What Should You Eat When Trying to Gain Muscle?

August 05, 2021

Are you looking to gain muscle for that summer body?

Did you know that gaining muscle doesn't only involve a consistent workout, but also eating the proper food?

While working out and exercising can help bulk you up, you won't get very far without knowing what foods you are supposed to eat. Not sure what that entails?

Read on to find out what foods will help you gain the muscle you need.

Building Muscle Is Consuming Protein

The amino acids within protein help repair and make muscle. It's because of this that, when trying to gain muscle, you make it a primary component of your diet.

When you are gaining muscle, you are doing rigorous workouts that revolve around strength training. Through this strength training, you receive muscle tears, and the amino acids in protein help repair those tears.

No protein = No repair.

There are many foods you can eat that are high in protein and will be optimal in your journey to gain muscle.

What Are the Top Foods I Should Eat To Gain Muscle?

There is the food you should eat and the food you shouldn't eat.

The food you should eat will be high and mighty in protein and can help build up those muscles that you've always wanted.

Let's take a look at the most high-in protein foods for you.

Nuts

Nuts are a great way to easily get the protein you need in your diet. Just a couple of spoons of peanut butter can easily do the job on a day-to-day basis. Two tablespoons of peanut butter can roughly contain about 8 grams of protein.

You should aim to eat at least 25-30 grams of protein at each meal. When trying to gain muscle, you should intake around 0.5-1.00 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight you have. Two tablespoons of peanut butter can easily bump your protein up at meals.

Nuts are not only high in protein, but also fiber. They contain a lot of calories, so you can get the macros you need without risking muscle loss and fat gain.

The best part? Eating straight nuts and traditional peanut butter isn't the only way to get your nutty proteins.

You can eat delicious types of nut butters that you can add to anything you like. Add a few tablespoons of nut butter to your smoothies, shakes, or high-fiber toast to add some flavor and easy protein.

Spice up your nut life with cinnamon toffee crunch peanut butter. You don't need to stick to your traditional peanut butter from your local grocer!

Eating protein and gaining muscle can be easy by adding nuts to your diet.

Eggs

Eggs are another high source of protein because they contain high amounts of amino acid leucine.

Three large eggs typically have 18 grams of protein. At breakfast, this would get you over half of the minimum amount of protein you should eat.

Eggs are a great protein-packed food that will fill you up and bulk you up.

Fish

Fish is a great source of protein for your diet as well.

They are high in protein, but low in fat. Any fat that is in the fish is a healthy fat that won't affect your diet negatively. You'll be able to gain the muscle you need without putting on the extra fat.

Fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is the process your body goes through when turning the proteins into muscle tissue.

So, eating fish is not only high in protein, but also encourages the protein to turn into muscle.

Vegetables

Vegetables are an important part of your daily diet. It's no surprise that in the muscle-building journey, they can be a great help.

Eating green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and kale can boost your muscle growth, as they are even higher in protein than some meats.

Remember the Popeye cartoons from when you were a little kid? There's a reason Popeye always chugged his spinach right before he defeated his opponent.

What Won't Help Me Gain Muscle?

There are a few foods that won't help you in your journey, and it's important to avoid these at all costs.

First off, added sugars. Added and artificial sugars and sweeteners are the poison to your muscles.

With needing to eat just the right amount of food, you don't have room for snacking on artificial sugars.

Anything that has been processed and/or fried is the wrong route to go. You need to be filling your diet with natural sugars (like fruit), if anything, and good vegetables and proteins.

Furthermore, alcohol should be avoided as well. Alcohol actually does more harm than good because it breaks down the proteins in your body, creating the opposite effect of building muscle.

To help you on your muscle journey, avoid these foods and stick to what your body really wants, not what your mind says it wants.

How Do I Make Sure I'm Getting the Right Amount of Protein?

This is where tracking your macronutrients comes in. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and of course, proteins.

Keeping track of your macros can ensure you're making healthy choices and getting the right amount of protein and calories you need to build the right amount of muscle.

There's no set rule for how many macros you should be ingesting every day. This really depends from person to person. If you have a nutritionist or personal trainer, they may be able to discuss with you the right amount you should be having. Furthermore, they can help you set up a feasible plan for how to track them.

If you don't have these resources, you can use a macro calculator with no assistance needed! Now you don't have any excuses, right?