How to Eat to Build Muscle Mass

  The sport of bodybuilding has been growing steadily over the past years, and it has even accelerated in growth thanks to social media. Today, more people than ever are buying gym memberships in pursuit of a healthier, more athletic-looking and athletic-performing physique. Concomitantly, the questions that face those who are new to the gym remain: How should I eat to maximise muscle growth? Which is more important, proteins of carbohydrates? How many calories/meals should I be consuming? Should I eliminate fats from my diet? If you find yourself asking similar questions then read on because this is the article for you.

  If you have done enough research already, you should have come across the importance of nutrition in building muscle mass or ‘bulking’. Most popular estimates will suggest that bodybuilding is seventy per cent (70%) nutrition and thirty per cent (30%) training, and to a large extent this is true. The reason behind this is that training does not technically build muscle, but rather the opposite. When you train, you damage and destroy muscle fibres, and the body works on repairing the damage and rebuilding new muscle fibres. Of course, to do that the body will need resources known as nutrients. Therefore, training damages the trained muscles, and this stimulates the body to repair and build more muscle fibres, thus elevating the need for the proper nutrients from which the body may attain its required resources. At the same time, the trained muscles expend energy to perform the work during the training session, and this energy will need to be resupplied. This also elevates the need for the nutrients that resupply the muscles with energy, and therefore you will also need to be eating the foods that will refuel your muscles. Further, when you train you probably sweat (and not sweating is not necessarily an indication of a poor training session), and this, in turn, expels electrolyte-containing water from your muscles and body. Electrolytes help the muscles better perform (contracting and relaxing), and therefore you should also be rehydrating before, during, and after training.

  But what exactly are these nutrients that repair, refuel, rehydrate and refresh the muscles? These nutrients are called carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, and micronutrients such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and a lot more others. This article will briefly discuss the most important ones below.

  Carbohydrates are the nutrient you will need the most of if you are on the thinner side. Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for the muscles, as the sugars they provide the body with are the easiest to convert to energy. Carbohydrates are stored within muscles in a dormant form, but they are nevertheless available as soon as the muscles need them. Also, in addition to their role in refuelling the muscles, carbohydrates also play an important role in increasing muscle size especially among beginner trainees. The reason behind this is that each molecule of carbohydrates retained within the muscle binds to several water molecules at the same time, hence the more glycogen (stored form of carbohydrates within the liver and muscles) the muscle has, the more water mass it will have, which ultimately increases its overall size. Carbohydrates are almost always found in plants and plant products. The best sources of carbohydrates include bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, beans, peas, and fruits. As a general rule, you should be aiming to consume around one (1) gram for every kilogram of your bodyweight of carbohydrates on every meal to ensure you are attaining well enough of the nutrient if you are consuming three to four main meals per day.

  Protein is the nutrient that is most critical when considering muscle repair and rebuild. After getting digested in the body, proteins are broken down into amino acids (protein’s individual components) which are used to repair and rebuild muscles. Proteins are needed in much less quantities than carbohydrates, but, unlike carbohydrates, they are not stored in the body in any form. This makes it necessary to consume protein at regular time periods and in reasonable amounts at every meal. Consuming insufficient protein will severely diminish your body’s ability to recover damaged muscles, and will ultimately decrease your overall muscle mass regardless of well you train (actually, the more you train the smaller you will become if you do not eat enough protein). The best sources of protein are animal sources such as red meats, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, and milk. Of course, some plant sources contain protein, but most plant sources are incomplete and are generally not preferred over animal sources. As a general rule, you should be looking to have around half your bodyweight in grams of protein per meal (e.g. if you weigh 60 kilograms, you should have around 30 grams of protein per meal) if you are consuming three to four main meals per day.

  Fat is a nutrient critical for good health above all. Fat is not directly linked to muscle repair or growth, but it is directly linked to overall body health. The most notable benefits of fat are temperature insulation, hormone regulation, promotion of heart and artery health, and the provision of some extra calories stored as body fat. Fat is widely present in several unhealthy forms in fast food and cheap snacks, so these foods should be minimised. Good sources of fat include vegetable oils (olive oil being the best), raw nuts like walnuts and almonds, avocados, and peanut butter. Moderation in fat is key since fats are calorie-dense (meaning they contain much more calories per gram than carbohydrates and proteins). In fact, one gram of fat has more calories than a gram of carbohydrates and a gram of protein combined, therefore it is wise to consume in small amounts with every meal.

  Other micronutrients like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron are also important to the physique being trained, but the term ‘micro’ refers to these nutrients’ required quantities and not their level of importance. Unlike the other macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat, and water) micronutrients are required in much smaller quantities. However, these micronutrients are present within the major sources of the aforementioned macronutrients, and there is no need to stress over incorporating them individually into your eating plan. For example, if you cook and eat a steak with along with some boiled rice and a small plate of green salad, then you would have already consumed all these micronutrients in sufficient quantities for one meal. Deficiencies in micronutrients almost never happen when you follow a well-balanced diet program that incorporates all the healthy food choices. Also, nutrients travel in the bloodstream to their destinations, and the most important medium for that to happen is water. As a general rule you should be consuming around two and a half to three (2.5-3) litres of water daily, roughly equating ten to twelve (10- 12) cups.

  In conclusion, sports nutrition is a very serious aspect of athleticism that should not be overlooked to ensure maximum results. No sport performance is complete without the corresponding appropriate nutrition program to go with it. Keep in mind, however, that the general rules for consuming the above-mentioned macronutrients are only rough estimates that help you eliminate guess-work. The more precise calculations for your macronutrient requirements rely on several factors, some of them being your height, weight, metabolism, physical activity per day, and your objective of training. Sports nutrition should not to be confused with regular nutrition, just as the athletic body differs from the untrained body. Our sports nutrition programs are tailored to fit your athletic needs based on the physique you have now and the athletic goals you aspire to achieve. We will help you take your physique to the next level of athleticism. Please visit our website to learn more about our services.