What To Eat For Lean Muscle Gain And Fat loss
Do you wonder why you push so hard in the gym, yet you aren’t seeing the muscle gains that you want? Maybe you’re doing great muscle building workouts and dumping down protein shakes, but if you’re not paying attention to your overall nutrition, you’ll have a tough time building muscle. If your body doesn’t have the fuel and nutrients there to build muscle, you’re working so hard in vain.
Although no nutrition program will work perfectly for everyone, certain basic nutrition principles are universal when you’re trying to achieve fat loss while building muscle. Here’s a helpful look at some of the best nutrition principles that you can immediately implement into your life to begin seeing big muscle gains while losing excess fat.
Macronutrients and Their Importance
Macronutrients are an essential part of your diet. What are macronutrients? Macronutrients aren’t as complicated as they sound – they’re just nutrients that your body requires in large amounts. These nutrients provide energy or calories.
The three macronutrients include:
- Proteins – Proteins provide four calories per gram
- Carbohydrates – Carbs provide four calories per gram
- Fats – Fats provide approximately 9 calories per gram
The body needs all three of these macronutrients, as well as water and micronutrients (which we’ll talk about later) to function optimally.
Why are macronutrients important? Building muscle isn’t just about counting calories. The source of your calories also matters. For example, if you’re aiming for 4,000 calories a day but you get most of your calories from fats while your protein and carb intake is deficient, you’ll have a tough time reaching your muscle building goals. Even if you work out all the time, unless you have the right balance of macronutrients, it’s tough to reach your fitness goals.
Let’s take a closer look at each macronutrient and how you can figure out the right balance of each macronutrient to optimize your muscle gains.
The Role of Proteins in Muscle Building
Protein plays an important role in muscle building because the body uses proteins to construct all body tissues. Your body uses proteins to help repair muscles after a tough workout, which is why it’s so important to get enough protein. It’s also essential to make sure that you’re eating the right kind of proteins.
All proteins are made up of amino acids. Certain amino acids can be made by the body, while others cannot. Your body doesn’t need the amino acids it can make on its own. However, the amino acids that the body can’t make must be taken in through your diet. The body must have all the essential amino acids in order to repair or build tissue.
Proteins are broken into two categories:
- Incomplete Proteins – Incomplete proteins do not contain all of the essential amino acids and these proteins generally come from non-animal sources, such as nuts, veggies, and beans.
- Complete Proteins – Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids, and they generally come from animal sources.
Recommendations for how much protein you should eat for maximum gains can vary. Some bodybuilding experts recommend two grams of protein per kilo of weight each day. However, an easier way to calculate your protein needs to make sure that approximately 30% of your calorie intake comes from protein.
What kinds of proteins should you be adding to your diet? Here’s a look at some of the best muscle building protein foods, as well as some tips you can use to add them to your meal plans.
- Whole Eggs – Whole eggs offer an excellent amount of protein and eating whole eggs makes sure that you get all the nutrition found in the egg yolks. One egg contains about 7 grams of protein and 70 calories, making it easy to add a lot of protein to your diet without adding a huge amount of calories. Here are a few ways to add whole eggs to your meals:
- Dice eggs into salads
- Make an omelette for breakfast
- Boil the eggs
- Make a meat, potatoes, and egg hash brown
- Make your own egg protein cupcakes with egg, cheese, and diced meat.
- Beef - Beef offers plenty of protein, iron, creatine, vitamin B12, zinc, and other essential nutrients that aid in muscle building and fat loss. Beef comes in many differ forms, including stakes and ground beef. Add it to your meals by:
- Making hamburgers
- Making tacos with ground beef
- Stir fry with veggies
- Season and eat a nice steak
- Whey Protein Isolate – Whey protein isolate is easy to consume and usually provides more than 20 grams of protein per scoop. This type of protein is easy to take nearly anywhere with you so you get your protein when you need it. Enjoy whey protein isolate in your meals by:
- Making whey protein shakes
- Adding a scoop to your oatmeal
- Take it on the go with a shaker and add liquid for a quick protein meal on the go
- Chicken – Chicken is also a protein start, offering a low-fat way to consume protein. It also contains magnesium, iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin A. You’ll get 26+ grams of proteins in a 3oz chicken breast for only 142 calories. Great ways to use chicken in your meals include:
- Top a salad with cooked strips of chicken
- Make healthy chicken strips
- Spice up chicken with a salsa and sour cream sauce
- Grill chicken and glaze with a fruity glaze or BBQ sauce
- Salmon – Salmon is rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, making it a great choice for a muscle building diet. It also provides important vitamins, such as vitamin D, vitamin B3, and vitamin B12. Use salmon in your diet by:
- Making salmon tacos
- Glazing and baking the salmon
- Grilling salmon
- Flaking salmon and cooking with pasta in a garlic sauce
- Add flaked salmon to a salad
Other great sources of protein include:
- Greek yogurt
- Liver
- Shellfish
- Milk products
- Tuna
- Turkey
- Sardines
Carbs for Muscle Building
Many people make the mistake of cutting out carbs when they try to gain muscle, but you need those carbs to fuel the body when you’re exercising. Carbs are the main source of energy for your body, and if you severely reduce your carbs, you’ll also reduce your energy levels, making muscle building more difficult. Carbs are stored as glycogen in the body, and it’s important to keep the glycogen levels high enough that the body never starts to use protein for energy.
It’s important to eat enough carbs each day to make sure your body has plenty of calories to use for energy. This ensures that the protein you eat is left to support the growth and repair of muscles.
Carbohydrates come in two different groups:
- Complex Carbs – Complex carbs take longer to digest and they contain more nutrient, such as important fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Since these carbs are digested more slowly, the body enjoys a more stable release of energy
- Simple Carbs – Simple carbohydrates are carbs that are quickly digested. This often leaves you feeling hungry, which may make you start eating more than you should. Simple carbs also lead to spikes in blood sugar. It’s important to limit simple carbs, such as sports drinks, sodas, white breads, pastries, etc.
About 40% of your calories should come from carbs when you’re focusing on lean muscle building. Grains, beans, and vegetables offer a great source of complex carbs. Some of the best nutrient dense carbs to add to your diet include:
- Barley
- Oatmeal
- Whole wheat bread, tortillas, and pastas
- Oat bran
- Beans
- Sweet potatoes
- Shredded wheat cereal
- Brown rice
- Wild rice
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Capsicum
- Zucchini
- String beans
- Brussels sprouts
- Onions
Fats for Muscle Building and Fat Loss
You also need fats to achieve your muscle building goals. Many people make the mistake of trying to avoid fasts when they’re working to build muscle. Even if your goal is fat loss and muscle gains, you still need to consume enough fat. Fats are essential to your body, and certain types of fat are essential for muscle growth, muscle recovery, joint health, brain function, and more. Don’t assume that eating fat will make you fat. It’s eating too many calories that can make you fat, not consuming fat.
Fats come in three main groups, including:
- Saturated Fats – Saturated fats are fats that generally come from animal sources, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products. Some people think that saturated fats should be avoided, but you don’t need to completely eliminate saturated fats. Consuming both saturated and unsaturated fats can help you maintain high testosterone levels, making it easier for you to gain muscle.
- Unsaturated Fats – Unsaturated fats generally come from vegetable sources and they are known as good fats because they help to raise your levels of good cholesterol. Some unsaturated fats even have the ability to reduce your risk of heart disease. Some excellent sources of unsaturated fats include nuts, fish, and vegetable oils, such as olive oil.
- Trans Fatty Acids – Trans fatty acids are a type of fat that you do want to avoid as much as possible. They have the ability to raise bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol levels.
How much fat should you have on a daily basis? Approximately 25-30% of your calorie intake should come from fats. However, since you’re focusing your efforts on muscle building and fat loss, you do need to focus on your fat intake on healthy fats that will improve muscle growth. Great foods and oils that offer you a great source of health fats include:
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Flaxseed oil
- Brazilian nuts
- Peanuts
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Pistachios
- Pecans
- Fatty fish
- Peanut butter (as long as it’s not high in sugar)
The Importance of Micro Nutrients
Although macronutrients are required in large quantities, you also need to take in small amounts of micronutrients to support your muscle building and fat loss efforts. What are micronutrients? Micronutrients are parts of food sources that don’t offer caloric energy, yet they still perform many different physiological duties and are essential to maintaining good health.
Micronutrients include:
Important Vitamins and Minerals Your Body Needs
Do you know what vitamins and minerals your body needs? Here’s a list of essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs:
- B Complex Vitamins
- B1 (thiamin)
- B2 (riboflavin)
- B3 (niacin)
- B5 (pantothenic acid)
- B6 group
- B7 (biotin)
- B8 (ergadenylic acid)
- B9 (folic acid)
- B12 (cyanocobalamin)
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin K
- Cobalt
- Boron
- Fluoride
- Chromium
- Iron
- Copper
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Iodine
- Selenium
- Molybdenum
- Potassium
- Calcium
Great Sources of Micronutrients
How do you make sure you get plenty of micronutrients in your diet? First, cut out the junk food, since most junk food does not contain high amounts of important micronutrients. Second, focus on eating a wide variety of healthy foods. Some great foods to add to your diet to ensure that you get plenty of micronutrients to support your muscle building efforts include:
- Fruits - Fruits contain large amounts of important micronutrients, such as potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and more.
- Veggies – Veggies offer a wide range of micronutrients, from vitamin K to vitamin C.
- Grains – Grains are a great source of micronutrients, particularly if the whole grains include the endosperm, bran, and germ intact. Whole grains offer great micronutrients, such as selenium, magnesium, and B vitamins. For the most micronutrient intake, avoid refined grains, which remove many of the micronutrients by removing the germ and bran.
- Dairy and Meat – Animal based products, such as dairy products and meats, are a great source of micronutrients. Eggs, poultry, and fish provide iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, and B vitamins. Dairy products offer vitamin D, potassium, and calcium.
What if you’re not getting all the essential micronutrients in your diet? Micronutrients are essential for healthy bodily functions and muscle building, so if you don’t think your diet is offering all the micronutrients you need, you may need to consider taking a supplement. This ensures your body has the micronutrients it needs to provide you with optimal health and performance.
Common Nutrition Mistakes to Avoid
Now that you’re familiar with the macro and micronutrients your body needs, you’re armed with important information that will help you improve your muscle building results. However, along with nutrition dos, you also need to learn about nutrition mistakes that need to be avoided. When you want to build muscle and encourage fat loss, make sure you’re not making these common nutrition mistakes.
- Mistake #1 – Not Getting Enough Calories – Failing to eat enough calories can sabotage your muscle building results. Building muscle requires calories. In fact, you need a regular surplus of calories to make sure that your body is staying in muscle building mode. If you’re having a hard time adding more calories to your diet, try eating more meals each day. Instead of three meals and a snack, try eating six meals and a couple snacks. This way you fuel your body with enough calories to ensure your body has the energy it needs to keep building muscle.
- Mistake #2 – Not Eating Enough Real Food – Another big nutrition mistake to avoid when you’re focusing on muscle building is not eating enough real food. Supplements to improve your micronutrient intake are great. Adding protein powders to your diet can help you to add more protein to your diet in an easy way. However, you need to make sure that you’re eating plenty of real food. Try to focus on eating a real, whole food diet first. Then you can figure out where you need to add some supplements to fill in any nutritional gaps. Remember, supplements should only be an addition to your diet – they shouldn’t be replacements for your diet.
- Mistake #3 – Failing to Be Consistent – Do you find yourself eating great, muscle-friendly meals on one day, and then the next day you have a tough time meeting your nutrition goals? Your body is going to show your inconsistencies. If you want real muscle building results, it’s essential to make sure that you follow a good nutrition plan consistently. The best way to improve your consistency is to start scheduling your meals for the day and planning what you’re going to eat to make sure that you get all the nutrients that you need. Sporadic eating will make it difficult to see muscle gains and fat loss. Taking the time to do some planning in advance and sticking to your plan will make it easier for you to be consistent with your muscle building diet.
- Mistake #4 – Failing to Pay Attention to Pre and Post Workout Nutrition – Don’t make the mistake of failing to pay attention to your pre and post workout nutrition. It’s easy to focus on your meals throughout the day, but you need to really think about what you’ll be eating right before you work out and right after you work out. If you’re having a tough time seeing the muscle building results that you want, even when you’re working out hard, you need to start paying attention to your nutrition right before and after you work out. Before you work out, make sure you have about 50-60 grams of complex carbs and 20-30 grams of healthy protein. Once you’re done with your workout, fuel up with 40 grams of fast-acting protein and 50 grams of simple carbs, which you can get from a sports drink.
Sample Diet Layouts to Try
Now it’s time to put all this information into practice by creating your own muscle building and fat loss diet. To help you begin building your own plan, here’s a look at a 3-day meal plan that includes 3 main meals and 6 snacks. This plan totals 3,000 calories daily. You may need to increase your calories, depending on your muscle building needs, so this plan is only an example. It’s also important to note that you should always talk to your doctor before beginning a new nutrition or exercise plan.
Day 1
Breakfast:
1 cup of cold cereal (low sugar)
¾ cup of low fat cottage cheese
½ cup of pineapple
2 cups of milk
28 grams of protein powder
2 1/3 teaspoons of salmon, flax, or olive oil
Snack:
½ cup of Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2/3 cup of oatmeal
28 grams of protein powder
Snack:
2 2/3 cups of fruit juice
42 grams of protein powder of choice
Lunch:
1 2/3 cups of rice
9 0z of boneless skinless chicken breast
2 1/3 teaspoons of olive oil or other healthy oil
Dinner:
¼ cup of chickpeas
1 1/3 cups of brown rice
¼ cup of romaine lettuce
13 ½ ounces of Fish
2 1/3 olive oil
1/8 cup of cucumber
Snack:
1 cup of plan Greek yogurt
¾ cup of low fat cottage cheese
9 cashews
1 cup of raspberries
Day 2
Breakfast:
35 grams of protein powder
3 eggs
1 cup of oatmeal
2 1/3 teaspoons of healthy oil (ie. olive oil)
2 cups of milk
Snack:
½ cup of Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of olive oil (or other healthy oil)
28 grams of protein powder (or other healthy protein)
2/3 cup of oatmeal
Snack:
2 2/3 cup of fruit juice
42 grams of protein powder
Lunch:
1 1/3 cups of rice
2 1/3 teaspoons of olive oil
2 1/3 teaspoons of olive oil
9 ounces of tuna steak or salmon
Dinner:
½ cup of onions
¾ cup of pasta
2 1/3 teaspoons of olive oil
13 ounces of ground beef
½ cup of tomato sauce
Snack:
1 cup of milk
2/3 cup of oatmeal
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of olive oil (or other healthy oil)
Day 3
Breakfast:
2 cups of milk
3 ounces of cheddar cheese
7 tablespoons of slivered almonds
28 grams of protein powder
1 ½ cups of bran cereal
Snack:
2 kiwis
2 ½ tablespoons of barley
35 grams of protein powder
1 cup of milk
Snack:
2/3 cup of oatmeal
1 ounce of sunflower seeds
28 grams of protein powder
1 cup of milk
Lunch:
¼ cup of chickpeas
1 cup of rice
9 ounces of tuna in water (drained)
1 1/3 teaspoons of salmon, olive or flax oil
½ cup of salsa
Dinner:
¼ cup of cucumber
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
1 cup of rice
9 oz boneless skinless chicken
1/3 cup of applesauce
7 tablespoons of slivered almonds
1 Capsicum
1/8 head of iceberg lettuce
Snack:
9 whole almonds
½ cup of Greek yogurt
1 cup of cottage cheese
2/3 cup of oatmeal