When your fitness goal is building muscles, you need a special
bodybuilding diet. Building muscle requires extra calories, and most
experts recommend that you add about 500 calories a day, and make those
calories part of the foods recommended for a muscle building diet.
Building muscle is a great way to help you get to, and maintain a healthy body weight, since muscle burns more calories, even when resting, than fat.
If you are overweight, you may not want to add 500 calories to your weight loss diet to help build muscle, but you will be able to eat a bit more during weight training whilst still losing body fat. But, the scale will not move as much when you're gaining muscle, since it weighs more than fat.
Protein and Muscle Building
Protein is the building block of all muscles; so many people on a bodybuilding diet eat almost nothing except protein. However, in addition to needing protein to build muscle, you need carbohydrates for the energy your body needs to build that muscle. So, for most people, a good bodybuilding diet is fairly balanced, with about 10-15% of total calories coming from protein.
10 Foods and Supplements Used for BodyBuilding
1. Lean meats - Choose chicken, beef and pork, but choose the leanest cuts. Not only are these meats high in the protein you need, but they are also high in amino acids, which help your body build muscle.
2. Eggs - Eggs are also high in protein, and they offer Omega 3 fatty acids, with no fat.
3. High potassium foods like bananas, strawberries and avocados. Potassium helps prevent muscle cramps, so it's a great nutrient on a muscle building diet.
4. Milk - Milk is a good source of protein and helps compliment the amino acids in meat, when the two are eaten together. Be sure to choose low fat varieties of milk, and to watch portions.
5. Soy - Soy is also a great protein source, and it also compliments amino acids in meats. You can try soy milk or snack on edamame (baby soybeans in the pod). Soybeans are rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, omega fatty acids and micronutrients like folic acid, manganese and vitamin K.
6. Protein powder - Since protein is essential in any bodybuilding diet, protein powder can be a very effective supplement for those who have trouble getting enough protein in their normal diet.
7. Creatine - Creatine supplements are often used in muscle-building diets because creatine is responsible for creating muscular contractions, which can help you increase the intensity of your workouts.
8. Glutamine - Glutamine is an amino acid. Glutamine supplements help improve your recovery and muscle healing time after a workout, which helps you build muscles faster.
9. Weight gain powders - Weight gain powders are used in bodybuilding diets to help ensure you're getting all the nutrients and calories you need to put on muscles. They are much like protein powders, but have added fat and carbohydrates too.
10. Growth hormone supplements - These supplements are often used in bodybuilding diets by men over the age of 30, which is the age that the levels of growth hormone naturally occurring in the body tend to drop off.
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Building muscle is a great way to help you get to, and maintain a healthy body weight, since muscle burns more calories, even when resting, than fat.
If you are overweight, you may not want to add 500 calories to your weight loss diet to help build muscle, but you will be able to eat a bit more during weight training whilst still losing body fat. But, the scale will not move as much when you're gaining muscle, since it weighs more than fat.
Protein and Muscle Building
Protein is the building block of all muscles; so many people on a bodybuilding diet eat almost nothing except protein. However, in addition to needing protein to build muscle, you need carbohydrates for the energy your body needs to build that muscle. So, for most people, a good bodybuilding diet is fairly balanced, with about 10-15% of total calories coming from protein.
10 Foods and Supplements Used for BodyBuilding
1. Lean meats - Choose chicken, beef and pork, but choose the leanest cuts. Not only are these meats high in the protein you need, but they are also high in amino acids, which help your body build muscle.
2. Eggs - Eggs are also high in protein, and they offer Omega 3 fatty acids, with no fat.
3. High potassium foods like bananas, strawberries and avocados. Potassium helps prevent muscle cramps, so it's a great nutrient on a muscle building diet.
4. Milk - Milk is a good source of protein and helps compliment the amino acids in meat, when the two are eaten together. Be sure to choose low fat varieties of milk, and to watch portions.
5. Soy - Soy is also a great protein source, and it also compliments amino acids in meats. You can try soy milk or snack on edamame (baby soybeans in the pod). Soybeans are rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, omega fatty acids and micronutrients like folic acid, manganese and vitamin K.
6. Protein powder - Since protein is essential in any bodybuilding diet, protein powder can be a very effective supplement for those who have trouble getting enough protein in their normal diet.
7. Creatine - Creatine supplements are often used in muscle-building diets because creatine is responsible for creating muscular contractions, which can help you increase the intensity of your workouts.
8. Glutamine - Glutamine is an amino acid. Glutamine supplements help improve your recovery and muscle healing time after a workout, which helps you build muscles faster.
9. Weight gain powders - Weight gain powders are used in bodybuilding diets to help ensure you're getting all the nutrients and calories you need to put on muscles. They are much like protein powders, but have added fat and carbohydrates too.
10. Growth hormone supplements - These supplements are often used in bodybuilding diets by men over the age of 30, which is the age that the levels of growth hormone naturally occurring in the body tend to drop off.