Bodybuilding Nutrition - 8 Eating Tips To Build Muscle

So you are looking to build muscle, eh?  Well, that is great news!  But, before you head to the gym and lift weights until you nearly pass out, let us take a look at your diet.  Yes, it is true that your diet will affect your ability to build and maintain muscle.  In order to make sure that your diet is optimum for muscle growth, you should consider the following tips.

Eat Enough Food

I know this sounds crazy, but your body needs a certain amount of food and calories in order to even consider building a muscle.  While there is not a magic formula to know how many calories you need, and no set number, it is best that you evaluate your current caloric intake and step it up a bit in intervals until you see something that works best for you.  Now, with this in mind, it is important to remember to follow the next steps.  It does not mean that you should just eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and in the quantity you desire.  You can eat too much of the wrong thing and turn those extra pounds into fat much easier than you can turn them into muscle!

Eat the Right Foods

Common sense tells you that an increase in caloric intake would mean an increase in the food you eat.  So, yes, while you are eating more, you need to make sure that you are eating right.  You will get much more from 600 calories worth of fruits and vegetables than you would from 600 calories of French fries.  Keep this in mind when choosing what foods to eat.

Make the Most of the Food You Eat

In order to get the most from your diet, you need to eat foods in certain combinations.  We all know that certain foods will cause reactions from the body that we may not particularly enjoy.  So, you will want to consider your dietary needs and physical goals.  For instance, too many carbohydrates and fats together will counteract your muscle building goal.  Instead of eating cheese and bread together, try to eat some protein with some fiber packed carbohydrates, or some protein with some healthy fat, like the kind you would find in a steak and green leafy salad, or in chicken cordon bleu.

Eat Consistently

This means not only in the amount of food you eat, but when you eat it, and how often you eat it.  Create a schedule and stick to it!  It will keep your body from getting hungry and thus will reduce cravings.  Try to eat every couple hours, and keep no more than 5 hours between two meals.  This will provide you with a constant source of fuel and keep your body in muscle building mode.

Eat Certain Food Combinations at Certain Times

Eat a bit differently during breakfast and after your workouts.  This is because your body will be in a different state (awakened from rest and reduced metabolism when you wake up for the day, and tired from expending excessive amounts of energy during your workouts) in these times than it is during the rest of the day.  Eating differently at these times of the day will help keep your body in muscle building mode.  What should you eat?  See the next tip!

Give Yourself Energy Boosts with Your Meals

These energy-boosting meals should be eaten twice daily, after breakfast, and after workouts.  What do these meals consist of?  You want a quick and easy to digest protein, with something to quickly increase the blood glycogen levels.  Think fruit and protein powder, or a protein shake.  Remember though, too many of these meals can actually be counterproductive and lower your body’s sensitivity to insulin, preventing muscle growth.  Keep these meals for these two specific times, only.

Make Sure You Get Enough Fiber

Generally you do not hear much talk of making sure you get enough fiber in your diet when you talk about a diet meant for optimal muscle growth.  However, fiber is something we all need for a healthy digestive tract.  A healthy digestive tract is essential to your overall health.  By keeping a constant flow of fiber in your system, you are keeping your body moving regularly.  This means that your body will work more efficiently to keep what it needs, and get rid of what it does not.  In turn, you will be able to provide your body with even more to produce muscle with!

• Beans, 6-10 grams - baked beans, black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, white beans

• Berries, 4-5 grams - blackberries, raspberries

• Bran Cereals, 5-10 grams - All-Bran, Bran Buds, 100% Bran, Raisin Bran

• Bread, 4-7 grams - 2 slices whole wheat, pumpernickel, seven-grain

• Broccoli, 4-5 grams

• Brussels Sprouts, 2 grams

• Carrots, 3-4 grams

• Dried Figs, 10 grams - 3 figs

• Fruit, 4 grams - medium apple, medium pear

• Green Beans, 2 grams - broad beans, pole beans, snap beans

• Greens, 4-6 grams - beet greens, collards, kale, spinach, turnip greens

• Lentils, 6 grams

• Lima Beans - 4-6 grams

• Peas, 7-9 grams - black-eyed peas, green peas

• Potatoes, 4-5 grams - medium baked Idaho or sweet potato

• Sweet Corn, 5 grams

 

Make Sure You Get Enough Protein

Protein is absolutely essential for muscle growth.  In fact, this is so well known that sometimes it is the only thing people know when it comes to building muscle.  However, something that many people fail to recognize is that just like your water intake, it needs to be spread out throughout the course of a day.  Taking in too much protein at one time will only cause the body to hold on to what it needs at the time and expend the rest.  Though your body needs that much in total, it does it no good to get it all at once.  Generally speaking, you need one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, and if you are into intense weight training you will need 1.5 grams.  As with any other dietary need, the more active you are, the more you need.  So, of course, as an active athlete, you need more than the sedentary couch potato!

Beef

• Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
• Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

Chicken

• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein
• Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick – 11 grams
• Wing – 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams

Fish

• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein

Pork

• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
• Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
• Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams

Eggs and Dairy

• Egg, large - 6 grams protein
• Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz

Beans (including soy)

• Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein
• Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
• Soy milk, 1 cup - 6 -10 grams
• Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
• Soy beans, ½ cup cooked – 14 grams protein
• Split peas, ½ cup cooked – 8 grams

Nuts and Seeds

• Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons - 8 grams protein
• Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
• Peanuts, ¼ cup – 9 grams
• Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams
• Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams
• Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams
• Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 19 grams
• Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams

 

If you pay attention to these tips, and follow their suggestions, you will be far more successful in your muscle building goals than if you were to ignore them.  As always though, you should seek the advice of a medical professional prior to beginning any sort of new diet and/or exercise routine.  The advice presented here should never be used as a substitute to the information given to you by the appropriate health professional.  With that, I wish you luck in your muscle building, and I know that you will do well!