When it comes to making “top ten” lists regarding muscle building foods, I’m not exactly the biggest advocate. But it is good to know what these foods are. You need to be eating quality sources when you’re trying to work on your body and your muscular composition. It’s more than what you eat. It’s the timing of what you eat as well. Food does in fact impact your ability to build muscle and add muscle. Contrary to what some believe, it’s not all about JUST cutting carbohydrates, or JUST cutting fat. It’s not even about how much protein you can stuff yourself with in a day – it ALL plays a part.
Check out your own kitchen pantry and fridge for these musclebuilding foods
Yogurt: Yogurt is one of those dairy products that is tolerated by a lot of people. It has the healthy cultures to promote proper amounts of certain necessary bacteria in your system to help digest all your daily intake. If I were making a must-have list of muscle building foods, this would definitely be on my list. Pair some yogurt with some delicious fruit and this will stave off cravings for sweets. I enjoy yogurt and fruit to start my day every morning. Need something sweet? Try yogurt instead of that fattening ice cream.
Next are eggs. When it comes to the breakdown ratio of protein into the body, there’s NO GREATER natural source on earth! A muscle building foods list couldn’t be complete without eggs. Scramble them up for a very quick, easy breakfast PACKED with protein. Take half a dozen eggs and slip them into a bowl. Whisk them into a frenzy. Toss in some vegetables–try some onion, pepper, mushroom–and cook it up. You can even top with some salsa if you’d like. Eggs are packed with protein and not much fat at all. They’re a great building block for the rest of your diet. Eggs provide just enough fat so that you can stave off your hunger and keep those nasty blood sugar spikes away.
Chicken Breasts: Yes, we all know animal flesh has a lot of protein in it, but chicken has it all beat hands down. Chicken is the top muscle building foods in the animal product department. The reason chicken breasts are such a handy food to have on hand is that you can make a huge variety of dishes with chicken breasts. One of my favorite things to make is chicken fajitas. This mexican dish is almost a perfect muscle building meal.
Rich carbs from such sources as yams, rice, oatmeal, and potatoes are also included. Stop listening to people saying, “all carbs are bad!” These sources actually provide essential nutrients that make protein do its job better. Without adequate carbohydrates, your system with not utilize protein as a building block, but rather it will be wasted basically as a source for your body’s fuel. This means you’re spending WAY more money on protein just for daily energy, when that’s the carb’s job! Carbs are especially crucial for naturally skinny hard gainers. If you’re trying to gain muscle and you tend to be slender, then you really have to ramp up your carb consumption.
Better Nutrition requires post-training consumption of simple carbs and fat-free meals
Basically, post-workout is the time for carbs that break down quickly. Avoid anything containing fat in the food or drink you ingest right after training. Fat hinders your body’s ability to soak up nutrients right after you train. Post-training meals are crucial for your success at muscle building.
You still need fat, but you’ll get it at OTHER times of the day.
Fat slows absorption which is bad right after training, but ideal the rest of the time. With the swift breakdown of nutrients from nonfat foods, however, there is one downfall to be mindful of. Your system can take in more nutrient than can be processed. So then your blood sugar rises and drops. This isn’t good for your dieting efforts overall. Adding a little bit of fat to your meals insures steady energy. You will also get more out of the food you eat since it will absorb at a slow and steady rate.
Of course, WAY too many muscle building foods – really GOOD ones – exist to list them all, but this will certainly get you off on the right path!