As already mentioned, in the process of gaining body weight, a high-calorie diet cannot but be a valuable aid. But even such an increase, like the weight loss attempt, requires precautions, especially if one intends to ensure that this affects lean mass in particular. In fact, while an uncontrolled increase in calories may lead to the accumulation of more fat than desired, it may also lead to damage of the homeostatic mechanisms affecting the regulation of body composition.

Disregulated weight gain

  When a person makes a small dietary transgression by overeating, if this non-compliance is merely an exception to what would otherwise be perfect dietary discipline, this usually does not have a particularly negative effect on body composition. In fact, in this circumstance, the homeostatic mechanism that we have already had the opportunity to discover is activated and, after a short period of slight overweight (a few days or, at most, a few weeks), the body returns to its original weight on its own, without the need to follow corrective diets or special exercise protocols. But when excess becomes a lifestyle and one habitually eats a lot (and/or badly), the homeostatic mechanism that regulates body composition becomes overloaded.

Homeostatic damage

  More specifically, as we continue to gain weight, the level of leptin produced by the adipocytes becomes increasingly higher and the amount of this hormone in the blood remains chronically high. The hypothalamus then develops what in endocrinology (the branch of medicine that studies hormones) is called leptin resistance. In other words, it stops responding to the signal sent by leptin and, as a result, no longer produces TRH, even though there is a need for it. Thus, the whole chain mechanism already illustrated is blocked; and cell metabolism not only does not increase, but may even decrease. When this happens, what is the anteroom of obesity takes place. No matter how much one eats, one always gets fat. Indeed:

1. if one continues to eat a lot, the hypothalamus’ leptin resistance persists and the metabolism continues to decrease;
2. If one hypoalerts oneself (i.e. eats less), leptin is not produced at all, and in any case the hypothalamus does not produce TRH.

Solving the problem by acting on the quality of the power supply

  In order to break free from this situation, it is necessary to resort to a diet and exercise strategy that, on the one hand, restores hypothalamic responsiveness to leptin and, on the other hand, allows one to lose weight despite a not particularly active cell metabolism. In these cases, it is necessary to intervene on the quality of the diet rather than the quantity. How to intervene on the quality of nutrition will be explained later. For now, I will only mention that if there is a hypothalamic resistance to leptin, the best thing to do is to follow a low-sugar diet for a period of at least a few weeks.

Controlled weight gain

  The best solution for controlled weight gain is a gradual, slow calorie increase, followed by a phase of a high-calorie diet with constant calories. More specifically, there are three different phases:

1. the search for the optimal calorie surplus, which identifies the amount of extra daily calories over and above the requirement that should be added weekly;
2. the weekly caloric increase, in the manner established by applying the previous point;
3. the high-calorie diet with constant calories.

It is only possible to estimate a priori how long each phase will be when one has already accumulated some experience with this type of nutrition, by referring to the timing of previous anabolic diets. In any case, it should come as no surprise that sometimes the first two phases end very early.

The search for optimal calorie surplus

  As far as the first phase is concerned, the logic is the same as in the metabolism-buildingpart: you have to add extra calories over and above your requirements by gradually increasing the amount each week until you notice a positive change in body composition. This change, however, takes on different qualitative connotations here than in the previous section: while those who want to build up their metabolism in preparation for a calorie-cutting phase should aim to stabilise their current body composition as much as possible despite the increase in calories, the athlete with anabolic ambitions should instead try to increase muscle mass. Extra calories are considered excessive when the accumulated fat counterproductively exceeds the newly affixed muscle tissue.   For example:

• assume that, after the first week of the diet, an increase of 0.2 per cent in muscle mass and 0.1 per cent in fat mass is recorded. The result is assessed positively in relation to one’s goals;
• after the second week of the diet, suppose that there is an increase of 0.3% in muscle mass and 0.25% in fat mass. The proportion between the increase in lean mass and the increase in fat mass is much less favourable to the former than to the latter than it was in the previous week, but the result is nevertheless judged functional to one’s goals, so it is assessed positively;
• After the third week, one imagines an increase of 0.5 per cent in fat mass and 0.35 per cent in muscle mass. Here there is a greater increase in body fat than in muscle tissue. The result is evaluated negatively, so the first phase of the anabolic diet is ended, having identified the diet parameters of the second week as optimal.

It is important to emphasise that even if one is aiming for a weight gain focused on muscle mass alone, it is extremely difficult to succeed in increasing body weight without at least a minimal increase in fat mass. A certain tolerance threshold is therefore a must. If it is considered advisable, once the anabolic phase of the diet is over, a weight-loss oriented diet can be introduced, so as to get rid of the body fat accumulated here, while retaining most of the new muscle tissue affixed. The increase in muscle mass, moreover, inevitably passes through a proper training protocol, which, while important in every phase of the diet, here is an absolutely necessary condition for achieving this result. It is therefore not possible to significantly increase this body composition parameter by manipulating the diet alone. Regardless of what you do with your diet, in fact, if training geared towards muscle hypertrophy is absent or inadequate, you will not notice any progress.

The weekly calorie increase

  As in the metabolism-building phase, once the optimal amount of calories for the surplus to be added has been identified, it is necessary to continue with the weekly calorie increase in the manner previously identified. For example, having identified a weekly increase in daily calories of 70 as optimal, proceed each week in increasing this amount:

• In the first week you take in an extra 70kcal/day (70 kilocalories/day);
• In the second week, daily calories are increased by another 70 units, taking in 140kcal/day more than at the beginning of this phase;
• in the third week we increase by a further 70kcal/day to 210 per day more than at the beginning of the phase;
• Etc.

This phase should also be discontinued as soon as a deterioration in body composition is detected.

The high-calorie diet with constant calories

  By the end of the second phase of the anabolic diet, you will have identified a threshold of extra calories over your requirements which, if exceeded, will lead to a worsening of your body composition. If, having reached this point, you have not yet reached your goal, then you can continue to diet, always introducing as many calories as possible that do not exceed this threshold.