Mass Gainer vs Protein Powder: Which Do You Need?

Some people only have to look at a pie to put on weight. If you're the opposite, you know how frustrating it is. You eat what feels like plenty, your mates tell you to "just eat more", and the scales don't move. Maybe you're new to the gym and want to fill out. Maybe you've been training for a while and stalled. Or maybe you don't train at all, you've always been slim, your appetite is small and you'd simply like a bit more on your frame. This guide is for all of you, and there are no silly questions.

We'll explain the real difference between a mass gainer and a protein powder, how much extra food you need, and how to make a gainer shake at home with real food.

What's the difference?

A protein powder is mostly protein: a practical way to get enough quality protein while keeping calories down. [1] A mass gainer mixes protein with carbohydrate powders, so a serve is roughly 90 g of powder (a 3 kg bag of Big Mass gives 33 serves), about three times a scoop of protein powder, and brings far more energy. 4

One scoop vs one serve

Macro comparison bars

• Protein powder: Inception Labs Collagen Whey, Chocolate Milkshake, 33 g scoop
• Mass gainer: Scorpion Supplements Big Mass, one serve

Calories

125 (524 kJ)546

Protein (g)

25.8 g34 g

Carbohydrate (g)

2 g74 g

Protein powder. Best for hitting your protein target without many extra calories. Extra: bovine collagen in a blend [5].

Mass gainer. Best for getting enough total energy when food alone isn't enough. Extras: 3.96 g creatine, plus glutamine, taurine and glycine [4].

Which one do you need?

You eat enough, but protein is low

You're holding your weight and eating regular meals, but you're short of protein. Choose a protein powder. Adding protein supplements to a resistance training programme supports extra gains in muscle size and strength, across 49 studies with 1,863 people. [6] Benefits for muscle levelled off at around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, so once you're there, more protein alone won't add more muscle. [6]

You find it hard to gain weight

This is where most "hard gainers" sit. To gain weight, you need to eat more energy than you burn. Once your protein needs are met, the total energy you eat has the biggest effect on body composition. [3] That's exactly what a gainer adds.

In an 8-week study, 73 men followed a 4-day-a-week weight training programme. The groups given high-calorie supplements gained about 3 kg of body weight and around 3 kg of fat-free mass, while the group with no supplement didn't see those gains. [3]

You don't train, but want to put on weight

You don't have to be a gym regular. Eating more than you burn supports weight gain, including some lean mass, even without a training programme. [2] Adding strength exercise supports more of that gain going to lean mass: research combining a protein-focused energy surplus with resistance training shows better lean mass gains. [2] [3] If you're not training, a smaller home-made gainer (below) is often a gentler place to start than a full gainer serve.

Small appetite

If big meals feel like hard work, drinks help. Drinks tend to be less filling than solid food, so they're an easier way to add energy, and they're practical after exercise when appetite can be low. [2] A shake between meals adds energy without making your next meal harder to finish.

How much extra do you need to eat?

Less than you might think. Researchers suggest starting with an extra 1,500 to 2,000 kJ a day (about 360 to 480 calories) and adjusting from there. Common guidance goes up to an extra 4,000 kJ (about 960 calories) a day for people who really struggle to gain lean mass or are training very hard. [2] One serve of Big Mass (546 calories) sits right in that range. 4

For people newer to lifting, a weight gain of about 0.25 to 0.5% of body weight a week is a sensible target. [7] For a 65 kg person, that's about 0.15 to 0.3 kg a week.

Steady beats fast

Bigger is not always better. In a study led by researchers at Auckland University of Technology, lifters training three days a week on a 5% or 15% calorie surplus for eight weeks found that faster weight gain mostly added fat, not extra muscle or strength. [8] So:

• Start with half a serve of a gainer, or the smaller home-made shake, and build up over a couple of weeks.
• Weigh yourself once a week, at the same time of day.
• If the scales aren't moving after two to three weeks, add a little more. If you're gaining faster than 0.5% of body weight a week, ease back.

Count the creatine

Big Mass contains 3.96 g of creatine per serve. 4 That's in line with the 3 to 5 g a day used to maintain muscle creatine stores, and creatine supports gains in lean body mass during training. [9] If you already take creatine, you don't need to double up on days you have Big Mass. Weight gain is the most commonly reported effect of creatine, which suits this goal. [9] Read more in our creatine guide.

Make your own gainer shake

A protein powder blended with real food does the same job as a gainer, and you choose exactly what goes in. Brands vary, so check your labels.

Make your own

Gainer shake recipe cards

• Recipe 1

  Starter shake

  About 46 gprotein

  About 2,720 kJ (650 cal)

  • 1 scoop (33 g) Inception Labs Collagen Whey, Chocolate Milkshake (25.8 g protein) [5]
  • 300 ml standard milk
  • 40 g raw rolled oats
  • 1 medium banana
  • 15 g peanut butter

  Method: milk in the blender first, then oats, banana and peanut butter, then the scoop. Blend for 30 to 60 seconds. Frozen banana makes it thicker.

• Recipe 2

  Full gainer shake

  About 53 gprotein

  About 3,410 kJ (815 cal)

  • 1 scoop (33 g) Inception Labs Collagen Whey, Chocolate Milkshake (25.8 g protein) [5]
  • 400 ml standard milk
  • 60 g raw rolled oats
  • 1 medium banana
  • 20 g peanut butter

  Method: milk in the blender first, then oats, banana and peanut butter, then the scoop. Blend for 30 to 60 seconds. Frozen banana makes it thicker.

Swap: with Zealea Whey Protein Concentrate, two scoops (30 g) give 23.8 g of protein, so your totals land about 2 g lower. Figures from the New Zealand Food Composition Database [10] and the Inception Labs Collagen Whey label [5].

Home-made or ready-made?

Many people use both: a ready-made gainer at work or after training, and a home-made shake at home.

Who each one suits

• Hard gainers who train

  a mass gainer like Big Mass, or the full home-made shake, supports the extra energy you need on top of your meals.

• First-timers

  start with the starter shake or half a serve of gainer and build up.

• People who don't train

  a protein powder in a home-made shake supports gentle weight gain, and adding some strength exercise helps direct it to muscle.

• People who eat enough but are short on protein

  a protein powder is all you need.

Check first

See your GP before reaching for a gainer if you keep losing weight without changing what you eat or do, your appetite has suddenly dropped, or you're struggling to swallow or keep food down, because that should be checked. [11] The same goes if you're under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication or have kidney disease, especially for a gainer with creatine.

Our picks