posted
'cause I can't remember the titles of the previous ones people had here.
As per my trainer's advice, I'm going to start lifting 6 times a week. In theory. And cutting my cardio way, way back. What should my caloric intake be? I'm not trying to decrease my body fat percentage anymore...I'm just trying to build lots of lean muscle in my upper body. How much should I eat? My "starvation point" is 1650 calories a day.
What do YOU eat? Can it be something that does not involve twelve eggs a day?
posted
When I'm trying to build muscle, I eat a lot of skinless, grilled chicken breasts. And egg whites, but....
Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs Ev'ry morning to help me get large And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs So I'm roughly the size of a barge
Posts: 65 | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I KNOW I need more than 1650 calories a day. That's what I'm sayin'. I think most people assume that you have to have at least 1200 calories a day, but I need more than that just to...not go into starvation mode. I just don't know what that puts my muscle-building caloric intake at.
Also, I can't stop eating this chocolate cake...I'm almost regretting having made it (it was my boyfriend's birthday last week) because...I can't stop grabbing slices here and there.
posted
I've heard that tuna is a pretty good food to eat when on a program that involves a lot of weight lifting. I can't really back that up with anything more solid, though.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
For building muscle you need 1 to 2 grams per lb of body weight. Mostly from lean sources (chicken breast, milk, tuna etc).
Protein supplements can help too. I take Cytosports Cytogainer and Muscle Milk. They have other flavors. One serving of Cytogainer gives you 54 grams of protein, in water. Musclemilk is 34 grams of protein. Musclemilk is actually a mix of Whey and Cassein protein. Whey is broken down quickly so it gets in your bloodstream fast and heads off to muscles for repair. But it's also used for energy. Cassein is more complex and therefore takes longer to breakdown. So I take it just before bed to provide an immediate release as well as long term release of protein. I've found I also sleep really deeply. Muscle Milk is based on Colustrum, breast milk. I am sold on both those products.
You should also look at an NOS product, a vaso-dilator like Body Fortress NOS, BSN's No-Explode or Nitrix. The first one you can get at Walmart for $9. The latter are more expensive (~30-40 at the site I linked to for the protein, www.massnutrition.com. It has the absolute best prices of anywhere that I've found.) To be honest, though, BSN's No-Explode and Nitrix did NOTHING for me. I noticed not difference after a few months of regular use. So I just use the cheapo stuff from walmart. A vasodilator does what it says, dilates your veins. Nutrients and protein get to where their needed more quickly. It is claimed that you also can get an all day pump that makes you feel that you are bursting out of your skin. Never really noticed that, despite a very smart, controlled, heavy form emphasizing workout. But each person is different. A friend of mine says he feels that way after taking it and working out. There are also supposed positive sexual effects from the vasodilator, though I've yet to have an opportunity to test that area .
Finally, you need Creatine. It's just a staple, period. Cytogainer has 3g creatine, you can get creatine in foods, or you can get supplements. There are few types, non-estherized, which means you have to take it with some sort of sugar or with a meal (during the insulin spike). That's the delivery system. Estherized means you can take it without anything cause it has it's own delivery system. This allows you to workout longer with more endurance. It basically containes an extra phosphate branch that the used energy melecule ATP (adenisine TRI phosphate). which is now ADP (adenisine DI phosphate) can then use to become a loaded ATP molecule again. So you can go longer.
A word on cardio. You should keep at least a little. Not only does it help you cut up, which makes you look bigger, but it keeps your metabolism running higher, which will help your muscle growth.
Oh, and large muscle group exercises (Squats being the king, but deadlifts are another) kick the body into producing more testosterone. It's like literally getting a shot of testosterone, when you do this exercise. So at least once a week really hit this really hard. You will get bigger.
I'm sure you know eat 5-6 small meals (400-600 calories) per day. More if you have a fast metabolism. And of course drink water. Drink water until you can't drink anymore. If your urine is not pretty much clear, you aren't getting enough.
But be reasonable. Listen to your body. Go slow, forget your ego, focusing on the weight amount. Weights are a means to an end and mile post markers. But your goal is muscle growth/strength. Don't make it your life, but don't forget how you eat. Even if you have a fast metabolism and can eat anything without gaining weight, that won't help with muscle. While research has shown that one serving of alcohol can help with heart/muscle health, anymore than that will inhibit testosteron production and repair. So going out for beers after a workout will make your workout useless. Get at least 8 hours sleep. Watch out for overtraining.
Doing these things has allowed me to put on around 25 lbs of muscle in the past year. Not killing myself, having a life, and being modest about my goals, so that kind of improvement is something I am happy with. Slow but steady. Nothing is instantaneous.
posted
oops. Didn't realize you were female (what I get for reading too quickly). All of that is still true, but I was writing from the perspective of a male who wants larger balanced proportional muscular size, and not also maintain femininity. So take all of that in appropriate measure.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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quote:Muscle Milk is based on Colustrum, breast milk.
Quibble: Colostrum is the fluid that is produced for the first few days after birth before the actual milk develops. It's high in nutrients and antibodies but low in fat and calories. From the link "Muscle milk" claims to be based on breastmilk, NOT colostrum.
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posted
Yeah, true. But one review article I read said that that was one of the sources of its inspiration. Could be just a marketing mistake (and I retyped it without thinking), as you are correct about the differences in normal breast milk verses colostrum.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
Eat rice. Lots and lots of rice. Starch is the healhiest way to put on weight. And eating potato en masse is gross.
Swimming is still the best exercise you can do for what you want. Then walking. They each do the whole body really evenly, with more of a toning effect than a bulking effect.
[ December 19, 2006, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: cheiros do ender ]
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I can't do squats...I can't do anything that puts weight directly pressing down on my shoulders because of my scoliosis.
But yeah, I'm going to keep some cardio, except that now I'm not supposed to do more than 20 minutes at a time, fewer times a week. I've got low body fat now, so she said that if I kept up with the same amount of cardio it'd be like shooting myself in the foot.
Also, do any of those protein shakes not taste like chalk? I've been drinking those Isopures that are bright colors and come in SoBe bottles, but they sometimes make me sick to my stomach. I don't know why.
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They all taste different. Experiment. I found a brand that tastes a bit like a vanilla milkshake a few years ago, but I'd have to see the package to remember the brand it was.
Cherios is dead wrong on all counts for what you want to do, btw.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I hate bad tasting protein shakes. Even the 'chocolate' ones were terrible. But the cytosport ones are delicious. At least chocolate is. And it mixes really easily, so there are no clumps. I tried strawberry and really didn't like it. So I just stick to chocolate. Not chalky at all.
Rice and potatoes are not protein rich. To build muscle you need protein, period.
Instead of squats you can do leg presses, so that the stress is not on your lower back. Women have strong legs anyway, so as important as legs are (especially for guys- funniest thing is someone with a massive upper body and pencil legs. Talk about lack of symmetry) you don't have to blast them all the time.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
Yeah, I'm really toned from the abs down, but I can't seem to build upper body muscle for the life of me. But my arms do look better than they used to.
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I just don't know what that puts my muscle-building caloric intake at.
