Eat Your Way to Bigger Muscles: 8 Essential Foods to Make Sure You Eat

Going to the gym and training iron is a good start for healthy muscles, but that alone is not enough. A balanced regimen of exercise, strength training and diet is essential for building and maintaining a strong body.

Proteins in particular play a key role in this support muscle growth. This collection of amino acids forms a large part of our muscle and organ tissues. Although supplements such as protein shakes are a way to meet your daily protein quota, they are not required. Another way to ensure you get enough protein is to eat whole foods.

With a little effort, it’s easy to add plenty of high-protein foods and other muscle-building nutrients to your diet. Here’s how different foods help you build muscle mass – and what to eat if you want to increase your strength.

How food helps build muscle

Although proteins are essential for… muscle buildingit is not the only important nutritional component in the process. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicinea good muscle-building diet must also contain sufficient carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. A balanced diet that includes all of these will provide the necessary ingredients to help your muscles recover and rebuild after a workout.

Overall, the NASM recommends that most people consume at least 0.7 to 0.8 grams of protein and 1.8 to 3.2 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day. Total calorie intake also plays a role in muscle building, because it is difficult to build muscle if you burn more calories than you consume.

However, diet alone is not enough to stimulate muscle growth. Exercise — especially resistance training such as weight lifting — is necessary start the process. When you tear the fibers in your muscles, it stimulates cell growth and repair. At that point, your body can use the food you ate to rebuild and strengthen muscle tissue. Other factors also influence how effective and efficient this process is, from when you eat your food and how much rest you give your muscles between workouts, to your hormonal and genetic makeup.

8 Foods to Maximize Your Profits

While many factors play a role in building muscle, there is no doubt that nutrition plays a key role. Here are eight muscle-building foods you can eat to optimize your workouts and increase your muscle mass.

1. Eggs

Eggs have long been considered a… power foodand with good reason. They are incredibly rich in nutrients from fat and protein and contain a powerful blend of vitamins such as B12, B6 and thiamin. Their nutrient-dense profile makes them particularly powerful, but most importantly they contain a good dose of leucine. This amino acid is known for its muscle-building ability.

2. Fish

If you’re already getting enough fat but need to increase your protein intake, look no further than fish. It’s one of the best lean protein sources you can eat, and it’s packed with other vitamins and minerals. A bonus? Fish is packed with omega-3 fatty acids. Although they are known for their many other health benefits, omega-3 fatty acids can also improve muscle performance and help prevent the loss of muscle mass. Salmon and tuna are particularly good food choices for muscle building.

3. Nuts

When eaten in moderation, nuts are an excellent choice for building muscle. These tasty snacks provide a perfect blend of protein, fat and fiber, making them one of the most balanced ways to supplement your workouts. You have to be careful, though, because many nuts (including peanuts, which are actually legumes) are high in calories. Try it for the most nutrient-dense options almonds or walnuts.

4. Soybeans

If you’re trying to build muscle on a meatless diet, soybeans should be one of your best friends. These are one of the most nutritious legumes you can eat, and they pack a powerful punch of protein to help build muscle. Soy contains everything nine essential amino acidsmaking it one of the best plant-based protein sources available.

5. Greek yogurt

Dairy is a unique protein source because it provides a combination of quickly digested whey protein and slowly digested casein protein. When consumed togetherThese two types of proteins can strengthen and prolong the protein synthesis process that your muscles undergo during recovery, helping you build your lean body mass. Greek yogurt is an especially good choice for dairy products because it contains yogurt twice as much protein compared to regular yogurt and offers extra probiotic health benefits which you cannot find in milk or cheese.

6. Cottage cheese

It doesn’t provide the same probiotic benefits as yogurt, but cottage cheese is a good second choice for dairy-based protein. In fact, cottage cheese contains more protein than Greek yogurt, while offering the same slow- and fast-digesting combination. It’s a particularly good source of casein and provides a significant calorie boost if you want to make sure you get enough.

7. Olive oil

It may not sound like the typical body building food, but extra virgin olive oil has become increasingly popular in recent years for its muscle benefits. Commonly known as a source of healthy monounsaturated fatsOlive oil also helps reduce inflammation And slow muscle breakdown. Both properties can help with any muscle building regimen.

8. Quinoa

They don’t call quinoa a superfood for nothing. This dynamic grain (it’s a seed but classified as a whole grain) contains a little bit of everythingincluding plenty of protein, fiber and carbohydrates, plus a good dose of vitamins and minerals. It is a perfect diet to build muscle and maximize the benefits of your workouts.

A recipe for stronger muscles

Adding these muscle-building foods to your diet will definitely help you on your path to increasing muscle mass and increasing your strength. However, remember that increasing muscle mass takes time – and nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle. Combining a balanced diet of protein-rich foods with healthy exercise and rest will speed up your journey and improve your overall health along the way.