The Ideal Nutrition Podcast · Aidan Muir and Torwen Eerkens

Biggest Nutrition Mistakes for Muscle Gain

·21 min·1 clip

Torin recommends 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight for most people building muscle.

The episode starts with Torin introducing a list of the biggest nutrition mistakes they see for muscle gain. He and Aiden plan to move back and forth through their own lists. The first mistake is under-eating. They treat a calorie surplus as the most direct way to support muscle growth. The reason is practical, not flashy: more food gives the body fuel for anabolic growth processes, rebuilding muscle, recovery, protein synthesis, and the higher energy demand that comes with more muscle, along with the thermic effect of digesting food. From there, the conversation shifts to carbohydrate intake. They note that low-carb diets often look worse in studies because people usually fail to reach even a small calorie surplus on them, especially when they are newer to the diet. That makes clean comparisons difficult. Even so, their working view is that if calories and protein were matched, higher-carb diets would still likely outperform. The discussion then moves to dietary fat. They agree that fat should not be pushed too low. A safe bet is not going below 0.5 grams per kilo of body weight per day. That floor is tied to hormone support and brain function. They also caution against assuming that higher fat intake automatically means more muscle. Small rises in testosterone are not enough on their own to show a muscle-building advantage. The tone stays measured throughout. They keep returning to what is useful in practice rather than what sounds persuasive online. The episode ends as a straightforward, experience-shaped conversation about what actually trips people up when they are trying to gain size.

As heard by us

A clear take on the basics of muscle gain, with a useful look at carbs, fat, and the cost of skipping the calorie surplus.

The episode stays on practical muscle gain mistakes: eating too little, missing the calorie surplus, and getting lost in macro math before the basics are in place.

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Why you'd press play

Your bulk stalls because under-eating is often the first mistake.

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