Diet for Increasing Muscle Mass
Diet is perhaps that component of your muscle building program which will make achieving your goals so much easier when planned correctly.
You know that you can work out all that you want, but if you eat the wrong foods, you won’t get the results. Here are some tips on how to eat right when you want to increase your muscle mass.
Eating out frequently doesn’t only affect your health but can also slow down the process of increasing lean muscle mass.
Most of the food that you eat outside is processed. This food is low in nutrients so doesn’t really benefit the muscles much.
It also has a very low fiber and protein count, which further contributes to the problem. Processed food is also rich in refined carbohydrates and sugary ingredients. These ingredients don’t help in muscle building at all and are harmful if over-consumed.
Cooking at home means that you have complete control over what you eat and what you avoid. You can try out different recipes that aim at building muscle mass.
Broadly speaking, building muscle mass is divided into two main phases. In the first phase, breakdown of components takes place. This happens when you work out or do resistance training.
The second phase is the synthesis phase in which synthesis of muscle cells takes place. This is the phase for which you need to take a lot of proteins.
Protein is the essential nutrient for muscle building. Proteins are involved in the repair of damaged muscle cells and building up of new muscle fibers.
The muscle fibers are made up of two main proteins called actin and myosin. To synthesize these proteins, you need to take in different amino acids. Some of the amino acids are present in the body and are called as non-essential while the ones you take from food are called essential amino acids.
You can get these proteins from foods like eggs, meat, cheese and fish.
You can either get your proteins from food or use proteinaceous supplements. These formulas are present in powder and soft gel forms. Health experts suggest that you must have at least 20 grams of protein in every meal or snack you eat, if you wish to increase muscle mass.
It’s also important to snack often if you want to increase muscle mass. The trick is to bulk up on your intake of nutrients especially proteins. With many hearty options available, it’s easy enough to sneak proteins into the mix.
Protein snacks will keep you energized and also provide your body with nutrients needed to make new muscle cells and form muscle proteins.
Contrary to popular snacking trends, you shouldn’t eat sugary foods as these can slow you down. Instead, you need to eat healthy snacks for building muscle mass. Some snack ideas for building muscle mass are given below:
If you’re on the go, you can make Power Bites to keep you boosted. You can make these without baking and keep them in the refrigerator for later use.
To make these bites, blend together ¼ cup of raw oats, two scoops of a protein powder (chocolate or vanilla), 2 table spoons of honey and a spoon of natural peanut butter. Roll the mixture into small balls.
To really boost up the calorie count, you can also add dried fruits or nuts to this mixture. If you develop a taste for these, you might never need to buy a protein bar again.
There are lots of foods that are high in nutrients best suited for your building muscle mass. Just consuming a few grams of these foods, will give you a lot of calories. Some of these foods are mentioned below.
Nuts
Nuts are rich in energy as they have monounsaturated fats that are healthy for you. Making nuts a good choice for bulking up is the fact that even a small serving of nuts can give you a lot of calories.
Only 50 grams of nuts contain 300 calories. To make things even better, nuts are a dense source of magnesium, selenium and phosphorus.
All of these minerals are essential for building muscle mass. Nut butters are also rich in calories so you can snack on anything that has peanut butter in it for bulking up.
One sandwich using peanut butter contains 420 calories and 15 grams of proteins. It’s also rich in copper, magnesium, potassium and different vitamins. This is a low-cost, bulky and tasteful snack option for people looking to increase muscle mass.
Eggs whites
Not only are eggs a rich source of protein, they are also great for bulking up. Each egg contains about 90 calories with a protein to fat ratio of 60:1.
Plus the protein content in egg whites is readily utilized for protein synthesis. An omelet for breakfast is a great way to start your day with a filling meal.
Smoothies
Smoothies are an effective way to bulk up especially if you’re too busy to prepare elaborate meals. A smoothie made with whey protein, milk and bananas contain about 400 calories.
Along with that, it also contains 31 grams of proteins and 10 grams of fats. Due to the presence of healthy ingredients, smoothies are also rich in vitamins and minerals.
Coupled with the high calorie count, this factor further assists in increasing lean muscle mass.
Beans and legumes
Not only are beans and legumes an excellent source of protein, they are also chock full of fiber.
While the benefits of protein for muscle building are obvious, fiber does its part by maintaining proper insulin response. This is critical for muscle growth as it enhances glycogen levels in muscle cells and creates a favorable environment for growth.
Salmon
Eating fatty fish is recommended even for the general population and if you’re doing extensive workouts, you should eat at least 3 servings of salmon or other fatty fish in a week. Salmon is rich in healthy fats and proteins.
The healthy omega-3 monounsaturated fats present in fatty fish are very good for lean bulking. Fish is not only rich in calories but also helps improve joint care.
This factors in significantly as you need to have healthy joints if you want to continue your intense training sessions.
Beef Steak
Each steak of beef contains about 320 calories. It is the most protein-rich food on this list, containing 36 grams. Also, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 15 grams of fats are present in a single beef steak.
Beef is a rich source of creatine which is an amino acid needed for muscle growth. Eating only a pound of beef gives you five grams of creatine. This assists in increasing muscle strength and accelerates the process of muscle growth. Beef provides 3 more grams of creatine as compared to red meat or lamb meat.
Avocado
Avocado on toast is a great snack option for people who want to bulk up. Eating two slices of toast with half an