|
|
|
MUSCLE BUILDING NUTRITIONThis page is
designed to provide you with the muscle building nutrition information
you need to create quality, lean muscle. It compliments the information
I have already discussed regarding muscle building in general and also how to eat the right amount of calories
which helps enormously by taking years of guess work and trial and
error out of the equation. If you have not read these pages I strongly
suggest you click on the links and do so before you proceed. More calorie talk...
To start with I am going to crunch some numbers. These numbers are very important, and they all link in together. It all moulds together in your fat burning journey. We can break food down in to these categories: Macronutrients
Protein Carbohydrates Fats Micronutrients
Vitamins Minerals Water
This page will primarily talk about the macronutrients, so lets have a look at the calorie content of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Macronutrient Calorie Content Protein – contains 4 calories per gram Carbohydrates – contains 4 calories per gram Fat – contains 9 calories per gram Can you see a
discrepancy here! Yep, fat has more than double the
amount of calories per gram than that found in protein and
carbohydrates.
This fact appears to be a major bummer considering that fat is the very
thing we dont want. This is why it is important to
understand
the role that fat, protein and carbohydrates play when designing your
meal plans.
FAT
Since we are on the topic of fat, let’s explore how the fat content is an important part of muscle building nutrition. It obviously goes without saying that if you have too much fat in your diet, you are very easily going to put on… fat! Just as too much is not good though, so is not enough. Now let’s get it straight, this page is here to help you reach you goal in building lean muscle, so I am not going to give you a long winded scientific explanation or chemical breakdown of fat here and what it does for the body. Just keep in mind that fat helps with absorption of important micronutrients, and plays an important role in our ability to function as healthy human beings. DO NOT deprive yourself of it! A good muscle diet includes the right fats, in the right portions. In terms of helping you determine how to manage your fat intake you need to understand the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are what you do not want as part of you muscle building nutrition. These fats are found in foods from animals and some plants.
Beef, veal, lard, poultry, butter, margarine, whole milk, cream, cheese
and other dairy products all contain saturated fats. They are also
found in specific plant foods like coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter
etc. The primary reason saturated fat is deemed ‘bad’ is because it
raises total blood cholesterol which will increase your risk of heart
disease.
Unsaturated fat, often found in liquid form from vegetables, is the stuff you want to focus on. These fats are an essential part of muscle building nutrition! They can be broken down in to either mono-unsaturated or poly-unsaturated and contain essential fatty acids that our body needs, but cannot produce naturally. Hence, their importance in our daily eating plan. These fats are found in fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants. Actual food examples include trout, salmon, avocado, olives, almonds, walnuts and liquid vegetable oils from soybeans, corn, safflower, canola, olive and sunflower. All these fats may help lower your blood cholesterol, in contrast to saturated fats. Please be
aware of trans fats which are actually unsaturated but are not the fat
you want to include. This fat is used to extend the shelf life of
processed foods. Keep an eye out for cakes, cookies, fries, and donuts. So what does all this mean and how do I use it when deciding what foods to include as part of your muscle building nutrition? Great question. Stick with unsaturated fats and aim to have it take up 20-30% of your daily calories consumed. So, as an example, if you calculated your total daily calorie requirement to be 2500 to gain weight, and you allocate 25% of this to be from fat, that leaves you with 625 calories a day that you would consume from fat (2500 x 0.25). Remember, each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. PROTEIN Commonly
referred to as the ‘building blocks for muscle’, protein will play a
key role as part of your muscle building nutrition. It provides all the
necessary amino acids to help build and repair muscle after exercise Key protein sources are found in chicken/turkey breast, beef, fish, cottage cheese, eggs (whites). Remember to keep an eye out for the type (saturated or unsaturated) and amount of fat contained when choosing your foods. So what does all this mean and how do I use it
when deciding what foods to include as part of a good muscle building
nutrition plan? We can see that protein plays its role in your fat
burning plan to help build muscle. Your protein intake should account
for between 20-30% of your daily calories consumed. So, as an example,
if you calculated your total daily calorie requirement to be 2500 to
build muscle, and you allocate 25% of this to be from protein, that
leaves you with 625 calories a day that you would consume from protein
(2500 x 0.25). Remember, each gram of protein is equal to 4 calories. CARBOHYDRATES Carbohydrates
are the primary source of energy, and provider of many vitamins and
minerals. They are broken up in to two categories… Simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are quickly converted by the body in to blood sugar. Sweets, fruit sugar (fructose), table sugar, white bread, pasta made with white flour, cake, fruit juice are all examples of simple carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates on the other hand, are slower to convert to blood sugar, and therefore help to stabilize it. Food examples are muesli, grain and dark breads, apples, potatoes, low fat yoghurt, lettuce, tomatoes, Cauliflower. The rate at which your body converts carbohydrates in to blood sugar is an indication of its Glycaemic Index (GI) and is quite important from a muscle building nutrition perspective if you are trying to put on lean muscle rather than fat. In its simplest terms, you increase the likelihood of putting on fat if you eat too many calories that have a high GI), . So stick with foods that have a low GI. So what does all this mean and how do I use it for a good muscle building nutrition plan? Basically, eat less carbohydrates of the simple kind (which generally have a high GI), and stick with more complex carbohydrates and low GI foods. Have carbohydrates make up approximately 50-60% of your daily intake of calories. So, as an example, if you calculated your total daily calorie requirement to be 2500 for building lean muscle, and you allocate 55% of this to be from carbohydrates, that leaves you with 1375 calories a day that you would consume from carbs (2500 x 0.55). Remember, each gram of carbs is equal to 4 calories. Alcohol Of
course it is possible to include alcohol within your muscle building
nutrition. Moderation is the key. It is also worth
noting too
that alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. If you include it
in
your regular meal plan, try not to sacrifice some of the better meal
choices.
Where to from here?
Now you know enough about muscle building
nutrition to be sticking to a specific amount of calories per day for
building lean muscle. We worked this out by establishing how many calories to consume to build lean muscle without gaining excess fat.
Once you know this, it’s just a matter of allocating 20-30% from fat,
20-30% from protein, and 50-60% from carbohydrates. If you are unsure
at exactly what amounts to start with, try 25% Fat -20% Protein – 55%
Carbohydrates. You may find that you have to experiment around with the
ratio a little, in order to determine what works best for you. In fact, I strongly suggest you do experiment with different ratios and amounts of calories.
What I have provided here is not gospel, and will not work best for
everyone. What will work best for you, you will find out in time,
depending on your passion to succeed. The information I have provided
will start you off on a very good note. There is a lot of information
on the internet recommending (and not recommending!) many different
approaches with reference to the appropriate ratios of carbohydrates,
fat and protein. Just remember to stick with the right types of each to
ensure your success.
Creating a list of foods for your muscle building nutrition plan This
will take some work! However, creating a meal plan will give you the
benefit of having a set schedule of what you eat in a day, rather than
constantly adding up calories every time you eat. To make this process much easier... Check out FAT LOSS TOOLS. Here are some quick tips on creating a plan:
The best way to approach designing your meal plan
as part of your muscle building nutrition is to work out what foods you
want to eat daily, keeping it healthy of course, and keeping in mind
what you have just learned with regard to fat, protein and
carbohydrates. You know what foods are bad for you… Fast food, fried
food, potato chips, sweets etc. It’s time to create good habits. You
don’t want to jeopardize your results, or your good health. Muscle
building nutrition plans do not include foods of this variety!
Ok. So how do you find out the actual calories in food? That is a great question. Here’s how to do it: 1. Start by writing out a list of foods you think you would like to eat each day 2. Look up the calorie, fat, protein, and carbohydrate content of the foods you have listed by using the country specific links below: From
there you will have all the information necessary to determine how many
calories that diet provides you with, and also in what ratios of fat,
protein, and carbs. Hey, I told you it will take some work!! Obviously, if your calories and ratios are out of whack, you are going to need to adjust accordingly. Phew!! It’s not easy getting that ideal body is it!! Well, think about it… If obtaining that ideal body and staying true to muscle building nutrition was that easy, we’d all be walking around looking great! This is the very reason most people are unfit and healthy. If you want success in anything in life, there will be a price. Just as it takes a degree of work to get your ideal body, it takes work to build a great business, or a great relationship. If you put if off now you will never get closer to getting what you want! The key is daily constant action. Just do something NOW, then do something again tomorrow. In a month, 30 days worth of ‘doing something’ adds up to a giant step forward. If you keep putting it off until tomorrow, your life passes you by and nothing gets done! The tools are right here in this site. The very thing that I can’t control is your ability to pick those tools up and actually use them. It’s all YOU. You are the creator of your world! It’s time to become an achiever. Stick to your muscle building nutrition. Don’t get bogged down by the work ahead, just make a start. You’ll be amazed at the progress you can make. Next… Now that you are well versed with tips on eating healthier, maximize your nutrition and fitness health diet plans by understanding the concepts of training right to compliment your muscle building nutrition. |
 Need
help with
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
