7 Fundamentals Of Eating For Muscle Growth

So, whether you are a first-timer or a seasoned fitness guru, anyone can be prone to making dietary mistakes at some point in their fitness journey. Thus, it makes good sense to revisit your diet plan once in a while to keep up with the changing necessities of your body.

You must have come across a lot of people who are into building muscle, going ga-ga over proteins. And if you've wondered each time what all the fuss was about, then let us tell you why. Proteins consist of molecules and amino acids that act as the building blocks of our muscles.

These components of proteins help in muscle tissue repair, prevent breaking down of muscle tissue, and stimulate muscle growth through a process known as protein synthesis. This is why proteins are crucial in your diet if you wish to build muscle.

Now that you know the importance of proteins, you need to add them to your diet in the right way. Start with finding the best sources of protein for yourself depending on your diet plan – be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Vegetarians can opt for dairy products (if you can tolerate them), chia seeds, oats, quinoa, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, etc.

Whereas non-vegetarians can choose from eggs, lean meats, chicken, fish, milk and milk products, and even those listed under vegetarian diets. You can also opt for a daily scoop of whey protein supplement, which is often considered as the best protein for muscle growth.

People on fitness diets often make the mistake of consuming too much protein in a single meal. Avoid doing so as such meals will make you feel full and lousy followed by peaks of extreme hunger at odd hours.

This can also promote binging on junk food. Instead, have small but frequent meals. At least 4 or 5 meals with healthy snacking in between are ideal. Divide your proteins across your meals like eggs for breakfast or almonds for snacks.

Yes, proteins are essential for muscle growth. But you still need a lot of energy for your workouts and carbs, fiber, and fat are where you'll get it from. So don't ignore these. However, the exact amount that you'll need largely depends on how strenuous your workout is. So, take suggestions from your gym instructor while adding them to your diet.

Most people on a muscle-building diet freak out at the thought of salt. Reason – high amounts of sodium in your diet can lead to water retention. But, you need to ask yourself - is eating salt really that bad? Now, the answer depends on what type of muscle-building regimen you are on.

However, for the rest of us, we still need salt in our diet, especially if we exercise outdoors like jogging and running. Such activities make you sweat a lot, which is nothing but saltwater from your body. This cannot be easily replaced by only drinking plain water. You'll need salt-containing electrolytes to re-hydrate yourself.

Picture this: you have planned your perfect diet routine as well as a workout session. Your disciplined regime is also starting to show results when – bang! Right out of nowhere you end up hogging a huge chunk of pizza or a slice of sinfully-rich chocolate cake. And then you submerge in guilt!

Giving in to such temptations is only human. But what do you do when something like this happens? Simple. Just continue with your exercise and diet regimen as usual. Cheat eats once in a while will do you no harm.

Once you've planned your workout and diet regimen, the next important step is to stick to it. Most people start on something good and then get demotivated before giving it up altogether. Reason they simply don't 'feel' it's bearing results.

You need to understand that the flab you wish to reduce or the muscles you are trying to build will take a while to show results. All said and done, none of your efforts will seem worth your while if you do not pursue it with patience and persistence.

The path to achieving your dream body requires a good physical training regimen as well as a well-planned diet. Both of these are not easy to keep up with regularly. However, with determination and motivation, you'll soon be able to reach the goal that you've set for yourself. And once you do, make sure you remain there!