8 Steps to a Muscle-Building Diet

Everyone talks about calories. Whether the goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, everyone wants to know that magic number. The truth is that everyone’s caloric needs are different. The exact amount has to do with existing body weight and activity level. If you’re an average person, you need to consume 10 calories for every pound of body weight just to maintain your existing weight. Gradually increasing that by an additional 500-1000 calories a day will help with weight gain. In fact, an additional 7 calories per pound are required to be able to perform intense weight training exercises and cardio. So, for example, a 170 pound individual would need to consume 2,890 calories a day in order to be able to build quality muscle (170 x 17 = 2890).

The percentage of where these calories are coming from is equally important. Bodybuilders do well with a 40/30/30 ratio, 40% complete complex carbs, 30% protein and 30 % fats. This, of course, is a guideline. Listen to your body; everyone has different dietary responses. Your metabolism, body fat levels and insulin sensitivity will all factor in on how your body responds. If you are not seeing results or aren’t happy with how you feel, make adjustments until you arrive at a ratio that works for you.

Ideally, when attempting to build muscle, your overall goal should be to gain anywhere from half a pound to two pounds of muscle each week. Adding extra calories, above your normal intake, will promote faster results. There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to do this. The tips below can help you in your muscle building diet regime.

1.  Start your day off right with an organic greens supplement. Infusing your body with vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients, amino acids, alkaline salts and chlorophyll is a great way to wake up. Not only will you be neutralizing acid but you will be ensuring that your cells are able to thrive in a healthy environment.
2.  Create a rhythm to your meals by eating five, calorie-rich meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Be sure to include healthy, whole foods as well as one muscle-building, protein shake each day. The extra calories may initially seem excessive, but are necessary to aid muscle growth.
3. In addition to eating at regular intervals, be sure to space your carbs out throughout the day as well. In fact, consuming carbs before training, during training, 1 hour after training and 4 hours after training is ideal. The key is to only give your body carbs when needed for intense activity. 
4.  In addition, to spacing your carbs out at key points throughout the day it is equally important to vary the source of your carbs. Consuming strictly potatoes at every meal does not help your body perform at its peak and may cause food allergies. For the best results, alternate between potatoes, yams, brown rice, Ezekiel bread, oatmeal, beans and small amounts of fruit. If you are substituting a shake for a meal, the best solution would be a carb powder like Vitargo or Karbolyn, which are the top two choices on the market currently. Gatorade can substitute in a pinch. 
5.  Proteins are an important part of any muscle-building diet. They help our bodies boost both digestion and absorption. Be sure to vary your protein sources, selecting from quality options like buffalo, sirloin, poultry, salmon and eggs. If you are substituting a protein shake, hydrolyzed protein is the top powder supplement. 
6.  Don’t forget your veggies. They taste good and they’re good for you. Adding a least 1 cup of vegetables to your plate at every meal helps with digestion, absorption and controlling blood sugar levels. 
7.  Like everything else, change up the sources of your fat at every meal. Eating a variety of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats is good for you. There are many great sources to use that are healthy and taste great.  Try nuts and seeds (walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds as well as pumpkin and sunflower seeds), nut butters, coconut oil and olive oil. 
8. Drinking a shake 30 minutes into your workout not only keeps you hydrated but also helps to reduce the effect of cortisol being released into your bloodstream and to encourage muscle growth. Be sure to include 30-50 grams of carb powder, 5-10 grams of glutamine, 5-10 grams of branch chain amino acids, and 3-5 grams of creatine for a powerful boost.

Just to give you a better understanding of what these tips mean in terms of real food, here is a sample daily meal plan for a person weighing 200 pounds who is interested in gaining muscle. Of course, you can adjust this according to your needs, personal tastes and budget.

Sample Meals:

Meal 1
8 oz of extra lean beef

3 whole eggs
1 cup of veggies

2 ounces of mixed nuts

Meal 2 (Pre-Workout)
8 oz of white fish 

2 cups pasta (preferable whole wheat)
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup of veggies

Meal 3/ Workout Shake (Begin Sipping During Workout)
80 grams of carb powder + Glutamine, Creatine, BCAA
15 minutes later – 40 grams of isolate protein

Meal 4 (1 Hour Post Workout)
12 oz of chicken 

12 oz of sweet potato
2 cups of veggies

Meal 5 (4 Hours Post Workout)
8 oz of turkey

2 cups of broccoli

1 cup of egg whites

2 cups of brown rice
1 slice of low-fat cheese
1 cup of veggies 

Meal 6:
10 oz steak or salmon
1 cup of veggies

2 oz avocado

The “Freebie” Meal

Everyone gets busy. It happens to the best of us. Work.Family obligations.The alarm clock. I’ve designed this diet plan to allow room for a “Freebie” meal, which is basically anything you want, even a burger and fries. The goal is to hit your calories for the day and move on. Don’t let little hurdles get in the way.

The best way that I have found to follow a diet plan like this is to keep a food log. Use a notebook; make an excel spreadsheet, whatever works for you. Keep track of your calories and break it down by how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you are ingesting. By logging your daily intake, you have a better picture of your journey, where you have been and where you are headed. If you do not feel on pace to hit your goals, you can look over your notes and easily make changes. See where you went wrong or what worked in the past. 

Building muscle is a goal that you can accomplish. The above tips can help you reach that goal. And, just for inspiration:

“An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive, which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.” (Alberto Salazar)

The Great Protein Debate – Powder vs. Real Deal

Let’s start by saying that for general nutrition, real food wins hands down. At one point in time, society thought that engineered, altered and enhanced were good, healthy words. We now know that nothing man-made tops Mother Nature. Whole foods should make up the majority of your diet, whether you are eating to build muscle, lose fat or just because it tastes good. In fact, I like to say,

“If you want to look solid and feel solid, your diet should consist of solid foods.”

In today’s go-go-go world, however, lifestyle sometimes dictates different choices throughout the day. It is tough to prepare an entire steak dinner when you barely had enough time to squeeze in a workout. In fact, most days it’s tough to fit it all in. That said, there are pros and cons to using protein powders and to using whole foods.

The Pros of the Powder
Believe it or not, even though I firmly believe in whole foods, there are several pros to using protein powder. 

1. Convenience. We are all busy. Once we factor in work, a social life and working out, there is little time left in the day. Taking the time to prepare protein rich foods several times a day is not always possible. In fact, body-builders require up to 7 meals a day. Quality, protein-dense foods like fish, lean meats and eggs just are not available via vending machine or offered at the local drive-thru (pink slime, anyone?). Having the option to use a few scoops of protein powder in an on-the-go shake is a great time-saving trick for anyone when time is tight.
2. Dieter’s Compliance. When losing weight, calories need to be cut. Unfortunately, cutting calories sometimes leads to cutting down grams of protein when, in fact, protein is needed to maintain muscle mass, manage appetite, control blood sugars and provide a feeling of fullness. Protein powders can accomplish all these duties while keeping the overall caloric intake lower.
3. Absorption Rate. Whereas whole foods are great for nutrition, it takes time for our bodies to break them down and be able to absorb them. Protein powder, on the other hand, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and put to work. This is especially helpful post-workout, when protein synthesis and glycogen re-synthesis have increased rates.
4. Drinkable. That may seem like an obvious statement, but, when adding calories to your diet in order to bulk up, sometimes physically eating that much whole food is not possible. Skinny guys with smaller appetites have difficulty consuming the necessary calories when they are still full from the last meal. In fact, even body-builders know that it can be easier to drink the extra calories than to chew them. Plus, you can add a variety of foods to your shake to change the flavor and up the caloric content.

The Real Deal
Whole foods like red meat, dairy, eggs, poultry and fish are crammed full of Mother Nature’s goodness. They are filled with awesome nutrients like vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids and saturated fat. There are so many reasons why whole foods are superior to man-made powders. The two most important ones are:

1. Processed. We have all seen enough in-depth reports, nightly news stories and YouTube videos to know to be wary of processed foods. The truth is that no man-made product can come close to reproducing the high quality nutrients that come from whole foods. The nutrients are either damaged during processing, unnaturally fortified or just plain synthetic. Your body simply cannot optimize the nutrients available in a powder the way it can in whole foods.
2. Variety. I am a huge proponent of food rotation. Not only does it help with boredom, but it is essential in avoiding food allergies. Many athletes develop allergies, from mild to severe, due to their constant consumption of the same protein sources. In fact, rotating protein sources is key to promoting optimal heath and building lean muscle. It is difficult to rotate your protein sources when they are in powder form. With whole foods, however, it is much easier to change from fish to chicken to beef and back again.

An Important Note
Not all food is created equal. Our primary goal is usually to eat healthy, to consume enough calories to gain lean muscle and to optimize the calories that we do eat. Stop. Back up. We need to recognize that where our food came from is becoming increasingly important. Food that appears to be whole, to be healthy, to be nutritious can be less nutritionally dense and sometimes even toxic. If your budget allows it, find sources for whole foods that are free of exposure to pollution, chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones and other harmful toxins. You are working so hard to grow a solid body; it does not need to become needlessly polluted.

See For Yourself
If you still don’t believe that you need to limit your reliance on protein powders and consume the majority of your calories from whole foods, test it out for yourself. For one month, try consuming 1 protein shake and five whole food meals. Drink the shake immediately after your workout. Do not change anything else about your routine or your day. At the end of that month, take your measurements. For the next month, eat just three whole food meals a day and drink three protein shakes. Do not change anything else about your routine or diet.

Take your measurements again. Measure your calves, legs, waist, shoulders, chest and arms with a tape measure and measure your body fat with calipers. You may be surprised at the results, but you will know the importance of relying on whole foods for the majority of your calories first-hand. In addition, pay close attention to the other signals your body gives you over the month. Sleep quality, performance at the gym, speed of recovery after your workout and overall energy levels are all important. Pay attention to how your body reacts with more whole food meals as well as with the additional powder substitutes.

The key take away from this is that the more whole foods you can eat, the better. Protein powder is convenient. There is no denying that. A shake can be made on the go, with little effort and can fit into just about everyone’s busy schedule. The calories are easy to control, whether you need to bulk up or slim down and the protein itself is easily absorbed post-workout. Whole foods, however, are nutrient-rich and good for you. Processing not only destroys many of these nutrients, but may also add unnecessary chemicals and toxins. The human body has survived for thousands of years on whole foods. The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind.