I would like to know how much and of what i should be eating during the day. i want to gain as much muscle as i can. The only supplements i take currenty are Max Muscle Weight Gainer (620cal, 120carb, 28prot), Max Muscle Whey Protein (34prot), multi vitamins, amino acids, glutamine and ZMA. i guess its alot but i wanna get the job done right. here is what i eat during the day:
7:15 - weight gainer+amino acids+multi vitamin
8:55 - lift weights
8:35 - whey protein in milk w/ 7g glutamine
10:00 - banana bread loaf (small)
10:45 - whey protein
12:00 - granola bar
1:00 - weight gainer
1:30 - lift weights
2:00 - amino acids
2:15 - football
5:15 - get out of practice; whey protein w/ 7g glutamine
6:00 - fruit
7:30 - dinner (some kind of meat and veggies with milk) +amino acids
9:30 - 1/2 serving of weight gainer+1/2 serving whey protein
11:00 - ZMA
11:30 - bedtime
im pretty sure im getting enough food and nutrients. but i just wanna make sure i am. maybe im getting too much im not sure. but my goal is to get big for football season. please any info would help greatly. thanks guys
You’re lifting twice a day as well as practice… don’t you find you need a bit more sleep? With that amount of work, the 7-odd hours you get doesn’t seem much.
the sleep part i find perfect. im really never tired. and the weight gainer i take only has 3 grams of fat i think, with 120 grams of carbs and 28 grams of protein. why would it be bad? its basically just a meal replacement
i think the weight gainer is fine for someone trying to gain weight for football. It does seem like you are a little short on actual food through. Dinner seems to be your only “real” meal. Maybe you could eat something else between your 2nd lift and football practice if your stomach can handle it?
that was actually my main concern: if i wa eating enough “rel” food. but no theres no time at all between my 2nd lifting ad football. right after we lift we go to the field. after we change into our cleats of course… i was thinking about bring some chicken breasts with me to school too…
I don’t think there is anything wrong with weight gainers for people who don’t have the time to sit down and eat a meal or prep meals. But id make sure the gainer your on doesn’t have more than 25% of its calories coming from sugar. I like most the ABB sups. Low fat, low sugar and high protein.
I also agree that I would try to get a little more of your calories coming from whole foods. Try and eat 5-6 smaller meals a day. Easier to digest and better for the metabolism and gear your gainers and larger calorie meals around the time you’ve got the greatest cal expenditure. Ive been known to prep the majority of my meals Sunday night and Tupperware it, works well and saves time. Now I don’t know how much you weigh or your BF% but id say your undershooting your calories. And when that happens your $$ protein sups get used for energy rather and being used for recovery and building.
Just my 2 cents
well i weigh about 180-183 and abour 10-12% bodyfat. each serving of weight gainer has 620 calories and i basically take it 3 times a day. and i just looked at the label and it says only 1 gram of fat! and 23 grams of sugars. is that alot of sugar caues im not really sure?
I couldn’t find how many grams are in a serving so I cant tell you exactly where the sugar % falls but 23 grams seems ok for the 690 or so calories your getting from it. If your looking to put on muscle and limit your fat I would zig zag your calories and have different days geared towards the expenditure for that day.
So Id put your BMR at 1636.
So a day where you sit on your ass: 2126
A day where you did light activity: 2454
A day you hit the weights: 2699
A day that hit weights and train for football or just a game day: 2944
So each of the numbers above you’d be just to maintain your weight on that particular day. Then since you want to bulk id add 350 cals to whatever day your on for 4 days straight then eat one day at the normal amount of cals you’d need for that day. By zig zaging your cals we put on muscle and fat for 4 days then on the 5th day we drop the fat and keep the muscle. Every 5 pounds or when ever you plateau you need to adjust your Bmr and all those DCRs.
If you have any questions fire away. Hope this helps you out
"Get the carbs from fruits, veggies, and limited amount of grains not powder "
I was under the impression that the carbs/sugars in fruits and vegetables caused them to go through a different metabolic pathway than the krebs cycle, so that fruits and veggies did not produce any glycogen that was accessible to the muslces, am i correct in that assumption?
Can you get the necessary glycogen to replenish the glycogne you use from just fruits and vegetables?
Well first off I should have added in post workout drinks to that list. But I still didn’t say just fruits and veggies I also said grains. Can’t the amount of grains be tweaked to fit the glycogen needs of the training? I know I also said limited but I meant limited at least in comparison to endurance athletes and the food pyramid.
I guess i read over the grains part, i was just wondering if it was true that fruits and veggies did supply enough glycogen cause i was under the impression that they did not.
First of all, is it EXTREMELY necessary for you to lift twice a day in addition to your three-hour football practice? While most beginning trainers believe more is better our over exuberance is often misguided and leads to slower if not diminished returns. One quality weight session will allow you at least two benefits… 1. An easier schedule for proper nutrient consumption - allowing more “whole” foods into your diet. & 2. Better (if not more complete) recovery between your lifting sessions and football practices.
As a strength coach myself, I would agree that “two a day” lifting programs can be very beneficial in both strength and mass gains - if you’re only a weightlifter. However, adding an additional 3-hour sport specific practice on top of that schedule is by most standards overkill. I would suggest that your goals could more easily be attained by simply a better daily schedule. More is most often not better.
Additionally, calorically you want your daily intake to be higher than your expense. That may seem overly simplistic with every nutritional guru out there expounding on every dietary manipulation technique there is to gain weight, but that’s really the easiest way. I guess you have to decide if you want to look like a bodybuilder or a football player. Obviously, you still want to eat clean, get the right macronutrients, and probably supplement your diet with some of the things your already taking. But at “thee a day” training session, I’d guess your expending a large amount of calories a day and are actually close to only a maintenence level of intake. This is also assuming that you are young, an athlete, active, and likely have a fairly decent metabolic rate. The former thread that mentioned a caloric intake of 2100 - 2900 cal / day is entirely too low. I think an athlete with your activity level and goals would be closer to the 4000-4500 / day intake. Again, you have to decide your goals here… do your really want to get big and strong, or do your simply want to look good. There’s often a fine line between looking good in the mirror and being good on the field. Prioritize which is the most important to you.
I’ve had a handful of my athletes recently read “Nutrient Timing” by John Ivy and Robert Portman. I think it’s a relatively easy read and gives a pretty no-nonsense approach to dietary considerations for athletes.
I would like to hear Charlie’s input on this subject though. I think many young athletes across different sports have similar goals.
Hey Dbjohn
Sorry I was in a huge hurry yesterday and screwed up your #’s.
BMR of 1963
Day you sit on your ass: 2552
Light activity 2846
Weight day 3140
Weights and football practice or just a game day: 3533
Then just like I said in the previous post zigzag your cals with the elevated 4 days and such.
SlidoNice
It’s just my opinion but I don’t think he’d need 4000-4500 cals for his bodyweight and activity level but you never know. A lot of factors to consider like if he’s under a lot of stress he will burn more calories etc.
Eat most of your carbs in the morning and postworkout. Feel free to eat sugars(such as… glucose, dextrose, sucrose NOT Fructose) for up to 6 hours post-workout.