dinner as your largest or main daily meal

Food is basically fuel for our body, and most of us will have expended most of our daily energy by the time dinner rolls around. Remember – whatever we eat which is not required for energy or normal cell growth and recovery can be converted and deposited as fat. Dinner should be just one of a number of small meals spaced evenly throughout the day. Also, reduce the size of your serving of carbohydrates (e.g. potato, rice, pasta) at dinnertime as you generally won’t require much energy late in the evening and overnight.

Eat immediately after exercise

The post-workout meal is probably the most important meal of the day. Straight after exercise your body’s muscle glycogen (energy) stores will be reduced and if they are not replced almost immediately then the body will start to catabolise (consume) it’s own muscle for energy – a very bad thing! You have a 15-20 minute window of opportunity to replace this glycogen after your workout before the body starts to catabolise muscle. Have approx. 30g of protein (e.g. tinned tuna etc.) straight after your workout.

Drink water – a lot of it

Water is required for almost all of the chemical processes which take place within our bodies. In fact, our bodies are comprised of approxiametely 70% water,a dn without adequate amounts of it our performance decreases massively. A 2% loss in body weight (through lose of fluid e.g. sweating) can result in a 20% decrease in exercise sport performance. Drink at least 2 litres of water perday and even more when your are exercising.

Never let yourself get thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty your body is already 10% dehyrated. You can monitor your state of hydration by the colour of your urine which should be clear to light straw colour – any darker means you are already partially dehyrated.

Protein and Carbohydrates

There can be a lot of hype surrounding the advice on protein and carbohydrate content in your diet. All meals should be balanced – containing some carbohydrates and protein. There is no real need to add fat as most food will contain some fat anyway. The maximum amount of protein the body can assimilate is 2g / kg / day. For example an 80kg person should consume no more than 160g of protein per day. Any more will start to impact negatively on the kidneys and liver.

NB You should not have to rely on supplements to get enough protein in your diet as this can easily be achieved with ‘real’ food. The only real plus with supplement drinks and meals is that they are convienent and easy to prepare. Also remeber that carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy.

Trim the Fat

It is extremely easy for the body to store dietary fat as body fat, so try to reduce fat within the diet – it may taste good but will just mean you have to work harder and longer to achieve your goals. However, also remember that if you eat too much protein and carbohydrates (and don’t burn it up) that they may also be converted to fat.

“Good” (unsaturated) fats include canola and olive oil, though they should still be used sparingly. You can also obtain unsaturated fats from oily fish such as sardines.

Some ways to reduce fat in your diet are:

• Read the food labels carefully
• Choose lean cuts of meat – trim off any visible fat
• Reduce pies and pastries
• Don’t add fat when cooking – try poaching, steaming, grilling or microwaving instead of frying and roasting
• If you use butter, spread it very thinly
• Use semi-skimmed or skimmed milk
• Choose lower fat cheeses (sprinkle rather than using large chunks)
• eat less ‘fast food’ and choose heathly options(e.g. Japanese, Thai, Subway)
• Use natural yoghurt instead of cream
• Eat less meat and replace with more vegetables
• Eat fish more often. Grill, steam, bake or microwave it rather than deepfrying
• Chicken and turkey are low in fat as long as the skin is removed.