Foods to Gain Muscle

What are the foods to gain muscle? I wrote a few posts last week that were about how to gain muscle and how to do weight workouts to gain muscle. One of the things that I kind of glossed over were the foods that you need to eat to gain muscle. Lots of this may just be a recap for lots of people but it is important to know what foods help you gain muscle and what your diet should look like.

Foods to Gain Muscle - Protein

The building block of all muscles is a combination of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and water. If you look at that as part of your diet then you need to eat lots of protein. Here I want to stress lean protein, you know fish, chicken, lean beef, not Kentucky Fried Chicken or deep fried fish.

The amount of protein that you need is about 0.5 grams of protein a day per pound of bodyweight. This is a very contentious issue in bodybuilding circles but unless you are lifting very hard and taking muscle stimulants (steroids) then your body really does not need more protein than this. Come back and ask again as you train for your first Mr Olympia.

Foods to Gain Muscle - Carbohydrates

To get that hard earned muscle you need to take in lots of carbohydrates. Even if protein is the building blocks of muscle, carbohydrates are the foods to gain muscle for energy. Your body needs carbohydrates as an energy source and I really believe that fruits and vegetables as opposed to excessive breads and potatoes and rice are the way to go. Everything in moderation I guess but I find that if you are eating more vegetables and fruit you are going to get more nutrients at the same time.

Why bodybuilders are fat

So what happens if you do not eat enough of those foods to gain muscle, carbohydrates and then workout? Well your body when starved will take in energy by breaking does the fat that it can find and the muscle that is available so you have to be careful to not undereat or you will lose that hard fought muscle mass.

What about eating fats?

Fats are a necessary evil in your system. Actually, some fats are an essential foods to gain muscle. There are nutrients in fats but mostly your body will not be able to break down most fat into glycogen as it is far easier to have your body break down carbs and protein into glycogen instead. So your body just stores that fat as fat after partially breaking it down.

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