Bodybuilding meal plan : what to eat and how to eat for gaining muscles.

In bodybuilding generally it is required to build your body’s muscles through weight lifting and proper, good nutrition. Moreover, just keeping professional and competitive bodybuilding aside. For maintaining lean muscle mass and healthy lifestyle one would require same diet but in less amounts.

If you want to maximise your results from the gym, you must focus on your diet. 80% of your muscle building work will be result of your diet.

• Calorie requirements.

The main aim of bodybuilding is to increase muscle mass in the bulking phase and reduce body fat in cutting phase. So generally it is recommended to increase more calories in bulking phase and decrease these calories in cutting phase.

There are several calorie counting apps available on Internet and various platforms that will help you to estimate your calories, if you are bulking. Generally during bulking phase it is recommended that you should increase your calorie intake by 15% of maintenance calories. Just for example, if you are taking 3000 calories per day, then in bulking phase you should consume at least 3450 calories.

Moreover in cutting phase these calories are decreased. So the person who have 3000 calories as maintenance calorie will keep it down to around 2550 calories.

• Foods that are must for gaining muscles.

Basically, foods do not differ whether you are on a cutting or bulking phase. The amount of food you take differs in both the faces.

The most common foods that are required for body building and muscle gain include.

1. Animal meats, poultry and fish.

2. Dairy products like yoghurt, Cottage cheese, low fat milk.

3. Fruits like oranges, banana, apple, pears, peaches, watermelon.

4. Green and starchy vegetables like green peas, spinach, potato, corn.

5. Dry fruits and nuts including almonds, Walnut, cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds,

6. Beans and legumes like chick peas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans.

• Foods that must avoid for gaining muscles and body building.

Although in bulking phase there are no such restrictions, but then also there are some foods that you should limit down.

1. Alcohol

Alcohol content in the body will affect your ability to build muscle and lose fat.

2. Added sugars

Added sugars do not provide any nutrient, but excess of calories. These are one of the major reason for fat gain. So avoid candies, cookies, ice creams, cakes, sugar sweetened beverages.

3. Heavily fried foods.

Foods that are heavily and deep fried promote inflammation and consuming them in high amounts will cause fat gain and disease.