Can You Eat Your Way To Bigger Muscles?
Browsing the fitness section of the magazine stand will reveal dozens of headlines that seem to be the answer to your fitness and dieting questions.
I went to my local book store and browsed the fitness magazine section. Here is a sample of the headlines I found:
“709 Tips to get you Jacked”
“Get abs you’ve always wanted in less than 1 hour per week”
“16 Rules of fitness you MUST follow”
“Low carb diet risk”
“9 Biggest training traps to avoid”
“15 Foods that fight fat”
“78 simple ways to swap flab for brawn”
This is just a small sample of all the headlines I found.
It would probably take you the entire year to implement all of the “rules” and “tips” in these articles…and these are just the articles I found in the January issues! There are 11 months of magazines with “tips” “rules” and “tricks” to go for the rest of 2010.
This is an example of how the fitness/diet industry has to keep you guessing and thinking that you’re missing something important. All of this is in an effort to get you to buy this months magazine with the promise that you’ll find the right tips to get you the results you’re looking for. And of course, next months issue will have just as many tips tricks and secrets.
Within this ongoing flood of tips and rules is the dogma of eating to get bigger muscles. This is one of the most persistent fallacies of the fitness industry.
In this podcast we will deconstruct fitness headlines and get to the bottom of the eating to get bigger muscles fallacy.
John
Deconstructing Fitness Headlines and Eating Your Way to Bigger Muscles [67:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Can you send me a diet?
I don’t really believe you have to eat huge to get big muscles, actually I think you can’t eat big and get a lot of muscle mass because of that, I’ve tried it and while I did get a lot of mass once you go cutting and no I didn’t use a lot of cardio you don’t really end up with that much muscle mass so why eat big and get all the excess fat anyway??
So the whole deal with 1 or more pounds of protein per pound of body weight is useless or what?
Well 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight makes no sense because fat mass can massively change your bodyweight. It makes more sense to come up with a number of protein grams per pound of LEAN BODY MASS. So it’s really hard to interpret any research suggesting a relationship between grams of protein needed per pound of bodyweight because fat mass is not accounted for.
JB
Hi,
Based on current research, it appears that the protein requirements for heavy resistance training are between 1.5 and 2.0 g / kg of bodyweight, assuming that caloric intake and protein quality are adequate.
(Lemon, P.W.R. Effects of exercice on dietary protein requirements. Int J Sports Nutr 8:426-447. 1998)
I agree about the comment on lean mass, that one should reduce the amount of protein if he is very fat (should take his % fat anyway)
My question is Do you think that this formula is accurate or not?
Thank you
Math
Great podcast!
No more bulking!
This topic was a huge deal for me. Thanks guys.
Another one is: what about the timing and nutrients absortion?
Do the pre, during, post workout shakes work? Is the post-exercise “window of oportunity” a mith? Pre bed meals have any effect?
Thanks again!
Henrique,
Unfortunately there is no proof that those “windows” matter. Creatine is the only muscle building supplement that I can find research showing that it has an effect and it doesn’t matter when you take it.
JB
So on the topic of water.
how much is too much. Also i am a big fan of your site but there is the odd time you guys shoot some words that i can not understand, the word of the day which needs some explaning is intramuscular water.
Sorry for the mediocore post, I am just a regular guy without to much scientific knowledge who enjoys your posts
ddd,
The majority of muscle weight is water. The amount of water within a muscle will determine how big and full it looks and to some degree how strong it is. Fluctuations in this content can be what some guys are experiencing when they eat more food.
JB
Great podcast guys, but what about protein. Is it possible to eat extremely low amounts of protein daily ( 20 grams or less ) and still maintain muscle mass? All the other calories would coume from simple carbs and fat assuming you’re eating at maintenance.
Ken,
From the research I’ve seen I’d say you probably need more protein than that, but not a great deal more.
JB
In my short time in weighlifting, I have found
that everyone is uniquely different in how much
protein they need to consume to maintain muscle
mass.For me an ectomorph it is way up there 200 grams a day. 100 of which is whey protein.
Seriously how is 20grams of protein going to do
anything? Musle will not grow without copious amounts of protein, unless your some kind of genetic freak.
Hey John,
Off topic,but I have a question I’d love your expertise on. Can I email you?
Tracey,
you can email me at john@adoniseffect.com
Great podcast guys,
I like the way that it all comes down to one main point; keep it simple. Just break down muscle with simple movements in the gym, and don’t starve yourself, and you’re going to get gains.
I’m linking you in my blog. Thanks again.
John,
I really really am trying to believe what you said in the podcast, but then I ask myself, “How come Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds gained so much and they also had to eat a BUNCH!”
I really am confused because Taylor Lautner also said that he had to eat like every 2 hours in order to gain as much as he did.
Thanks,
Michael
P.S. I don’t exactly disagree with you either because I know you guys know what you’re talking about.
Michael,
I know what you’re thinking and I get how it is difficult to grasp.
A few points about using celebrity factoids. If you believe that these celebrities ate their way to bigger muscles then you are making all of the following assumptions:
a) They weren’t using drugs
b) This is new weight and they’re not simply returning to a bodyweight they used to be at
c) That they did in fact gain weight at all (do you have any proof that they actually gained weight and aren’t just lying)
d) that any weight gain was actually muscle (how do you prove this)
e) That the weight gain wasn’t just the addition of creatine and or water bloat
f) That none of the weight gained was fat
g) that the images you see of them are not enhanced in any way
h) they’re telling the truth about everything they did as far as eating goes
i) That the weight they gained (if at all) was not possible without the type of eating they are talking about (in other words, could they have gained the same amount of muscle without eating all of that food)
j) that they didn’t just gain fat and then diet it off and come right back down to the size they would be if they never overate in the first place
And I’m sure there are a couple others I’m missing as well.
The point is that you should be very skeptical when basing your workout and diet programs/goals around stuff you’ve read or heard from celebrities. You really have no proof at all that they did any of what they say they did…and beyond that, even if they did, you have no hard data on their actual measurements and bodyweight and body fat percentage, or if the story you read actually applies to them as you see them on screen/pictures/tv whatever, or if they’re just talking about a size they got to at some point during their training and were actually lighter by the time they were on screen.
I’m not saying that eating more food will have zero effect on muscle building (it might actually do something for younger guys who are still in juvenile muscle growth)…
what I am saying is that within the available scientific literature and based on everything I have researched about human physiology there is no scientific evidence I can point to that suggests eating excess calories will do much of anything for muscle growth. I will be the first to admit that the scientific literature is sparse in this area so there could be so magical number of calories nobody has ever studied yet…however there simply isn’t any scientific validation at this point.
BUT, you should also be skeptical of what I am saying. If you don’t believe me then you should test the theory out for yourself.
If you believe eating excess calories will cause you to gain muscles and not fat (or muscle along with some fat), then I encourage you to give it a serious try and please let us know how it works. If you do, can you let me know exactly how many more calories you’re eating, what your bodyweight is, how long you’re going to eat in excess for, how much weight you expect to gain, how you’re measuring muscle gain and how you’re measuring bodyfat.
I’m just as curious as you are to find out the answer (unfortunately I think I already know what it is)
JB
I went from 190lbs to 230lbs. in six months of
high calorie really healthy foods. I kept it as clean as possible. Ate about 4000 calories a day and gained quite a bit of fat. Excess calories no matter how clean will add fat. I now have to get rid of my man boobs.lol.Experimenting with your nutrition will give you huge results in the gym.Remember the saying “you are what you eat.”
John,
Thank you! This really was an eye-opener! I never really did think much about whether or not these actors are telling the truth or not and they are just actors. I also am the kind of guy that usually believes that “Hey, I’m going to try this” and then later I end up seeing something else along with another “Tip” and so on. I think I will be more careful about what I choose to believe when I read it. Also, I am sorry that I was unbelieving towards your study because I actually just read Brad’s email about the people who don’t believe it will work. I think I am going to trust you, afterall you have been working out and testing things way longer then I.
Thank you for your time!!
-Michael
p.s. I’m going to go over to Tristan’s interview now. I have yet to buy AI yet, but I plan on buying it sometime soon.
How about Eminem for people you love to hate? lol Brad Howard I give you less credit than you deserve. You’re teaching me some new shit man. Barban same deal. Barban is like my idol man lol. This guy knows EVERYTHING. I’m on Week 7 Day 4 of BURN and I’m kicking my ass at the gym, 4 days a week. I have a problem, though..I have a drug addiction. It’s really hard to keep that up and regularly workout, damn hard lol This was the best podcast I’ve heard from you guys so far. It’s so real, you guys are just being yourselves, two fitness guys chatting it up. Great stuff. I’m high right now.
Lol – thanks! (I think)
And come down soon.
I apologize for my comment. It was genuine but it could’ve been worded more nicely. It’s also really cool that these podcasts are available to non-customers too. You guys are giving out gold for free! haha I’m a Canadian from Montreal. On Monday I’m starting the Rage Workout Series, Fibonacci Pyramids Week 1, Day 1. My gym is awesome lol I love it, that helps me stick to it. OMG the horrid things I see at the gym lol bad form, too much stack, too LITTLE stack, that one bugs me the most lol, also big egos. Anyway, thanks for the golden info guys.
No apologies needed.
Remember, it is what it is and we’re all grown ups.
Keep up the good work.
B
From the Barbarians Blog:
http://pull-ups.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-01-24T12%3A05%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=15
High Protien Diets:
So how many of you guys follow typical bodybuilding nutrition? You know 5-8 meals a day 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight?
I used to and I had less muscle and quite a bit more fat. Since I switched to more moderate caloric consumption, basically following the USDA RDA (recommneded daily allowance) for calories and nutrients consumed I have dropped a lot of fat and continued to gain muscle slowly. It’s also a hell of a lot easier to manage my eating. Having to eat a “clean” high protein meal every two hours is a real hassle. Am I an outlier or have you guys had similar experiences. I know Rick is basically a vegitarian and it hasn’t hurt his progress at all.
Here’s a second question, how do you diet, do you eat differently or just less?
When I do I just cut calories but otherwise stick to an instinctive mix of foods. For me one thing that makes sticking to a restricted calorie diet is eating a lot of fiber (I love the various Fiber One products, try the Yogurt!), keeps me full longer and ensures that I get my daily quiet reading time
I don’t pay any particular attention to protein at all. I guess if I were to look through how I eat it would be relatively balanced throughout each nutrient, with carbs being the highest. I tend to eat more protein on the weekends simply because that is when I eat more beef/chicken/pork/seafood etc. During the week my protein consumption is probably anywhere between 50-100 grams per day…just a guess.
JB
Hi,
Whats your view on Leptin. Many “fitness experts” say that after a week of dieting, your leptin levels go down, and your body cant lose fat anymore. They say that you have to incorporate cheat meals into your diet to boost it back up. What is your view on this? Thanks
If you believe that then you would also have to believe that restrictive type anorexia nervosa doesn’t exist (which it does) and that people who are starving to death have excess bodyfat that they haven’t been able to burn off (which they don’t)
That’s all I will say about this.
JB
Remember, our genes are accustomed to the way our ancestors ate: intermittently, sporadically, sometimes in large quantities, and sometimes not at all for days.
I love this article!! I have been reading this blog for quite sometime now, and this is my first comment. I would like to tell you that I enjoy reading this blog, and that I love thought provoking articles like this!
I guess what it comes down to is what type of build you want. This AI index is par with staying
super lean and muscular with as little BMI as possible. Lean is in now, bulky is out. I like to study the originals, Reg Park, Steve Reeves. They had simple winning formulas and looked great. Thanks for having a forum to share information.
Really cool.
I cant understand that you would be able to gain muscle just eating at your BMR-level. If you BMR is 2000, above that you gain you say, and below that puts you in a dificit. But people would have to be completely inactive to not burn any more calories than what their BMR requires.
I cycle 15km each day, go shopping, meating friends, lifting weights.
I dont know exactly how much these activity burns. But i know that they put my energy expenditure up higher. My BMR is 1650cal. Lets say i burn up 2600cal in a day. Then i would have to be eating 2600cal a day to gain muscle?
Hope Im not totally wrong.. Im just confused. So please explain
Klund,
Eating at energy balance (BMR + daily activity) will maintain your bodyfat levels. The muscle building process is slow and there is no evidence that it takes any caloric surplus. Even if there is an extra energy requirement to ‘build’ muscle it would be readily available from bodyfat stores. So no matter what the case is there is always enough energy on your body to build muscle without being in a calorie surplus.
The surplus concept just comes from bodybuilding ‘bulking’ lore that is not grounded with any science.
JB
Thanks John
But that means if you’re in a calorie dificit and lifting weights you will be able to burn fat AND build muscle? Because the muscles can take what it needs to grow from the fat stores?
I think there is alot of confusion about the amount of protein needed. I think its alot less than most people think. I read recently that if you eat too much protein it turns to sugar in your bloodstream. Its apperently also very ageing and worse than any sunbed
Great post!By the way, how does this apply to ectomorph? They are genetically thin and have a higher metabolic rate so how does this apply to them? I have friends who are ectomorph and doing weights but really dont see any gain in size, so in terms of diet,how do we help a ectomorph put on significant muscle gain?
Thanks !!
I saw this site on Bing and have got to say these are good tips you have written about. I will have to put this into my diet regimen. Thanks again, I appreciate it!