When you’re trying to pack on muscle mass, it’s important to know which foods are better than others at promoting muscle growth as well s recovery. In this article, I’ll briefly go over the four muscle building foods that should part of your diet if you’re serious about achieving your bodybuilding goals.
In order for your body to build new muscle tissue, you’ll need to supply it with an overabundance of nutrients form various food sources. You can’t build muscle out of thin air – you need to consume plenty of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein as well as glucose from carbohydrates, which will fuel your workouts.
If you fail to eat sufficient calories form the correct macronutrients, you’ll just “spin” your wheels in the gym, working hard but never realizing your true muscle building potential.
Fortunately, with a few simple changes in your diet plan, you can incorporate some of the following top rated muscle building foods to ensure that you are on the right track to building muscle mass.
Raw Oats
When it comes to healthy and quality carbohydrate sources, oatmeal is at the top of the list. The only problem with oatmeal is that it fills you up quickly, thus eating a large amount of oatmeal means that you won’t get in enough calories required for muscle growth.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way around this problem – eat it raw. Raw oatmeal is far more calorie dense than cooked oatmeal and will still provide you with the necessary calories and nutrients that you need for growth.
Eat raw oatmeal for breakfast or as a quick snack when you’re on the go.
Salmon
Not only is salmon an excellent source of protein, which supplies your body with all of the essential amino acids, but it also supplies you with healthy fats as well.
Healthy fats, also known as omega-3’s, will help to keep your testosterone levels elevated, help you stay lean during a mass gain phase and help in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
Salmon is also a dense source of calories, so it’ll easily help you meet your total calorie requirement for the day.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are another top rated muscle building food that you should eat at least 3 times per week. Flaxseeds are rich in essential fatty acids and will supply a small dose of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber.
Most muscle building diets lack dietary fiber, thus consuming flaxseeds will provide you with a good dose of fiber, which will aid in protein digestion.
Flaxseeds are not only a good source of dietary fiber, but they’re also high in calories. So they’re a perfect food to include in your muscle building diet.
Lean Red Meat
Last but not least, unless you’re a vegetarian, make sure that you’re eating plenty of red meat every week. Lean red meat is a quality source of protein and it’s very rich in iron, which is an essential mineral required for optimal energy levels during your workouts.
People who are don’t get enough Iron in their diets can become anemic, which will negatively influence workout performance as well as overall health and well being.
Lean red meat is one of the best food sources of Iron, so aim to eat it at least two to three times per week.
Now that you know which foods will help you pack on muscle mass, figure out your daily caloric requirements for muscle growth and then add these foods to your menu to achieve your daily calorie intake.