Meal Plans (Part 1)

Well, it took me long enough, but in last week's blog I finally got around to the boring maths part of helping us to calculate and have a good idea of our macronutrient ratios and caloric breakdowns. However, as important and useful a tool as the important values are (total caloric demand, protein/carb/fat demand etc), I think that seeing a few examples of muscle-gain menu plans will make things less confusing.

On my part, I make no secret of the fact that I use the former Governor of California's diet plan guidelines - the man has forgotten more about proper diet and nutrition than I'm likely to learn, and I believe His qualifications make this an appreciable example to follow. Since it is not recommended to suddenly introduce such large volumes of food into your system that your body may not be able to handle, the program for your muscle-gain diet is constructed on three levels, to be followed in this order:

1. Begin eating according to Level I, and continue on this level until you stop gaining weight, then go to Level II


2. If after 3 weeks you are not gaining weight on the Level I diet, go on to Level II


3. Once eating on the Level II diet, continue on it as long as you continue to gain weight. When the weight gain ceases, go on to Level III


4. If after three weeks on Level II you don't experience any weight gain, go on to Level III
   

Stuffing a lot of calories into your system is not a good idea, as I have mentioned in previous blogs. The digestive system simply can't handle this volume of food. So to eat a lot more, you have to eat more often. This is why it is recommended to eat more than three meals a day in order to spread your caloric intake out. It would be better to eat four meals, and to supplement your food intake with high-protein drinks - drinks that contain large amounts of easily digestible amino acids.

Muscle-Gain Menu Plan

I've talked about the need for sufficient protein to support muscle growth and how slow gainers also need an overall increase in calories to support their very fast metabolisms. However, while this kind of eating plan is primarily for those who tend to be ectomorphic, I want to caution again that just because you tend to be very lean doesn't mean that eating a lot of junk food and empty calories is good for you. Train hard and eat more, fine. But try to eat clean, to eat nutritious meals. After all, you can't gain muscle if you lack energy and don't have the nutrients you need in your system.

Of course, those who are already heavy eaters may be surprised at the following muscle-gain recommendations, but ectomorphs are generally very lean, not only because of their fast metabolisms, but also because they tend to be big eaters in the first place. However, if you are an ectomorphic type yet find that the Level I diet or even the Level II is actually a lot less than you normally eat, obviously you are going to have to increase your food intake even further and go right on up to a higher level. Adjust caloric intake up or down to suit your individual needs. Just make sure that the food you eat is wholesome and nutritious.

If you eat according to the menu plans that are detailed in my upcoming blog, and supplement your meals with the recommended protein drinks, you will be getting more than enough protein and shouldn't give it another thought. For ectomorphs, who have a great deal of problems adding body weight, the key is hard training and a lot more calories, not any lack of protein. To demonstrate this, I will be including the approximate protein content of each of the suggested meals.

To be continued...