-
Free Newsletter & Ebook
Category Archives: Nutrition
The Importance of Breakfast for Bodybuilders
The primary concern for a bodybuilder is the maintenance of their muscle mass and this requires a very structured and very consistent eating habits. In fact, the foundation of a well built body is breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day for anyone but extremely important for those that work out. It contains necessary nutrition that helps to fuel those workouts and to keep you from binging during the day.
Most people will go 8 to 12 hours without any food between the last meal they had and the time they get up in the morning. When you fast like this, it make the body have to maintain its blood sugar by breaking down its own available storage and this can often come from your muscles. In severe cases, the body can actually break down the muscle mass components in order to make glucose. So, when you break the fast by eating a good breakfast will ensure that you get adequate energy for your brain and for your muscles so they can work efficiently.
When you eat a good breakfast that is well balanced it is going to prevent fatigue and muscle depletion. You can prevent muscle loss by making sure to keep meals frequent throughout the entire day as well and this makes the perfection foundation for the bodybuilder. Breakfast will ensure a peak workout when it comes to weight training and you will be able to focus much better on your workout program.
Complex carbs should be part of the perfect breakfast because they give the body a slow and steady variety of energy that is gradually broken down into glucose by the body and you are able to use it for energy and better performance. Types of complex carbs include things like whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain toast, whole grain pasta, beans, legumes and starchy veggies such as potatoes. You can even top oatmeal off with some flax seeds. Wheat germ, berries or even nuts for extra nutrition.
You also need to include protein in your breakfast. The protein will aid in the building of muscles and it helps to increase your metabolism because proteins are harder to break down and this then makes your body have to work harder.
The ideal breakfast then would be the perfect combination of those complex carbs and proteins. Such breakfasts might include some oatmeal topped with some flax seed and a side of scrambled egg whites; French toast made from whole grain bread, egg whites and cinnamon, low fat cottage cheese with some fruit, plain yogurt with some whole oats, berries and vanilla flavored whey protein or some shredded wheat cereal with some low fat milk and half of a grapefruit. You also should try to include some healthy fats as well like olive oil, flax oil, nuts and avocados.
Nutrition Needed for Building Muscles and Losing Fat
We all know that in order to lose fat you need to burn off calories, however, in order to build muscle you need to consume calories. So, this can be a tad confusing when you are trying to do both. So it is really important that you eat enough of the proper foods for your resistance training so you don’t lose muscle instead of fat.
One very important food that you need to include in your diet when you are working out is milk. It has been discovered that if you drink two cups of skim milk when doing resistance training that you can lose 2 pounds of body fat over a 12 week period. This is twice as much as people who drank sports drinks and soy beverages instead. Milk also helps you to gain muscle and can result in 2.5 pounds of more muscle than drinking soy beverages and 3.3 more pounds of muscle than when drinking sports drinks.
Eggs are also an important food that needs to be included in your muscle building diet. If you eat two eggs for breakfast you are actually consuming 400 less calories less the rest of the day and this reduction in calories will help you lost fat and enable you to manage your weight by controlling your calorie intake. Eggs are also full of high quality protein and this is essential in building as well as repairing your muscles.
Apples are another great food source packed with nutritional value. It has also been discovered that those who eat three apples each day will lose more weight on a lower calorie diet than those on the same diet who didn’t eat the apples. Apples are filled with fiber and fiber has been found to actually bind to fat in your digestive tract. This then causes it to be gotten rid of as a waste instead of being absorbed into the body. The carbs that are found in apples are beneficial for the growth of muscles as well.
Including whole grain cereals in your diet is also going to be of benefit. When a person eats 100% whole grain cereal with some nonfat milk after they lift weights has been proven to promote muscle growth. It provides the body with the proper carbohydrate to protein ratio along with all the amino acids that your muscles need to store energy and to make new muscle. Whole grain cereal also helps keep glucose levels stead and curbs hunger.
Vitamin E is very important during weigh training because it protects your muscles and shortens the recovery time that is needed for muscle repair. It also limits damage to muscles. This is why peanuts are important to add to your diet because they are high in vitamin E as well as being a great source of protein. By including peanuts in the diet, it’s also been noted that they help curb a persons hunger and they are able to maintain their weight easier than those who don’t include peanuts in their diet plan.
Basic Diet Plan for Bulking Up
Anyone who even knows the slightest about working out and building muscles knows that weightlifting is a key part of the entire process. However, if you are a beginner, you might not realize that another big part to bulking up is the diet plan that you are on. This is a key to increasing your muscle mass. You need to eat food that is nutrient dense such as vegetables, lean protein along with complex carbohydrates and not the kind of food that contains large amounts of saturated fats and trans fats. The normal dietary allowance for women would be about 2,000 calories a day and 2,500 calories a day for men. However, to bulk up, women should consume at least 2,600 per day up to 3,100 per day and men up to 3,500 each day. The meals you eat should increase to 6 to 8 smaller meals so that you will be able to increase the calories and nutrients properly.
Protein
One of the most important nutrients that you need to gain the right kind of weight is protein. It is what will provide your body with energy, helps to build the muscles in your body and is needed to repair the muscle tissue after you have had a hard workout. A person who isn’t weightlifting, normally consumes about 50 grams of protein a day, this is found in eggs, other dairy, meat, fish and nuts. Some bodybuilders will take in as much as 314 grams of protein for a diet that consumes around 2,600 calories. Try to avoid most red meats however, if you must eat red meat, then make sure it is only the leanest.
Carbohydrates
If you are working out heavily, carbohydrates become an essential part of your diet plan because they are burned off when you exercise. When you are on a high calorie diet, it is really important that you eat the right kinds of carbs, this means you need to eat the complex variety and not the simple variety. The foods that are considered complex carbs are foods such as whole wheat pasta, whole wheat breads, beans, oatmeal, legumes, cornmeal, potatoes as well as brown rice. By eating complex carbs on a daily basis you are providing calories you need as well as fiber. Because complex carbs break down in the body slower, you will feel full a lot longer than if you ate simple carbs. Some simple carbs would be snack foods and fruit.
Vegetables
Vegetables are a great source for the nutrients and vitamins that your body requires, especially if you are trying to bulk up. The dark leafy veggies are the ones that are extremely good for you because they contain the fiber you need and vitamins C and E. You should steam fresh vegetables or just eat them raw to avoid losing those nutrients. Try to avoid canned vegetables because they have a lot of salt and fats in them and they have already lost a lot of their nutrients through their processing.
Good Nutrition and Healthy Workout Meals Are Essential
Maintaining a highly nutritional diet is extremely vital to the success of any exercise program including your muscle building workouts. It doesn’t matter if you are just exercising for weight loss, increasing muscles, want better stamina, more flexibility, whatever the goal might be, eating healthy meals is the key. It is important not to take in a large amount of calories, your body still is going to need some good food with a lot of nutrition in order for you to get the most out of your workout.
You need to make sure that every one of your meals that you eat has a portion of protein. Protein is the cornerstone for anyone who is trying to build muscle. As you know, when you work out, the muscles are broken down and then during rest they rebuild and this means that your body needs the protein in order to rebuild the muscle. So, when you are fixing your workout meals, you need to make sure that protein is a huge part of these meals. In fact protein should be one third to one half of all your calorie intake. So look to include a lot of lean meats like chicken, fish, turkey or even some soy based food like tofu.
Carbohydrates are important when planning your workout meal to help you with your goal of building muscles. So, you need to add bread, pasta and rice to your meals. You need to have carbs in your diet when you are exercising because they are the source of energy that your body uses to fuel itself. If you don’t get enough carbs in your meals then your body is not going to get the fuel that it needs and then your workout is not going to reap the benefits it would with the carbs.
Don’t forget to include plenty of vegetables. In fact, fill up on your favorite vegetables. This is especially true if you feel hungry during times when it’s not meal time, eat some veggies to help curb that hunger. They have very little calories but they hold high nutritional value which your body will appreciate. Every one of your meals should also include some large portion of vegetables. Keep it varied so you don’t get bored with them. For example don’t eat just broccoli every day, switch it up on a daily basis.
It is really important that you do all that you can to avoid those saturated fats and the trans fats. Don’t avoid fats all together though because they are an essential part of your meals and are needed for good health. So you need to make sure that you add foods that contain healthy fats in your meals. For example, olive oil, soybean oil, nuts and the fat found in fish and flax seed are all healthy fats you should consume, but in moderation.
Stay away for the processed sugar and other chemical substitutes as much as you can. The sugar will give you a temporary burst of energy, especially during your workout, however you will only crash after and feel horrible after your workout. So stick with more natural sources like fruit. Eating an apple is going to give you the kind of energy that is going to last and your body will gain benefit from the nutrition in the apple.
Make sure that all of your meals are well balanced with the right nutrition. You need to make sure that you have something from all the food groups in each meal. Depending upon your workout regimen is how you will adjust your diet. If you are doing heavy duty body building just make sure to increase the amount of protein and carbs that you eat and drink plenty of water. Understand, that your body might require different amounts of each food group than your friends who might be working out. So pay attention to your needs and not what they are doing.
Muscle Building Diet Tips for Women
Anyone who knows anything about building muscle knows how crucial protein is for that process. But other nutrients can be just as important for muscle growth in women. Carbohydrates are very essential and even fats that will help to build and maintain your muscles. So, it is very important that you watch what you eat and when you eat it.
Protein
The protein that you consume is used by the body for repair, regrowth and the rebuilding of not just your muscles but your skin, nails, organs, cells and hair. So you need to make sure that you provide your body with the right amount of protein so your body can repair itself, especially after a heavy duty workout.
The recommended amounts for women seem to vary from one source to another but on average for a woman who is working out they should eat .68 to .81 grams of protein for each pound of body weight that she carries. Since women do have less muscle mass to take care of as compared to men, you should always begin with the lower end of the recommendation.
Good sources of protein come from lean meat like chicken and turkey, eggs, lean red meat and fish. You will also find it in low fat dairy like cheese, milk and yogurt. You will also find a good amount of it in nuts and seeds.
Other Nutrients
Make sure to include complex carbohydrates that are found in whole grains, vegetables and fresh fruit. These are essential for the energy that your body needs to build muscle. Carbs are also used to help your red blood cells move oxygen through your body as well as remove the toxins from your muscles when you work out.
Fats are also very important for women. Women do tend to have a higher body fat percentage than men due to reproduction. Most programs dealing with fitness programs will even require that women make sure to maintain a healthy body fat percentage, so you should never avoid fats. You can find the good fats or monounsaturated fatty acids needed in foods like avocados, olive oil, flax seed oil, dark chocolate and nuts.
Eating Schedule
When you eat, it’s important what you eat and how much of it you eat at one time. This is why you should spread out your allotted calories over 5 to 6 smaller meals throughout the day. This will also help to speed up your metabolism. Also, make sure you follow the recommended calorie intake for your weight, height, musculature, level of activity and your goals. If you are weight training five days a week you will need between 1600 and 2400 calories each day. Make sure each meal is balanced with carbs, protein and fats.
It is always advisable to drink a protein shake with about 20 to 30 grams of protein in it and eat one serving carbs like crackers, fruit or some oatmeal, 30 minutes to an hour prior to working out. This will give your body all the fuel it will need to make it through the workout.
Great Foods That Help to Build Muscle
In order to build muscle and to lose the fat you need to lose when you are working out, it is necessary that you eat foods from many different sources. This will then help your body to gain the biggest supply of nutrients that it needs. For instance, proteins in bulk, carbs for energy and fats for actual fat loss are all essential in order to help you build new lean muscle. Here you will find some of the important foods that you should eat to assist you in building the muscle that you need while not adding any extra fat to your waistline.
Whole Eggs
There are about 7 grams of protein in one egg, they are a relatively inexpensive source for your diet and for a protein source. If you are concerned about cholesterol you really don’t have to worry about the yolk all that much, since in reality dietary cholesterol really doesn’t effect your cholesterol levels. So, make sure that you add plenty of whole eggs to your diet plan if you intend to build muscle.
Red Meat
For some time, red meat was thought to be dangerous for your health, however, now it has become a favorite for those who are working out and trying to build muscle. The reason is that it actually does have health giving properties that include protein, vitamin B12 and Omega 3 fats (only from grass fed beef). It’s just that you should remember to pick the leaner cuts of beef such as sirloin and tenderloin to keep your intake of unhealthy saturated fat levels down.
Spinach
Yep, just like good old Popeye use to tell many of us as kids, spinach gives you strength, it truly does. Spinach is vital in keeping your muscles healthy and also prevents bone loss. It also is said to protect you against cancer as well as heart disease. If you don’t like the flavor of it just disguise the taste with some sweet fruit like bananas or pineapple in a smoothie.
Quinoa
Quinoa is pronounced keen-wa and is a gluten free grain that is a lot like rice. It is very high in fiber as well as protein and you can use it instead of rice in a lot of different recipes. Unlike rice, the higher quality quinoa does have whiter grains.
Water
Even though water isn’t really a food, it is still vital for any kind of muscle building since it is what helps to prevent dehydration and it helps in the recovery of your muscles after a workout. It will also prevent water retention and will help you to lose weight from any excess salt intake.
Cottage Cheese
By eating plenty of cottage cheese or any other non-fat dairy products is going to supply you with essential amino acids in your daily diet that will help you to build lean muscle. It is very important to eat these kinds of foods with each meal so that you have an ample supply of amino acids for your body to process when trying to build new muscle.
Tips for Meal Planning and Lean Muscle
Living a healthy life is not only good for you but good for helping you build lean body muscle. If you are working out or are doing bodybuilding then it’s very important that you make sure that you eat a very healthy diet in order to do so. It can be somewhat difficult to know exactly where to start when it comes to planning a healthy meal plan let alone doing all the various exercises you need to do to help build muscle, however it doesn’t have to be all that tough if you put your mind to it. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Simple Tips for Building Lean Muscle
Of course you should be using some free weights and doing strength training exercises in order to gain some lean muscle on your body. This doesn’t mean that you have to do hundreds of repetitions in order to accomplish this. In fact it’s important that you actually start off slow and then gradually increase the repetitions and the weight. You should find a comfortable weight to begin with and then add more weight each week or so. Or, you can just keep the same weight and do more sets of the repetitions. It’s when the exercises start to feel like they are getting easy is when you should increase weight or reps.
You should also do some sort of aerobic activity several times a week. Even though you may be toning your muscles you still may have a layer of fat you need to get rid of and you can do this with aerobic exercise. This could be walking, jumping rope, swimming or jogging. This will also help to build some lean muscle too.
Whatever you do, don’t skip any meals during the day. If you do this your metabolism is going to get off track and the energy that is stored in your body is going to get depleted. It will then start storing fat in order to replenish the energy stores.
Make sure to eat more creatine. This is an amino acid that can be found in both fish and meat. If for some reason you can’t eat fish or meat you can get creatine in the form of a supplemental pill. Creatine can help to improve your strength and build more lean muscle.
You should try to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. Your body is 70% water and a lot of that goes to making lean muscle so you need to replenish the water that your body is using up. If you don’t drink enough water it’s going to be a lot harder for your muscles to get strong and grow.
Make sure to get enough sleep. Your body needs to rest and recover from exercise during the day. This is the time in which your muscles will repair themselves and it’s in the repairing of the muscles that new muscle is created. So it’s a good idea to try to get at least 7 to 8 hours each night.
Building a Meal Plan
First off eat smaller meals all during the day. You should try and eat a small meal every 3 to 4 hours, this includes healthy snacks as well. By doing this, you will be less likely to eating a large amount of food at night. This also will help to boost your metabolism and get in on track to working more efficiently and more quickly.
You should eat 6 to 11 servings of breads, cereal, pasta or brown rice each day. These carbohydrates will give your body the energy it needs to make it through the day. Eat 2 to 4 servings of fruit and 3 to 5 servings of vegetables every day. These will provide your body with the fiber and the esential nutrients your body needs to keep itself healthy as well as regular. You also should eat 2 to 3 servings of dairy products every day. Things like low fat milk, low fat cheese and low fat yogurt are just a few ideas of the perfect dairy foods to include. Finally make sure to include 2 to 3 servings of fish, eggs, nuts, beans, meat and poultry each day because these are the foods that will provide you with the protein needed in growing new muscles.
google-site-verification: google3f4c6cafb4d321c9.html
Rules to Follow to Minimize Fat Storage
Nutrition is an extremely important part of any bodybuilders muscle building plan and they know that they need to have a good balanced diet. They also understand how important high quality proteins are when it comes to the formation of new muscles. However, one thing that is often overlooked is the importance of carbohydrates when they plan their diets. There are a lot of people that simply are not aware of the actual role that carbs play in the development of their muscles. It’s the type you eat, when you eat them and just how much of them that are consumed that has the greatest effect on the process of building muscles.
If you want to make sure that your diet is totally complete and that you gain more muscle and lose fat, it’s very important to know how to include the right carbohydrates in your diet. There’s nothing really difficult about it if you follow the simple rules provided here.
- Eat the Complex Carbs – These are the carbs that are found in whole foods such as brown rice, potatoes, oatmeal and other whole grain cereals. These kinds of carbs are the ones that need to make up the biggest part of you calorie intake each day because they are what forms the muscle glycogen. This is a long lasting fuel that your body will need when you train harder.
- Eat Carbs Right After Training – When you are training really hard you are going to be reducing the sugar level in your blood immensely. So, by eating carbs right after your workout it’s going to give your body the insulin spike that it needs. This will put your body into what is called an anabolic state or muscle building state. If you don’t eat the right nutrients after your workout you could end up in a catabolic state or muscle breakdown state.
- Eat Smaller Amounts of Carbs Often – When you eat smaller amounts of carbs and more often, you are going to help keep the insulin flowing steadily through your blood stream. If you eat larger amounts of them in one sitting then your body will more often than not store these carbs as fat. So there is no need to eat a huge amount of them at one meal.
- Eat Carbs With High Fiber Content – This goes along with number one because the complex carbs are a high source of fiber. Fiber is what helps you to build more muscle by making your muscles absorb the amino acids a lot faster and far more efficiently at the same time.
- Stay Away From Fruit – Doesn’t sound right, this is true because fruits are packed with vitamins and usually low in calories and basically healthy. However, fruit does contain fructose which is the simple sugar. The body can convert this fructose into glycogen and this is a building block for fatty tissue and not muscle tissue.
- Combine Carbs and Protein in the Same Meal – Mixing proteins and carbs in the same meal is going to minimize your chance of the carbs being stored as fats. The protein is much harder for your body to process, so it will increase the metabolism of your body. Also, the carbs will help move the nutrients from the proteins to your muscle cells which helps with the muscle growth.
By following these simple rules, you will be able to use the power of carbohydrates to your advantage. It will also enable you to be able to build more muscle and at a faster rate.
Best Natural Supplements for Body Building
Everyone who gets into body building always wants to know what the best supplements are, especially natural ones that will help benefit you and the size of your muscles. The question that is better is which one is best for you and your personal program. Although you should include all of the following, the kind you take and the amount all depends upon the individual.
Number one on your list should be a really good group of multiple vitamins as well as minerals. This should be on the top of your list so that you will be protected against any nutritional deficiencies when you are working out.
You are also going to want to consider a really good protein powder of some sort. This is what you should have between your meals so that it’s easier for you to increase you protein levels in your body. The protein that it needs to continue to build new muscles for you. You should have a good 5 pound tub of protein powder around at all times. If you are a person that also needs to gain weight then you need to make sure that you go with a protein powder that also is considered a high quality weight gainer.
You also need to consider add a couple of tablespoons of fats that are considered good fats to your protein shakes or other foods. A good example of good fats would be peanut butter of flax oil. Both of which can be easily added to your shakes and other foods.
Don’t add creatine to your diet until you are far more advanced in your body building. Some people may recommend it, but it really should go along with more advanced training and more advanced supplements.
If you can afford it, on top of having a 5 pound tub of protein, you should also carry around with you more convenient things like meal replacement powders or ready to drink shakes. This will make it easier for you to have one of those supplemental shakes even when you are on the go. However, if your budget doesn’t have space for that, you could just take a ziplock baggie and put just the right amount of the protein powder in the baggie so that you can make a shake wherever you are. To do this you will also need a shaker bottle filled with water or milk and put in a cooler.
If you are just starting and are young, not even twenty-one yet, then it’s important that you take advantage of your age. You should take advantage of your natural steroid production while doing your training and dieting when you are younger. The key to any good body building program is the training program, the diet and your basic supplement you intake and plenty of rest, even if you’re a kid doing this, your body is still going to need it’s rest.
Fruits Offer Great Quick Energy for Building Muscles
There are a lot of people out there that are conscious about their health and their body as well as building muscles. Each person of course has a different preference for their own bodies therefore this means that each person probably has their own special diet and exercie routine that works the best in helping them to build muscle and achieve their own goals. If you eat the right foods that will help to build muscles such as those that are high in carbohydrates, proteins and fats you should be able to do the same.
Understand in order for you to build your muscles properly you are going to have to eat a lot of food. But, this does not mean you can eat anything. You need to watch what you eat and match it to the exercises that you do.
You are really going to need to concentrate on carbs because they are filled with the nutrient called glycogen. By eating enough foods with this nutrient in it you will be able to form the different muscle building exercises properly. These exercises can be extremely stressful on your body so this is why carbs and fats are so important in anyone’s diet who is trying ot build muscle.
During the day, you will need ot make sure that you eat complex carbohydrates because these are the ones that release energy slowly and this is what you need during the day. But, when it comes close to your workout time, you should switch to more simple carbs, ones that will give you instant usable carbohydrates. Things like fruit juice, energy drinks, nuts and other foods that offer simple carbohydrates.
Now, the best complex carbohydrates to eat would be things like brown rice, oatmeal, pasta, potatoes, bagels, breads as well as different cereals. Before you exercise however, you need to increase those carbs in your body and you can do that by eating foods like honey, organes, raisins, grapes, apples, and mangos. All of which fall into simple carbs.
Don’t foret to include high quality proteins with your diet as well because after all, proteins are the building blocks of muscle and you aren’t going to build muscle very easily if you don’t have some really good high quality proteins in your diet along with your carbs.
So when putting together a good diet plan make sure to include different fruits that are jam packed with carbohydrates. Some of the best and at the top of your list should be mangos, bananas, grapes and apples. These are fruits that are used often in bodybuilding because they are simple carbs and give instant energy to the person who is working out. You can combine these with your protein choices of turkey, protein shakes, cottage chees and yogurt.