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I'm a classic ectomorph aged at 18, I've been hitting the gym hard for about a month now and have been able to observer some sort of progress with both machines and free weights.

However, even though I tried, I haven't really increased my diet as I should have, so my gym trainer told me to buy a mass gainer and/or whey protein powder.

So I asked my dad to get one for me, but he(and frankly most people in our country) are surrounded by myths regarding the side-effects of these shakes. He tells me that my muscles will loosen up and I will get fatty later on when I stop going to the gym, apart from the chemical and processed ingredients in it.

Not only that, it also seems to be a socially-ill thing in our society, and people who have recently undergone a body transformation, despite sweating hours in the gym, are frowned upon and made fun of as if they have taken dope-stuff. They will treat you as if just eat lots of protein powder, sit in front of the TV, and become a mesomorph from an ectomorph in few months.

Which is why I would like to ask you guys to tell me on how to make the homemade smoothies which are somewhat equivalent to the standard market mass gainers or protein shakes (since both my calorie requirement and protein requirement are way below the mark).

There are lots of articles on the internet but many of them follow different procedures, and some are from untrusted sources as well, like some will add protein poweders to the blend (which destroys the purpose) some will add oats, some not etc.

At 18 years of age, I only weigh 105 lbs or 48 kgs so I really need lots of those kcals and protein because I believe that every weak in the gym I'm doing better mechanically but there is insufficient nutrition for my muscles.

And I don't really care a lot about how it tastes as long as its rich in stuff, except for one thing,

can I substitute peanut butter for almond butter? since peanuts don't suite my too well when taken in large quantities, my gut is a happy guy with almonds though.

Invoker
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  • I referenced this question in a meta discussion. I see that this question has recieved close votes. I know why, but I disagree. Read: http://meta.fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/620/getting-a-bit-harsh-with-the-close-votes – Alec Aug 02 '15 at 16:51
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    Meso/ecto/endomorphs have been debunked, they are not accurate descriptors for bodies. – JohnP Aug 03 '15 at 16:19
  • Mass gainers are generally just sugar and/or starch powders with protein powder added. You might as well just have a milkshake from McDonald's after every workout (which is actually what I did when I started my first bulk). The carbohydrate-to-protein ratio is almost the same: milkshake vs mass gainer. Either way is really dirty. The favorite way to gain mass by bodybuilders is lots and lots of chicken and rice. – Daniel Aug 03 '15 at 18:07
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    By the way, your question was closed because it appears to relate specifically to making homemade mass gainer. Since the topic of this Q&A site is fitness, nutritional questions are only allowed if they "relate to fitness". If you reword the question a bit I think you'll get some more "reopen" votes. – Daniel Aug 03 '15 at 18:54
  • Er, well this will do, this is more than enough although I actually wanted to know the recipe :) well no worries thanks a lot for all your responses guys! – Invoker Aug 04 '15 at 14:15

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Eat more food. Too many rely on a store bought synthetic protein which can be upwards of $80.00! For that same price you could buy plenty of quality whole foods such as chicken breast, broccoli, sweet potatoes, steak, fish, brown rice, green beans and nuts. The only selling point for protein/carbohydrate shakes is the sheer convenience of them. So take this into account when making your choice, if you aren't willing or able to spend time cooking your food it might make sense to buy a protein powder. Good luck with your fitness goals!

user16531
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So you're in a cool position that you can eat a lot and try to gain the weight. As long as you keep exercising may as well take advantage of it and eat some stuff that tastes good. I don't see anything that says you have any non nut dietary restrictions so look at getting some steaks. If you can find reasonably priced ones then you will get a pretty dense amount of protein. I also personally tend to eat the fat on a steak while it is calorically dense and high in cholesterol if you are exercising consistently and want to gain the weight it is high in oils that will help you gain.

A personal favorite for post workout is tuna fish. It is very high in protein equivalent to most shakes etc. Try making a bowl of easy mac or something similar mixing in tuna (I add salsa as well.) Its high calorie and high protein so will help you gain weight. Oatmeal can also be good for that.

A third thing to try would be drink more milk. Chocolate milk has the optimal ratio of protein and carbs for post workout and is a staple of the USOC's recommended post workout regimen. I hope this helped.

ford prefect
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  • I get your point but I'm already 4 large meals a day, complimented with various snacks and atleast 3 large glasses of milk and 2 bowls of curd/yoghurt everyday. The reason that I wanted this mass gainer blend was to add some more healthy kcals to what I'm already eating.... – Invoker Aug 03 '15 at 06:01
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Eat more calories in your diet and stick to high protein and nutritional foods.

Protein powders are just a quick, cheap, and easy way to get the required amount of proteins in your diet. Try eating bananas, peanut/almond butter, and beans. If you're trying to find a protein powder replacement, just find foods with lots of protein!

At 105lbs, you won't need that much. On workout days, it's usually agreed that you'll need about 0.8g per pound of body weight. So 80g of protein will be about 3 servings of fish.

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