If you’re from Louisiana, you know that many foods everyone loves aren’t always healthy and won’t build muscle. There are healthy foods that do build bulk that are delicious and ones you’d want to eat even if you weren’t getting stronger or bulking up. The most effective muscle-building diets are well-rounded and are higher in quality protein. That’s true even if you follow a vegan diet. The increased protein provides the materials necessary to build muscle tissue.
Make sure your diet has adequate calories, even if weight loss is also a goal.
Too often, people trying to build muscle tissue are also trying to lose weight. It’s a bit of a balancing act to do it. You have to cut calories, but not by much. Identify the number of calories necessary for your ideal weight and eat that many calories, or at the most, cut it by up to 500 calories. Both ways will help you lose weight, but you’ll build muscle faster by cutting fewer calories and lose weight faster by cutting more calories.
Determine the amount of protein necessary and use a quality source.
You need between 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. The protein must be complete. That means it contains all the essential amino acids. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Most plant protein sources don’t contain complete proteins. To achieve that, you can combine amino acid sources. Rice isn’t a complete protein. Neither are beans. However, when you combine the two into a rice and bean dish, you create a dish with all the essential amino acids, so it’s a source of complete proteins.
Eat a snack before and after your workout.
If you’re working out, you need energy. Carbohydrates provide that energy. Eating low glycemic carbs and protein before you workout helps you maximize your performance. Those same style snacks immediately following an intense workout help kickstart the recovery phase that starts muscle growth and replenishes the glycogen stores you burn. Low glycemic carbs include nuts, brown rice, vegetables, and beans. Eat the snack at least a half hour before you exercise and a full meal an hour and a half before it.
- Make sure you have healthy fat in your diet. Healthy fat is necessary to create hormones that can help build muscles and boost metabolism. Avocados contain healthy fat. It also contains magnesium and potassium for muscle recovery.
- Cut out food with added sugar. Also, remove high-glycemic carbs from your pre-workout snacks. They make your energy rise faster, spike your blood glucose and insulin levels, and then suddenly cause your energy to drop. You’ll run out of steam mid-workout when you snack on high-glycemic carbs.
- Avocados, eggs, beans, salmon and other fatty fish, Greek yogurt, poultry, nuts and seeds, and quinoa help build muscles. You can eat them at a meal or as a pre or post-workout snack.
- To maximize your nutrient intake and boost your protein, include Ezekial bread in your diet. Besides being a vegan option, it has 3.6 grams of protein per slice.
For more information, contact us today at Wellness On A Dime Coaching