High protein foods are very important for gaining muscle, but carbohydrates and fats are also necessary sources of energy.
If your goal is to gain lean muscle, you should focus on exercising regularly and eating more calories each day from muscle building foods.
Bodybuilders, trainers and diet gurus alike (at least those worth their salt) will tell you that bodybuilding is more than 50% nutrition. We tend to agree, especially where the novice is concerned. Beginners or those heading back into the gym after a layoff can expect to make some serious gains in strength and mass from a regular training program, but not without a solid nutrition program.
Bottom line: The more serious you are about your nutrition, the more serious your gains will be. In fact, if you combed the literature on weightlifting, you’d quickly learn that relatively little research has been done on training techniques for boosting muscle mass and strength compared to the tons of studies on the effects of nutrition and dietary supplements. Said research shows that paying attention to macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat), calories, meal timing and certain supplements will have a huge impact on your results.
But because you don’t have time to do all the combing yourself, we’ve boiled it down to 10 basic nutrition and supplement rules that every beginner should learn now and maintain indefinitely. Follow these rules and stick to your lifting program, and soon that “beginner” label will no longer apply to you.
Focus on Protein
Consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight on a daily basis. Protein provides the amino acids that are used as the building blocks of muscle protein. Although the recommended daily allowance for protein is set at less than half a gram per pound of bodyweight for the typical person, research shows that athletes, especially those concerned with muscle mass and strength, need roughly double that amount.
Beginners should actually try to get in about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day for the first six months of working out, since this is when your muscles will respond the most rapidly to training. For the 180-pounder, this means 270 grams per day at the outset and a bare minimum of 180 grams daily thereafter.
Your protein choices should come mainly from lean animal proteins such as chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs and dairy. These are the most complete protein sources, meaning they provide your body with every essential amino acid, defined as those your body cannot manufacture on its own.
Don’t Avoid Fat
About 20%-30% of your total daily calories should come from fat. And unlike the sedentary general population who are advised to eliminate their saturated fat intake, 5%-10% of your fat calories should be saturated because higher-fat diets (particularly those higher in monounsaturated and saturated fats) appear to maintain testosterone levels better than low-fat diets. Maintaining optimal levels of testosterone, don’t forget, is paramount for building muscle mass and strength and for avoiding fat gain.
Choose red meats such as steak and ground beef for your saturated fats (these also provide quality protein); avocados, mixed nuts, olive oil, olives and peanut butter for monounsaturated fats; and fatty fish (salmon, trout, catfish), flaxseed oil and walnuts as good sources of essential, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
Carb Up
Eat about 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight each day. Protein is the most critical macronutrient for muscle growth, with carbohydrates a close second. Carbs are stored in your muscles as glycogen and both keep your muscles full and large and fuel them during workouts. To gain mass, the 180-pound beginner will need 360-540 grams of carbs daily.
For most meals, stick with slow-digesting carb sources such as whole grains, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans, fruit and vegetables. (For all other times of day, see Rule 7.)
Calories Count
To build muscle, consume 20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day. You must stay in a positive calorie balance (taking in more calories than you burn) to gain quality mass. If you burn more calories than you consume (a negative balance), your body will go into conservation mode and won’t support new muscle growth.
That’s why a 180-pounder should get roughly 3,600 calories daily. Keeping Rules 1, 2, and 3 in mind, 20%-30% of these calories should come from protein, 40%-60% from carbs and 20%-30% from fat.
Shake it Up
Pre- and post-workout, get in at least 20 grams of protein in convenient shake form. Protein shakes are considered supplements, but we like to think of them as important meals to be consumed at critical times during the day. While your diet should consist mostly of unprocessed whole foods, at times a protein shake is a much better option. An example is 30 minutes immediately before your workout. To prepare your muscles for the ensuing training session, as well as to get a head start on the muscle recovery process, drink a shake with 20 grams of either whey protein or a mix of whey and casein along with 40 grams or so of a slower-digesting carbohydrate (see Rule 7). Then, in the 60-minute window immediately postworkout, down another 20-40 grams of liquid protein (mix in water for convenience) and 60-100 grams of faster-digesting carbs (again, see Rule 7).
Eat the Right Carbs at the Right Time
Eat a slow carb 30 minutes preworkout and mainly fast carbs postworkout. As stated in Rule 2, you should select slower-burning carbs for most meals, including before you train. Research shows that when athletes eat slower-digesting carbs, they not only have more energy and less fatigue during exercise but they burn more fat while training and experience less hunger throughout the day. Good slow-carb choices include fruit, whole-grain bread and oatmeal.
Postworkout, choose fast-digesting carbs such as white bread, a plain bagel or baked potato or a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.). This will spike levels of the anabolic hormone insulin, which drives the carbs you eat into muscle cells, where they’ll be stored as glycogen to be used for your next workout. Insulin also helps amino acids get into the muscle cells to build muscle protein. It’s critical to delivering creatine to the muscles (see Rule 9) and increases muscle protein synthesis, one of the major processes by which muscle fibers grow. Normally, you want to keep insulin levels in check for a variety of health reasons, but immediately following a hard training session is one time when an insulin spike is desirable.
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