Now that I have confessed today’s non Paleo activity, I want to ask a question about lean mass gains and Paleo.
In the past two years my lean mass has stayed pretty consistent, around 185. While I have had some significant shifts in scale weight, and great success in losing fat, I wanted to see what success people have had with lean mass gains.
The metabolic rate I was told was 2600 calories per day, a number I have seen before (and not the easiest number to reach with just lean meats).
Are lean mass gains with Paleo simply a matter of exceeding this number? Is there any guidance as to macronutrient intake? (I’ve heard an ounce of protein for every pound of lean mass, per day). I’ve read here (and elsewhere) about people adding in Dairy, which is calorically dense, and I have read that it has an anabolic effect, but the non-Paleo aspects have also been well noted.
Doogie mentioned that it was about being clear on what my goals are. At the moment I want to lose fat mass, and am eating how I did when I ate Paleo before, about 1600-1900 calories per day. But I figure that at about 10% BF or so, I'll want to switch to gaining lean mass. But I'm definitely a bit concerned about what that will take.
Mostly, I wanted to elicit some anecdotes from people who have used Paleo for lean mass gains, and how they went about it.
If you have actively gained lean mass eating Paleo, how did you do it and what were your parameters?
If you modified Paleo, what modifications did you make?
When you figure it out let me know. I'm a chick and have put on some muscle mass but not nearly enough. The harder I work, I shrink (not complaining).
ReplyDeleteI've heard a gram of protein per body mass, not an ounce (maybe that's what you meant). If not, 1 ounce = 28.35g - dry ounces, not wet (like water). Macronutrient content will be listed in grams anyways so this makes it easier.
1-1.5g protein/lb LBM is standard. In fact, it's just as important to hit this number while dieting (to retain lbm) as it is while trying to gain lbm.
ReplyDeleteIf your goal is to lean out, the best method is:
Set deficit according to BMR, hit target amount of protein.
If your goal is to gain, best method is:
Set surplus over BMR (don't be too ridiculous), hit target amount of protein.
The protein requirements of the former will dictate a very paleo-like diet. That's why the paleo diet works and is a good framework for most noobs who don't understand diet.
You're going to fail if you try to gain a significant amount of lbm with paleo. Add whole milk, whey protein, anything else that moves, etc.
For me 1g protein/LBM was a whole lot of eating. I honestly had little caloric budget for much else.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd increase water consumption if high on meat, low on veg.
Also, for what it's worth, the above method (1.5g protein/lb lbm w/ caloric surplus of about 700 kcals on average) helped me gain ~25-30lbs lbm (and about 50lbs) in about 9 months. I also did little/no aerobics (it's very difficult to build both strength and aerobic capacity) and I also gained about 6-9% BF.
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