Eating To Gain Muscle

Many bodybuilders, young ones in particular, start out relatively underweight, in a "Hey, skinny, your ribs are showing" state. For them, gaining muscle will involve:

1. Stimulating muscular growth by heavy, intense, consistent bodybuilding training.
   
2. Eating a sufficient amount of protein to fill the demand for amino acids created by the training.
3. Increasing overall caloric intake to a sufficient degree to support the demands of intense exercise, but not so much as to create an unwanted gain in body fat.
4. Keeping your aerobic training to a healthy minimum, no more than 30 minutes a day, 4 or 5 days a week.

To give you a head start when it comes to planning your weight-gain diet, I have outlined a sample diet plan you can follow, or use as a guide in developing your own. Since I don't think you ought to suddenly introduce such large quantities of food into your system that your body may not be able to handle them, the program is constructed on three level, to be followed in this order:

1. Begin eating according to Level 1, and continue on this level until you stop gaining weight, then go on to Level 2.
2. If after 3 weeks you are not gaining weight on the Level 1 diet, go on to Level 3.
3. Once eating on the Level 2 diet, continue on it as long as you continue to gain weight. When the weight gains cease, go to Level 3.
4. If after 3 weeks on Level 2 you don't experience any weight gain, go on to Level 3.

Stuffing a log of calories into your body at one time is not a good idea. 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 I recommend eating more than 3 meals a day in order to spread your caloric intake out. It could be better to eat 4 meals, and to supplement your food intake with high protein drinks--drinks that contain large amounts of easily digested amino acids.

LEVEL 1
Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
- 2 eggs, preferably poached, but any style okay - 1/4 pound meat, fish, or fowl - 8 ounces whole milk - 1 slice whole-grain toast with butter (Protein = approx. 52 grams)	- 1/4 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese - 1 or 2 slices whole-grain bread - 8 ounces whole milk or fresh juice (Protein = approx. 43 grams)	- 1/2 pound meat, fish, or fowl - Baked potato with butter or sour cream - Large raw salad - 8 ounces whole milk (Protein = approx. 48 grams)
LEVEL 2
Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
- 3 eggs, poached or any style - 1/4 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese - 8 ounces whole milk - 1 or 2 slices whole-grain toast with butter (Protein = approx. 61 grams)	- 1/2 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese (or any combination) - 2 slices whole-grain bread with butter or mayonnaise - 8 ounces whole milk - 1 piece fresh fruit (Protein = approx. 71 grams)	- 1/2 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese (or any combination) - Baked or boiled white or sweet potato - Large raw salad (Protein = approx. 59 grams)
LEVEL 3
Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
- 4 eggs, poached or any style - 8 ounces whole milk - 1 or 2 slices whole-grain bread with butter - 1 piece fresh fruit (Protein = approx. 72 grams)	- 1/2 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese - 1 or 2 slices whole-grain bread with butter or mayonnaise - 8 to 16 ounces whole milk - 1 piece fresh fruit (with cottage cheese if desired) (Protein = approx. 74 grams)	- 1/2 to 1 pound meat, fish, fowl, or cheese (or any combination) - Baked or steamed potato, or baked or boiled beans - Lightly steamed fresh vegetable - Lightly steamed fresh vegetable - Large raw salad - 1 piece fresh fresh fruit - 8 ounces whole milk (Protein = approx. 112 grams)