Grains vs. Fruit for Mass

Diet and Nutrition
1

I posted this for CT as well, but he has not responded and I wanted to get some feedback from all the nutrition geeks on here. :slight_smile:
When in a lean mass gaining phase and eating carbs, why would one choose to make them strictly from fruits and veggies, as opposed to incorporating more complex forms from whole grains, quinoa, potatoes, oats (if not allergic), oat bran, beans, etc…?

My reasoning is this: if I am shooting for 150-200 grams carbs, and lets say I get 40 grams post workout in the form of Surge, why would it be optimal to consume 100-150 grams of carbs in the form of fruit instead of whole grains? Wouldn’t the sugar/fructose in the fruit at that high of amounts be less than optimal and possibly cause fat storage? I guess I just don’t understand the difference between the complex vs simple carbs and their role in muscle growth. I know that oat bran has a glycemic index of something like 30 or 40, which is similar to that in most fruits. So if I don’t have an allergy, wouldn’t I be less likely to store the oat bran as fat, rather than the fruit? Wouldn’t the complex carbs in the oatbran be more optimal for my muscles than refilling my liver (and possibly overfilling) with tons and tons of fruit?

Sorry, I just don’t understand this whole concept, and I would love to hear others’ thoughts. thanks.

2

Alright, unless you get overweight very easily, then I wouldn’t stray away from eating complex carbs, if your goal is to gain lean mass.

The fructose you’re talking about from fruits is actually metabolized differently than table sugar (sucrose) or dextrose (glucose) that is found in many foods people eat today. Fructose is actually metabolized through the liver and doesn’t promote much of an insulin spike. I believe studies have shown fructose doesn’t cause insulin resistance long term as well.

Post workout, however, you want to get in some protein with simple carbs (glucose/maltodextrin).

Unless it’s very difficult for you to gain weight, or you’re burning 6000 calories a day, you won’t want to actually eat refined sugars and foods (glucose and sucrose listed above) if you want to minimize fat gain.

3

Go for a mix of both, try and concentrate on grains around your workout and then for the last meals of the day eat fruit and veggies. I find this the best way to gain leans mass.

ShadoW