Hardgainer Diet?

If you want hardgainer diet information then you’re reading the right post!

In yesterday’s blog post Hardgainer Workout I said I’d write more about what you should be eating if you’re a hardgainer and you want to gain some muscular bodyweight… because it’s VITALLY important.

In fact, I can say with absolute certainty that if you’re a “hardgainer” or think you might be one…

Your Problem Is What You’re EATING!

Actually, it’s what you’re not eating. You should be eating EVERYTHING. Do you know what a “see-food” diet is? It’s when “if I see it — it’s food!”

Seriously though, the problem most hardgainers have is they don’t eat enough, plain and simple…

“But I have a fast metabolism!”

That’s what most hardgainers think. And they’re not wrong–you do have a fast metabolism, but it’s not THAT fast. If you flood your body with 1,000’s of calories you’re going to start putting on weight. You just need to do it and do it consistently.

Ah yes, the very important word that makes the difference between success and failure when it comes to health and fitness…

Consistency is Key

Here’s where you usually go wrong. You remember you’re a hardgainer and you need to be eating a lot of food, so when you remember that day at lunch you go to McDonald’s and get the Big Mac, Fries and a soda — you eat a ton… but it’s still only about 1,500 calories or so.

Then you’re so stuffed you don’t eat anything the rest of the day until like 11 pm that night and you realize you’re starving… so you make a bunch of crap food… stuff you got out of a box and eat a lot of it (or ice cream or something like that)… still you may only eat 1,000-1,200 calories in that one meal.

At the end of the day you really only ate 2,200-2,500 calories and you wonder why you can’t gain weight.

You’re not being consistent!

You need to eat more than you’re eating now, each and every day. And it doesn’t matter if you think “I’m not hungry”. Because you probably will NOT be hungry. It’s the same thing with your workouts — do you need to feel like working out in order to do it? NO! You just go to the gym.

So here’s what I recommend for skinny guys, hardgainers or anyone else who wants to gain a whole bunch of weight, and do it without putting on much fat (Something most hardgainers fear more than death!).

The Hardgainer Diet

For 8 hours per day you will eat 3-4 meals no matter what. Most hardgainers don’t have an appetite when they wake up, that’s cool, because we’re going to do intermittant fasting. Why?

• Tons of health benefits
• You’ll gain more muscle instead of fat
• It’s an easy way to eat

When To Eat

Pick an 8 hour window. If you go to bed early from 12 noon to 8pm works well. If you’re a night owl you might want to start eating at 4pm and keep eating until 12am midnight. Get it? You don’t eat anything (but drink plenty of water, black coffee, or no calorie drinks) for about 16 hours each day … and FEAST LIKE A MOFO for 8 hours per day. Go crazy.

So each day for 8 hours you’ll eat your bodyweight x 20 in calories. Example: you weigh 150 lbs you’re going to eat 150 x 20 = 3,000 calories per day.

What you should eat

• Protein - meats, beef, chicken, fish, pork, salmon, whatever… focus on beef though — you need at least 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
• FAT - you need to eat a ton of dietary fat, it’s good for your testosterone and will actually keep you lean!
• Carbs - eat mostly complex carbs, potatoes, salads, veggies, pizza etc. Avoid french fries and other empty carbs
• Dairy - is great, milk, yogurt, eggs, etc

If you really want to gain a lot of weight, grab a half gallon of milk and in ADDITION to your 3-4 meals during those 8 hours, drink your milk the whole time, a glass or two at each little meal and you’ll polish off the half gallon in no time. That will get your calories up for sure — read my article on milk for more info.

Use fitday.com to keep track of how much you’re eating to make absolute certain you’re eating your bodyweight X 20 calories each day.

Start Slow

If you go from 2,000 calories to 5,000 calories in one day you’re going to get stuffed, not want to eat the next day, get sick, etc. Don’t. Gradually add about 500 calories per day until you reach your target amount of calories — don’ t sweat it if you’re a little over — round up.

If you’re good at paying attention to details and you’re good at sticking to diets and you PROMISE me you’ll still eat your bodyweight  x 20 in calories per day no matter how hard it is — you can use The Perfect Muscle Building, Fat Burning Diet Plan guidelines — which combines intermittent fasting and the anabolic diet.

So if you are skinny, skinny fat, or just want to put on some mass fast then this hardgainer diet is for you — enjoy!