Many people struggle to lose weight, while many would kill to gain a few pounds. If you’re tired of being told you’re too skinny or you’d just like to bulk up, then you should consider certain foods to eat to build muscle. Gaining muscle can be empowering, and it certainly isn't virtually impossible. Just stick to a smart exercise and the following nutrition strategy.
What Is Lean Muscle?
First things first, you need to understand what lean muscle is. Lean muscle is a concept related to lean body mass, which is the content of the body minus fat. So basically, your lean muscle mass is what you gain without the addition of fat or what is remained after the fat is shed. What it comes down to is your nutrition, exercise, and genetics. If you want to gain weight, you obviously need to eat more calories. However, you have to make sure you build healthy muscle tissue, not a muffin top. Genetics also plays a big role in how easy or hard it is to change your body size and gain muscle. Therefore, start with realistic expectations, research progressive strength-training programs, and know it won’t happen overnight.
What Foods Have The Most Protein?
The answer to this are various foods with high-protein: chicken, eggs, almonds, oats, milk, broccoli, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc. Nonetheless, you actually want to eat more of everything - and not just protein. So if you’ve been gulping down gallons of protein shakes, it’s important to note that protein alone will not do the job. Yes you do need protein to provide the amino acid building blocks for muscle, but carbohydrates are actually an essential part of muscle gain and maintenance, too. Carbs help fuel your workouts so you can train harder, as they stimulate insulin afterwards which helps push the amino acids into the muscle cells. Then, continuing to eat enough throughout the day helps you hang onto that new muscle. Pills, potions, and powders are not the easy way out since they can be expensive and don't live up to their promises. Real food should always make up the majority of your food - so start eating!
How To Eat To Gain Muscle
If you want to build more muscle mass, then you must learn how to eat to gain muscle. First you need to figure out how much you need to eat in calories based on your weight, and then add up to 500 calories per day to gain more weight. Just be sure to start slowly so you’ll increase your chances of gaining mostly muscle, not fat. Next you need to eat more often and add in high-calorie snacks. You should be having 6 to 8 meals and snacks a day, spaced 2 to 3 hours apart to prevent your body from burning the calories from your last meal. Your body will adsorb more protein this way and maximize muscle growth. Then, eat more efficiently by focusing on foods with a ton of healthy calories. Finally, eat more consistently and get organized with meal planning to be the most effective.
Simply follow these nutrition tips, apply the same dedication to your eating as you do to your training, and your hard work at the gym can lead to big muscle gains. Share your favorite foods to eat to build muscle by tagging us on Instagram @itouchwearables and Facebook @itouchwearables. Also, be sure to check out our new articles published daily!
-Gina
