Beginner bodybuilders constantly underestimate the role diet plays in muscle gain. Diet and exercise are a dynamic duo. When you do them right they support each other. A good diet keeps you energized and strong at the gym. On the other hand, poor diet severely hampers your efforts at the gym. Eating for muscle gain is not really that difficult. You need to make sure you don't cut calories too much - even if you are trying to lose fat. Ideally you should get those calories from small and frequent meals that are well balanced. Let's look at each of these tips in more detail so you get the maximum benefit from your efforts at the gym.
Keep the caloriesBuilding muscle is an anabolic activity. You are building muscle, and that means you need to eat more calories that you burn. Also, during exercise your caloric and nutrient requirements increase.
So even if you are trying to lose fat you shouldn't cut down on calories too much. It is possible to lose fat and build muscle at the same time, but it requires careful caloric planning and monitoring.
Eat small meal more frequentlyThree square meals per day isn't necessarily the best for building muscle. If you wait too long between meals your body goes into what's known as starvation mode. In order to protect itself it reduces metabolic rate.
To get over this biologic fact you should eat 5 or 6 smaller meals during the day. This gives your body a constant and steady supply of calories and keeps your metabolism firing on all cylinders. All this means better results at the gym and faster fat loss.
Balance isn't bogusIf you look at all the fad diets in the market you would think that balance is bogus. These diets seem to demonize one nutrient and praise another one. Whether it's low-carb, high-fat diet or low-fat, high-carb diet the principle is the same.
None of these diets work well for bodybuilders. The fact is that the human body needs proteins, fats and carbs. They all play an important role in the functioning of the human body.
Healthy and effective bodybuilding diet should be balanced and supply all three macronutrients. A good ratio to aim for is 40-20-40. So 40% of your calories should come from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 40% from fat. Roughly.
Now that you understand these simple tips I hope you look at bodybuilding diet differently. Eating for muscle gain doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. You just need to follow basic principles and the rest will almost take care of itself. For example, you need to make sure you get enough calories. Then you should eat a balanced diet. Finally you should ditch three meals a day in favor of six smaller meals. With these simple tips your results at the gym should get much better.
