"How Do I Gain Weight?"Written by JP Clifford
Try asking people how to gain weight and you'll likely see some bewildered faces staring back at you. For majority of people, hearing that question is akin to hearing questions, "How do I stub my toe?" or "How do I run out of gas?" Those confused faces not withstanding, question is a legitimate one and one that frustrates those who find themselves on light end of scale. While those on heavy end can't get through a commercial break or flip through more than five pages of a magazine without someone offering up a solution to their weight problems, it can be a lonely struggle for those who want to put on weight. If you are lucky enough to get a reasoned response to your question, it will probably involve words "eat more." That, despite being obvious, is great advice. Quite simply, to gain weight you will need to up your calorie consumption to point where you consume more calories than you expend. Couple an increased caloric intake with a little weight training and you have recipe for healthy weight gain. You may think you eat a lot, even enough to keep pace with your more weight-furnished friends, but you are probably over-estimating your intake. After a trip to doctor's office to rule out medical causes for your inability to bulk up(thyroid disease and other medical problems can hamper weight gain), a first step to designing an effective weight gain program is to journal your eating habits. Counting calories for a week will give you an accurate view of your diet. From there, increase your daily caloric intake by about 300-500 calories until you start putting on pounds. Keep in mind though, while your caloric intake will directly influence your bodyweight, it will be other factors like types of food you eat and your weight training regimen that decide type of weight you are putting on. So if you are after an aesthetically pleasing weight gain, that of lean muscle weight as opposed to just some extra body fat to lug around, it will be important to pay attention to these factors. To get most muscle out of your weight gain, avoid junk food and focus on eating whole foods. A good weight gain diet should be composed of 30-50% protein, 20-50% carbohydrates and 20-40% fat (the majority of which should be essential fatty acids). Different ratios within these ranges will work differently for different people. Keep up your food journal and experiment to find ratios that work best for you.
| | Are you Sabotaging your Training Efforts by Neglecting Basic Nutrition?Written by Barry Boswell
If you regularly train using cardiovascular workouts and a weight resistance routine while taking nutritional supplements but are not paying attention to basic nutrition than you are essentially throwing away a good portion of benefits you are gaining from your workouts. Basic nutrition is absolutely essential to making most of your sports training. Food calories supply energy and nutrients to body during exercise. Without proper basic nutrition you loss energy more quickly resulting in a less intense workout. While simple sugars are used up almost immediately, complex sugars or complex carbohydrates provide prolonged energy to muscles during exercise. Protein is composed of amino acids which support growing muscles. In fact, basic nutritional deficits can cause you to lose hard earned muscle to muscle tissue breakdown or catabolism. According to Joel Marion, prior Body for Life 2001 Grand Champion, not only are foods you eat important but proper timing in relation to workouts plays a vital role in maximizing your performance, optimizing fat loss, and minimizing muscle loss. The intensity of your workout is directly related to amount of calories and fat you burn. You can not be at full intensity if you are suffering from lack of proper nutrition. In addition, intense exercise can increase muscle loss in people who are not meeting their caloric needs.(1) There are six nutrients needed on a daily basis. These include: water, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates and proteins. There are three types of calories including: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Carbohydrates are converted to sugars during exercise. Complex carbohydrates are what your body needs to perform at optimum levels. Fats also fuel body for exercise. Saturated fat is what you should strive to avoid while monounsaturated fat is least detrimental to body. Protein helps build and maintain muscle mass.
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