Torwen:
Hello and welcome back to the Ideal Nutrition Podcast. My name is Torwen and I am here with my co-host Aidan. I am pretty excited for today’s episode, like genuinely. I think many of you will find it useful. We often see these things in practice. Today we are talking about the biggest nutrition mistakes we see for muscle gain. Each of us has written our own list to chat through. We will go back and forth, so it should flow nicely. I will start with not eating enough.
We know a calorie surplus is optimal for efficient muscle gain. It provides fuel for anabolic growth and recovery. It also helps maximise muscle protein synthesis across the day. A surplus covers the higher metabolism that comes with more muscle. It also includes the thermic effect of digesting food, which adds up.
Aidan:
Yeah, for sure, there is so much to say. This should not be controversial at all. Undereating slows muscle growth, obviously. I have an extreme thought experiment here. Some people claim you do not need a surplus. Imagine someone starting with a very low body weight. They would need a surplus for their weight to rise at all.
If that person can gain enough muscle to increase body weight, a surplus will optimise growth. It gets more interesting with very high starting body fat. Still, I see two clear points here. First, a small surplus is required to maximise muscle growth. Second, when research compares maintenance, small surplus, and large surplus, the large surplus grows slightly more muscle. There is good evidence this matters, but context still matters.
Torwen:
The big question is how large the surplus should be. It is not super clear, but we want efficiency. A large surplus might add a little more muscle. It likely adds a lot more fat, though. So we need to find the balance that is worth it.
I looked at a study on elite athletes and body composition. Is this Garth et al? I think so. They compared about a 200 calorie surplus with about 500 calories. Muscle gain was only marginally higher in the larger surplus group. Fat gain increased dramatically, like a lot.
Aidan:
I agree, the fat gain difference was massive. The muscle difference was tiny by comparison. I wish I had a visual to show it. It clearly supports a small surplus for most people. This is a small study, but it reflects research and practice. That is why the second mistake is eating too many calories. I like a simple analogy for this. Think how much muscle you could realistically gain in a year. Do not go overly generous, like keep it real. Assume you train hard and avoid major injuries. Consider a realistic best case for yourself. Then think about monthly gain targets. If your monthly rate far exceeds that yearly capacity, you are gaining fat.
A 500 calorie surplus might add about half a kilo per week. That is oversimplified, but it makes the point. How long can you run that with much of it as muscle? You also need training load to match that goal. I see this mistake often, especially in powerlifting.
People push scale weight before a competition. They want to be as strong as possible on meet day. They also try to fill a weight class. Say the class is 90 kilos and they weigh 85. They plan to gain five kilos in eight weeks. By definition, most of that cannot be muscle, like no chance.
Torwen:
The next topic is protein. There are many angles here. I will start with insufficient protein intake. This is probably the biggest and most important one.
Aidan:
My standard range for building muscle is 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilo. I do have caveats, though. You will see other ranges and broader targets out there. If you want to maximise gains and go below this, you likely go too low. I also think returns diminish above 2.2. You are not capped at 2.2, but the extra gains get tiny.
Here is why I think that, like practically. If a study compares 3.4 grams per kilo to 2.0, I predict more muscle at 3.4. Often the higher group does gain more, but only a bit. Charting the research shows more growth at higher intakes. The increase gets very small at the top end. It makes you ask how much it really matters. Most people do not care about a tiny difference, honestly.
Torwen:
I also ask what you sacrifice by pushing protein very high. Very high protein can displace nutrient-dense foods. It can replace healthy fats and carbs you still need. I usually aim between 1.6 and 2.2 for balance, like a sweet spot.
Aidan:
That leads to another mistake people make. They do not prioritise micronutrient intake enough. Micronutrients support general health and how you feel. They also carry over to performance, often indirectly. Think magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3s, and zinc. We discussed magnesium and sleep on the last podcast. Higher magnesium intakes are linked with better sleep. Healthy-user bias could play a role, but the point stands. Focusing on micronutrients still makes sense.
Torwen:
Another issue is neglecting carbohydrates. Many people chasing muscle only talk about protein. Carbohydrates still enhance performance, like a lot. They are the preferred fuel for the body and brain. If you fuel sessions well, you can give more in training. That can lead to more muscle gain over time.
Aidan:
I agree, and I wish research here was cleaner. We lack great body composition trials in a surplus comparing carbs directly. Theory and practice suggest carbs help you get more reps. Glycogen supports performance in higher-volume sets. We do not have many trials with calories and protein matched. In practice, low-carb groups often fail to reach a surplus. Studies then show high-carb diets outperform. People under-eat in the low-carb groups, so that skews things. With calories and protein matched, I believe high-carb would still outperform.
Torwen:
What about fat then? We want to meet minimum fat needs. Fat supports hormones and brain function, also general health. When does fat start hurting the macro balance overall?
Aidan:
I would not go below 0.5 grams per kilo per day. You could argue slightly lower or higher, sure. I pick that as a safe, acceptable floor. In men, higher fat can slightly raise testosterone. I have not seen that translate into more muscle. That sounds odd without context, but it is true. Small hormonal shifts do not automatically build more muscle. Higher fat also crowds out protein and carbs at fixed calories. I rarely recommend over 100 grams of fat when optimising muscle gain. Too much fat lowers carbs and glycogen for training, which hurts performance.
Torwen:
I want to return to protein for a moment. Daily total matters most, like first priority. We can also discuss distribution, quality, and timing. Eating frequently and spreading protein helps muscle protein synthesis. The benefit appears across a 24 hour period.
Aidan:
I think that is the consensus right now. A 2023 paper by Jaune Tramellon raised an interesting point. He compared very high protein in one meal to a smaller dose. The study compared 100 grams to 25 grams and to zero. They measured muscle protein synthesis over a long period. One hundred outperformed 25 in that setup. Many people then claimed distribution does not matter. But that study did not test multiple meals or true distribution. It only tested one big dose versus one small dose. My view stays the same here. Total protein matters most, and distribution still matters.
Torwen:
Another result stood out as well. Muscle protein synthesis was about 25 percent higher when spread across three meals. At breakfast, 30 grams outperformed 10 grams by about 30 percent. That helps in practice for many people. People often push protein later in the day. Adding more protein to breakfast is positive, like an easy win.
Aidan:
I want more studies on meal frequency at the same daily target. Compare two meals that meet the target to four or five meals. Does that change daily synthesis or breakdown meaningfully? We do not have much data there, honestly.
Torwen:
People always ask about the anabolic window. Let us cover that next, like briefly. I will share my thoughts first, and I want yours too.
Aidan:
No, but I think we can stop here for video. You reckon we switch now? We will not have video for the rest. That is okay, we can run audio only. I think that is fine for today.
Torwen:
People often mention a magical one hour window after training. They say you should have far more protein then. We usually see a broader three to five hour window instead. Consuming 20 to 40 grams helps because you just damaged muscle fibres. What are your thoughts on that, Aidan?
Aidan:
I am big on that general window, absolutely. The phrasing comes from a 2014 paper by Alan Aragon and Brad Schoenfeld. It aligns with my thoughts pretty closely. Timing still matters, even if some people say it does not. Reaching your full daily target once per day would not work well. Doubling the target every second day would not either, like obviously. Protein around training helps a little, before or after. It is lower priority than total intake, but it still matters. Pre-training protein helps because digestion takes time. A decent serve one to two hours before can still help after. Amino acids can peak near the end of training, which is useful.
Torwen:
Another common mistake is not using supplements to your advantage. Two stand out to me straight away. Protein powder is the first, and it is practical. A client asked why dietitians recommend protein powders. They asked why we push non-whole foods. We are not pushing them, like at all. We offer another way to increase protein intake. It helps people reach daily targets in a simple, easy way.
Aidan:
Criticisms beyond processing are limited in my view. People say powders lack micronutrients from whole foods. Many powders do contain useful nutrients, including calcium. Powders are a convenient tool to replace other protein sources. They are less filling than steak or chicken, obviously. They win on convenience and ease. I assume the other supplement is creatine.
Torwen:
Absolutely, creatine is the other one.
Aidan:
A big mistake is inconsistent creatine use. Many people start and then stop, or forget. Research shows people gain muscle about one third faster over 12 weeks. That reflects muscle, not just lean mass from water. Early water gain can confuse lean mass numbers, also true. I do not think five years of creatine equals a third more muscle. Short-term studies still show clear benefits, though. We often do much more for less benefit in training. I think about finishing accessories when I do not want to. Creatine is easier than that, and likely helps more.
Torwen:
We also talk about picking a consistent time of day. Creatine barely tastes like anything, honestly. Add it to water, juice, or another drink you like. It is easy to include daily. Consistency unlocks the full benefits, so stick with it.
Do you have a take on creatine gummies? I know you posted about them recently. We want gummies to actually contain creatine. Many popular brands contained very little, like barely any. What are your thoughts, Aidan? Do you recommend them or not?
Aidan:
I have two points to make here. Many gummies did not contain much creatine, which came to light. In hindsight, some labels looked odd from the start. Some listed a six gram serving with five grams of creatine. That leaves almost no room for other ingredients, like obviously. The maths did not add up at all. Gummies taste nice, which people like. I barely notice powder taste, but gummies do taste better. If a gummy truly contains creatine, I support it for inconsistent users.
Our colleague Tyler has a different take, which I get. He says just be an adult and take the powder. Gummies cost more per serve, and that adds up. I see his perspective, but consistency matters most. Many people are inconsistent with powder, so gummies help. People can choose what suits them best. I prefer powder personally, but gummies can work if they fix consistency.
Torwen:
If people are happy to pay extra for convenience, that works for me. It can be a win-win for adherence. That summarises our discussion for today. Do you have anything else to add, or is that everything?
Aidan:
That covers my list today, yeah, all good.
Torwen:
Fantastic, we could go on because we see this a lot in practice. Thank you for listening, everyone, and for your time. This has been episode 222 of the Ideal Nutrition Podcast. We hope you found useful feedback here today. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating or review. It means a lot to us, and we really appreciate it. Thank you so much.