3000 Calories Sample Ectomorph Diet – Muscle-Building Meal Plan for Weight Gain

As naturally skinny people (men or women), it is essential to consume carbohydrates throughout the day to attain optimal energy levels and muscle building. Since you have a high metabolism as a hard gainer, the worst thing you can do if you want to gain mass and build lean muscle mass quickly is restricting yourself from eating carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are very essential for muscle building, and a lot of hard gainers and skinny individuals don’t understand the purpose of having carbs in your system both before and after intense workout sessions.

3000 Calories Sample Ectomorph Diet – Muscle-Building Meal Plan for Weight Gain

Ectomorph Diet Plan Principles

Now that you know the main characteristics of ectomorphs and whether or not you fall into this category let’s move ahead to next step.

Eat Surplus (Excess) Calories. For ectomorphs to gain more muscle and put on weight, they will have to increase their consumption of calories than they usually do. Unlike the popular people’s belief, tracking calories is as important for ectomorphs as those on a weight-loss diet. So, how will you do it?

To begin with, do the estimation of a total number of calories you consume daily. You can use Myfitnesspal Calorie Chart for the same. Once you know your gross calorie intake rate, it’s time to calculate your daily calorie expenditure with the use of Calorie Calculator. If the value of both the intake calories and expenditure are equal, then you gain almost nothing.

Eat Food with High Calorie. Taking a cue from the principle aforementioned, It is a must for an ectomorph to eat enough food daily. Having said that, it’s essential for ectomorphs to put into consideration the calorie density of the food they are eating.

Being an ectomorph, you may decide to skip all the food items with a low-calorie density such as food items you need to consume in massive quantity to make considerable calorie gains. For instance, a small cup of cooked oatmeal contains just about 100-120 calories but proves very effective in suppressing hunger and will make you feel full quickly when consumed.

Hence, ectomorphs are advised to avoid such foods and choose high calorie-dense foods like dried fruits, meat, fish and whey protein.

Eat Frequently. Well, truthfully, eating three meals a day won’t work at all. Once you are on an ectomorph diet, you will have to eat at least 6-8 meals daily and that too at frequent intervals. Out of these meals, you have to at least eat three major meals and three small meals or snacks.

It would be of advice to keep breakfast, lunch, and dinner as main meals and adding healthy snacks to the diet between each of these meals. This way, not only you will be able to keep the height of energy levels throughout such (that) day but also ease the process of gaining weight which may be a difficult task to accomplish otherwise.

Use Protein Shakes. Though some people said, protein shakes are just for superior bodybuilders and athletes? Average skinny individuals can also use protein shakes for his benefit in many ways. Firstly, protein shakes (especially the ones made-up with high-quality whey isolate) are among the finest ways to increase the protein intake. Above all, protein shakes can help ectomorphs attain their daily calorie target with ease along with whey protein, add ingredients like peanut butter, oats, yogurt and fresh fruits to your protein shake.

It will be better if you to avoid all sorts of weight gainers. Although weight gainers are rich in calories, nonetheless, they are fully loaded with sugars and artificial additives.

Relying entirely upon weight gainers may prove to be fatal in the long run. Instead of using mass gainers, I would suggest you use a better source of complete protein like whey protein and casein protein.

If you start your diet with this 3000 Calories Sample meal plan, you will definitely feel the difference in few days.

Sample Ectomorph Diet Plan

This diet plan for ectomorphs is categorized into six meals of three major meals and three minor meals – snacks.

Meal 1 – Breakfast

One scoop whey isolate

One cup whole milk

One large banana

cup oats

Two tablespoons peanut butter

Cocoa powder to taste

Grind (blend) and mix all the above ingredients in a blender, and there you have it a calorie dense whey protein shake.

Nutritional Tips – Choose old-fashioned plain dry oats which are available on the market these days. However, keep in mind not to buy “masala” or flavored oats for this protein shake type. You can even add a scoop of any ice cream of your favorite. Blending all the ingredients to an excellent size may take some time. Just be patience.

Totals (approximate)

Calories – 630-660

Protein – 40g

Carbs – 60g

Fat – 25g

Meal 2 – Snack

Two slices of whole wheat bread

Two tablespoon peanut butter

One tablespoon jam

One large banana

Nutritional tips – Do not choose white bread or multi-grain bread. Those are just processed garbage. Rather, use whole wheat bread. You may replace banana with the fruit of your choice fruit of similar proportion.

Totals (approximate)

Fats – 15

Calories – 500-530

Carbs – 80-90

Protein – 15

Meal 3 – Lunch

150-grams skinless chicken breast

cup brown rice

cup green salad

One tablespoon butter

Nutritional tips – to cut down the fat content, Purchase skinless chicken breast which is trimmed of fat. Do not forget to get your greens in this meal. A bowl of salad made with cabbage, beans, onions, cucumbers, and carrots.

Totals (approximate)

Calories – 470-500

Fats – 6g

Carbs – 75g

Protein – 40g

Meal 4 – Pre-Workout Shake

One scoop whey protein

One serving creatine monohydrate powder

One cup fat-free milk

One large banana

Nutritional tips – The primary purpose of this pre-workout shake is to channelize the flow of protein and other essential nutrients to create for the muscles better blood flow and thereby long-lasting pump during the workout. To achieve a better result, it is necessary to purchase creatine with fine particles (best if it’s 200 Mesh Grade). Eat this shake 15-30 minutes before your workout starts.

Totals (approximate)

Carbs – 60g

Fat – 2g

Calories – 350

Protein – 26g

Meal 5 – post workout Shake

One scoop whey protein

One serving BCAA powder

One scoop dextrose monohydrate

One cup fat-free milk

cup grapes

20-gram dark chocolate

Nutritional tips – a post-workout shake is meant to regenerate and refuel the lost energy during the training session, and whey protein and BCAAs are going to help you grow and recover, dextrose monohydrate (fast carbs) will replenish the lost glycogen stores during exercise. Moreover, fast carbs contain a good number of calories, a necessity keeping in mind the diet for an ectomorph.

Add any fruit of your favorite to the mix to gain extra carbs. A surprise addition to the shake can be a medium piece of dark chocolate which does not only be a powerful source of antioxidants but also helps to improve blood flow and to soothe the mood.

Totals (approximate)

Carbs – 100-120g

Fats – 8g

Calories – 560-600

Protein – 27g

Meal 6 – Dinner

150-grams skinless chicken breast or similar proportion of tuna fish

cup brown rice

cup green salad

One tablespoon butter

Nutritional tips – If you feel bored after eating chicken breast in the lunch, you may replace it with fish of the same proportion. Choose brown rice instead of the white one. One thing worth mentioning here is to ensure you finish your dinner by at least 3-4 hours before bedtime. Since you are a considering estimate of carbohydrates taken in the last meal of the day; After dinner, go out for brisk walking. This will help to burn calories also recover very fast.

Totals (approximate)

Carbs – 60g

Calories – 450-480

Fat – 10g

Protein – 40g

Totals for a whole day of Ectomorph diet (approximate)

Carbs – 400-450g

Calories – 3000-3100

Protein – 160-180g

Fat – 60-70g

The total amount of calories for this 3000 calories sample meal plan for ectomorphs is the perfect starting point for muscle building for any hard-gainer. Do not lose any time and start gaining weight now!