I got an email asking for advice on gaining some weight and packing on some muscle. I'm posting our thread up for more to benefit from it. It's pretty long, but here goes..

musclegainer wrote:

Hi there, I was blog hopping and found a very interesting blog of yours. I hope you don't mind me sending you email regarding some issues concerning fitness for sure.

Currently i have enrolled myself into a fitness center for 4 months now. The reason for joining was not to lose weight but to gain more weight and muscle. After three months, I was able to see some difference in BMI and weight. But I must also say that the results are a bit slow. I train 3-4 times/week but don't do a lot of cardio as I am afraid I will lose more weight. My aim is to gain here. I currently weigh at 57KG and am 26 years old. My ideal weight should be about 60KG. Not a long way to go but would still like to put on some muscle.

I have been told to take protein drinks to boost muscle growth. So far, I have not tried any protein drinks and I wish to start in February. Is there any particular recommendation you can provide me on a protein drink and some extra tips for gaining weight and muscle fast? Of course I do get my trainer to guide me at my fitness center and they do also provide a protein drink which is on sale there, but i would like to look for more information first whenever possible.

Thanks and I hope to learn and get more tips from you.

dailymuscle wrote: Hi there,

Thanks for writing. If you don't mind me asking some initial questions first:

1. How much progress have you seen in the past 4 months? How many KG have you put on/lost?

2. Can you give me a sample of what you eat daily? Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

As for protein, it is an absolute must if you wish to put on muscle. Imagine building a wall, but only with the cement and without the bricks. Impossible right? But there are other ways to incorporate protein into your diet. Most people resort to protein shakes as they are convenient and easy to carry with you (to work/college/etc.) plus, some powders have lots of added stuff into it, but bear in mind they can be expensive. The guy in your gym may just be trying to push you something he's forced to sell (and not necessarily better). What is he recommending?

musclegainer wrote:

OK, here is the info required.

1. I started with 54KG only, right now it is 57-+ KG. Have also taken measurements last month and some improvements on my chest area which is much broader, shoulder is wider, calf measurement also increased. But all this not much of difference. It is all around 1-3cm only.

Usually for breakfast I will have nasi lemak the lovable Malaysian food i guess. hehe. Sometimes it is roti canai or toast bread with half boiled egg. Lunch usually rice with mean either fish or chicken. Seldom go for fast food like MCD,KFC etc. Dinner most of the time is rice again with some vege & meat. Before sleep it is a must for me to have a hot drink like milo.

That's basically it. I can't really remember the name of the protein drink that my gym offers. It starts with D something. It's around RM200 for a big one. I think it is 2KG. I will check out the name for you. Actually, the guy is not forcing me to buy it, he said i could get alot of other brands compare to this and told me to look around, but I've no experience on this. So you see where I stand, I am easily to be cheated on this area. I hope you are able to help me out man.

dailymuscle wrote: Okay, let me summarize and come up with something simple you can follow to give you better results.

Basically, you are what you eat. So if you're eating lots of junk, your body wont be at its peak. Trust me on this. Try changing your diet completely and you will actually FEEL the difference.. Anyway, thats not really your focus for now. We're basically gonna bump up your protein intake as you are not consuming enough of protein to support muscle growth. Basic rule of thumb is 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. I'll average you at 55kg (121 pounds), so you need 121g of protein per day to support muscle growth, which can be achieved quite easily.

Increasing your Protein

1. Try adding a glass of low fat milk to every meal (including your night drink). This would amount to 4 glasses of milk, which is approx 30g of protein already.

2. Consume 1 can of tuna per day (mixed with very little mayo - 1 tsp?), which can make about two tuna sandwiches. You can add/substitute this to your breakfast, or tea-time snack, etc. Thats another approx 30g of protein.

3. Protein Shake - 1 to 1 1/2 scoops immediately after your workout - I recommend Optimum Nutrition's Whey Protein. Thats another approx 30g.

4. If you want, you can add half, or 1 scoop of protein powder to your breakfast too with your milk, which will add another approx 20g.

Thats a total of approx 110 g protein per day. You may be getting more or less based on other stuff you eat, but thats okay, as you're pretty close to the necessary amount, enough to support muscle growth.

Stay away from the nasi lemak and roti canai as those are really empty and useless calories you are consuming. If you must, maybe have it once a week.

This is good enough for a start. Try the above for about a month and you will definitely see a difference. Do let me know how this works out for you as I am keen to follow your progress. Good luck!

Yours truly, dailymuscle