Does it matter where the calories come from? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

ASU2003 · 05-31-2006, 08:43 PM

If you are tying to gain muscle, and are exercising a lot, does it matter what types of food you eat to accomplish this? Would eating pizza and beer, (3000 calories) make you build the same amount of muscle as 3,000 calories of chicken and protein shakes? Obviously there is the fat content, maybe I should have said apples, fruit juice and low-fat yogurt instead of pizza & beer.
It seems that people what people eat does effect their body shape. You don't see many fat vegetarians, and you don't see many skinny pizza eating beer drinkers. But, could the pizza types exercise off the fat calories they consume and be in shape (except for their arteries).

Is it more important to eat more calories than you consume to gain muscle, rather than eating healthy foods but not enough?

Willravel · 05-31-2006, 08:48 PM

It is important that your calories come from relatively natural sources. High fructose corn syrup has calories. Trans fat has calories. Gasoline has a ton of calories.

If you'r looking to increase muscle mass, eat a ton of healthy food. I know pizza and beer are delicious, but they are full of what is popularly called 'empty calories', or calories that didn't bring any friends. You want your calories to bring friends like natural protien, fat and carbohydrates, in addition to vitimans and minerals. I could give you a thousand different recepies for healthy foods, but I suspect that ASU know what is and isn't healthy.

ASU2003 · 05-31-2006, 09:05 PM

I do eat healthy foods, but I don't eat quite enough probably. And my cooking skills are very limited. Throwing some chicken or fish on the George Forman grill is the extent of my abilities.

And am I correct in theorizing that you have to eat the right amount of good food and work out enough to convert it into muscle? Or is it possible for your body to convert the fat stored in your body into muscle? And if you don't have fat stores and aren't eating enough, then you won't see any increase in size from working out. And does that mean that by eating pizza (or excess carbs, fats, or protein) for a few months to have the nutrients your body needs on hand to build new muscle, that you could gain more muscle than by eating 2,000 healthy calories when your body wants 3,000.

I probably need to work on increasing both food intake and exercise.

Willravel · 05-31-2006, 09:10 PM

Fat doesn't turn into muscle, it turns into fuel for the muscle. Protien turns into muscle. Eat a big breakfast (oatmeal + fruit + egg or nuts), 6 full size sandwiches, and a large dinner every day and you will grow. Be sure that you even it out with proper weight training and aerobic exercise, so you don't just build up your body fat.

stevie667 · 06-01-2006, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willravel

Fat doesn't turn into muscle, it turns into fuel for the muscle. Protien turns into muscle. Eat a big breakfast (oatmeal + fruit + egg or nuts), 6 full size sandwiches, and a large dinner every day and you will grow. Be sure that you even it out with proper weight training and aerobic exercise, so you don't just build up your body fat.

Bump to that.

Basically, cut down on fats, raise your low GI carbs (brown rice & wholemeal bread e.t.c) and eat as much protein as you can.

The idea of getting more calories is that working out damages the muscle, and they need energy to repair themselves, along with protein to do the job. Not enough protein will mean no muscle growth due to lack of raw materials, lack of energy will result in the same thing, your muscles will have no fuel.

Whilst it is entirely possible to eat 3000 calories of fats and protein for all your needs, you'll look like a blimp, and have some health issues along the way. 'bad' carbs, such as sugars, white breads e.t.c will more often that not be digested and absorbed into your blood much too quickly for them to be any use over the length of time needed for muscle repair.

Alcohol is also a kick in the teeth when trying to build muscle, unless you have super-man genetics or a chemistry lab behind you.

dman2 · 06-01-2006, 08:52 AM

I listen to a radio talk show on the weekend that is called The New You show. Anyway, I think I remember them saying it does not matter what you eat, as long as the # of calories is still the same. I am not saying if you only eat donuts that you will be healthy, but if you only eat donuts, you will only be able to eat a very few before you reach the maximum calorie intake for the day. Is there any truth in this? It sounded strange when I heard it but it did make some sense.
A person will normally eat a variety of foods throughout the day and if they are weight conscious, they will count calories. I don't eat the same thing every day but generally eat the same amount of calories in a day. That is kind of how the weight watchers program works. There are different point values for each food you eat. So if you eat a high calorie food, the point value will be much higher.
If you eat a healthier food with fewer calories, it just means that you can eat more of it and thus providing your body with more fuel for energy, etc.

ironman · 06-01-2006, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dman2

I think I remember them saying it does not matter what you eat, as long as the # of calories is still the same.

That is true only for maintaining certain weight, but that doesn't mean it is healthy, in order for your 2000 calories a day to be a good diet, the calories most come from different food groups. It is possible to get 2000 calories a day only from ice cream, but in the long run you will have deficencies, you will be malnutritioned (if that's even a word) but retain certain weight.

stevie667 · 06-01-2006, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironman

It is possible to get 2000 calories a day only from ice cream, but in the long run you will have deficencies, you will be malnutritioned (if that's even a word) but retain certain weight.

I believe its 'you will suffer malnutrition', or a nasty case of terminal death.

soccerchamp76 · 06-01-2006, 03:43 PM

Sure, for maintaining weight, it does not matter where the calories come from. Keep in mind though, your body needs protein, cholesterol, and vitamins to function. Thats why a balanced diet is the best.

For weightlifters, it isn't the calories you need, as somebody mentioned above, it is the protein. Proteins are the building block and are full of amino acids that your body needs as well. Good sources of protein for shakes are whey protein. My favorite source is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Grill the chicken, tastes wonderful, almost no fat, and full of nice protein.

Key · 06-11-2006, 06:44 AM

When you're weight training to gain mass, what you need to focus on is calories first, protein second, and then the other nutritional requirements.

Calories is KING. a calorie is a calorie. if you need pizza to get you to 3,000 calories (or whatever your daily goal is), DO IT. if you're at 2,500 calories before bed, and the only thing you have are fries and pizza, EAT THEM.

empty calories just means they have no OTHER nutritional value, no micronutrients. no vitamins, no other goodness. an "empty" calorie has the same energy as a "non-emtpy" calorie. when people say sugar and candy are empty calories, they'll still put muscle on you.

make sure you're getting at LEAST 1.0g protein per body weight, 1.5g is better but it doesn't hurt to go even more. on a bulk i'll sometimes get 1.7-.2.0g instead of 1.0-1.5g.

30% of your calories should come from FAT. if you need 3,000 calories, that's 1,000 you need from fats. don't get 2,000 calories of carbs and 1,000 protein, you need the fat. of these fats, try and get healthy fats. monnounsaturated or polyunsatured, as little saturated as possible.

make sure you're getting a multivitamin daily to make sure you're getting enough vitamins, if you're worried about eating a lot of empty calories. if you're eating mostly whole weat, vegetables and fruits that are packed with vitamins, you might be ok without one.

the fear of say, 3,000 pizza and fry calories vs. 3,000 whole wheat and peanut calories is that the pizza and fries will be high GI carbs and lots of saturated fats, leading to higher cholesterol (congrats - you're big and strong, but your heart's about to explode).

you can bulk on ice cream. just uh, not ONLY ice cream ..

back to calories vs. protein real quick. if you have a choice: to get less calories (than your goal), but your full dosage of protein VS. your full dosage of calories but LESS than your dosage of protien .. take the calories. but again this is a worst case, it's not hard to get your minimum amount of protien, it's hard as heck to get your caloric intake, it's constant eating.

figure out what your base calories are. 2500? 2800? whatever it is to maintain the weight you're at. eat the same amount of calories every day for a week to make sure that's your base calories. add 200-300 for the next week. weigh at the end of the week to see if you've gained weight. if not, add 200-300 for the next week, etc. until you start seeing gains.

counting calories is SUPER important when you're weight gaining, if you're serious anyway. get an account at www.fitday.com (i do not represent them in any way) to help with that.

i SUCK at cooking too, but believe me it's not that hard to get the proper amount of calories and a huge amount of protein daily, if you'd like i can list some of my "meals".

05-31-2006, 08:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	Does it matter where the calories come from? If you are tying to gain muscle, and are exercising a lot, does it matter what types of food you eat to accomplish this? Would eating pizza and beer, (3000 calories) make you build the same amount of muscle as 3,000 calories of chicken and protein shakes? Obviously there is the fat content, maybe I should have said apples, fruit juice and low-fat yogurt instead of pizza & beer. It seems that people what people eat does effect their body shape. You don't see many fat vegetarians, and you don't see many skinny pizza eating beer drinkers. But, could the pizza types exercise off the fat calories they consume and be in shape (except for their arteries). Is it more important to eat more calories than you consume to gain muscle, rather than eating healthy foods but not enough?

06-01-2006, 08:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
dman2 Insane Location: Georgia	I listen to a radio talk show on the weekend that is called The New You show. Anyway, I think I remember them saying it does not matter what you eat, as long as the # of calories is still the same. I am not saying if you only eat donuts that you will be healthy, but if you only eat donuts, you will only be able to eat a very few before you reach the maximum calorie intake for the day. Is there any truth in this? It sounded strange when I heard it but it did make some sense. A person will normally eat a variety of foods throughout the day and if they are weight conscious, they will count calories. I don't eat the same thing every day but generally eat the same amount of calories in a day. That is kind of how the weight watchers program works. There are different point values for each food you eat. So if you eat a high calorie food, the point value will be much higher. If you eat a healthier food with fewer calories, it just means that you can eat more of it and thus providing your body with more fuel for energy, etc. __________________ I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. ~Marsha Doble

06-01-2006, 03:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	Sure, for maintaining weight, it does not matter where the calories come from. Keep in mind though, your body needs protein, cholesterol, and vitamins to function. Thats why a balanced diet is the best. For weightlifters, it isn't the calories you need, as somebody mentioned above, it is the protein. Proteins are the building block and are full of amino acids that your body needs as well. Good sources of protein for shakes are whey protein. My favorite source is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Grill the chicken, tastes wonderful, almost no fat, and full of nice protein. __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

05-31-2006, 08:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	It is important that your calories come from relatively natural sources. High fructose corn syrup has calories. Trans fat has calories. Gasoline has a ton of calories. If you'r looking to increase muscle mass, eat a ton of healthy food. I know pizza and beer are delicious, but they are full of what is popularly called 'empty calories', or calories that didn't bring any friends. You want your calories to bring friends like natural protien, fat and carbohydrates, in addition to vitimans and minerals. I could give you a thousand different recepies for healthy foods, but I suspect that ASU know what is and isn't healthy.

05-31-2006, 09:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	I do eat healthy foods, but I don't eat quite enough probably. And my cooking skills are very limited. Throwing some chicken or fish on the George Forman grill is the extent of my abilities. And am I correct in theorizing that you have to eat the right amount of good food and work out enough to convert it into muscle? Or is it possible for your body to convert the fat stored in your body into muscle? And if you don't have fat stores and aren't eating enough, then you won't see any increase in size from working out. And does that mean that by eating pizza (or excess carbs, fats, or protein) for a few months to have the nutrients your body needs on hand to build new muscle, that you could gain more muscle than by eating 2,000 healthy calories when your body wants 3,000. I probably need to work on increasing both food intake and exercise.

05-31-2006, 09:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Fat doesn't turn into muscle, it turns into fuel for the muscle. Protien turns into muscle. Eat a big breakfast (oatmeal + fruit + egg or nuts), 6 full size sandwiches, and a large dinner every day and you will grow. Be sure that you even it out with proper weight training and aerobic exercise, so you don't just build up your body fat.

06-11-2006, 06:44 AM	#10 (permalink)
Key Crazy	When you're weight training to gain mass, what you need to focus on is calories first, protein second, and then the other nutritional requirements. Calories is KING. a calorie is a calorie. if you need pizza to get you to 3,000 calories (or whatever your daily goal is), DO IT. if you're at 2,500 calories before bed, and the only thing you have are fries and pizza, EAT THEM. empty calories just means they have no OTHER nutritional value, no micronutrients. no vitamins, no other goodness. an "empty" calorie has the same energy as a "non-emtpy" calorie. when people say sugar and candy are empty calories, they'll still put muscle on you. make sure you're getting at LEAST 1.0g protein per body weight, 1.5g is better but it doesn't hurt to go even more. on a bulk i'll sometimes get 1.7-.2.0g instead of 1.0-1.5g. 30% of your calories should come from FAT. if you need 3,000 calories, that's 1,000 you need from fats. don't get 2,000 calories of carbs and 1,000 protein, you need the fat. of these fats, try and get healthy fats. monnounsaturated or polyunsatured, as little saturated as possible. make sure you're getting a multivitamin daily to make sure you're getting enough vitamins, if you're worried about eating a lot of empty calories. if you're eating mostly whole weat, vegetables and fruits that are packed with vitamins, you might be ok without one. the fear of say, 3,000 pizza and fry calories vs. 3,000 whole wheat and peanut calories is that the pizza and fries will be high GI carbs and lots of saturated fats, leading to higher cholesterol (congrats - you're big and strong, but your heart's about to explode). you can bulk on ice cream. just uh, not ONLY ice cream .. back to calories vs. protein real quick. if you have a choice: to get less calories (than your goal), but your full dosage of protein VS. your full dosage of calories but LESS than your dosage of protien .. take the calories. but again this is a worst case, it's not hard to get your minimum amount of protien, it's hard as heck to get your caloric intake, it's constant eating. figure out what your base calories are. 2500? 2800? whatever it is to maintain the weight you're at. eat the same amount of calories every day for a week to make sure that's your base calories. add 200-300 for the next week. weigh at the end of the week to see if you've gained weight. if not, add 200-300 for the next week, etc. until you start seeing gains. counting calories is SUPER important when you're weight gaining, if you're serious anyway. get an account at www.fitday.com (i do not represent them in any way) to help with that. i SUCK at cooking too, but believe me it's not that hard to get the proper amount of calories and a huge amount of protein daily, if you'd like i can list some of my "meals".