Building muscle is one of the best things you can do for your health, and your diet has a lot to do with it. Lifting weights and resistance training is necessary to build muscle, but it is not enough alone.
Your diet also needs to be on point to gain muscle and strength. Whether you want to increase muscle mass or increase strength performance.
There are diet changes you will have to make, including:
Add Protein
The first change you will need to make to your diet if you want to gain muscle and strength is to add protein. Protein is the primary muscle-building macronutrient.
It has essential amino acids that are the building blocks of muscle. Amino acids like leucine also help repair the tears in your muscles after resistance training.
You should note that there is such a thing as overeating protein. There is a sufficient amount of protein you should eat which is about 1.5gms per pound of bodyweight. If you eat more, it will go to waste.
Supplementation
The body needs numerous nutrients to function optimally, particularly in building muscle. It is almost impossible to get all the necessary nutrients from your diet. Therefore, you will need to supplement your diet.
You should look for supplements to help build muscle to supplement your diet. Some of the more common proteins will include creatine and whey protein. The key to taking supplements is to use them as additives to your diet, not as the primary source of protein.
If you consume supplements properly, you should see an increase in muscle and strength in short order.
Increase Diet Variety
It is clear that protein is essential to building muscle and strength, but many people eat the same foods repeatedly, which can get quite monotonous quickly. A diet change that can help improve the amount of protein and other nutrients you eat is to add more variety to your diet.
You do not have to eat chicken breast and steak every day to eat enough protein to gain muscle and strength. Add other protein sources to your diet, such as nuts. Increase the type of vegetables and fruits you eat too.
The variety will ensure you get enough of the nutrients you need, and with the variety, it will be easier to stick to a nutritious diet. If you want some serious gains, prepping high calorie meals is a great way to achieve your fitness goals.
Eat At The Right Time
The time you eat food matters significantly, especially if you want to gain muscle and strength. Your body requires protein right after your workout to repair the muscles you just finished breaking down and tearing. Protein timing is necessary to get the results of resistance training.
Therefore, you should get better at timing your meals after workouts. It would be best to eat within the hour after your workout. Feed your body with high-quality protein sources such as fish, lean red meat, and eggs.
If you eat before training, it would be best to eat protein two to three hours before for the best results.
Eliminate Junk Food
It almost goes without saying, but its importance makes it deserve a spot on this list. You will have to remove junk food from your diet to gain muscle and strength. Junk food will lead to an increase in body fat, ruining your body composition.
Junk food does not include the right components and is the worst food for gaining muscle. Removing junk food is great for muscle development, strength improvements, and overall health.
If you want to gain more muscle and have more strength, you will have to make some diet changes. The above are some of the most important and effective diet changes you can make. They are a starting point to learning more about nutrition and your body.
