Why most gym-goers overeat.

“Eat big to get big” has to be one of the most overused phrases in gym culture. All bodybuilding/weight training enthusiasts have certainly heard this quote, and almost certainly applied it.

In all likelihood, you have tried to “bulk up” and cut.

In all likelihood, you have eaten more than 4 meals a day and an immeasurable number of calories.

Those are some of the greatest mistakes you could possibly make!

Once you do the maths, and actually logically analyse the science behind eating, you come to realise how this “bro science” is as far from the truth as you can get.

I myself fell for this, eating up to 6 times a day, with well over 500 calories over my maintenance level.

Now, of course, it is massively useful to have periods of time where you prioritize muscle-gain by being in a slight surplus, and periods where you prioritize aesthetics/leaness by being in a deficit.

Just don’t believe these periods have to be too marked and extreme!

Muscle-building is an extremely slow process.

Once it has been stimulated through proper training, it can not be hastened; while it may be slowed down by undernourishment or improper sleep, it has a maximum speed which no extra amount of protein powder and excess food could change.

More is not always better.

Once you’ve supplied your body with the necessary nutrients and energy, and the necessary only, any excess becomes counterproductive.

This is due to the fact that, while muscle mass increases slowly, fat can accumulate much more quickly.

Thus, trying to hasten muscle growth with more food will only make you fatter.

You will hardly need more than an extra 100 calories over your maintenance per day to maintain the maximum muscle growth rate. Maybe even less.

If you have excess bodyfat, and you are in a caloric deficit in order to lose it, if the deficit is big enough (>300kcal), you will have the necessary energy to build muscle, since the consumption of your fat coupled with sufficient nutrition from your diet (in terms of nutrients) will give you both the necessary building blocks and energetic needs for it.

And if you want to gain muscle, only a slight, consistent surplus will be necessary to satisfy the growth mechanism’s demands.

Eating would become insufficient only if you’re either exactly maintaining, and thus, your body does neither have enough external energy for building, nor is lacking enough to tap into its fat reserves; or you’re in a deficit big enough so that you are not getting enough nutrients from your diet and the caloric needs are so big that the fat can’t be burnt fast enough, and thus the burning of muscle tissue starts to take place.

Therefore, if you are already lean, just eat a little above your maintenance, in order to not gain any fat.

And if you have to lose fat, eat in a deficit, until you become both bigger and leaner. Yes, muscle can be built at its maximum possible rate without gaining any fat (even losing some)!

No, bodybuilding isn’t “80% diet, 20% training“. Training is a precondition for muscle development, and the diet is just meant to fuel it, not regulate its speed.

No diet will be magical without proper training. (Of course, if you are unhealthy or undernourished, no training will be effective either!)

The misconceptions about protein and carbs.

Now, given that most dietary tips about weight gain and loss are false, let me just pop your balloon even harder: no, you don’t need precisely-timed post- and pre-workout meals.

A common misconception is that you need carbs before training because they “give you energy”.

No! If you eat carbs now, they will get processed in a few hours and provide you with energy maybe the next day. They don’t give you momentary energy.

At most, the blood-sugar increase their consumption causes may give you a little boost, but that boost is followed by an even harder crash afterwards.

Eat your carbs evenly with your meals, but mostly for dinner, to have them as true energy stored in the muscles for the next day.

Don’t shove loads of oatmeal down your throat every morning thinking that it will make your workouts better…

And now we come to the greatest of misunderstandings: protein.

No, eating more protein does not hasten muscle growth; eating between 0.7 and 1 gram per pound of bodyweight will satisfy all needs.

No, protein does not need to be consumed immediately before and after workouts; a sufficient daily amount is enough (it is true that it is abosorbed more efficiently after working out; but the timing doesn’t need to be too precise).

No, the intake does not need to be chopped-up into 40g meals; no matter how you ingest it, the body will absorb the necessary amounts, and metabolize the rest into energy.

Frequency and meal distribution

With all of this in mind, it should become clear that eating just 1-3 meals per day, all while satisfying your nutritional and caloric needs, is enough.

In fact, what I recommend the most is to eat just lunch and dinner, train fasted in the morning, and eat until you’re satisfied and your macronutrient needs are approximately met.

Track everything, of course, but don’t obsess over it.

(Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day, in fact, it may even be counterproductive!).

This will allow you to regulate your caloric intake, have fewer, more filling meals, train with an empty stomach (which is generally more comfortable), and never go to bed hungry!

Eat for health.

In the end, the most important factor is to be healthy!

Health is a precondition for any training to work effectively; but also to feel happy, motivated, and willing to commit to productive activities.

And there is no way to be healthy with your digestive system operating at its limit all the time, by consuming excessive amounts of food.

There is no way to be healthy with your bodyfat going from obese level to 6% back and forth.

There is no way to be in vibrant health if your body is jammed with an excessive amount of foods that it has to dispose of.

Remember, more is not better; better is better!

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