Discover the Foods that Build Muscle

By Harley Radowski


Eating to build muscle is an important part of your bodybuilding program. Eating food that helps build muscle will ensure that you are not wasting all that hard work you are doing in the gym.

Lifting weights in the gym forced your muscles to work, but guess what? Working your muscles uses considerable energy, and energy is supplied by your food. Correct nutrition also helps heal muscle injury that often occurs while you are working out. You may not even know you have caused injury to your muscles, but your body knows, and your body needs fuel from food that helps build muscle in order to repair that muscle.

Food that helps build muscle - what it is? Well, to begin with, protein. Protein is probably the most important nutritional component in a muscle building program. You probably thought the most important component was cutting out fat, in order to reduce your body fat, didn't you? Well, it is not. Protein is essential. Without protein, your body withers away to nothing. So make sure you include protein foods that build muscle such as chicken, lean beef, eggs, fish (don't like fresh fish? Try canned tuna - it's perfect), and cheese.

Finding out how much protein to eat when you are interested in building muscle fast is actually not difficult. First, you will need to find out your lean body mass weight in kilos, and then you simply multiply that figure by 2.75 to determine your daily protein requirement. Calculating your lean body mass uses some complex formulae, so ask a professional at the gym if you do not already have this figure.

Carbohydrates, in moderation, are also essential when finding foods that build muscle. Do not eat too much, though, unless you choose high fiber carbohydrates (which are the healthiest ones anyway), and then you can indulge in much larger amounts. Good high fiber carbohydrates include rice, potatoes (yes, potatoes - just do not add butter!), oatmeal and bananas.

Reducing fat in your diet is also important when considering what foods build muscle mass. I said earlier that protein is essential for the best muscle building nutrition. The problem is that many protein sources are also high in fat. The key, therefore, is to eating plenty of proteins that are low in fat. That way you get the benefit of the protein, and you reduce your fat intake at the same time. So cut all the fat off your meat, and the skin off your chicken, and drink low fat milk instead of the full fat variety.

Drinking sufficient water with your meals, between meals, and while you are working out is also very important. Without sufficient water you will dehydrate, and you will be tired and lacking in energy, which gives no assistance at all to building your muscle with the right type of food.

Two litres of water a day is what most experts recommend to maintain optimal health. To drink that amount, you need to drink up to 12 glasses of water a day, which is quite a lot. So start early in the day, and space your water consumption out throughout the day.

Foods that build muscle are one of the two essential components to having the body of your dreams. The other component is your weight training program or other type of bodybuilding workouts that you engage in regularly. Just because you have found foods that build muscle does not mean you can start to slack off with your weight training.




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