Answer: 2 scoops (or 100g )of mass gainer a day is best because you’re able to treat it like a supplement, being an addition to what you’re already consuming, whilst also gaining an excellent amount of calories. With 100g, you limit the likelihood of you going beyond your surplus, whilst also adding a good amount of protein to your diet. Limiting your consumption to around 100g a day is better financially in the long run and gives you enough room to still consume majority of your calories from whole foods.
2 scoops/100grams
The best amount of mass gainer per day is 2 scoops, which is also 100 grams. Every mass gainer manufacturer has their own scoop size, but usually it is around 50 grams. Generally, though, the peak amount is 2 scoops.
With 2 scoops, or 100 grams, the macros are as follows:
| Macros | Mass gainer |
|---|---|
| Calories | 380 |
| Protein | 23g |
| Carbs | 67g |
| Fat | 1.8g |
| Sugars | 5.7g |
In itself, those macros are equivalent to a meal and that’s just from 2 scoops of powder. You get a good amount of protein, a high amount of carbs, low amount of fat and an appropriate amount of sugar.
Having around 100g a day helps you to remain in a healthy range and utilise mass gainer effectively. Mass gainer is intended to help individuals bulk, which means to consume more calories than your body needs to maintain it’s weight. By having 100 grams of mass gainer each day, you’ll instantly be adding just under 400 calories, a decent amount of protein and excellent carbs.
The key thing to remember when bulking is that you want to remain in a healthy surplus. The general recommendation is to not go above a 500 calorie surplus.
For example, if you’re maintenance is 2400 calories. Then eating 2900 calories would be a surplus of 500 calories, and thus you’d be putting on weight (ideally muscle if you’re doing things correctly).
By having more than 100 grams of mass gainer, you run the risk of eating too much of a caloric surplus, which results in fat gain and could create health risks in the long run. On the label of many mass gainers, they state upwards to 1200 calories per serving. You can do that if you wish, but the optimal amount per day is 100 grams. With 100 grams, you’re able to easily pack on around 400 calories, but you also leave yourself with enough room to get your calories from other sources.
Remember, mass gainer is a supplement!
At the end of the day, it’s meant to be an addition to what you’re already consuming. It shouldn’t be the source of half of your calories. You need to use enough so that it gives you a good amount of calories and makes bulking easier, but also so that you get majority of your calories from other food sources. This is why 100g is the best.
On top of this, with this amount you can make the following bulking shake:
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
- 250ml of whole milk
- 30g of oats
- 50g of mixed berries
- 100g of mass gainer
Blend the ingredients
Macros
- Calories: 920
- Protein: 41g
- Carbs: 135g
- Fat: 23g
This is the sweet spot for most people.
Consequences of going beyond 2 scoops/100 grams:
Beyond a supplement
- As mentioned previously, when you go beyond 100 grams, you start to use it as more than a supplement. It’s important to treat mass gainer as a supplement to your diet and macros. It should never be used as a key source of calories. Treat your mass gainer like a supplement and stay around 100 grams a day. 100 grams a day is already quite a lot for a supplement of this kind, so going beyond results in the intended purpose being forgotten.
Costly
- Having more than 100 grams will become costly in the long run. By increasing your amount, this will reduce the length of time you’ll have the product. Bear in mind that having 100 grams already is a lot, but increasing that will become much more costly. For example, if you purchase a 2.7kg tub and you consume 100g a day, then the tub will last you a little bit under a month. However, if you double your consumption and have 200g a day, that means the tub will only last you just under two weeks. This means you’ll have to spend even more, just for it to last you a month. Of course, you can simply buy a bigger size, but overall, more mass gainer a day means you’ll be spending more in the long run to maintain this diet.
Health Risks
- Having an excessive amount of mass gainer for a long period of time can cause health problems. Having too much mass gainer can cause issues such as dehydration, digestive issues, kidney damage and more.
Unnecessary Fat Gain
- You’ll be prone to unnecessary fat gain if you consume an excessive amount of mass gainer and if you’re not watching your overall caloric intake carefully. It’s important to understand and be wary of how many calories you’re consuming if you’re having so much mass gainer. To prioritise muscle growth, you don’t want to go beyond a healthy surplus. Having too much mass gainer can increase the likelihood of that happening because you may underestimate just how many calories you’re consuming.
Factors to consider
Your necessary calories
You may not even need 100 grams of mass gainer in your diet if your caloric amount is not that high. Some people’s bulking calories is around 2700 calories. In this situation, you may only need an extra 200 calories to finally reach that amount. As a result, 100g of mass gainer would not be necessary.
In another situation, your calories needed to bulk properly could be 3800 calories. You may be struggling to get to that whole amount on whole foods alone, so utilising all 100 grams of mass gainer would be quite beneficial. It depends upon the person, but the 100 gram amount is likely to be enough for most people.
There are those with exceptions who may want to go above 100 grams, but it’s important to remember that this is a supplement. An addition to what you’re already consuming.
If you’re eating enough whole foods
Before you even consider going beyond 100 grams, analyse if you’re eating enough whole foods. Could you add more carbs to a meal? More protein? More fat?
It’s very easy to simply jump to increasing your mass gainer amount, but it’s important to first look at your meals. Are they low calorie?
Simple ways to increase your whole food consumption is to wake up earlier, to give yourself more time to eat throughout the day. You can add olive oil, you can use whole eggs instead of egg whites and you could add in whole nuts etc. There many methods you can use to increase your whole food intake.
Ask yourself “are there any ways I can increase my calories from whole foods?”
If you can make your own at home
You can simply make your own mass gainer at home, without the supplement. You can use any of the following ingredients:
– 250ml of whole milk
– 50g of protein powder
– 40g of rolled oats
– 150g of non-fat Greek yoghurt
– 120 grams of egg whites
– 60g of powdered peanut butter
– 1 Banana
– 20g of peanut butter
You can get over 700 calories and 40grams of protein very easily by selecting a few of those ingredients. There are more ingredients that you may like, but these are a few easy ones you could use instead
Ingredient list
It’s important to look at the ingredient list of mass gainers. To create it’s high-calorie content, there are many fillers and carbohydrates added. This is a reason as to why the ingredient list is so high. It’s important for you, since you’re going to be consuming around a 100g a day, that you analyse the ingredient list.
You should find a mass gainer that does not have an excessively high amount of fillers, vegetable oils, fats, emulsifiers etc.
Some manufacturers will add low-quality ingredients that cost less in order to increase calories. Before buying, look at the back label and email the company if you have any questions. Having 100g a day can add up, so you should know exactly what you’re putting in your body.
