I Tested 3 Muscle Building Diets... Only 1 Was Worth It

Experiment Overview00:00

How much muscle can you really build in 90 days without gaining fat? Testing three popular muscle building diets on brother-in-law Dayton. Last year, Dayton dropped from 33% body fat to 17%. Now he wants to bulk up without getting fat again. > Now that I've cut, I really want to bulk up, get bigger at all. I'm not getting fat again. Like, I refuse to get fat again.

First Diet: Maintaining00:30

Theory: Train hard while eating at maintenance calories (2300 for Dayton) to burn body fat for muscle growth. Measurements: DEXA scans before/after each diet, plus ultrasounds, skinfolds, circumference for reliability. Maintenance calculation: body weight in pounds × 13-16 based on activity. Protein: at least 100g/day (body weight in pounds × 0.7), enough for gains if calories sufficient and not shredded bodybuilder. Allows more carbs for workouts. Sample day hits 2300 calories with veggies, lean protein, carbs.

I got my veggies, lean protein, and my carbs. We're 7 days in. My weight hasn't moved. We're doing good.

Training: 5 days/week using favorite workout split. Dayton hits PRs every workout, tracked via app to correlate strength with muscle growth.

Life Stressors Impact02:31

Roommates moving out, business dry spell, stress leads to more snacking. Holidays with Filipino desserts like ube and rice pudding. > I got my third plate of the night, a dessert. It's called ube and then some sort of rice pudding. Grandpa passed away from cancer; was father figure after dad died at age 7 from cancer. Tough time for family, but Dayton didn't miss workouts.