Posted 2023-04-02
It is important to eat frequently while gaining muscle mass. The most suitable number of meals is 5-6 times a day. This frequency of meals does not overload the digestive system and small portions of nutrients reach the bloodstream. In this way your muscles will be nourished throughout the day. In case the same amount of food is eaten in 3 meals, the excessive nutrients will not be used to replenish muscle mass, but to build up fat deposits, which cannot be eliminated in the case of a high-calorie diet.
2. High energy foods
About 70% of food eaten during the day should contain as many calories as possible, to prevent overloading of the digestive system. In addition, the digestion of nutrients is slower if low-calorie foods are consumed more intensively. It is not necessary to completely abandon healthy fruit and vegetables, but their share in the daily diet should be reduced to 30% or less. Fruits and vegetables contain vegetable fibre, which stimulates intestinal contractions and interferes with the digestion of high-calorie foods.
3. Reduced content of fast carbohydrates and fats
During dieting, it is very important to limit consumption of foods high in fats. These foods include lard, fatty meats, butter and margarine, sausages and so on. The body primarily uses carbohydrates to grow muscle mass, and fats, provided sufficient nutrient intake, are stored in fat cells, adipocytes.It is also dangerous to consume foods containing fast carbohydrates, such as sweet fruit, baked goods and confectionery products. Even when there is an excessive intake of nutrients, fast carbohydrates are absorbed more rapidly in the digestive tract, which increases the level of sucrose in the blood. The body's defence against the sugar spike is to convert glucose into fat, which is highly undesirable when dieting.
It is advisable to consume foods containing fast carbohydrates after working out. At this time your organs and muscles are able to quickly utilise large amounts of glucose due to increased insulin secretion. Insulin, as a natural anabolic, is extremely important during muscle mass gain.
4. Drinking Mode
During dieting many metabolic reactions start to work at a higher rate, which leads to the need for increased water intake. Taking into account the water contained in foods, the optimal daily amount of fluids is about 3 litres. Under no circumstances should you allow your body to become dehydrated.
5. A balanced meal schedule
The meals during a weight gain diet should be approximately equal, but about 70% of the daily diet should be eaten before 4 pm. Eating fatty or sweet foods at night is not recommended. The food eaten before bedtime should be easily digestible and contain a lot of protein. Ideal choices for the evening diet are vegetables (including legumes), poultry, fish, eggs, salads and dairy products.
Pre-workout ration. Two hours before your workout you should eat a meal, which should contain slow carbohydrates. Ideal for this purpose are cereals, cereal products and vegetables. Before training the gilcogen depots should be loaded with carbohydrates to provide energy for the muscles and brain.
Post-workout diet. A hearty meal should be eaten 20-30 minutes after training. This meal should be the largest meal of the day. In case you take a gainer (protein shake) after training, it is better to postpone the meal for an hour and a half. This meal should include foods fortified with slow carbohydrates and proteins. Some limited amounts of fast carbohydrates may also be allowed after training.
6. Calorie Intake Ratio
Carbohydrates - 50-60%. During the diet one should take in maximum amount of slow carbohydrates.
Protein - 30-35%. The ideal is to obtain proteins from food and sports nutrition in equal portions.
Fats - 10-20%.
Restricting fats to less than 10% may cause metabolic rebalancing. It is better to eat only vegetable fats, the consumption of oily fish may not be limited. Do not take this ratio of nutrients as a constant. Every body is different and therefore it is important for every athlete to find the most effective ratio.
The individual amount of food you will need to gain muscle mass can be calculated using the following methodology:
Gradually increase the daily calorie intake until the weekly weight gain is around 700g. If the weight gain is higher or lower, reduce or increase the caloric intake.
During the diet, weigh yourself at least once every three days. It usually takes no more than a month to adjust your diet.
Meat. Any lean meat can be consumed during the diet. Poultry is preferred because of its low fat content and ease of digestion.
Fish and seafood. Fatty fish is rich in fish oil, which is not only not harmful but also useful during muscle mass gain.
Dairy products. It is necessary to consume mostly low-fat products: kefir, cheese, yoghurt, cottage cheese, milk, etc.
Eggs. It is recommended to eat 6-8 eggs daily during dieting. There is no need to fear for an increase in cholesterol levels. It has been proved that eggs have no effect on it.
Legumes. Peas, beans and pulses are the main vegetable sources of proteins. Despite the low value of plant proteins, nutritionists recommend including them in athletes' diets. Soybeans are deliberately left out of this list because of their high hormonal activity.
Nuts. Nuts contain not only protein, but also vitamins and valuable trace elements.
Pasta: Products made of durum wheat flour and flour, or wholemeal flour, should be used.
Bread: Limit the consumption of white bread and eat more black bread.
Muesli and cereals are not only healthy, but also add variety to an athlete's menu.
Vegetables and mushrooms:
Among vegetables, potatoes are always the most popular. At least 100 meals can be prepared from this root vegetable. However, potatoes are a rich source of starch, which is digested very slowly. That's why you should limit your intake of potatoes and vegetables in general, to avoid stomach upsets.
Nuts:
Hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios and apricot seeds are very valuable sources of carbohydrates in athletes' menus.
Fruits and Greens:
These foods contain healthy minerals and vitamins. However, leafy greens and fruits contain fibre and fast carbohydrates, so it is better to limit their use in order not to overload the digestion.
Fats:
It is recommended that not only fats should be taken, but also Omega-3 fatty acids. Otherwise, vegetable fats and fish oil should be taken, and in any amount.
This diet can be combined with sports supplements. Sports nutrition can help you gain muscle mass much faster and meet your body's increased need for vital micronutrients due to exercise.
Protein shakes are taken between meals, before going to bed, immediately after waking up and after training. In the event that a gainer is taken instead of pure protein, it should only be taken after the workout.
It is strongly recommended to take a special vitamin-mineral complex due to insufficient amount of fruits and greens in the diet of bodybuilders.
Creatine should be taken strictly after training by adding it to sweet juices, a protein shake or a protein bar. In this way it is efficiently absorbed by muscles.
Let build up some MASS
To build up muscle mass your body reqires not only hard work, dedication and specific mindset but also a good sorce of energy. It is not a secret that eating can be another stuggle...Thats why we have prepared you this article which hopefully will make this part of you bodybuilding yourney a little bit easier.In a nushell the diet recommends eating 5-6 meals a day, with 70% of the food eaten containing high energy, while reducing the intake of fast carbohydrates and fats. It also recommends drinking at least 3 liters of water daily, having a balanced meal schedule, and maintaining the right calorie intake ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and fats. The key principle to build muscle mass is to increase the caloric intake of food, and gradually increase the daily calorie intake until the weekly weight gain is around 700g. The article also provides a list of foods that can easily be included in an athlete's diet to gain muscle mass.The main principles of this diet are
1. Eating 5-6 meals per dayIt is important to eat frequently while gaining muscle mass. The most suitable number of meals is 5-6 times a day. This frequency of meals does not overload the digestive system and small portions of nutrients reach the bloodstream. In this way your muscles will be nourished throughout the day. In case the same amount of food is eaten in 3 meals, the excessive nutrients will not be used to replenish muscle mass, but to build up fat deposits, which cannot be eliminated in the case of a high-calorie diet.
2. High energy foods
About 70% of food eaten during the day should contain as many calories as possible, to prevent overloading of the digestive system. In addition, the digestion of nutrients is slower if low-calorie foods are consumed more intensively. It is not necessary to completely abandon healthy fruit and vegetables, but their share in the daily diet should be reduced to 30% or less. Fruits and vegetables contain vegetable fibre, which stimulates intestinal contractions and interferes with the digestion of high-calorie foods.
3. Reduced content of fast carbohydrates and fats
During dieting, it is very important to limit consumption of foods high in fats. These foods include lard, fatty meats, butter and margarine, sausages and so on. The body primarily uses carbohydrates to grow muscle mass, and fats, provided sufficient nutrient intake, are stored in fat cells, adipocytes.It is also dangerous to consume foods containing fast carbohydrates, such as sweet fruit, baked goods and confectionery products. Even when there is an excessive intake of nutrients, fast carbohydrates are absorbed more rapidly in the digestive tract, which increases the level of sucrose in the blood. The body's defence against the sugar spike is to convert glucose into fat, which is highly undesirable when dieting.
It is advisable to consume foods containing fast carbohydrates after working out. At this time your organs and muscles are able to quickly utilise large amounts of glucose due to increased insulin secretion. Insulin, as a natural anabolic, is extremely important during muscle mass gain.
4. Drinking Mode
During dieting many metabolic reactions start to work at a higher rate, which leads to the need for increased water intake. Taking into account the water contained in foods, the optimal daily amount of fluids is about 3 litres. Under no circumstances should you allow your body to become dehydrated.
5. A balanced meal schedule
The meals during a weight gain diet should be approximately equal, but about 70% of the daily diet should be eaten before 4 pm. Eating fatty or sweet foods at night is not recommended. The food eaten before bedtime should be easily digestible and contain a lot of protein. Ideal choices for the evening diet are vegetables (including legumes), poultry, fish, eggs, salads and dairy products.
Pre-workout ration. Two hours before your workout you should eat a meal, which should contain slow carbohydrates. Ideal for this purpose are cereals, cereal products and vegetables. Before training the gilcogen depots should be loaded with carbohydrates to provide energy for the muscles and brain.
Post-workout diet. A hearty meal should be eaten 20-30 minutes after training. This meal should be the largest meal of the day. In case you take a gainer (protein shake) after training, it is better to postpone the meal for an hour and a half. This meal should include foods fortified with slow carbohydrates and proteins. Some limited amounts of fast carbohydrates may also be allowed after training.
6. Calorie Intake Ratio
Carbohydrates - 50-60%. During the diet one should take in maximum amount of slow carbohydrates.
Protein - 30-35%. The ideal is to obtain proteins from food and sports nutrition in equal portions.
Fats - 10-20%.
Restricting fats to less than 10% may cause metabolic rebalancing. It is better to eat only vegetable fats, the consumption of oily fish may not be limited. Do not take this ratio of nutrients as a constant. Every body is different and therefore it is important for every athlete to find the most effective ratio.
The key principle for building muscle mass
Muscle mass starts growing when the equivalent amount of energy taken in with food exceeds the amount of energy expended by the body in life. It should not be forgotten that it is inherent to the human body to maintain homeostasis (a permanently constant state of internal environment). For this reason, increasing the caloric intake of food by 10% or even 30% a day is unlikely to lead to a change in muscle mass. For this purpose, it is worth increasing the caloric intake by 50 and sometimes 100%.The individual amount of food you will need to gain muscle mass can be calculated using the following methodology:
Gradually increase the daily calorie intake until the weekly weight gain is around 700g. If the weight gain is higher or lower, reduce or increase the caloric intake.
During the diet, weigh yourself at least once every three days. It usually takes no more than a month to adjust your diet.
Athlete's menu
Most bodybuilders sooner or later face the problem of choosing foods to eat on a daily basis. That is why we have thought it worthwhile to list all the foods that can easily be used to make up your diet for gaining muscle mass. Most of the foods contain a whole complex of nutrients, and therefore this division is rather arbitrary. Do not consume the same product continuously for a long time, otherwise you will psychologically develop an aversion to it. Different foods should be alternated in an individual menu.High protein foods
Foods with high protein content are not very abundant in nature. The most accessible and popular of them are (listed in order of their value to the bodybuilder):Meat. Any lean meat can be consumed during the diet. Poultry is preferred because of its low fat content and ease of digestion.
Fish and seafood. Fatty fish is rich in fish oil, which is not only not harmful but also useful during muscle mass gain.
Dairy products. It is necessary to consume mostly low-fat products: kefir, cheese, yoghurt, cottage cheese, milk, etc.
Eggs. It is recommended to eat 6-8 eggs daily during dieting. There is no need to fear for an increase in cholesterol levels. It has been proved that eggs have no effect on it.
Legumes. Peas, beans and pulses are the main vegetable sources of proteins. Despite the low value of plant proteins, nutritionists recommend including them in athletes' diets. Soybeans are deliberately left out of this list because of their high hormonal activity.
Nuts. Nuts contain not only protein, but also vitamins and valuable trace elements.
Foods with a high carbohydrate content:
Cereals contain mostly slow carbohydrates, proteins as well as important minerals and vitamins. The most healthy cereals include oatmeal, buckwheat, corn, wheat and rice.Pasta: Products made of durum wheat flour and flour, or wholemeal flour, should be used.
Bread: Limit the consumption of white bread and eat more black bread.
Muesli and cereals are not only healthy, but also add variety to an athlete's menu.
Vegetables and mushrooms:
Among vegetables, potatoes are always the most popular. At least 100 meals can be prepared from this root vegetable. However, potatoes are a rich source of starch, which is digested very slowly. That's why you should limit your intake of potatoes and vegetables in general, to avoid stomach upsets.
Nuts:
Hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios and apricot seeds are very valuable sources of carbohydrates in athletes' menus.
Fruits and Greens:
These foods contain healthy minerals and vitamins. However, leafy greens and fruits contain fibre and fast carbohydrates, so it is better to limit their use in order not to overload the digestion.
Fats:
It is recommended that not only fats should be taken, but also Omega-3 fatty acids. Otherwise, vegetable fats and fish oil should be taken, and in any amount.
This diet can be combined with sports supplements. Sports nutrition can help you gain muscle mass much faster and meet your body's increased need for vital micronutrients due to exercise.
Protein shakes are taken between meals, before going to bed, immediately after waking up and after training. In the event that a gainer is taken instead of pure protein, it should only be taken after the workout.
It is strongly recommended to take a special vitamin-mineral complex due to insufficient amount of fruits and greens in the diet of bodybuilders.
Creatine should be taken strictly after training by adding it to sweet juices, a protein shake or a protein bar. In this way it is efficiently absorbed by muscles.