Everything you do in the gym is breaking your body down. What you put in your mouth is ultimately going to determine how much Muscle you build. Yet, most people focus so much on trying to fix their training that they neglect the thing that really needs their focus – their diet. As a hard gainer you have got to eat more than most people in order to achieve gains in lean muscle mass. Without a caloric surplus in your diet you will never gain muscular body weight.

An easy way to calculate how many Calories you need to be consuming each day is to multiply your current bodyweight in pounds by 20. So, if you are currently 160 pounds, then you need to be consuming 3200 calories per day to provide the nutritional tools that your body needs to build muscle.

Those 3200 calories need to be consumed throughout the day over the course of 6 meals, with three hours between each feeding. Each Meal will be around 530 calories. The ideal macronutrient break-down for each meal will be 50% complex carbs, 20% protein and 20% fats. This should provide you with around 1.25 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

The following are your preferred protein sources:

• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Whey protein powder
• Lean beef
• Chicken breast
• Lean pork
• Fish

Make sure that you’re also taking in plenty of the following starchy and fibrous carbs:

• Potatoes
• Yams
• Brown rice
• Corn
• Pumpkin
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Brussels sprouts
• Cauliflower

Why You Should Eat More Frequently (And How to Do It)

The way that the majority of people in the Western world eat is the mirror opposite to the way that they should eat. This probably explains why we are drowning in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Consider the traditional 3 meals per day that we’ve all grown up on.

After six to eight hours of fasting, our bodies need the energy that breakfast promises. However most people don’t give their bodies the fuel they need at the start of the day. They either skip breakfast all together, or they shovel heavily processed, sugar-encrusted cereals down their throat. That’s usually chased down with coffee – and more sugar.

As a result of these less than ideal breakfast choices, many people get hungry around 10am. Muffin break anyone?

For many people lunch consists of a mix of processed carbohydrates and fat – with a soft drink chaser.

By the time dinner rolls around, most people are starving. They load their plates to the hilt and then eat like there’s no tomorrow. When they finally walk away from the dinner table they are so gorged with calories that all they want to do is sleep – which is exactly what they do. And what happens while they sleep? All those calories are going straight to their belly!

Today you are going to learn a better way – a way that will not only stop your fat accumulation in its tracks but that will actually reprogram your body from a fat storage warehouse into a fat burning super furnace.

YOUR NUTRITION GOAL: Eat every 3 waking hours

Forget about the traditional 3 meals per day eating plan. It is bad for you. From now on you will eat more often and on a regular schedule. Each meal will be about the same size. As well as preventing binge eating and grazing, eating regularly will allow a constant flow of energy to your system. The very act of digesting your Food will also rev up your metabolism.

Making it Work for You

In order to be able to stick with an eating plan it has to be easy to work with. That means it should be easy to prepare, easy to carry your food with you so that you avoid convenience eating and easy to eat. In order to do that you will prepare your meals ahead of time and store them in Tupperware containers. Every meal will combine protein and carbs. Getting into the habit of prepping your food ahead of time will allow you to have the food ready to eat right when you need it. That, in itself, will go a long way toward helping you to stay consistent with your 80% clean eating diet plan.

Putting your food in Tupperware encourages you to eat the food that you’ve prepped, making it easy to eat healthy. This system will prevent you from cheating, putting you on the path to automatic consistency. Also, with this system you only have to cook once every 4 or 5 days. That saves you having to wash pots and pans, rush around after work while you’re starving and stopping in at McDonald’s just to get you through. Prepping your food and putting it in a container will save you between 7 and 14 hours every week.

A key to success with this system is to keep your food choices limited. Stick to just one or two carb and protein sources for the week. If you do this you will be able to prepare your entire food for the week in less than two hours.

Supplement with Creatine

There are dozens of supplements on the market that guarantee to get you bigger and stronger, faster. You need to walk right on past the whole lot of them – and grab yourself   a container of Creatine monohydrate. Here’s why.

Creatine is going to improve your workout performance. It will also increase your muscle strength. This will lead to stronger and bigger muscles if you stress the muscles properly through intense, progressive resistance training. Creatine will also lead to decreased recovery time. There is also evidence to show that it helps with neurological function.

Creatine will also draw water into your muscle cells, which aids in hypertrophy (muscle building). In addition, creatine will allow you to recover more quickly between workouts and give you more energy for longer, harder workouts. In addition, it will aid in fat loss by increasing your metabolism.

Look for a creatine monohydrate product that contains CreaPure, a superior German manufactured creatine blend. Take 5 grams every day.

SUMMARY

• If you want to gain and keep muscle mass, you must have a dedicated nutrition plan.
• To figure out your daily caloric intake, multiply your current bodyweight in pounds by 20.
• Try to eat every 3 waking hours in order to maximize energy to your body and minimize food cravings.
• Look for a creatine or protein boost to supplement your diet.