Ahh right ok yea, well i used to have that pro-mass drink at my old gym after a work out but i really can't stand the taste of milk-based drinks, i.e milkshakes etc... I see it's possible to take it with water too? I think i'll try that though, thanks alot for the tips, appreciate that. Anything else i should know or you recommend trying?
kk - I've posted this before but it was regarding losing weight, I have altered it for you for gaining weight.
To gain weight you need to eat more Kcals than your body needs but the type of nutrient will determine the type of weight you gain ie. If you don’t eat protein and only eat carbs and fats, you will gain weight but just put body fat on. If you eat approx 1.5 grams per pound of body weight (3.3 per kilo) you will gain muscle and just enough carbohydrates and fat to make this all work and not get too fat.
What is a Kcalorie?
A Kcalorie is not a nutrient, it is just a measurement of energy within a nutrient.
Macronutrients are proteins, carbs and fats and these are measured in Kcals.
1 gram protein = 4 Kcals
1 gram carbs = 4 Kcals
1 gram fat = 9 Kcals
1 gram of alcohol = 7 Kcals although we would term these as “empty” Kcals because they have no nutritional value.
There are examples of obese people that are malnutritioned because they have put gained weight eating or drinking high Kcal, low nutrient foods. Some examples of these are
Alcohol
Sugars
Processed Foods
High Fat foods etc.
Some examples of these high Kcal/low nutrition meals are
A KFC meal – 3 pieces chicken, chips and a cola is 1500 Kcalories.
A McDonalds average meal – 1500 Kcalories
A large Pizza can be 3000 Kcalories
The key is to eat high nutrition meals (get adequate nutrient for the recovery from the trauma of training) and growth.
Some examples of low Kcal/high nutrition meals/food/supplements are
A chicken breast, baked potato and veg is about 450Kcals
A Salmon steak, pasta and veg is about 550 Kcals
A grilled piece of white cod, rice and veg is about 400Kcals
2 boiled or scrambled eggs on 2 pieces of brown toast is 300kcals
A very big (250g) of green veg is only 60Kcals
I piece of fruit 60Kcal
A Pro MR (42g of protein) is 270Kcals
A Pro Recover is 300Kcals
So to increase the Kcal content of these meals, you can add extra protein or carbs or half a supplement drink.
Everyone has got a metabolism (metabolic rate) which is the speed that you burn Kcals (energy). Your metabolism is not how many kcals you need (use) a day, it is how many you can use per meal and you can metabolise these kcals about every 3 hours.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that are responsible for all metabolic reactions in the human body so eat your 5 fruit and veg a day or take a good vitamin and mineral formula such as Pro Vital which is an advanced multivitamin & mineral with antioxidants.
Water is the solvent that all metabolic reactions take place in, in other words, if you are deficient in water, your metabolism will slow down. I would suggest as you train hard that you drink at least 4 litres of water per day. Do not think that water will affect your body composition, yes, it can make you heavy on the scales if have drank and not urinated or sweated but the correct time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, after you have been to the toilet, on an empty stomach, this is your true body mass. all other times during the day , your weight because of hydration can vary. A pint of water (568ml) is about 1lb in weight, so you can fluctuate during the day quite easily. Water will not put mass on , it will only put water weight on and the morning of a weigh in, you will not be drinking water.
Macronutrients, as I said earlier (Protein 4 Kcals, Carbs 4 Kcals, Fats 9Kcals per gram) are measured in Kcals, and a Kcal is not a nutrient, it is the amount of energy in that gram of protein, carbs or fat. If you eat more kcals than you need per day or per meal, you will put weight on. If you eat fewer kcals per day or meal, you will lose weight.There are also kcals in alcohol, one gram of alcohol is 7 kcals, although these kcals we would term as empty because there is no nutritional value in them and your body can put fat on for alcohol.
If you eat too many kcals from carbohydrates and fats, the body will store those extra kcals for future use as body fat. If you train and eat too many kcals from protein, your body can store that extra protein as muscle, so very simplistically put, body fat is stored carbohydrates and fats (although in certain circumstances it can use protein) and muscle is stored protein.
If you cut back equally on protein, carbs, fats and alcohol (and you do it properly) your body will lose weight on the scales but may not look any better as it will cannibalise muscle AND fat, in effect photocopying yourself smaller but you don’t look any better at 12 stone than you did at 14.
You must keep your protein moderate to high, I suggest 1 gram of very clean protein (boiled or grilled fish, chicken, turkey) or egg whites or Pro MR or Pro MS (for women), per pound of body weight (2.2 per kilo) This way your body has no reason to cannibalise muscle for its shortfall in protein that you eat. Also, your metabolism will be faster, with the more muscle you have.
Basal (basic) Metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy used while resting in a normal temperature environment after fasting so that your digestive system is inactive.
Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is very similar to above.
Your metabolism can fluctuate depending on age, sex, time of day, activity and food intake. You can do nothing about your age and sex but you are in control of your activity (training) and nutritional intake especially late at night when your metabolism is slowing down.
We all require Kcals (units of energy) but our energy requirement should not be measured in a 24 hour cycle ie. How many Kcals a day I need. It should be how many Kcals I need PER meal. To keep your metabolism active (full speed) you should eat or drink approximately every 3 hours.
The Food Standards Agency and other regulatory bodies advise us to have 2000 Kcals a day (for women) and 2500 Kcals a day (for men) but if you only ate 2 meals per day, you would be eating over 1000 Kcals per meal and probably would not metabolise (use) that amount of Kcals.
Imagine a day’s worth of perfect nutrition in a jug (Protein, Carbs, Fats, adequate Veg and plenty of water) but you only put 2 cups (representing 2 meals) on the table and poured that jug of (2000 or 2500 Kcals) into those 2 cups, it would not fit in. The over flow (spilt nutrition) as it is not being used, would be wasted nutrients and as your body wastes nothing, would be converted to body fat for future use. If your metabolism slows down, the cups get smaller, when your metabolism speeds up the cups get bigger.
Now put 5 cups on the table (representing 5 meals approximately 3 hours apart) and have the same jug of nutrition. Now pour it in and it would all fit with no waste meaning all the nutrients are used by the body and as there is no over flow (spill) no new body fat.
If you regularly eat 5 small meals a day, your metabolism gets comfortable as it is getting lots of nutrients, it now speeds up. The cups get bigger you can now start eating more food and gain muscular weight without putting extra body fat on.
There are examples of obese people that have malnutrition because they are eating high Kcal foods but only twice a day which has also slowed down their metabolism.
If you restrict your kcals too much, your metabolism (metabolic rate) will slow down to protect itself from the rapid weight loss. A metabolism is like a fire, it needs to be stoked with a small amount of fuel (nutrients) every 3 hours, this way it will carry on burning and as long as you stoke that fire with a small amount of nutrients (Kcals) it will not go out (your metabolism will not slow down).
Links to CNP Products
Pro Omega -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/health-vitality/pro-omega-120-capsules.html/Pro MR -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/protein/pro-mr-advanced-meal-replacement-20-sachets.html/Pro MS -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/protein/pro-ms-meal-replacement-for-women-15-sachets.html/Pro Vital -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/health-vitality/pro-vital.html/Pro Hydrate -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/energy/pro-hydrate-500g-hypotonic-energy-drink.html/Pro Recover -http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/post-workout-recovery/pro-recover-1-28kg-16-servings-post-workout-recovery-drink.html/
Pro Flapjack -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/pro-flapjacks-24-per-box.html/Pro Bar XS -
http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/all-products/protein/pro-bar-xs-high-protein-12-per-box.html/
