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Foods that Build Muscle
Muscle Building Food for your Diet!
There are tons of foods that build muscle!
You just need to know which ones they are so you can get them on your
grocery list. Well, I'm here to help you find the best muscle building
foods available.
To build muscle, you need a surplus of
calories so that your body has the extra energy it needs to perform the
muscle building process. Without this extra energy, your body will have
a very hard time building muscle. So, let's get your body the quality
food and nutrients it needs to build muscle!
I want you to
understand that you can eat all of the foods on this page and still not
build muscle without a good weightlifting program and a surplus of
calories. So, before you blindly start eating the foods on this page
and hope that magic occurs, please read more on this website about how
to build muscle.
Follow this page on foods that build muscle
when putting together your muscle building diet. Remember to count
calories and weigh yourself weekly under the same conditions to ensure
you are gaining weight each week. Whenever you have a calorie surplus,
you will gain body weight.
The Best Muscle Building Foods
I'm going to list the best foods for building muscle, and some of
them might not be what you were expecting! Pay attention and add these
foods to your diet. Watch your muscle mass gains go through the roof.
Here's your list of foods that build muscle.
- Red Meat
Lean
Beef, Steak, Hamburger, and more! Eat only the lean cuts of red meat.
You don't want to be gobbling down all that nasty saturated fat.
Nothing,
and I mean nothing beats red meat for building muscle. Buy 96% lean
beef in bulk and cut it up into 4-6 oz servings and freeze for later.
Buy some sirloin steaks and marinade them and then freeze for later.
Roast beef is great too!
Any lean red meats will work great for
building muscle. Have a few servings per day. Red meat is definitely at
the top of the list of foods that build muscle.
- Salmon
Wild
Salmon is the best choice here. Wild salmon is very high in protein and
good fats coming in the form of Omega 3 fatty acids.
A diet
high in good fats is required for fast muscle building. Fats are dense
in calories and create an optimal muscle building environment for your
body.
With Salmon, you don't even have to worry about eating a good source of fat with your protein. The good fats are already there!
- Fish Oil
Since
we're discussing fish and good fats for your diet, we should go ahead
and talk about fish oil. Fish oil is an absolute must for weight
lifters.
Unless you eat fish all the time, you're going to need
to buy a fish oil supplement. Fish oil adds more of the best fatty
acids to your diet. Fats create that optimal muscle building
environment that you're looking for by increasing testosterone levels.
Increased
testosterone levels give you the advantage you need to build muscle
fast! Get that fish oil supplement today and take 2-3 capsules with
several of your meals each day.
- Veggies
You're probably thinking, what??? Yes, veggies are on the list of foods that build muscle! I stress very important when I say veggies are important to your muscle building goals. Go without your veggies and build less muscle.
Eat
veggies throughout the day. Make a bag full of mixed veggies to eat
throughout the day with your meals. A variety is great. Eat salads with
romaine lettuce and raw spinach leaves.
Broccoli, asparagus,
brussell sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, spinach, lettuce,
greens, celery, and more should all be a part of your muscle building
diet.
Try to add veggies to every meal. For example, have a
spinach omelet for breakfast. Great tasting and very nutritious. Do not
forget your veggies!
- Oats
Oats
are one of the best sources of carbs you will find. Buy the old
fashioned Quaker Oats or whatever you can find. Just don't buy the
quick oats.
You can grind up oats using a coffee grinder and add them to your protein shakes for a quick muscle building meal.
Whatever
you do, don't screw up your oats by adding sugar and butter to them.
Don't turn a healthy meal into an unhealthy meal. A small amount of
natural peanut butter mixed in with your oats also makes them much
easier to eat.
- Waxy Maize Starch
This
is my absolute favorite muscle building carb to use only in pre and
post workout shakes. I use waxy maize in combination with branched
chain amino acids (BCAA's) before and after every workout during a
muscle building cycle.
If you choose to go this route, go with
about a 4:1 ratio of waxy maize starch versus BCAA's. So, if you use 60
grams of waxy maize, add 15 grams of BCAA's to your shake.
Waxy
Maize is a very fast acting carb and has no taste. I suggest you get
your waxy maize flavored or at least buy some flavoring at the store.
Try crystal light or something similar.
- Milk
Milk
has really been criticized at times throughout the fitness industry.
Unless you're an elite level bodybuilder getting ready for a show or
you're allergic to milk, I suggest that you add milk to your diet for
extra calories.
Add milk to your protein shakes, have a glass
for breakfast, have a glass with your dinner, or have milk with your
high fiber cereal. I prefer skim milk. Skim milk gives you 8 grams of
protein per cup! Milk tastes great, and the liquid form makes it easy
to get those extra calories in.
- Eggs
Eggs
used to be one of the cheapest forms of protein available. They are
still fairly cheap even though the price of them has more than doubled
the past few years.
Eat your eggs in many different forms and
don't worry about eating too much cholesterol unless you're packing in
a few dozen per day. Be creative. Fry your eggs in olive oil or use a
no calorie cooking spray. Add hard boiled eggs to your salads. Make an
egg omelet packed with veggies and meat.
- Fruits and Berries
You
should always include fruits and berries in your diet. Some fruits and
most berries are a great source of fiber. Berries provide you with tons
of antioxidants. Prevent sickness with a diet high in fruits and
berries.
I love making a protein shake packed full of
strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, blackberries, and canteloupe.
You can add any berries to your oatmeal in the morning, or add them to
a high fiber cereal with milk.
- Nuts
Nuts
have to be included in the list of foods that build muscle! Nuts have
lots of calories that help you reach your calorie surplus level each
day. They are packed full of muscle building nutrients along with good
fats.
Walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts, sunflower
seeds, and more. Natural peanut butter will work too! One of my
favorite snacks is celery and natural peanut butter. A very easy way to
add calories.
- Fatty Acid Oils
Fatty
acids are usually overlooked when it comes to foods that build muscle.
Again, fats are very important for building muscle and add lots of
muscle building calories.
Udo's Choice Oil is a favorite of mine
along with olive oil and flax oil. Cocunut oil and MCT oil are a few
others I have used. Add these oils to your shakes or salads. Really,
you need to add lots of good fats to your diet.
- Chicken, Turkey, and Other Birds
Chicken
and turkey breast are two great sources of protein without the added
fat. If you are trying to have a protein and carb only meal, then
chicken or turkey breast is your food. You knew these two protein
sources would make the list of foods that build muscle!
Try
marinading some chicken breast in your favorite marinade and freezing
them. The act of freezing them really pulls the flavor in. My mouth is
watering as we speak.
That concludes my list of the very best foods that build
muscle. If you think I'm leaving a great muscle building food out,
please contact me and let me know. I'll be glad to add it to the list!
Eat a Balanced Diet to Build Muscle
For building muscle, I always recommend that you a diet very high in
protein and a balanced mixture of good fats and good carbs. When I say
a diet high in protein, I recommend that you eat anywhere from 1.5 to 2
grams of protein per pound of body weight. Notice, I did not say per
pound of lean muscle mass. I also recommend that you increase your
water intake to a gallon of water per day.
Many people may
say that you don't need that much protein to build muscle. Well,
thousands and thousands of weight lifters are your proof. Do your own
experiment if you don't believe me. Eat a diet with protein at 0.8
grams per pound or whatever someone else recommends, and then eat a
diet at 2 grams per pound of body weight. Then, tell me that the
increased protein intake doesn't build muscle. You won't!
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count
started 9/8/08
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