If you are contemplating putting on some muscle mass in the near future, you need to avoid any misconceptions you might have about the diet you will want to put in place. Any notion you have that you can eat fast food and anything else that you might want because you will be burning off calories would have you going down the wrong path.
In an effort to help you design the right diet for muscle building, here are five diets you should consider. Before you begin the muscle-building process, you need to be realistic. The truth is you can only gain so much muscle mass before you put your health at risk.
1. Protein Diet
Protein contains essential amino acids, like leucine. Amino acids are an essential part of repairing and rebuilding the tiny muscle tears that occur during the strength training process. This leads to the strengthening of muscle tissue, which helps muscles grow bigger and faster.
As a case in point, a recent study showed that the ideal way to build muscle for an individual weighing 180 pounds would be taking in about 130 grams of protein a day. Approximately 12 ounces of a lean ground round would do the job. Chicken, eggs, and oily fish should also be part of the diet.
2. Protein Diet With Timing Taken Into Consideration
Right after a strenuous workout, your body is hungry for vitamins and minerals. It is also hungry for healthy proteins. If you were to eat things like Greek yogurt, lean beef, fish, and eggs right after working out, your hungry muscles will absorb the amino acids found in protein really fast.
3. Calorie Intake Matters
As indicated above, any notion you have that you should bombard your body with calories when muscle building is wrong. You do need a surplus of calories but not to the extent you may have been led to believe.
The average active male will burn about 2,800 calories a day. That would be with a normal exercise routine that focuses on cardio work. If you were doing strenuous exercises to build muscle mass, you might want to increase your calorie intake by 300 to 500 calories a day. By the way, the extra calories should come from good proteins such as the ones that were mentioned in the above sections.
4. No Junk Food Junkies
Regardless of what diet you might choose, there is no place for junk food and greasy foods from fast-food restaurants. Yes, those types of food will help with the calorie intake, but all the nutrition junk food provides, which is small, is bad nutrition.
With that said, you need to have cheat days where you can eat takeout from your favorite restaurant. Just be sensible about the foods you choose. Being too extreme in your diet will make you burn out and ultimately fail. Use that foodpanda discount code you’ve been holding on to and order delivery from a nearby restaurant.
5. The Carb Diet
To be clear, carbohydrates don’t really play a role in the muscle-building process. However, they do provide the fuel your body needs for energy. If your body doesn’t have enough energy to sustain a good workout, there is a good chance you won’t get the kind of muscle-building results you want. The right kind of carbs would include squash, sweet potatoes, and brown rice.
