To gain mass or to get shredded, you want to have at least 6-7 meals a day, but the two different diets is determined by how much you eat at one time. Even when you cut up, you need to constantly eat to supply your body with protein and to prevent your body from going into a catabolic state, in which it feeds off of itself in order to supply its body with nutrients. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn to maintain it. Furthermore, if your body knows that food is coming, it will use that food as readily burned energy. When you don’t eat for long periods of time, it stores that food as body fat to be preserved for food in a later time in the day. Often times it is not used as energy so the fat accumulates.

Also, you should be drinking at least a minimum of one gallon of water a day. Whether you are gaining mass or cutting up, your water consumption should not change. Water is the one of the most important nutrients your body can get. In addition, try to incorporate a variety of juices (ex: orange juice, apple juice, vegetable juice, etc) into your fluid consumption to meet daily nutritional needs.

Sample Mass Meal Plan

8:00 AM (Wake-up)- 20 g Whey Protein + Blueberries + Banana + Coffee

9:30 AM- 8 Egg Whites + 2 Yolks + 2 Packages of Instant Oatmeal (20 g carbs) + Fruit

11:30 AM- Handful of Almonds + Glass 1% Milk

1:00 PM- Grilled Chicken Breasts + Brown Rice (80 g carbs)

3:00 PM (Pre-workout)- 40 g Whey Protein + Apple + Coffee + 5 g Creatine

5:30 PM (Post-Workout)- 55 g Whey protein + 80 g fast-digesting carbs + 5 g glutamine

6:30 PM- Large Flank Steak + Whole Wheat Pasta in Red Sauce + Mixed Vegetables Drizzled with Olive Oil

8:30 PM- Glass of 1% Milk with Piece of 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

11:00 PM- Bowl of Low-fat Cottage Cheese Mixed with Fruit + 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter