Now that we know how not to be fat slugs, we can address our next problem: How do we build muscle? Losing fat, after all, is not enough.

We already have the information we need. We know about insulin. We know about leptin. We know about protein. We know about triglycerides and fatty acids. We know that trying to predict weight gain by caloric intake is like trying to guess the size of a building by reading the electric bill.

We just need to put the knowledge together. So, what is necessary for muscle to grow?

Well, why hasn't it already grown? Why don't our bodies just pack on as much muscle as we have the protein to build?

Because muscle is expensive. Not only to build, not only to use, but to maintain. Even sleeping, giant ripped dudes burn a lot of calories. Your body is evolved to budget smartly. Under primitive conditions, when scarcity was not universal, but could occur at any time, there was a serious tradeoff between being strong, and wasting precious resources.

If muscle is a large expense, your frugal body is only willing to incur that expense when the purchase is:

  • Affordable.
  • Necessary.
  • Available.

In other words, you need:

  • Abundant calories.
  • Progressive overload.
  • Protein and testosterone.

Let's break that down.

  • You must eat a lot of calories. Your system must be convinced that it not only can support the muscle, but is likely to be able to do so in the future. Frugal, smart people don't have one good month in sales, then go out and buy a yacht. They have to be convinced they can afford it in the future. That means lots of calories. Consistently over time.

  • You must overload. Lift heavy things. If you don't how to do this, there are plenty of resources out there. But "exercise" isn't enough. Jogging is "exercise". Unless your muscles are unequal to the strain you put on them, they will not need to grow to become equal to it.

  • You must have not only the raw material to build muscle with, but also the machinery to produce muscle. This means not only lots of protein meat, but also healthy elevated levels of testosterone or even more effective testosterone analogues. Needles don't really hurt that much, you know.

Calories, overload, meat, testosterone. If you are not getting stronger, one of those four things is the bottleneck.

And if you don't know which one it is, it's probably calories or protein.

One of the most common traps to fall into when trying to gain, especially for those of you who tend to be skinny fucks rather than fat fucks, is to assume you are eating enough when you aren't. Anyone knows when they are not lifting.

"But I eat a lot." Yeah, and are you gaining? Eat more.

"I eat whenever I am hungry".

And there's your problem. Hunger is not your guide. Most men think that they will become hungry if they are building muscle, so they should lift, wait to become ravenous, and eat until they are satisfied. They are wrong. All your frugal body wants to do is put back what was damaged. If you want to become stronger, the calories must already be there.

Think about this for a moment. Hunger is what you feel when gastrointestinal cells release ghrelin in response to elevated glucagon levels, in response to low blood glucose. What lowers blood glucose? Consumption by cells, of course, but too consume glucose, a cell must exist. It can't eat if your body hasn't built it yet.

Which means you must feed the body you want, not the body you have. If you are already lifting heavy, you must convince your system that calories are readily available. Then, and only then, will it splurge on big-ticket items like large muscles.