If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can follow their performance, compete and get discounts in nutrition and sports equipment stores. Download it here.

And if we add to this the great myths that continue to spread today, the consequences can be catastrophic.

“You have to eat 5 or 6 times every 3 hours.”

One of the great myths is that if you want to gain muscle mass or hypertrophy you must eat at least every 2-3 hours, so you should eat 5-7 times a day.

If our goal is to increase muscle mass, then it is clear that we need to eat more calories than we consume. The question is that most of the time you should be supervised by a specialist. If it is not possible for you to eat every three hours, you will generate a stress condition in your body with uncertain results.

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What you have to do is organize yourself on a schedule and distribute the total calories you consume between the number of meals that you can “assume” daily. The most important account you have to keep is the total calories ingested in a day. Keep in mind that if you stay hungry between meals, you may end up eating things you don’t want between meals.

“You need to take 20 grams of protein per serving.”

Another myth is that each intake requires 20 grams of protein. This means that both a person who weighs 60kg and another who weighs 90kg should take 20 grams of protein for each meal they eat at the end of the day. As you can understand this does not make sense since the maximum, the minimum and the personalization of the dose will depend on each individual.

A “normal” value for protein intake is approximately 1.8-2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, so for an average adult weighing around 80 kilograms, protein intake per day is 144-200 grams. Assuming a maximum protein intake of 200 grams per day, if for every meal you eat 20 grams of protein, you must eat 10 meals with that amount of protein to reach your goal.

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“You have to burn 20% more calories.”

Another oft-repeated statement is that caloric intake should be 20% higher than maintenance calories. Once again, they have ignored the phrase “each person is the world”, inviting the cliché of not individualizing the intake of each one.

Remember that the total number of additional calories consumed is 20% of those burned. In this way, the excess calories we consume to gain muscle mass is 10-20%.

Also, remember that by consuming more calories than you consume, the proportion of these excess calories eaten is partially stored as fat (it’s impossible for all calories to be stored as muscle). The higher the percentage of calories we eat, the higher the percentage that is stored as fat.

“The supplement is mandatory”

And here is one of the star myths. “Supplements are essential to gain muscle mass.” Supplements are just that: supplements and their purpose are macronutrients, vitamins, or amino acids that may be needed to complete the diet or daily physical activity.

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If you’re following the advice of a registered dietitian and don’t have a food intolerance, it’s unlikely you’ll need any kind of supplement.

Note, this does not mean that the supplement is useless. There are certain supplements such as whey protein, creatine and omega-3 that help in certain situations.

For those looking to lose weight, gaining weight is an easy task. The challenge is to protect the body by focusing on health first, and gain weight without dieting on junk food.

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile and video-based social network for users who train strength and/or body weight exercises. At Fitenium users can find free personalized routines, follow their performance, compete and get discounts at nutrition stores and sports equipment. Download it here.

Nut

Brazil nuts, walnuts and macadamia nuts are the calories with the highest concentration of good fats for our body and are ideal for increasing the energy intake of the diet without forgetting quality.

We can consume nuts in the form of snacks daily in small handfuls, or incorporate them into crushed or powdered preparations to increase satiety. Therefore, you can add them to homemade sauces and dressings, cake batter, pies, breads, or in a bowl of milk or yogurt at breakfast.

Cashew fruit

They are a type of very small seed and can be easily added to any type of preparation such as a pie base, empanadas, smoothies, cakes and cookies. Best of all, though, they feature health-preserving calcium-rich antioxidant polyphenols.

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These seeds are less satisfactory because they concentrate more essential fatty acids and their composition has less protein than other choices. Therefore, its intake is more than beneficial for health and helps to add many daily calories.

Extra virgin olive oil

Like all vegetable oils, it has 99.9% fat, which is why it occupies a prominent place in the ranking of caloric foods, especially among those of excellent quality.

In addition, extra virgin olive oil is rich in polyphenols, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and withstands high temperatures, which makes it ideal for cooking, with a pleasant flavor that stands out among locally produced oils. Recommended for daily use as part of the dressing or as other preparations such as biscuits and homemade jams.

Wheat oats

It is one of the options with the highest caloric content of all cereals, it is high in fiber and vegetable protein and has valuable properties for the body such as healthy fats, vitamins and minerals that protect the body.

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On the other hand, it is very versatile and suitable for a variety of dishes that help you gain weight with a healthy diet, such as homemade cookies, burgers, shakes and energy bars.

peanut butter

A widely used breakfast food on toast, it is also suitable for a variety of recipes with a variety of excellent nutrients and valuable properties, such as healthy dressings and ice creams.

Of course, we recommend the sugar-free version, which makes it easier to obtain a food rich in vegetable proteins at home, but above all, it enriches your diet and gains kilos while you are healthy. It is a good source of calories that can be obtained from high-quality fats.

dates

For healthy people who want to remember their sweets and gain weight, dates can be very helpful in preparing sweet dishes with natural sugar and other high-quality nutrients.

In addition to sugar, the date contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, fiber and antioxidants typical of fruits. When used as a sweetener, it adds a large amount of calories to the diet with which you will increase your weight.

Hazelnut cream

Hazelnut spread is a great option that can be used as an alternative to butter and margarine in many recipes. When cooking at home, you can make “nutera” without adding sugar. Ideal for maintaining good health by adding high-quality calories to your diet.

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Hazelnut spread allows you to make cookies, healthy brownies, or a variety of other delicious, fatty dishes without the need for high sugar, vitamin E, or potassium.

dried peach

This is a way to add good quality carbohydrates, especially fiber, potassium, iron, and vegetable calcium.

Without the addition of sugar, dried peaches go great with a variety of dishes such as energy bars, salads, smoothies, dips and can make for a sweet and energetic preparation. They also contain many nutrients and will help you gain weight without going overboard with sugar.

avocado

Although it is a fresh fruit, it has more calories than others because it contains fat. It is a source of high proportions of potassium, fiber and vitamin B, and also contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which are fatty acids that help cardiovascular health, along with other properties that avocados provide.

Avocado, consumed in desserts, empanadas, sauces and a variety of other preparations, on the other hand, helps to enrich our diet with nutrients and increase calories while taking care of our health.

If you want to stay healthy, gain weight, and add more calories to your diet while getting good nutrients, we recommend you consider these nine foods.