An Effective Diet to Build Muscle

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One of the hardest things about building muscle and learning how to get ripped is not just sticking to an intense workout routine but finding and designing a diet to build muscle. There is a vast array of fitness nutrition information on diets to build muscle and knowing what to choose and where to start can be difficult, especially if you are new to body/muscle building.

The following diet plan for building muscle is designed to increase your calorie intake, boost your metabolism and keep your body in an anabolic state, while providing your body with sufficient carbohydrates for energy during your intense workouts preventing muscle atrophy due to a catabolic state and enough protein to promote muscle growth.

This muscle building diet is also designed to be easy to stick to, especially for those who work a standard 9 to 5 job.  The diet plan is made up of 7 small meals throughout the day on weight training days, which includes a snack between breakfast and lunch and a pre and post workout supplementation, and 6 small meals on non-weight training days.  This is crucial to boosting your metabolism and accelerating muscle protein synthesis.

Food items required for each meal can be found at most grocery stores and the required supplements to build muscle mass can be purchased from one of the major online bodybuilding supplement stores.

One thing you must take into consider is that everyone is different and while you need to increase calorie, protein and carbohydrate intake to build muscle the quantities of each nutrient, macronutrient ratio, will vary from person to person.

The macronutrient ratio used in this diet for weight training days is 60:30:10 (that is 60% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 10% fats) and 40:45:15 (that is 40% carbohydrates, 45% protein and 15% fats) for non-weight training days.

DISCLAIMER: This is a supercharged muscle building diet ideal if your body type is that of an ectomorph, also known as a hard gainer. A more typical ratio for ectmorphs is 50:35:15.   The reason we are outlining this type of extreme diet to build muscle is because many guys trying to build muscle fast find it difficult to gain weight and muscle mass.  They are essentially known as “strawny guys”!  To learn more about other typical muscle building diets designed for all three body types (ectomorphs, mesomorphs and endomorphs) check out the diets to build muscle page.

 

Weight Training Days

On days when you will be performing your high intensity workout routine your muscle building diet will need to include sufficient carbohydrates and proteins to fuel your body while preventing your body from building up lactic acid and seeking nutrients from your muscle tissue.

It is during these days that you will supplement your diet with a high protein post-workout shake or mass gainer as well as creatine and glutamine supplements.

Breakfast (8 a.m.)

	Meal 1	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	1 slice of wholegrain bread	70	13g	3g	1g
	2-egg omelette	160	0.5g	12g	12g
	1 cup of juice	95	19g	0.5g	0g
	Medium-sized banana	100	22g	1g	0g
	Totals	425	54.5g	16.5g	13g

Snack (11 a.m.)

	Meal 2	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	30gs of almonds	175	16g	6g	1.5g
	Medium-sized apple	75	16g	1g	0g
	Totals	250	32g	7g	1.5g

Lunch (1 p.m.)

	Meal 3	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	150 grams skinless chicken	157	0g	42g	14.5g
	2 cups of vegetable salad	100	0g	4g	0g
	1 tablespoon of olive oil	175	0g	0g	20g
	1 cup of skim milk	105	0g	10g	0.5g
	Totals	537	12g	58g	35g

Pre-workout (5 p.m.)

	Meal 4	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	Whey Protein Shake 1 scoop of Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey	120	3g	24g	1g
	5g of Optimum Creatine Powder	0	0g	0g	0g
	Mixed With 6-8 fl oz of Water	0	0g	0g	0g
	Totals	120	3g	24g	1g

Post workout

	Meal 5	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	Mass Gainer Shake 2 scoops of Optimum Serious Mass	1250	252g	50g	4.5g
	5g Optimum Creatine Powder	0	0g	0g	0g
	5g Optimum Glutamine Powder	0	0g	0g	0g
	Mixed with 24fl ox of Water	0	0g	0g	0g
	Totals	1250	252g	50g	4.5g

Dinner (8 p.m.)

	Meal 6	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	150 grams lean beef	205	0g	31g	6g
	1 cup stir-fried veggies	150	0g	2g	0g
	½ cup cooked rice	120	0g	3g	0g
	1 cup juice	95	26g	0.5g	0g
	Totals	570	47g	36.5g	6g

Pre-bed (10 p.m.)

	Meal 7	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	Whey Protein Shake 1 scoop of Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey	0	0g	0g	0g
	Mixed with 6-8 fl oz water	0	0g	0g	0g
	3 Optimum ZMA capsules	0	0g	0g	0g
	Totals	120	3g	24g	1g

 

Following this muscle building diet on weight training days you will consume a daily total of:

• Calories: 3262 calories
• Carbohydrates: 404 g
• Protein: 212 g
• Fats: 62 g

 

Non-Weight Training Days

On non-weight training days you will not need to take in as much carbohydrates and protein as you will be using less energy and burning less calories than on your weight training days.  It is therefore recommended to remove the post-workout portion of your diet plan all together.

This will not only decrease the amount of carbohydrates, protein and calories you take in but will also remove 5g of unnecessary creatine supplementation from your muscle diet.

You will however need to maintain your 5g of glutamine needed for muscle recovery and should therefore incorporate it in to your pre-dinner meal or snack. The simplest way to achieve this is by taking 1 scoop of protein mixed with 5g of glutamine 3 hours before you eat dinner.

Pre-Dinner (5 p.m.)

	Meal 4	Calories	Carbs	Proteins	Fats
	Whey Protein Shake 1 scoop of Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey	120	3g	24g	1g
	Mixed with 6-8 fl oz of water	0	0g	0g	0g
	5g of Optimum Creatine Powder	0	0g	0g	0g
	5g of Optimum Glutamine Powder	0	0g	0g	0g
	Totals	120	3g	24g	1g

Following this muscle building diet on non-weight training days you will consume a daily total of:

• Calories: 2012 calories,
• Carbohydrates: 152 g
• Protein: 162 g
• Fats: 57.5 g

This diet plan and macronutrients recommendations should be used as a guide to get started with the right diet to build muscle. You may substitute foods as needed or to suit your taste since you will not want to eat the exact same meals each and every day!

 

Healthy Muscle Building Food Substitutes

Here are some great food substitutes that will help you maintain the same macronutrient ratio in your diet to build muscle:

For breakfast:

• Oatmeal
• High Fiber Cereal (e.g All Bran, Fiber One, Raisin Bran, etc.)
• Whole Grain Breads
• Rye Bread
• Egg Whites
• Whole Eggs (Note: Never use more than 2 whole eggs due to the high saturated fat content in egg yoke)
• Glass Of Milk Low Fat or Fat Free Milk
• Fresh Fruit Juice
• Fresh Fruit and Berries (e.g. Bananas, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries)

For a snack:

• Peanut Butter
• Whole Grain breads
• Rye bread
• Fruits (e.g. Bananas, Apples, Berries, Grapefruit)
• Nuts (e.g Almonds, Peanuts, Walnuts, Pecans)
• Bite-Size Vegetables (Broccoli, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Peppers, Green Beans)

For lunch or dinner:

• Source of Protein – Tuna, Salmon, Lean Beef, Lean Turkey,  Skinless Chicken
• Source of Carbs – Sweet Potatoes, Rye Bread, Rice Pasta, Whole Grain Rice
• Source of Fat – Cooked with Olive Oil, Sesame Oil or Canola Oil
• Drink – Pure Fruit Juice, Water or Skim Milk

 

Body Type Considerations and Diet Plan Adjustments

As mentioned above, you should also adjust the macronutrient quantities to suit your body type and your own calorie requirements.

If you have a mesomorph body type or endomorph you will need to adjust these proportions.  Mesomorphs find it easy to both gain and lose weight, you will therefore need to decrease the amount of carbohydrates and calories slightly to prevent weight gain while increase protein to maintain fat burn. A macronutrient ratio of 40:40:20 (40% carbohydrate, 40% protein and 20% fats) on weight training days is often used by mesomorphs and a weight gainer is often removed from the post-workout portion of the diet plan.

On the other hand, if you are an endomorph and therefore gain weight very easily, it is recommended to reduce your carbohydrate intake even further and increase protein intake by using a diet to build muscle with a macronutrient ratio of 35:45:20 (35% carbohydrate, 45% protein and 20% fats) on weight training days.  A weight gainer such as Optimum Serious Mass or Dymatize Elite Mass Gainer should never be taken!

Related Article:

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