By taking a holistic approach to bodybuilding, you can greatly improve the outcome of your training program. With a comprehensive nutrition and dietary plan in place, you will cater for your body’s daily nutrition requirements for muscle building.
In this guide, we reveal the best nutrition tips for muscle growth to anyone regardless of your fitness and bodybuilding level, whether you are a novice, intermediate, or a pro bodybuilder, these nutritional tips should come in handy.
Macronutrients and their Importance to Your Fitness Goals
Whether you are a fitness enthusiast or a dedicated trainer, your daily meals must consist of the right balance of macronutrients. The proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that you consume everyday should provide your body with the necessary amount of energy that you require to execute the workouts in your scheduled training regimen.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the importance of each macronutrient to your fitness and general wellbeing.
Protein
Protein is a macronutrient that plays a vital role in recovery. The protein you consume contains amino acids that stimulate the process of protein synthesis in your muscle fibers which leads to the repair of damaged muscles and the subsequent growth in muscle size during recovery.
Proteins are primarily sourced from the consumption of both plants and animals with the most common plant-based sources of protein being lentils, tofu, soybeans, and a variety of bean species. For animal-based protein, the best sources are lean beef, eggs, turkey, chicken, fish like tuna and salmon.
You can also get protein from low-fat milk, cottage cheese, and even yogurt. The foods mentioned here are rich in leucine, an amino acid known to actively promote protein synthesis in muscles for potential growth.
Carbohydrates
The carbohydrates dense foods you consume will serve as a ready source of energy that is much needed to fuel your muscles during your regular exercise routine.
When carbs are consumed they are metabolised into glucose and this glucose is then stored up in the body’s muscles as glycogen. Carbs therefore help to replenish your muscles glycogen supply to keep you working out for long periods of time at home, in the gym, or anywhere else.
Some of the best carbohydrate dense foods you should try out include legumes, starchy veggies, buckwheat, quinoa root, sweet potatoes, squash, rye, whole wheat, pasta, and oat bread.
Fats
Fats play an important role in promoting muscle gains by helping to regulate proper immune response, and hormonal function while at the same time providing emergency calorie stores that your body can tap into if your glycogen levels are running low.
You can get healthy fats from a number of natural food sources, namely; oily fish, nuts, avocados, olives, flax seeds, chia seeds, ghee, and whole eggs.
Determining Your Daily Macronutrients and Calorie Requirements
Now that you know how important macronutrients are to your diet, fitness and bodybuilding goals. The next thing you need to work out is the amount of protein, carbs, and healthy fats that you should consume on a day-to-day basis.
The general rule is to consume between 1.6 to 2.2 grams (g) of protein per kilogram (kg) of your body weight. So, if for example, you weigh 220 pounds (lb) or 99 kilograms (kg) you will be required to consume between 180 and 220 g of protein daily based on approximately 2 g of protein per kg of body weight.
As for carbs, you should consume between 45 to 55% of your overall calorie consumption in a day. So, if your total daily calorie consumption is 3,400 calories, then your daily carbs would be anywhere from 380 to 470 g to help sustain your glycogen stores.
With healthy fats you should consume anywhere from 30 to 35% of your overall daily calories to promote hormonal function and boost recovery. If your total daily calories is 3,400, then you should be consuming between 113 and 132 g of healthy fats daily which represents 30 to 35% of your total calories.
Note that the daily protein and carbs consumption above is calculated by converting daily calories to grams making use of 4 kcal per gram while 9 kcal per gram is used in calculating daily fat consumption.
Stay Consistent at All Times
When it comes to your nutrition, diet and bodybuilding goals, the one thing that you need to be is consistent. Once you have worked out your training program and nutrition, you then need to stay steadfast to achieve your expected fitness results.
To help you stay consistent at all times, you can adapt these nutrition and lifestyle tips to your program:
- Have a weekly meal plan and menu beforehand.
- Take note of your groceries and where necessary buy food ahead of time to avoid having a shortage.
- Try not to skip your scheduled meals.
- Prep your daily meals early, put them in airtight plastic containers, and store in your fridge for later consumption.
- Never ignore your need to rest during workouts, sleep at the end of a hard day of training, and recover properly before your next scheduled workout regimen.
Final Thoughts
It is important to steer clear of any restrictive nutrition and dietary plans that could hinder your quest to build muscle mass.
To this end, you should maintain a diet consisting of nutrient-dense foods particularly when it comes to your daily carbs and protein requirements.
Finally, consult a sports nutritionist or a registered dietitian before you commence with your program for a proper muscle building dietary plan. You can chat with our expert here today to get started.
