Are weight gain calorie shakes healthy?
October 12, 2007 9:59 AM Subscribe
Thoughts on weight gain calorie shakes? Are they healthy?
I am naturally skinny and only put on pounds when I lift weights at the gym. Have never had a problem putting on muscle. I really want to add 15 pounds to my frame which will be hard to do for a fast metabolism like mine. In college I once achieved this by eating ridiculous amounts of food and adding a 500 calorie weight gain shake once or twice a day. I wouldnt go for the protein overloading I would just look for a shake that was a good combination of carbs and protien and preferably not some shitty one which has most of its calories from simple sugars.
These days I'm more of a do-it-naturally kind of person, my diet is very clean and rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains etc.. But with my schedule theres no way I think I could eat for a net gain of calories in to calories out.
I don't mind cheating a little with the shakes, but are they healthy? Im sure theyre not all the same but what are your general takes on this? I don't want to do myself any long term damage.
I am naturally skinny and only put on pounds when I lift weights at the gym. Have never had a problem putting on muscle. I really want to add 15 pounds to my frame which will be hard to do for a fast metabolism like mine. In college I once achieved this by eating ridiculous amounts of food and adding a 500 calorie weight gain shake once or twice a day. I wouldnt go for the protein overloading I would just look for a shake that was a good combination of carbs and protien and preferably not some shitty one which has most of its calories from simple sugars.
These days I'm more of a do-it-naturally kind of person, my diet is very clean and rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains etc.. But with my schedule theres no way I think I could eat for a net gain of calories in to calories out.
I don't mind cheating a little with the shakes, but are they healthy? Im sure theyre not all the same but what are your general takes on this? I don't want to do myself any long term damage.
I'm 6'0 and my weight would always fluctuate between 145 and 150 and was able to put on 15 pounds (up to around 164) a couple of years ago in about three months by:
1. Working out 3 days a week with only doing 1 set of everything, 12 reps to warm up at 50% and 8-12 reps at target weight. If I did less than 8 I'd lower the weight next time and more than 12 would mean more weight next time. Simple, and I think the low sets/high weight combo helps to build mass. Also ran a few miles a couple times a week.
2. Didn't change the diet too much, had whey protein shakes after workouts and at a lot of chicken breasts and tuna fish along with pasta type things. I think most of my calories came from beer. I also munched on flax seeds.
This does not answer your question, but with the right routine you should be able to add some pounds without the shakes? I'm curious to see what others have to say.
posted by xorry at 10:32 AM on October 12, 2007
1. Working out 3 days a week with only doing 1 set of everything, 12 reps to warm up at 50% and 8-12 reps at target weight. If I did less than 8 I'd lower the weight next time and more than 12 would mean more weight next time. Simple, and I think the low sets/high weight combo helps to build mass. Also ran a few miles a couple times a week.
2. Didn't change the diet too much, had whey protein shakes after workouts and at a lot of chicken breasts and tuna fish along with pasta type things. I think most of my calories came from beer. I also munched on flax seeds.
This does not answer your question, but with the right routine you should be able to add some pounds without the shakes? I'm curious to see what others have to say.
posted by xorry at 10:32 AM on October 12, 2007
Shakes are a good way to load up on calories in an easy-to-consume and easy-to-prepare way. They don't have to be unhealthy or filled with mysterious or objectionable ingredients.
You can build your own nutrition drink- it's much cheaper and it lets you control what goes in. Start with a tasty and low-price protein powder, then add the carb of your choice.
You can add glucose or maltodextrin for superquick workout nutrition (that Spiz stuff mentioned above looks like it's primarily whey protein and maltodextrin), or something like rolled oats for complex carbs, if you consider that healthier and/or it keeps your energy up throughout the day.
Boost up the calorie count by adding oil. A few tablespoons of oil, blended in with the oats and the protein powder, will boost you up over 500 calories, no problem.
posted by rxrfrx at 11:34 AM on October 12, 2007
You can build your own nutrition drink- it's much cheaper and it lets you control what goes in. Start with a tasty and low-price protein powder, then add the carb of your choice.
You can add glucose or maltodextrin for superquick workout nutrition (that Spiz stuff mentioned above looks like it's primarily whey protein and maltodextrin), or something like rolled oats for complex carbs, if you consider that healthier and/or it keeps your energy up throughout the day.
Boost up the calorie count by adding oil. A few tablespoons of oil, blended in with the oats and the protein powder, will boost you up over 500 calories, no problem.
posted by rxrfrx at 11:34 AM on October 12, 2007
Response by poster: Hmm yeah I like the idea of making my own shake. Complex carbs are important but the right glycemic index / load is also important. Don't want to use any carbs that break down into sugar very quickly because that is definitely a long term health concern. Added fiber would slow that down but then again you don't want to shit out all your calories either. Too much excess protein is also not healthy in the long term since it steals calcium and can lead to bone loss or osteoporosis. So the right delicate balance is important and it seems to me that there are lots of ways these weight gainer shakes can be misled by either junk bodybuilder science or simply using crappy ingredients.
posted by postergeist at 12:47 PM on October 12, 2007
posted by postergeist at 12:47 PM on October 12, 2007
Skip's muscle mass gain page has a bunch of nutrition resources and links on it - his pictures (towards the bottom) are certainly interesting, and he's a member in good standing of a natural bodybuilding site I hang out at.
posted by restless_nomad at 1:02 PM on October 12, 2007
posted by restless_nomad at 1:02 PM on October 12, 2007
Add avocado and/or silken tofu (the kind that is not refrigerated) to your shakes. Use Hass avocado's (dark color) because other avocado's taste nasty. Also use lots of fruit for flavor, including berries (super good for you and relatively low in sugar). If you want to go really healthy, add a few handfuls of spinach (you won't taste it) and ground flax seeds. If you need even more calories, add some nut butter.
posted by davar at 3:46 PM on October 12, 2007
posted by davar at 3:46 PM on October 12, 2007
Too much excess protein is also not healthy in the long term since it steals calcium and can lead to bone loss or osteoporosis.
If you're trying to put on muscle, load up on the protein. Assuming you're lifting weights as well, your body is going to use the protein to build muscle. Now if you're just eating and not exercising, then yeah, you don't want to overdo it. Weightlifters generally recommend that 40% or more of your calories come from protein; alternatively, 1g per pound of body weight is a good number to shoot for (150g of protein per day for a 150lb man).
As other posters said, healthy fats are a really easy way to ingest a lot of calories. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4 per gram. Olive oil is great.
Natural peanut butter is fantastic, too. Natural means the only ingredient is peanuts. No sugar, salt, or hydrogenated oil. You'll know it's natural because the peanut oil will be separated from the butter in the jar; you have to mix them back together before you eat it. 2 tablespoons of the stuff packs 190 calories. It's hard to beat that!
posted by Khalad at 7:44 PM on October 12, 2007
If you're trying to put on muscle, load up on the protein. Assuming you're lifting weights as well, your body is going to use the protein to build muscle. Now if you're just eating and not exercising, then yeah, you don't want to overdo it. Weightlifters generally recommend that 40% or more of your calories come from protein; alternatively, 1g per pound of body weight is a good number to shoot for (150g of protein per day for a 150lb man).
As other posters said, healthy fats are a really easy way to ingest a lot of calories. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4 per gram. Olive oil is great.
Natural peanut butter is fantastic, too. Natural means the only ingredient is peanuts. No sugar, salt, or hydrogenated oil. You'll know it's natural because the peanut oil will be separated from the butter in the jar; you have to mix them back together before you eat it. 2 tablespoons of the stuff packs 190 calories. It's hard to beat that!
posted by Khalad at 7:44 PM on October 12, 2007
Response by poster: My normal diet is actually already full of very high calorie foods but my natural metabolism is extremely fast so the reason i'm thinking about a shake is for that extra punch. My normal diet is mostly nuts, legumes, peanut and almond butters, whole grain breads and cereals, avocados, tons of olive oil in everything (my wife and I go through about 1 liter of it a week), cheese, fruits, vegetables, chicken, occasional beef, lots of fish, tofu, eggs, beans, soy milk, grains like rice, quinoa, millet, whole wheat pasta, trail mix and bars for snacks. Almost all of it is organic.
As you can see I keep to a healthy diet so thats why I am concerned about whether weight gainer shakes are junk or not.
posted by postergeist at 8:16 PM on October 12, 2007
As you can see I keep to a healthy diet so thats why I am concerned about whether weight gainer shakes are junk or not.
posted by postergeist at 8:16 PM on October 12, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
I just ordered something called Spiz, which I heard about in another AskMefi post. It has a lot of carbs compared to other shake mixes, but I have no idea if it's at all healthy (couldn't find any nutrition info on it; my main concern is cholesterol content). I'm planning to have two or three shakes per day, between meals.
It should arrive within the next week or so. I can send you an update a couple weeks after if you want.
posted by jma at 10:27 AM on October 12, 2007