I am not someone who necessarily believes in making a top 10 muscle building foods list. What I would rather do is list good quality sources of foods and when to eat these foods. It’s more than what you eat. It’s the timing of what you eat as well. Food does in fact impact your ability to build muscle and add muscle. Some people want to make it all about protein. And protein is important, but you can’t build muscle without fats and carbs as well.
So Lets Cover Some Musclebuilding Foods You Should Have in Your Kitchen
First, there’s yogurt. This easily digestible dairy source is full of protein. Not only is it a great protein source, it has healthy bacteria which aids in digestion when eating other foods. To be honest, I really feel that yogurt is nearly a REQUIREMENT in the way of muscle building foods. Whether with fresh blueberries, strawberries, or such, it’s GREAT for breakfast. It even makes a healthy snack alternative if you “just gotta have” something late at night. Love ice cream? Yogurt has that same cool temperature and smooth texture.
Next are eggs. When it comes to the breakdown ratio of protein into the body, there’s NO GREATER natural source on earth! Another one of the must have muscle building foods. Omelets are a lazy man’s high protein meal. Four to six eggs will do. Toss in some vegetables–try some onion, pepper, mushroom–and cook it up. You can even top with some salsa if you’d like. It’s rather amazing that, for the amount of protein you get, the fat content is right about where it should be. The fat slows the absorption of other food you eat, so you don’t get those blood sugar spikes.
Chicken Breasts: Yes, we all know animal flesh has a lot of protein in it, but chicken has it all beat hands down. Chicken is the top muscle building foods in the animal product department. For one thing, boneless skinless chicken can be incorporated into SO MANY different meals, you really can’t afford NOT to have it on hand. One of my favorite things to make is chicken fajitas. Chicken fajitas cannot be beat for perfect muscle building meals.
Rice, Potatoes, and Yams: Carbohydrates sure have taken a beating in recent years. Stop listening to people saying, “all carbs are bad!” These sources actually provide essential nutrients that make protein do its job better. Rather than chewing up your protein sources, which you need for building muscle, your body will eat up the carbs you take in. You want your body to burn up carbs. You need that protein to build your muscle. Carbs are a nutritionally cheaper source of fuel. If you tend to be slender and have a hard time gaining weight, then you especially need to consume carbs. If you’re trying to gain muscle and you tend to be slender, then you really have to ramp up your carb consumption.
Better Nutrition requires post-training consumption of simple carbs and fat-free meals
You are after fast digesting simple sugars right after training. Avoid anything containing fat in the food or drink you ingest right after training. You want the muscle to quickly absorb the nutrients during this period of time and fat will slow down this process.
The rest of the day, consume fat in your diet
Fat slows absorption which is bad right after training, but ideal the rest of the time. With the swift breakdown of nutrients from nonfat foods, however, there is one downfall to be mindful of. Your system can take in more nutrient than can be processed. So then your blood sugar rises and drops. This isn’t good for your dieting efforts overall. But if you throw in a bit of fat with your meal, your body will stay steady. More essential nutrients will be absorbed into your body, giving it just what it needs, due to this consistent intake of fat.
Summary: Musclebuilding Foods are more complex and detailed than we’ve covered here, but this is an overview to help you make good decisions.