Working out a lot in the gym to build muscle almost goes hand in hand with a balanced diet. A balanced diet contains a combination of proteins, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Wondering which foods you should definitely add to your diet? Then read on quickly, because this is what you should eat for muscle building.
How does muscle building work?
Loading your muscles regularly with weights creates a change in your muscles. You start to convert energy more easily, blood flow improves, muscle fibers change and your muscles get bigger.
Working out your muscles can also turn into muscle soreness. Muscle soreness results from damage to the membranes in the muscle fibers. This damages the proteins that play a role in the contraction of the muscle and therefore causes the muscle pain. The broken proteins then get “removed”. During the repair, new muscle proteins are produced to replace the broken ones.
The more activities you do that strengthen your muscles, the more protein is produced. This prevents the muscle from suffering damage again during the next workout. If you want your muscles to grow, you need to do sports that strengthen your muscles regularly and you should keep increasing the intensity.
What you should eat if you want to build muscle
A prerequisite of muscle building is healthy food. What you should eat to build muscle? We have listed some powerful foods for you.
1. Proteins
These are best obtained from lean animal proteins.You can find these for example in cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, eggs, chicken breast and beef.
2. Healthy fats
About 20-30% of your total daily calories should come from fat. A high-fat diet includes for example avocado, fish, olives, walnuts and peanut butter.
3. Chia seeds
Chia seeds are rich in dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamins and minerals.
4. Salmon
Not only is it very tasty but a slice of salmon is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats.
5. Tuna
What should you eat to build muscle? Tuna! This fish is low in calories, but high in protein. In addition, it increases testosterone because it's also rich in vitamin D.
6. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a slow digesting food that consists of complex carbohydrates. It is also a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Great for digestion!
7. Quinoa
Carbohydrates are your primary source of energy. Quinoa is high in carbohydrates with an even higher protein content than rice and oats. A perfect food to include in the list of what should you eat to build muscle! Besides that, quinoa is also rich in manganese, magnesium and iron.
8. Beans
Beans contain both: carbohydrates and protein. We are talking about brown and black beans. These are very high in calories and thus are a good food to build muscles.
Sources
https://bodybuildingblog.nl/spieropbouw-voeding/
https://www.voedingscentrum.nl/nl/thema/eten-bij-sport-en-beweging/eten-en-drinken-bij-spiergroei-en-krachtsport.aspx#:~:text=Will%20you%20specifically%20insert%20on,extra%20portion%20nuts%20or%20beans.
