It’s inevitable that most people trying to gain muscle mass will be told "You gotta eat big to get big!" and immediately adopt the "See Food Diet" – which is to simply eat everything in sight within arms reach that isn’t bolted down, or can’t run away. Eating in this manner is about as effective as World War 2 Carpet Bombing runs. The problem is inaccuracy. (I like the name "The Carpet Bombing Diet." Hmmm…I think I see a book in the making!) In my opinion it’s become a dangerous "half-truth" because it’s only half of the picture.

What does eat big mean? Do you follow the aforementioned See Food Diet and eat anything and everything? And by get Big, what exactly gets big? I’ll save you the wasted effort, food bill and upset stomach, and tell you about the only part of your body getting bigger following that advice blindly is located in the regions of your gluteus maximus and your belly button!

It’s easy to understand why eating with reckless abandon will pack on the pounds However, you not only have to watch out for excess calories, but you also need to make sure your daily caloric intake consists of the proper ratio of macronutrients for your goals.

You need to make sure you’re eating the proper amount of each macronutrient to optimize your nutrition plan, and more importantly, your health. Eating more protein than you need, will not equate into extra muscle growth. Numerous studies have found eating more than 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight doesn’t show any increase in benefits when it comes to gaining muscle mass.

A Unit of the Division of Student Affairs, University of Georgia, puts it nicely, "Protein is important in exercise for building and repairing muscle, but it is also needed for a healthy immune system, producing hormones and building red blood cells. Protein can do all of these things as long as you eat enough calories to meet your energy needs. If you restrict calories too much, protein is burned for energy when carbohydrates are scarce. On the other hand, if you overeat on any of the major nutrients, including protein, it will be stored as fat. Eating the right amount and balance of foods will ensure the best results for any exercise program." They go on to say, "Extra protein in the diet won't add an ounce of muscle if there is no training! In fact, any amount consumed in excess of 0.9 gram per pound will not be used by your body.

Another way one can be mislead by blindly eating big to get big is, that as long as you are eating excess calories you’re guaranteeing your muscle building success. And the problem with this thinking is that little to no mention of the proportions of macronutrients is made.

An example is Janet. She’s eating the proper amount of calories to gain muscle, training hard, and resting plenty – but still not getting the results she wants. A closer look at her nutrition plan shows she’s getting over 70% of her calories from carbs, 25% from fat, and 5% from protein. If we break it down another way, we find she’s only getting 0.3g of protein per pound. That’s nowhere near enough for someone engaged in strenuous and heavy strength training. At first glance it may seem like she’s eating enough to gain muscle, but when we take a closer look we realize there are inadequacies in her macronutrient ratios. Janet’s macronutrient ratios are all out of whack. She’s essentially overeating and starving at the same time by under eating protein and over eating carbs in this example. It’s possible to do this with any of the macronutrients.

Another important point that isn’t mentioned enough when hearing about mass nutrition plans, is the source of your calories.

We can get all scientific and argue that the thermodynamic value of a calorie is the same regardless of where it comes from. However, all of the ingredients, additives and nutrients, or lack thereof, that come with that calorie, influences you’re level of health.

You can’t expect to gorge on low quality foods loaded with processed ingredients, salt, additives, sugars, high fructose corn syrup etc and think you’re going to get peak performance from your body. It ain’t gonna happen.

High performance race cars run on high performance fuel, and, as they say in the computer programming world, ‘Junk in Junk Out!’ Eating junk makes you’re body work harder by having to clean up the mess that garbage makes in your body. Low quality food is not only filled with second and third rate ingredients and additives that add extra stress to your body, they also tend to have next to no nutritional value, hence the term "empty calories."

If you make a balanced nutrition plan consisting of high quality whole foods the foundation of whatever your goal is at the time, be it gaining mass, getting lean, performing at your peak, you will find your results and health always increasing.

Eating Time!

Minimize – Eliminate Processed Foods

The best way to steer clear of added junk in your nutrition plan is to minimize or eliminate processed foods. If you currently are eating a lot of processed foods, either switch them for the unprocessed kind all together, or slowly introduce them into your nutrition plan.

Eat whole, unprocessed Natural foods

Stick to whole foods, preferably organic and make sure you’re consuming lots of fruits and vegetable which are loaded with nutrients and help cleanse your body.

It may take a bit to get used to this, but when you do you won’t believe the difference in how you’ll feel, recover, perform and even think. The sex will be better too!