The Best Way To Make Fat Free Muscle Gains

If only we could all make fat free muscle gains, there would be no need for cutting, and certainly no need to carry around excess, useless and unsightly blubber whilst bulking. While some people seem to be capable of achieving great muscle gains whilst remaining as lean as a runner bean, most people believe it’s either physically, mentally, or practically (due to lifestyle) beyond them. What then, can the average person do to make the whole bulking process less fattening? It really all comes down to one thing, but there are multiple facets within this one thing that need to be done correctly. Let’s uncover what this thing is and what it involves.

Stable meal plans are the most sensible option for fat free gains!

I’ve tried bulking by eating anything at any times, and I’ve got to tell you – it’s impossible to know where you are. Some days you may under eat, some days you may maintain, other days you’ll go over. But, in your quest to ‘be sure’ you go over maintenance and into anabolism, you’ll overeat on the whole leading to fat gains.

When you have stable meals you know what you’re eating calorie wise and macronutrient wise so you can adjust as necessary if you start gaining too much fat, etc.

When you take an ‘eat whatever, eat whenever’ approach, the macronutrient breakdown of what you eat will be very inconsistent, and despite what some people claim it’s not simply ‘calories are calories’ – different macronutrients play very different roles and have different effects on fat gains.

Carbohydrates cause most fat gains because they have the biggest effect upon insulin secretion. Carbohydrates are useful for energy but if consumed regularly throughout the day, you are opening yourself up to increased fat storage – particularly with higher GI carbs. The secret to carbs is to use unrefined carbohydrates, and have them at 3 times only: Breakfast, Pre-workout and Post-workout. These are the times when carbs are used in their most productive capacity – energy replenishment.

Fats are the most calorie dense macronutrient, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid them. You need healthy fats to maintain hormone balance. Saturated fats, for instance, are needed to maintain testosterone levels – just try gaining muscle without sufficient testosterone (men only need look at how women don’t put on anywhere near as much muscle as men to see this in action).

Protein is the only nutrient capable of repairing muscle. Even vegetarians have to get protein from somewhere. If you are a meat eater you have a huge advantage as lots of complete proteins (with all essential amino acids) are available to you, including the granddaddies: whole egg, milk and beef.

It’s been proven that higher protein intake correlates with higher lean muscle gains. It’s often said you should try to get 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight, and this is a good number to aim for. Remember, the idea of lots of protein isn’t merely to provide ample ‘muscle building nutrients’ but to provide surplus calories (which you do need to accommodate growth) without having to resort to lots of fattening carbs! Therefore, by ramping up your protein intake and fat intake you get to use less carbs but still make your daily calorie needs.

Eat small protein (and fat) rich meals every 3 hours to keep the metabolism going. And if possible minimize the mixing of fat and carbohydrates in each meal which is a fattening combination.

Always monitor your bodyweight and fat gains using scales and calipers. You want to eat sufficient amounts to grow muscle, without lots of extra calories spilling over into fat tissue, so adjustments will need to be made to your diet, particularly as your body weight and composition changes.