Gain weight or muscle mass??

[Tsai li fu]

Alright, i need a some expert opinons on this no big deal. I want to be able to gain a little bit more weight in muscle mass so what kinds of healthy foods should i intake? I don't think gaining weight would do much help so muscle mass is a different story. But its true you gain more weight if you gain more muscle mass correct?

[Toby]

But its true you gain more weight if you gain more muscle mass correct?

No. What if you just sit around on your ass all day? You won't gain much muscle mass doing that. If I wanted to gain muscle most effectively, I'd follow a hypertrophic workout and eat lots of protein.

[Ford Prefect]

I agree. You need a good amount of carbs as well to recover from glycogen depeletion. The percentage of protein - carbs depends on your body type and metabolism. Good fats like nuts should constitute a small portion of your diet as well. Unless you are a genetic freak or on roids, you will expect to gain some fat with the new muscle.

[Tsai li fu]

You might've misinterped with what i was trying to say. Basically, i was trying to add a little bit more weight with muscle mass. I'm not trying to gain muslce for ''the look'' i just wanted to add more weight on along with the muscle, nothing really. The muscle is there

[Mo Lung]

There are three ways to gain weight:

1. Put on more fat

2. Put on more muscle

3. Carry a brick or something with you everywhere

If you want to gain weight you will have to put on some fat or muscle or both, there's no other way. Obviously, best not to gain any unneccessary fat, therefore, try to gain muscle by lifting heavy and incresing your protein and carb intake as suggested above.

[scotty1]

Hi Ford,

The percentage of protein - carbs depends on your body type and metabolism.

Would you mind expanding on that? I'm an ectomorphic 5'9" 70kg

[Ford Prefect]

Scotty,

It's really something you need to toy with because optimal gaining is different for each person. As a general rule, ectomorphs will need to consume more calories than other people to gain the same amount of weight. I'd start with a 40-40-20 diet break down where 40% is carbs, 40% is protein, and 20% is good fat. Start eating 18x your body weight in calories every day. Break up meals into 5-7 meals/day. Always try to avoid mixing high carb and high fat meals. Meals should either be High Protein-Fat or High Protein-Carb. Never High carb alone or with high fat.

Give yourself a month to see what happens. If you aren't gaining, up your caloric intake. If you are gaining too much fat drop the carbs a little... etc etc.

[Tsai li fu]

Thanks for the info, mind you that i have a high metabolism (maybe because of age, i'm 18) it's probably genetics thats all.