Diet help for muscle gain

vikramtag

hello guys.. i have lost 21 kgs in 6 months ..lost a lot of fat along with a good amount of muscle.. Now my goal is to put on muscle.. I started eating a surplus of 200 calories a day for 3 weeks i seem to put on belly fat again ...Any advice on how i can put on muscle and lot put on fat. I seem to be doing ok with my protein intake and 200 calorie surplus. help is appreciated .. thanks in advance

vikramtag

Also i stopped doing cardio since i find it difficult to eat back the calories

livingleanlivingclean

To get muscle, lift weights

I probably would have "reverse dieted" a little more gradually than 200cals a day straight away. Have you got set macros? I find it easier to stick to macros, and increase them gradually (say 10g carbs a day for a week, or 5g fat, or 10g protein) depending on what your weight and skin folds do...

skinnyinnotime

hello guys.. i have lost 21 kgs in 6 months ..lost a lot of fat along with a good amount of muscle.. Now my goal is to put on muscle.. I started eating a surplus of 200 calories a day for 3 weeks i seem to put on belly fat again ...Any advice on how i can put on muscle and lot put on fat. I seem to be doing ok with my protein intake and 200 calorie surplus. help is appreciated .. thanks in advance

What is your protein intake? If it's what mfp has given you, it's way too low to build muscle on.

What is your workout plan/program?

default

What's your workout program?

a surplus of 200 cal a day isn't much and shouldn't be enough to enough to add a noticeable weight gain in a short period of time.

what's your average cal intake/day? what's your bmr? what's your workout program? Are you really logging everything?

when most people are in a bulk phase it's more than a 200 calorie surplus.

There's too much information needed to make a recommendation.

BigGuy47

Now my goal is to put on muscle.. I started eating a surplus of 200 calories a day for 3 weeks i seem to put on belly fat again ...Any advice on how i can put on muscle and not put on fat.

Putting on fat when bulking is part of the process. It's normal to add some fat while adding muscle. If you are in fact gaining muscle mass, keep it going and then cut to lose the fat added during the bulk. It sounds like you have a mental barrier to bulking, have a look at this:

http://www.jcdfitness.com/2009/10/the-former-fat-boy-syndrome/

You've only been at this for six months and you seem to be very impatient. Losing weight is easy compared to adding muscle. Muscle growth is long a slow process. Slow and steady progress is what it takes to make big changes. You need to arm yourself with patience.

Are you still lifting?
Getting enough rest?
Tracking caloric intake properly? Your MFP food diary appears to be empty.

uconnwinsnc

Lift heavy, eat protein.

ninerbuff

As mentioned, when one bulks to add muscle, invariably fat will accompany it. You just want more muscle than fat. Try getting in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and doing volume training to increase muscle hypertrophy.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Thorbjornn

Try getting in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight...

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

lrmall01

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

You'll get all kinds of different recommendations and I don't think there is really a definitive answer. 156 is probably your lower limit and 200 is a good target to give you some buffer.

Thorbjornn

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

You'll get all kinds of different recommendations and I don't think there is really a definitive answer. 156 is probably your lower limit and 200 is a good target to give you some buffer.

Thanks. I've read that a good start is about 170-175, which is my goal weight. Lyle McDonald says that goal weight as intake of protein is iffy unless you're going for about 10-20 % loss, which I am. So what you said falls right in. I guess I just wanted re-assurance and confirmation.

mmyers1129

ya stay with macros 200 cal isnt enough u will gain a little on the stomach but when you go cut you will lose that u need cal to gain muscle

frogmanlog

stop posting on forums and go eat.

Thorbjornn

ya stay with macros 200 cal isnt enough u will gain a little on the stomach but when you go cut you will lose that u need cal to gain muscle

Thanks. Yeah, it's a balancing act because I want/need to lose about 20-25 lbs, but I want to gain back muscle I lost over the past two years.

I started WW in Jan. 2012, took fitness classes up the wazoo, and lost size. Then I was out of commission from shoulder surgery, which messed with my head, I lost muscle and gained fat. D'oh! :sad: But now I'm on the come-back trail.

Fortunately I gain muscle fast and lose it slowly; UNfortunately the same holds true for my fat.

Thorbjornn

stop posting on forums and go eat.

I'm doing both right now. I'm a man of many talents.

Huffdogg

Try getting in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight...

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

Technically the accepted minimum is 1g per lb LBM, but there is some indication that it may be possible to utilize more than that, and there's very little potential harm in going over, so most people tend to err on the side of caution with 1g per lb bw. Plus it's easier to calculate for most people.

LishieFruit89

ya stay with macros 200 cal isnt enough u will gain a little on the stomach but when you go cut you will lose that u need cal to gain muscle

That doesn't really make any sense grammatically.

Also, everybody gains and loses weight differently so his surplus isn't going to go straight to his stomach - it's not like the extra calories are like "hey let's be stored as stomach fat!"

OP, eat a surplus, 200 cals is fine. I've seen as high as 500 cals suggested.
And use a progressive lifting program.

takumaku

Try getting in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight...

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

Technically the accepted minimum is 1g per lb LBM, but there is some indication that it may be possible to utilize more than that, and there's very little potential harm in going over, so most people tend to err on the side of caution with 1g per lb bw. Plus it's easier to calculate for most people.

I believe this is also true for fat and carbs as well. I.e. using LBM to calculate grams of fat and carbs required.

Thorbjornn

Try getting in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight...

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I never knew which it is... total body weight or lean body weight?

I am ~200 lbs +/- and ~22% body fat. My lean weight is ~156. So do I go for the 200 g of protein or the 156 g?

Technically the accepted minimum is 1g per lb LBM, but there is some indication that it may be possible to utilize more than that, and there's very little potential harm in going over, so most people tend to err on the side of caution with 1g per lb bw. Plus it's easier to calculate for most people.

Great, thanks. I think I'm in the right section and row, then.

fashionosack

If you want to quickly gain muscle, it would have to perform a large weight training law without hesitation, and continue to increase the weight. Large weight training is undoubtedly stimulate the muscles most direct and effective way, only high-intensity strength training in order to make the body adapt to the stress direction towards development, eventually forming a balance, increase muscle mass.