Best Muscle Building Diet

Next to losing weight, building muscle is the most popular fitness goal I encounter with my clients.

But it’s not always an easy task. First of all, men have it a bit easier than women. Naturally higher levels of testosterone result in greater muscle mass overall, as well as a higher propensity to pack on the right kind of weight.

When you reach a serious level of weight training, however, it’s tough whether you’re a man or a woman. Making significant gains in muscle mass takes a lot more than hard and heavy workouts – it also takes a protein-rich diet with a variety of amino acids.

It’s estimated that your body needs about 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight in order to make gains in lean muscle mass. That may sound like a lot, but if you prioritize protein in your diet and make some smart choices, you can easily achieve this goal.

This article outlines my best approach to a muscle building diet, based on many years of experience as a weight lifter and a personal trainer.

The Best Muscle Building Diet

Before you do anything else, you need to make sure you’ve invested in a good protein supplement. Getting enough protein from food alone is difficult and expensive, which is why protein shakes are such great options.

But you need to be careful. There are good protein supplements, and there are bad ones that are packed full of unhealthy fillers and preservatives. These are my top picks for protein supplements:

• Optimum 100% Natural Whey
• Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion
• Optimum 100% Casein Protein
• MHP Probolic-SR Muscle Feeder
• Vega Sport Performance Protein

You really can’t go wrong with any of these options. I recommend a protein shake about an hour before and immediately following your workouts.

Let’s look at the rest of your day…

Muscle Building Breakfast – Breakfast really is the most important meal of your day. It is essential that you get a significant portion of protein in the morning, to give your muscles the support they need for the day. This is a great time to have a protein shake mixed with some frozen fruit and almond milk. Eggs (with about 7 grams of protein each) are also good options, as is oatmeal.

Muscle Building Lunch – Eggs can also be a great source of protein for lunch, or go with a skinless chicken breast (baked, not fried). Salmon and tuna are other great muscle building options, and they’re full of healthy fats to give your metabolism a boost.

Muscle Building Dinner – Chicken breast, salmon, tuna, or lean beef are all great options for dinner. You want to go light on the carbs here if you want all that hard work to show off. Carb-cutting, especially later in the day, is a great way to look more lean and toned. If you do include a carb, go with the protein-rich quinoa.

Muscle Building Snacks – Snacking is crucial on a muscle building diet, because you need to give your muscles continuous fuel. I recommend eating something every 2-3 hours for optimal support. Some great high-protein, low-fat snacking options include:

• Nuts like these NOW Almonds.
• A tasty protein shake with Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion Delicious Vanilla
• Hummus with baby carrots.
• Low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt, which is super high in protein.
• Healthy protein bars like Promax Protein Bars.

Best Muscle Building Diet – Conclusion

An effective muscle building diet is all about supporting muscle growth with protein-rich foods that are high in nutritional value. In addition to the foods you eat, I also recommend supplementing with an amino acid complex. The two best options available are Optimum BCAA and Optimum Glutamine. These ones are backed by science and offer noticeable results!

Have any questions or feedback about the Best Muscle Building Diet? Please leave a comment below…

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