How much protein and how many calories to add muscle?

[cnnc97]

How much protein and how many calories are you guys consuming when lifting and trying to add some muscle?

I am lifting 3-4 times a week, nothing huge, just trying to get stronger and add some muscle. I currently am at 160 pounds with a little flab left from my former beer gut that I am still trying to reduce. I've recently started back up with the NROL programs.

I recently started tracking my food on my smart phone. I eat about 2500-3500 calories on non-lifting days and 3000-4000 on lifting days. I have been around 170-200g of protein on lifting days, 100-150g on non-lifting days. For my calories I aim for about 40-50% carbs, 30-35% protein, 15-20% fat on lifting days.

Do I need to add more Protein and Fat if I want to build more muscle, or am I in the right ballpark here?

[commanderkeen]

How much protein and how many calories are you guys consuming when lifting and trying to add some muscle?

I am lifting 3-4 times a week, nothing huge, just trying to get stronger and add some muscle. I currently am at 160 pounds with a little flab left from my former beer gut that I am still trying to reduce. I've recently started back up with the NROL programs.

I recently started tracking my food on my smart phone. I eat about 2500-3500 calories on non-lifting days and 3000-4000 on lifting days. I have been around 170-200g of protein on lifting days, 100-150g on non-lifting days. For my calories I aim for about 40-50% carbs, 30-35% protein, 15-20% fat on lifting days.

Do I need to add more Protein and Fat if I want to build more muscle, or am I in the right ballpark here?

You are eating enough protein, 200g for someone of your body-weight is at the upper limit of any recommendation I have seen which range from 0.75-1.25 x BW in lbs. Most recommend you get around your BW in lbs in grams of protein, exceeding it won't harm you until you get around 500g of protein a day. Your fat grams are alright too, you are getting about 50g at the lowest which is the lowest I would recommend for any man. Make sure you are getting those fats from animal sources (I'm gonna get some flack for saying that, but it's true), and fats rich in omega 3 (oily fish, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados). Personally I like getting my calories from fat, so I probably eat more of a 30/15/55 P/C/F diet, haven't really counted so that is a best guess. Some days I bump up my carb intake if that is how I'm feeling (tired, out of whack).

Good luck bud!

[Slash McCoy]

What he said.

For total calorie consumption, monitor your body weight. A gain of over a pound a week is excessive unless you are a raw beginner or you are pharmaceutical my assisted. Such a small change is hard to quantify in a meaningful way. Try this. Graph your weight. Weigh yourself every morning after urinating but before your morning dump and before breakfast. Run a straight line through the last 7 weights on the graph that is as close as possible to as many points as possible. Your virtual weight is on that line for any given day. When cutting, you can lose a couple pounds a week if your bodyfat leve is pretty high but it should be less than that once you are fairly lean to avoid excessive catabolysys. (muscle loss, in a nutshell) The graph will help you to adjust for optimum body weight gain or loss.

GenerLly animal fats including fatty fish are better precursors for testosterone, your body's main anabolic hormone. Not only that but they are usually more flavorful and satisfying than an equivelant amount of vegetable fats or oils. above all avoid margarine or shortening or any other type of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. If you have cholesterol problems naturally you will have to make adjustments and substitute nuts, avacados, etc for much of your animal fats.

Carbs are expendable. To reduce calories reduce your carbs before reducing protein or fat. For an easy increase, if your protein is already over a gram per pound of body weight, bump up the carbs.

It can take years to become skilled at tailoring your diet but hey this isn't a six week program it is a lifelong thing. No rush. Just keep track of what you do and the results and eventually you will get it nailed to the point that you don't even count calories any more.

[COHunter]

One question I have is how long have you been lifting? Obviously lifting 3-4 times/week will build muscle but it'll take some time to see in the mirror. Also remember to rest the muscle groups since that's when they're re-building. When you're lifting you're actively tearing them down so they need some time to rebuild and that's where you're going to see the results.

The diet seems farily on-point for what you're after. Also take into consideration what body type you have, if you have always been of a leaner frame and longer musculature then great gains in muscle size are really not all that practical vs. the frame of a more compact musculature/stockier framed guy.

[Prince]

Very true on the body type. I've tried off and on for years to add muscle, but due to my tall, lanky body, it's hard. I get the strength, but not the size.

On the flip side, the short, stocky guys at the gym, have huge muscles.

Also, your calorie intake might be on the high side unless you are doing alot of lifting or cardo to help burn the extra calories.

[cnnc97]

I am 5'11" and am at 160, I was skinny until I hit college and the beer intake increased. I have been lifitng for about a year and a half, but have had times where I've kind of drifted from program to program or did my own stuff. I know I will never be huge because I do not have that body type, I am just looking to get leaner, stronger, and continue to get some more definitiion in the muscles I do have. They are a lot more defined versus when I started.

I haven't been actively trying to lose weight but have slowly dropped a pound here and there even with the fairly high calorie intake. I also run a few times a week, only about 2-3 miles each run, and I have been doing a lot of bike rides this summer, probably an average of 20-30 miles a week. I actually was down about 4 pounds last week, but then it had come up a little the next time I weighed myself, might have been a timing thing. I don't hit the scales very often.

Basically I was just wondering if you guys thought I was in the right ballpark for calories and the type of calories to be adding some muscle over time. I think I am getting leaner and stronger, but I haven't checked my body fat % or anything like that. Just jump on the scale once in a while and gauge by how my pants seem to be getting bigger. I figure if that's happening and my weight is staying roughly the same I must be getting bigger somewhere else since my gut and waist are slowly shrinking. I'm just looking to be as efficient as possible with my diet and workouts, I don't want to be under eating and not getting the results that I could or be over eating and wasting what progress I have made.

[COHunter]

I am 5'11" and am at 160, I was skinny until I hit college and the beer intake increased. I have been lifitng for about a year and a half, but have had times where I've kind of drifted from program to program or did my own stuff. I know I will never be huge because I do not have that body type, I am just looking to get leaner, stronger, and continue to get some more definitiion in the muscles I do have. They are a lot more defined versus when I started.

I haven't been actively trying to lose weight but have slowly dropped a pound here and there even with the fairly high calorie intake. I also run a few times a week, only about 2-3 miles each run, and I have been doing a lot of bike rides this summer, probably an average of 20-30 miles a week. I actually was down about 4 pounds last week, but then it had come up a little the next time I weighed myself, might have been a timing thing. I don't hit the scales very often.

Basically I was just wondering if you guys thought I was in the right ballpark for calories and the type of calories to be adding some muscle over time. I think I am getting leaner and stronger, but I haven't checked my body fat % or anything like that. Just jump on the scale once in a while and gauge by how my pants seem to be getting bigger. I figure if that's happening and my weight is staying roughly the same I must be getting bigger somewhere else since my gut and waist are slowly shrinking. I'm just looking to be as efficient as possible with my diet and workouts, I don't want to be under eating and not getting the results that I could or be over eating and wasting what progress I have made.

I'd say you're probably doing just fine. If you feel good, energy level is up and you are overall good to go, just go with it. You're getting the strength for sure, maybe a bit of a protein supplement after lifting, don't go nuts with it. (admittedly I'm not a fan of many supplements) I'm on the other end of the spectrum almost completely. I've been lifting for over 20 years off and on, and I've got a much different frame, I'm around 6'5" and between 325-350. Beer gut included (just being honest). I'm actually trying to lean out the muscles a bit and avoid adding so much size, so I'm tailoring my lifting lately to higher rep sets at relatively lower weights trying to focus on the endurance, not just sheer strength. Including more no-low impact cardio, running and I will never be friends! Walking, riding, treadclimber are more my speed.

[commanderkeen]

I am 5'11" and am at 160, I was skinny until I hit college and the beer intake increased. I have been lifitng for about a year and a half, but have had times where I've kind of drifted from program to program or did my own stuff. I know I will never be huge because I do not have that body type, I am just looking to get leaner, stronger, and continue to get some more definitiion in the muscles I do have. They are a lot more defined versus when I started.

I haven't been actively trying to lose weight but have slowly dropped a pound here and there even with the fairly high calorie intake. I also run a few times a week, only about 2-3 miles each run, and I have been doing a lot of bike rides this summer, probably an average of 20-30 miles a week. I actually was down about 4 pounds last week, but then it had come up a little the next time I weighed myself, might have been a timing thing. I don't hit the scales very often.

Basically I was just wondering if you guys thought I was in the right ballpark for calories and the type of calories to be adding some muscle over time. I think I am getting leaner and stronger, but I haven't checked my body fat % or anything like that. Just jump on the scale once in a while and gauge by how my pants seem to be getting bigger. I figure if that's happening and my weight is staying roughly the same I must be getting bigger somewhere else since my gut and waist are slowly shrinking. I'm just looking to be as efficient as possible with my diet and workouts, I don't want to be under eating and not getting the results that I could or be over eating and wasting what progress I have made.

The best way to track progress without an accurate way to measure BF is to take measurements. Seeing how your pants fit is a good indicator, but it can take time to see any differences. It would be better to take a tape measure and measure your waist, chest, arm, thigh measurements every couple weeks and record them in some way. The waist measurement should either stay constant or go down, the chest, arm and leg measurements should stay the same or get larger. Since you are already quite lean your waist measurement shouldn't change much, and definitely shouldn't get bigger, that would mean you are eating too much, cut some carbs. If nothing changes, you gotta eat more. Easy.

[Argonaut]

Most of what I've read says 1 gram for every pound of lean body mass you have.

[sir-nix-alot]

Gomad if you want to make your time in the gym worth it.

[Illadelphia]

Gomad if you want to make your time in the gym worth it.

Sigh...

[sir-nix-alot]

Sigh...

Why would you sigh?

I know a couple of guys who were underweight, hardgainers (OP gets stronger not bigger), that were soft like the OP (OP has flab), and didn't believe they could get big. GOMAD took care of the problem. It's fool proof if you are willing to put in the work.

Bottom line is that OP needs a hormonal response to get what he wants. Diet (like gomad) provides the building blocks for the hormones he needs to build size, and intense weightlifting will not only utilize the hormones produced by saturated fat intake, but also the protein to build mass - the workout themselves will cause testosterone levels and HGH levels to naturally rise which will self perpetuate.

But I guess it is sighworthy...

[RazoRock]

I try to consume about .5gr (per lb of body weight) and a little more than that on workout days, maybe .75; but, I get most of my protein from Hemp... probably half of it. I find that animal protein depletes my energy whereas vegan protein gives me more energy. I use to need 8 hours of sleep to feel energized, now 5-6 is more than enough.

It really depends what you are trying to achieve... if you want to get "big", muscle-wise, you probably want closer to 1gr per lb and more calories. My goal is maintain my current weight and get my Body Fat percentage under 10 and keep my waste at 30 inches; I'm currently 170 lbs and 6ft tall.

I don't think there is any perfect solution... you kind of have to find what works for you... for me it's about feeling great and having tons of energy; yes, looking ripped is nice as well!

[closer]

I find that animal protein depletes my energy whereas vegan protein gives me more energy. I use to need 8 hours of sleep to feel energized, now 5-6 is more than enough.

I'm very intrigued by this comment. Do you have any further information, or pointers to research/reading material?

[Illadelphia]

Why would you sigh?

I know a couple of guys who were underweight, hardgainers (OP gets stronger not bigger), that were soft like the OP (OP has flab), and didn't believe they could get big. GOMAD took care of the problem. It's fool proof if you are willing to put in the work.

Bottom line is that OP needs a hormonal response to get what he wants. Diet (like gomad) provides the building blocks for the hormones he needs to build size, and intense weightlifting will not only utilize the hormones produced by saturated fat intake, but also the protein to build mass - the workout themselves will cause testosterone levels and HGH levels to naturally rise which will self perpetuate.

But I guess it is sighworthy...

The levels are GH, not HGH. Relying on a gallon of milk to do what food can is a poor recommendation, regardless of what worked for so and so. So yes, instead of structuring a real diet and hoping milk combined with lifting will target a structured response is pure broscience.

[sir-nix-alot]

The levels are GH, not HGH. Relying on a gallon of milk to do what food can is a poor recommendation, regardless of what worked for so and so. So yes, instead of structuring a real diet and hoping milk combined with lifting will target a structured response is pure broscience.

Example GOMAD Meal Plan. Spread your milk intake through the day. If you have milk with meals: eat first, drink the milk after. Eat your stomach full on each meal and make sure you eat every 3 hours.

• Breakfast: eggs, veggies, orange, green tea.
• Snack: 1 liter milk, mixed nuts, banana
• Lunch: chicken breast, mixed veggies, peer
• Snack: 1 liter milk, mixed nuts, apple
• Post workout: 1 liter milk, oats, banana
• Dinner: ground round, pasta, tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese
• Pre bed: 1 liter milk, berries, ground flax seeds, cottage cheese

Is that all not food? Milk is a supplement in the diet, not the foundation as you imply.

[Illadelphia]

Is that all not food? Milk is a supplement in the diet, not the foundation as you imply.

The diet is called GOMAD=gallon of milk a day. Hard to believe it would be the foundation
Eating 7 meals spaced 3 hours apart? That leaves 3 hours for sleep. Solid plan right there. Noticed you ignored the gh comment where you were incorrect. I go by what a clinical nutrition background tells me, not one of my "bros at the gym".

[commanderkeen]

The diet is called GOMAD=gallon of milk a day. Hard to believe it would be the foundation
Eating 7 meals spaced 3 hours apart? That leaves 3 hours for sleep. Solid plan right there. Noticed you ignored the gh comment where you were incorrect. I go by what a clinical nutrition background tells me, not one of my "bros at the gym".

How would you make that mistake On a side note, a G.O.M.A.D. blarghhh

[Pebcak]

How would you make that mistake On a side note, a G.O.M.A.D. blarghhh

And it does help pack on the weight, and quickly too.

[Illadelphia]

How would you make that mistake On a side note, a G.O.M.A.D. blarghhh

Lol, I don't know why 3 went in, I meant 6hrs and that assumes you are eating the minute you wake up and sleeping the minute after your last meal.