One of the bases to gain muscle mass is to eat more than what we are spending, that is, to be in a hypercaloric diet. Although it is possible to gain muscle mass on a normal calorie diet, it is not the most efficient and the process is too slow to generate adherence, so normally, if you want to do things right, it is best to eat between 10-15% more of our maintenance calories.
An example of this is that if a person needs 3000 kcal to maintain weight, it will take between 3300-3450 kcal to gain muscle mass.
One of the biggest problems in this volume phase is digestive fatigue, that is, all the digestive problems that eating so much can cause, from lack of appetite for food to gas, diarrhea, etc.
Eat more liquid foods
When we refer to consuming more liquid foods, we are not referring to the use of sugary drinks, but through shakes (not necessarily protein), juices, etc.
We recommend that before using, for example, juices, you have a previous consumption of whole plant foods such as vegetables and fruits for healthy daily amounts of fiber.
With this strategy, we will advance gastric emptying and, therefore, we will not feel so full when the next meal approaches.
Do more daily intakes
Although the ayuno flashing It is a good strategy, it all depends on the context of the person.
It can be a good strategy for those who are losing body fat and who, by consuming few kcal, it is better for them to eat less but each have more volume of food.
In volume we look for just the opposite, make many intakes with the minimum volume of food possible to avoid digestive problems. So a good strategy would be to eat 6 meals of between 500-600 kcal, for example.
Eat more calorically dense foods
When we talk about consuming foods of this kind, We do not mean that there is an open bar of ultra-processed foods, but let’s change the potato for rice or pasta, since for every 100 g, they have a greater amount of carbohydrates, which makes it easier for us to reach the daily kcal.
Another example would be to replace certain kcal of carbohydrates with fats, although it is very important to consume a minimal amount of carbohydrates (4 g / kg / day) in order to perform well in the gym. Also, fat consumption is more easily stored as fat than carbohydrates.
Take intra workout
A very easy way to include kcal is to do a home intra-workout with, for example, 1 g of salt and 100 g of sugar for every 1.5-2 L of water. If we eat a diet rich in whole plant foods, we should not worry about adding some sugar, much less if we are training at a high intensity, in which carbohydrates are mainly used as a source of energy.
Organization
Gain muscle mass, unless you are going to compete and you are a great competitor, it is not going to feed you or make money with it, but it does not mean that, if you have set yourself to gain muscle mass as a goal, you do not have to give it importance, since it is something that you have decided.
So that a minimum of organization to train and to comply with meals It is something more than necessary if you do not want to go as a headless chicken.
In Vitónica | Guidelines for creating your bulk diet (I)
In Vitónica | Everything you have to take into account in your volume diet to gain muscle mass
Images | iStock