Gaining Muscle Diet For Skinny Guy Hard Gainers
Diet and working out for bigger muscles can seem like a bit of a mystery to many people. Some guys seem to hit the gym and eat whatever they want whenever they want and pack on pounds of muscle mass. Others try to chug down weight gain supplements like it is going out of fashion and either end up with extra rolls of fat or in the skinny guys case no real muscle growth to speak of. For these reasons, a gaining muscle diet is important to know in detail for your particular body type to get the best results.
If you are the skinny guy that finds it difficult to gain weight with fat or muscle then this is especially important because your body is highly geared to burn through the calorie content of food like a furnace compared to other slower metabolism body types which are like a campfire in comparison. This means that as a skinny guy you need to focus on a few things to do with diet: Amount, Frequency and Food Types which amount to good meal planning.
How much should a skinny guy eat to gain muscle?
Short answer: A Lot!
Seriously though, skinny guys who want to build muscle need to increase their calorie intake by a large margin. What you need to do is to make sure you eat enough that when your body goes through its furnace like metabolism processes it cannot burn through all the calories and nutrients so quickly that there is nothing left to send to the muscles for the task of repairing them after workouts. This is just as essential as a good workout because without the energy to grow what is the point on spending all that time and effort at the gym? It is like fixing up your car and tweaking the engine to perfection then never getting any gas to make it run!
The exact amount you need to eat will vary depending on your initial weight and your target goals. The bottom line is that if you have been working out and found little change in your physique then your workouts may be fine but your body does not have the fuel to grow muscle fast. Start taking note of the calorie content of all your meals and get good at aiming to eat a certain amount of calories per day and see this as a chance to grow muscle not as a chance to stuff your face with food!
How often should skinny guys eat meals for muscle growth?
This is an interesting question and gets a lot of different answers from different sources. Again the differences in body types can determine the bias on this advice. If you want to go from skinny to muscle though then some advice from guys just like you who have built serious muscle is as follows.
As we have discovered your metabolism will churn through your calories very quickly form the food you eat. When your body has no more food to burn through where does it get its energy from until your next meal?
Your fat cells and your muscle cell that is where!
What this means is that a skinny guy hard gainer, more than any other body type, needs to change the frequency of his eating from 3-4 times a day which is about the average most people eat to 6-8 times a day. This is about every 3 hours! By continually fueling your body you are giving your muscles the energy to grow and feeding your body all its calorie needs for other body functions without muscle atrophy which is the exact opposite of what you want!
This can seem like a great burden to start with but without keeping your body fueled then consider your trips to the gym punishment because all you do is sweat and hurt and end up with nothing. If you follow this eating plan then each trip to the gym is an opportunity to pack on lean muscle mass and should be something you relish!
What should a hard gainer eat?
This is a big question and the answer is a mouthful (excuse the pun). Without going into all the science behind all the food choices you need to make it must be pointed out that not all food is the same and some is quite detrimental to muscle growth. Some examples of bad food that you should just get rid of immediately include:
- Soda & Juices – Soda seems obvious but the juice you usually buy from the store has so much sugar in them that they may as well be classed the same. Stick with the fruit itself.
- Processed Meat – While this may seem like a place to get some important protein they are also LOADED with fat and sodium. Avoid.
- Cookies, Crackers, Chips etc – More empty calories with salt and sugar.
- White Flour Products – White bread is devoid of all the good nutritional stuff that is in darker bread.
I could go on but I think you get the point. Processed, packaged food is out. Food high in fat and salt and sugar are out too. While these will all give you calories they also come at a price to your body and contain a mix of things that do not promote muscle growth due to their chemical makeup.
What you need to eat is a mixed diet of foods that are high in protein, calories and GOOD fats to promote insane muscle gain. A few foods that should be included in your shopping every week include:
- Vegetables - Your mother was right, they do help you grow up big and strong!
- Green Tea – If you are sick of water this is good stuff as it contains a lot of anti-oxidants. Not the sugary stuff though the REAL green tea.
- Eggs - Get the Omega 3 enriched ones which have a lot more nutrients due to the chickens diet of ground flaxseed.
- Extra Lean Ground Sirloin – Always make sure you get the lean variety. Meat is essential but too often it can come of a hefty fat cost which is not optimal.
- Grains - Not all grains are good but this stuff is good for muscle growth: oats (not the instant sugary stuff), oat bran, whole flaxseed, quinoa, whole barley and wheat bran.
- Legumes – Kidney beans, split peas, chickpeas and lentils are excellent sources of fiber and a great addition to your arsenal.
- Mixed Nuts & Dried Fruits – Great additional calories with good fats in the nuts. If you are having a hard time having so many meals a day this helps as they are easy to carry with you and can make most of a meal.
There is a heck of a lot more detail about a gaining muscle diet that you should know for really fast muscle growth but this basic guide should give you the main thrust of what you need to be doing as a skinny hardgainer to give you the best chance at the physique you really want.
Hi, James McLain from SkinnytoMuscle.net Here,
I know that building muscle and constructing a good diet to gain muscle can be a headache with the sheer variety of options and the constant need to count calories and watch what and when you are eating. This was in fact my Achilles heel when trying to gain muscle! So, if you want to simplify this process and know the reasons behind every dietary change you will need to make then I highly recommend you check out the No-Nonsense Muscle Building guide by Vince Delmonte.
Vince was once a hardgainer. A skinny runt who thought he could never gain the physique he craved but found out the secrets of skinny bodybuilding and went from 149 pounds to 190 pounds of rock solid muscle in less than 6 months!
Now a professional model and fitness coach respected worldwide Vince Delmonte has released a fully downloadable guide on how you can get the body you want without supplements or steroids. This guide has everything you need to know to pack on serious amounts of muscle and comes with a detailed diet section as well as complete meal plans for every part of your muscle gain journey based on the calories you need per day and week. All this amounts to making your eating requirements a breeze so you can concentrate on all the other aspects of your life.
hi, i am a very skinny guy and would like to gain some muscle and weight. how do i do this without minimal gym time?
Hi Lionel,
You will need some gym tim for sure to be able to build muscle, dont think that body weight exercises will work. The good news is that you dont need to slave away every day at a gym to grow your muscles.
The more intense the workout, the more time your body will need to recover and grow that muscle anyway. If you workout with heavy weights each time and go through a whole body workout you might only spend 30-45 minutes a session 2-3 times a week and see results.
Just remember to really stress those muscles and follow the diet advice in this article and you should start seeing some gains.
thanks r ur information but can u suggest diet for vegetrian
hi,and congrats on a great site
straight to the point,im 34yrs old.im 6.2 and weigh 190.4lbs.ive been working out at home with heavy weights and seeing little results,especially at the begining.a high metabolism and working in a concrete yard burned off everything.i got made redundant 2 months ago and i put on 2 stone in the 1st month.my girlfriend tells me im getting bigger and bigger,but i dont see it.i have read everything on this site,and find it very helpful,but what id like from you is advice on food.in your opinion,what is by far the best and most affordable stuff to eat pre and post work out.thanks in advance and keep up the great work 
@jana
Hi Jana,
I have to say I am not an expert on vegetarian diets for muscle building, but I know it can be done – you need to be very disciplined about it though.
Thes articles on vegetarian bodybuilding might give you more information outside of my area of expertise. Good luck!
Hi Andy,
Thanks man, I am quite proud of it hah!
I gotta say I ate a lot of chicken when I was first gaining muscle as it was pretty cheap where I live anyway. Red meats were more expensive but i supplemented with them on occasion. I often had this with a good portion of mixed vegetables – if you are looking for cheap some of the frozen vegetables are actually not deficient in nutrition like a lot of other packaged foods so if hey are cheap where you are they can be used.
Before a workout I used to eat oatmeal in the mornings too which was cheap and a great source of protein. Its hard to recommend too much stuff as i don’t know your budget, but basically you need a good source of protein before and after a workout and enough low glycemic carbohydrates to keep yourself fuelled.
james,thanks for taking the time to answer,i will certainly start eating the foods you recomend.i have one more problem i hope you can help with.i am quite a broad guy(as i said in the earlier post my girlfriend notices,but i dont)with my a t-shirt on,i can spot changes,but when i take my shirt off my chest looks like andre the giant sat on it.i work my pecs quite hard,but feel im like im fighting a lost cause.any tips would be most welcome
p.s dont forget,i only have free weights and style.god bless james,keep helping the thin man
@andy
Hi Andy,
Check out my article on building chest muscles which might help some. Our unique genetics do tend to shape our bodies no matter how much we add muscle, how it grows can be vastly different form person to person.
At the end of the article i just linked I have a video from another really smart fitness guy called Jeff Anderson. He has a guide which is just dedicated to helping you focus on individual body areas for growth. I am not too good at that myself, my calves are not the greatest so I gotta do something about that myself! In any case, Jeff’s site might help you understand that a little more – hope that helps man!
my upmost thanks,will check it out now
Great website
Hello,
I am 38 years old and I have been 145 to 155lbs even though im 5’11 I tried eating more “allot” but my metabilism is so fast that I just iliminate more and can not sustain any weight at all. I am so frustrated because I also have a medical condition that effects my emune system so I would like to gain weight so that I can fight these infections as they come.
best regards
hey i have a question
instead of eating 6 meals a day can i eat 3 meals a day while eating double the amount each meal?
@Anthony
Hi Anthony,
You need to really plan out your meals if your metabolism is that fast. It is imposible for your body to burn through every bit of energy if you really pile in the colaories – but you might not be eating enough ebcause you feel full too quickly.
Make sure to eat about 6 meals a day and keep the meals decent sized. Make sure you fit in lots of calorie dense foods – that is food that has a lot of energy but does nto have a large amount of mass to fill you up too quickly. Anyone can eat enough to gain weight but some people like yourself need to plan it carefully – hope that helps!
@Rick
Hi Rick,
This is not optimal. Too much in a single sitting means your body will not be able to handle all that energy at one time. Often this means it will store the excess as fat rather than use it meaningfully.
IT also puts your body in a catabolic state which means you might be burnign muscle for energy once you run out of easy energy to burn.
Not only this but big meals can cause bowel problems which is not a good thing either. Smaller regular meals will keep your body in an anabolic state which is primed to build muscle if you have enough protien as well.
Hey, I’ve been working out on an every other day basis for around 3 months now and I’m only seeing small changes. While I do notice slightly more definition to my muscles im still not bulking up like I’d like to. Being only 17 I have an incredibly fast metabolism which makes it seem like no matter how much i eat im not going any where. I’m not sure whether I should work out daily instead of every other day, especially considering i feel very unproductive taking a day off and eating alot of food. And what do you suggest for meals? It seems like extra lean ground sirloin 8 times a day could be a little pricey. Please leave any other tips you may have, thanks!
@Kyle
Hey Kyle,
Do not doubt the power of rest. If you workout every day your body has no time to repair the muscles and grow them bigger. Its a waste of energy and does not help you. Eat and rest and workout hard but not every single day or you will undo a lot of good work.
Eat a variety of foods but keep your protein high. Chicken is a good cheaper replacement for steak, and broccoli is an excellent vegetable that helps with muscle growth too. Lots of ways to have a varied and inexpensive meal plan – check out Vince Delmonte’s guide if you want more detail. He has some excellent meal plans in there if you are serious about gaining muscle.
Hey I have a question,
I’m pretty skinny, but I kinda like that. I know when you gain you can also pack on a little fat, I currently have a 4pack working on a 6 pack and I want to put on some more arm muscle, (btw I’m a wrestler and do parkour so I’m not some scrauny kid I have a pretty good build) But I’m still classified as “skinny” i weigh 135 5’8 and most people don’t believe it. I’m fairly strong but I want to get like swole and stuff, So what kind of foods and nutritions should I eat, and how should I excercise??? That’s such a confusing topic, because people say to lose fat to get abs you burn more calories than consume, but to gain you must consume more, is it possible to do both?? my fat % is probably around 12% guessing and I want 10% or below for abs, but also want to build muscle??? help!
@Edmund
Hi Edmund,
My thoughts are that you should not try to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. Not many people can do that because most of the time you will end up screwing up your eating and workouts trying to do opposite things.
My advice is to bulk up first and do not worry if you put on a bit of fat in the process. Spend some time doing that until you feel happy with the muscle you have built (your abs might not show as much), then start cutting down the fat.
When cutting, keep lifting – but go into maintainenece mode and cut down your eating. You should melt off the fat as your muscles need more energy consumed to stay that way. You should end up looking bigger and more defined as well.
Do not try to do both though – it usually ends in frustration
Hey I’m 19 and in college. I hit the gym with my roommate ranging from 2-4 times a week. He has been through a weight training regimen before and I haven’t. I’ve had a hard time gaining weight although I have been noticing changes in my strength. I weigh around 120 with very little body fat…if any… I always try to eat healthy and as much as possible but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for me. Any advice?
@Adam
Hey Adam,
If you are gaining strength you will be gaining some muscle mass – but probably not enough for your liking. Without knowing more about your workouts it is hard to say, but two very common problems for skinny guys are:
1) You think you are eating a lot, but you are actually not getting enough calories to help you build muscle.
2) You are not working out properly by lifting heavier weights with good form.
Now, if your friend has done weight training before I am hoping you are getting good form and weight training advice from him. Most likely is that you are just not eating enough if you are that skinny.
If you were eating enough and not workout out well you would put on fat. Since you are remaining skinny this means your body is not getting enough calories for fat storage, and also not enough to build muscle as well.
I cannot be certain by I would look at the amount you are consuming and try to up that across the board in 5 meals a day. It can be tough and you might think you are eating stupid amounts of food – but if your genetics give you a super fast metabolism you need to work with that ok.
hi,my name is timothy and i’ d really like to change my physic.I am to slim and would really need some good help from a professional .i weight89 kilos and yet see no difference.I bought a weight gaining product in the pharmacy and all i get is a big belly,lol.i just need some good advice to know what exactly to take or do to change my body to slim to muscular guy!!!thanks in advance
@BISSETTE TIMOTHY
Hi Timothy,
Forget the weight gain stuff, you can get all the calories you need from food naturally and with better nutrition.
However, if you were putting on weight, but it was going more to fat than to muscle you were probably either eating too much – or more likely you were not working out in the proper manner to really take advantage of all that food energy and nutrition.
Check my article on working out for skinny guys here for more info on that.
I’m a pretty skinny guy myself. I did weigh almost 150 pounds but in the last 4-6 months, I’ve dropped to 141. My metabolism is very fast and my job is very stressful which doesn’t help my situation any. I follow your guides online for lifting weights, but I think I’m not eating enough in a day. Would you agree? I’m worried I will continue to lose weight when I don’t have much room to lose in the first place! Can you help me out at all and offer some advice? If eating is the issue, any tips on what I can take on the go? Thanks a lot!