Looking to Build Muscle

[WSEV12]

All,

I am an athlete looking to build weight and boost my immunity. Please feel welcome to provide suggestions on foods to eat for an ectomorph and types of exercise. Should I eat more fats and carbs? More protein?

-William

[Skip]

Eat a starch based diet as recommended by Dr. McDougall .......

[xkitten]

I was curious about this too. I know the body building community pushes eating more protein after working out and I was curious if this would be the case with people who eat a starch based diet too. Would it help us "recover" after a hard workout? Or is it unnecessary? I know most people get plenty of protein in their diets so I'm uncertain. I would love more feedback about this.

[WSEV12]

Hi All,

There have been some good questions here. Are the basic nutrition principles found in the McDougall diet also appropriate for athletes or are some changes needed. In other words should we eat the same types of food but maybe just a bit more if we are engaged in a lot of physical activity?

-William

[Skip]

Hi All,

There have been some good questions here. Are the basic nutrition principles found in the McDougall diet also appropriate for athletes or are some changes needed. In other words should we eat the same types of food but maybe just a bit more if we are engaged in a lot of physical activity?

-William

YES - you don't need a special diet because you are an athlete. The strongest animals in the world are vegetarian.

[vgpedlr]

To build muscle, one must stress the body in such a way that the body must build more muscle to be able to successfully adapt, and have a surplus of calories to work with. The regular McDougall program is perfectly adequate, and more rich plant foods may be appropriate than for other people.

Why do you want to build muscle? This is an important question to reflect on and answer for yourself. For me, I haven't been interested in increased muscle mass since I was a teen. I realized that strength is what I wanted, to be able to move my body effectively in my favorite sports of skiing, surfing, and martial arts. Muscle mass is metabolically costly, it costs the body a lot to move it around and keep it cool. Mass does not mean strength.

So train appropriately for hypertrophy and get a small surplus of calories from healthy plant foods and you should see results.

[Starchpower]

Building muscle , 2 things are required.one is weight training reps about 6(warm up 15 to . Best to do 1 to 3 warm up sets with one working set do that 3 -5 exercises per muscle group. Second is calories so if you want to gain muscle just eat a lot more starches .( that's why bodybuilders eat 5 or more meals a day ) Might also eat more nuts due to how caloric rich they are. Don't forget cardio hour or so of walking at least.

[DWu]

Hi WSEV12,

In regards to your question on protein, I think Jeff has written some good articles here:

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... otein.html

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... _Need.html

[mkh9]

Hi, I just saw this string. I'm looking to build muscle, and lose weight at the same time. I am on this diet and doing it right now and finally losing some weight. A little at a time. I am restricting my calories to 1450-1700 per my master trainer. He wants me to eat a lot more protein and a lot less carbs and more fat to lose weight and gain muscle. He is on the paleo diet. The only way to do that is to supplement with a lot of plant protein powder and I told him I don't want to do that. Also, going up to 1 g per pound of body weight as they like to do increases your IGF1 which can lead to cancer. So, since I have gotten the McDougall diet right (or very close), I feel I can handle the lower calories and not be hungry and still keep my workout 4 times a week at the gym. I have more energy too so far. I am new to body building and have been deconditioned and now am getting back in shape. I have been building muscle since I started last year. I know because I can lift more all the time. So, whether it is faster or slower I don't know but you can do it on this diet. I do wonder too if it would be easier with more calories but I would definitely be fatter. It seems to be all about how active you are (calories in and out). Any suggestions for losing weight at the same time as building muscle?
thanks,
Mkh9

[vgpedlr]

I am restricting my calories to 1450-1700 per my master trainer. He wants me to eat a lot more protein and a lot less carbs and more fat to lose weight and gain muscle. He is on the paleo diet.

If you are committed to this diet, make it very clear to your trainer, and make discussion of it off limits. Do not waste any energy you could use for training and recovery arguing nutrition with a paleo. If necessary, find another trainer.

Any suggestions for losing weight at the same time as building muscle?
thanks,
Mkh9

Don't try to do both at once. Not even the pros try. It's very tricky, and not clear how to do. The problem is that building new muscle requires a calorie excess, and losing fat requires a calorie deficit. It's best to focus on a healthy diet and solid exercise. Let the excess fat get burned for energy while you get stronger. Then if more mass is really still your goal, change your training. The body will reshape itself over time.

[mkh9]

Thanks for your advice. I did tell my trainer that I can't do what he wanted diet wise. He said that's fine. I haven't been able to lose any weight and have a belly and can't stand my figure. But I do need to get stronger first and then build endurance. So I will do what you say in that order. I think the endurance training will burn the fat hopefully. Being on this diet the correct way will probably make me lose weight too because I was not doing it right until last week.

mkh9

[vgpedlr]

An important distinction to remember is that muscle mass and strength are not the same thing. You can build tremendous strength without building mass. Just take a look at sports that operate by weight class and look at the lighter weight classes. Especially in competitive Olympic weight lifting and power lifting, the lighter weight classes are phenomenally strong without being big.

[mkh9]

Yes, I mostly want to be strong, and look good, defined and build muscles so that I can do a lot. I don't want to bulk out. I still want to look very feminine. I also have cellulite and flab and a belly I want to get rid of. I don't weigh that much but I have always been athletic and thin and strong and independent. I want to go back to that and I like the idea I can now dead lift 60 pounds. (I know that doesn't sound much to a weight lifter) LOL, but if I can do more that is cool. But I don't want hurt myself after all my injuries. I was 140 lbs I have not been on the right McDougall diet because i was eating too much fat and carbs/ green veggie ratio. I only figured it out last week when my trainer pointed it out then I talked with someone on the Starch Solution FB page. I want to get back to 128 lbs and be 19% body fat like I was if possible. I went hypothyroid for a couple of years too. So I got that under control right now too. I know I was a serious athlete then but I want to become a serious athlete again. I am not working and need to get my health back after getting tendonitis, then a back injury, then a knee injury. So, now I am back to being able to most of my chores around the house and go to the gym and have a good workout. Keep moving forward. Last year I couldn't walk up the steps to get in the gym. This year I am almost recovered. So it is getting a lot better. I also have osteoporosis but that according to the standards they use which is a 30 year old and I'm 53. After sitting for 5 years due to chronic pain, a I probably have lost bone mass and definitely muscle mass. So, that is my goal. To get back to normal and then get back to being athletic.
mkh9

[VegSeekingFit]

Have had the same experience with trainers where they want to take over your diet when you have not sought their opinion. I agree with Vegpdlr to have the trainer agree to not speak of your diet if you are committed to this WOE (unless the trainer is McDougalling!). I was able to build muscle and get about the body composition that you're looking for by following McDougall and taking a boot camp class 3X / week an hour a time. I did not count macronutrients or calories... no animal products, starch based - low sugar, no additional fat. That was a few years ago and I have since quit boot camp. . Good luck on your journey!

[petero]

I haven't been able to lose any weight and have a belly and can't stand my figure. But I do need to get stronger first and then build endurance. So I will do what you say in that order. I think the endurance training will burn the fat hopefully.

If you want to focus on losing weight, my advice would be to follow the MWL Plan 100% and engage in some kind of sustainable daily cardio activity. The plan alone is more important than anything, but moderate to strenuous cardio will help to burn the fat off faster. The idea behind strength training is that muscle burns calories while at rest, but I would question the efficiency of that pursuit if your goal is to lose weight fast. Gaining muscle is going to require a calorie excess, while weight loss a calorie deficit, as other people have posted. I don't personally know anything about bodybuilding, but if popular wisdom is correct, you're not going to be able to reliably gain muscle without fat--that's why bodybuilders have a "cutting" phase. (If you have the time and desire, I would do some kind of weight lifting in order to maintain muscle mass, just not obsess over gains, esp. not as being important to weight loss. Diet is the most important thing for that.)