Diet for an Ecto

Mercurix · 08-01-2008, 02:10 PM

Hi, I'm writing because my wife is an Ectomorph and I'm an Endomorph. I've been doing a good cutting diet (5-6 meals a day, high protein, lean meats, low carb, mostly from complex carbs, etc) and I'm losing weight and everything's fine. But my wife needs her own diet to help her gain weight (in a good way) but stay healthy. She's 5'5 and 106lbs. She has some extra flab in the love handles which seems to be the only place where she accumulates the stuff, because she has skinny legs and a tiny behind which she wants to add size to.
What would you ladies say would be her best bet, diet wise, to keep her healthy and low around the waist, but gain some mass on her legs and glutes?

P.S. She is doing a good upper/lower split training routine which I did help with (squats, deads, leg presses, and your run of the mill upper body work).

THANKS!

twinnett · 08-01-2008, 06:14 PM

Find out what she's eating now and slowly up the calories..I found for me, a good gaining macro balance was 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fat) or 30/50/20...she should be eating plenty of whole grains, fruits, veggies, good fats and quality protein...and not doing much cardio!

windsrprk · 08-02-2008, 08:25 AM

Hi there - Ectomorph checking in! I'm the same height as your wife and weighed 105lbs in the contest pic you see in my avatar. My starting weight was 117.5lbs and during the majority of the prep time I consumed 150 grams of carbohydrates, 150 grams of protein, and 30 grams of fat. Cardio was 20 minutes 6 times per week, and then upped to 30 minutes six times per week. I mention all this because it shows what I did to drop body fat and keep my muscle. Since your wife is looking to gain muscle it isn't necessary for her to do all the cardio. One to two days per week is good for her heart so if she enjoys some cardio, I say throw some in there.

If she is currently maintaining her weight on what she is eating now, I agree with twinnett and say she should slowly increase her calories. When my trainer wanted me to increase calories (and yes, they DID increase as I got closer to the show!

), it was only the carb number that increased. Protein and fat were consistent at the numbers shown above.

I highly recommend that she track her food to monitor the grams she is taking in. The website www.calorieking.com is super easy to use to get nutrient info.

Mercurix · 08-03-2008, 10:23 AM

Sounds good...thanks for the response. So is a lot of oatmeal mixed with protein probably a good addition? How many grams of sugar can she ingest daily?

Mercurix · 08-05-2008, 07:04 AM

I also forgot to ask if creatine would help her bulk at this point?

windsrprk · 08-05-2008, 09:10 AM

Hi there - I'm not sure what you consider "a lot" of oatmeal. A serving is half a cup, measured dry. The protein powder should be mixed into the oatmeal after cooking.

Sugar is a carbohydrate. Unfortunately, it is not a preferable carb source because it spikes the insulin, increasing the likelihood of fat storage. Slower burning carbs are far better, providing a steady flow of energy without the highs and crashes of simple sugars. Google bodybuilders grocery list to find a great source of foods to eat/buy at the store.

Creatine is good for increasing strength, which in turn will help her to increase size. Creatine also causes the muscle to hold more water, which will help it to look more full. She may see a slight increase on the scale due to the extra water in the muscles but its nothing to be alarmed about.