Adjust Your Diet To Get Big Muscles
Eat More Protein, Eat More Frequently!
Adjusting your diet to get big muscles means you should be eating more than just three meals a day. But do you know why?
We all know that in order to build muscle we must strength train at least 3 times a week, lifting heavy weights to failure. This results in an increase in the body’s need for more fuel, i.e. food, to rebuild and grow our muscle fibres. Most of us are accustom to simply eating three meals a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
However, when we do this along with strength training our bodies increasing demand for nutrition results in what is known as a catabolic state. Once our body is in this state instead of building muscles we begin to lose muscle and accumulate fat. This state typically occurs after four or more hours without food.
How to Eat to Build Muscle
To avoid this catabolic state from occurring, instead of eating just three regular sized meals each day, eating six small meals consisting of high protein foods will increase your body’s metabolism causing your body to burn fat throughout the day.
When you eat every couple of hours, which means four to six meals a day, your body’s metabolism will remain in a high calorie and fat burning state or zone.
Of course these four to six meals will be smaller meals than you are accustom to eating, but the right food combinations will provide your body with enough energy to sustain throughout your day.
The key here is that these meals you eat must contain high amounts of lean protein, the right amount of good carbohydrates (complex carbohydrates), and low amounts of bad fats.
Lean protein is essential for building muscle as it builds, repairs and prevents the breakdown of muscle fibres. Complex carbohydrates are necessary as they supply our bodies with energy. You need this energy to make it through your intense muscle building workout routines. However you must remember you must avoid simple carbohydrates such as sugar.
Fats are an essential component in a healthy ripped muscle diet but you must keep the amount of saturated fats and trans fats, found in foods such as butter and cheese, to a minimum while maintaining a diet high in unsaturated fats, found in foods such as fish oils and nuts.
A muscle building diet, referred to as the 40-40-20 diet, is often followed. By following this diet you will eat meals that consist of 40 percent carbohydrates, 40 percent proteins, and 20 percent fat.
This balance of food nutrients encourages fast muscle growth and keeps your body from crashing due to a lack of energy. While eating smaller meals results in an increase metabolism rate, producing more energy for your body to use, and reducing the amount of fat being stored. Less fat means more muscle growth and more muscle definition.
Essential Components of a Diet to Get Big Muscles
Now let’s look at some of the foods that should be eaten at every meal.
Calorie Intake
Remember when thinking about calorie intake that the golden rule is that in order to get ripped you must consume more calories than you burn. You can eat 6 small meals a day and consume 2,000 calories, but if you then burn 2,400 calories through weight training and exercise you will not build muscle but you will inevitable lose muscle!
You therefore need to keep track of how many calories you burn and then aim to consume 200 to 450 more calories than you burn through your muscle diet. However you must be careful because if you consume an excess of calories than the rate at which your body can build muscle you will gain fat. The key therefore is to find your sweet spot where by the amount of excess calories you are consume results in lean muscle mass with as little fat gain as possible. Every individual is different and only you can determine the appropriate amount of excess calories to consume
Proteins
Great muscle building protein rich foods include lean beef, chicken and turkey without the skin, eggs, and salmon. Natural peanut butter is also not only a great source of protein but also a good source of unsaturated fat.
Fats
The fats you consume should be healthy ones like olive oil, canola, flaxseed and fish oils. A great source of fish oil is salmon.
Complex Carbohydrates
Some very popular muscle building complex carbohydrates are oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, yogurt, and spinach.
Water
It is very important that you include water in your diet to get big muscles. The reason for this is that your body water for many processes, most importantly digestion. Water is crucial requirement for the efficient and effective digestion and breakdown of foods in your diet to allow your body to have access to the nutrients contained within these foods.
Drinking plenty of water will also keep your body hydrated, maintaining a high metabolism rate and preventing dehydration and a loss of energy during your workout routines. Finally, water is required for the flushing and removal of toxins from the body. While building muscle your body will undergo rigorous amounts of intense training resulting in the build up of excess toxins from the many bodily processes involved. These toxins can be harmful to your body and require water to remove them.
So, it is possible to change your diet to get big muscles. Just make sure the four to six small meals you eat are healthy, include plenty of fresh vegetables and good protein to build the muscles, and plenty of complex carbs to help maintain high energy levels.
Related Articles:
How To Get Big Muscles While Increasing Your Strength
Learn how to get big muscles and gain strength.
How To Get Muscles Bigger Without Using Harmful Supplements
No dangerous pills needed when learning how to get muscles bigger the natural way.
How To Get Muscles And Abs With These 3 Fitness Keys
3 fitness keys to how to get muscles and abs and unlock your ripped body.
Learn How To Build Muscle Size – Must Know Muscle Size Basics
Discover how to build muscle size with these must know muscle building basics.
Get Bigger Arm Muscles – Pump Up Your Biceps, Triceps & Forearms
Tips and techniques to get bigger arm muscles and start building the arm muscles you desire.
How To Build Lean Muscle – 5 Tips To Help You Build Lean Muscle Mass
Discover how to build lean muscle mass with these 5 muscle building tips.
