The dream of gaining muscles or losing weight is never easy unless you are doing it right the way. You will experience gradual changes in your body by following a specific diet. As they say, you are what you eat. So basically, your body will act to the foods and nutrition you are eating. And the story goes long, in short, you need to have a well-defined diet plan with your exercise routine to achieve your fitness goals. First, you need to join a fitness center whether you want to gain muscle mass or shed some extra fat. Train under the supervision of industry experts and certified trainers to ensure you are on right track.
Once you start hitting the gym with intensive, long workout sessions, you expect to see significant results from your body. There are some factors that can slow down the gaining process. And you may be wondering what I am doing here. You need to expand your knowledge here. Gym workouts only are not going to help you with achieving goals. First and foremost is diet, then comes the lifestyle, habits, sleep patterns, etc.
The basic breakdown of your diet to gain muscles should be as follows. 25-30% protein, 40-50% carbohydrates, and 25% fats.
This blog focuses mainly on the source of carbs, fat, and protein and how much you should get to gain muscle mass.
What are Carbs and the Primary Sources of Carbs?
Carbs are a short form of carbohydrates. It can be a great source of glucose and energy in your body. It works like fuel in your body and gives you enough energy to perform your gym workouts.
Carbs are an affordable source of energy that is available in excessive amounts in cheap sources. But you must select healthy carbs and cut off junk carbs that are bad for your health.
Healthy sources of carbohydrates you can take.
- Oats
- Yogurt
- Beans
- Corn
- Whole wheat
- Sweet potatoes
- Barley
What is Fat, and What Foods Have It in Them?
Fats are fatty acids or lipids in biological terms. Fat is an integral part of your food that is necessary for the body to perform functions. Some fats are produced by our body, but we can intake the rest of the fats from foods. And when necessary, our body breaks down the fat to use it as a source of energy. So fats are needed by our body but in limited quantity. This is why experts recommend fats to be 25% of your diet and not more than that. Fats can be sourced from plant or animal sources. Let’s talk about fat-rich foods.
Fat-rich foods you can take.
- Oil
- Nuts
- Dairy products
- Fish
- Meat
What is protein, and how can you get it?
Protein is a complex molecule that resides in a body cell. It is vital to perform many bodily functions. A cell is a building block of our body and is used to make organs, skin, tendons, and muscles. Protein for diet can be sourced from plant or animal sources, just like fats. But in case your diet plan is not able to fulfill the protein requirements, you may need a protein supplement. Protein works to repair and rebuild muscles that wear out with gym exercises. Before you opt to go for supplements, you try your best to get protein from natural sources to avoid any complications later on.
Protein-rich foods you can have in your diet.
- Seafood
- White-meat poultry
- Soybeans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Milk
- Yogurt
- Peanuts
Now that you know how to divide your diet portions and what are the sources to get the required nutrition. Let’s come to the discussion of following a generic rule for setting your protein intake. Several studies and experiments have tried to determine the minimum protein amount to be 2.2 grams per kg of your body weight. But the results come in varying results, so to be on the safe side. Decide a minimum of 1.8-gram protein per kg of bodyweight to get the maximum utilization of the protein.
The average protein requirement for a person to perform daily functions that do not include any demanding activity is 55-90 grams for males and 45- 75 grams for females.
Conclusion
It takes experience to fine-tune your diet and the exercises that support your fitness goals in the long term. Don’t hurry things up, give your body some time to adapt to different foods, exercises, and techniques. Once you find the right combination, follow it for a period of time and keep learning from experts. Play with the nutrition values, see how your body reacts to it and remove what is unnecessary from your diet plan. Apart from diet and exercise, all you need is consistency and dedication to get your dream physique. You simply cannot get there overnight. Patience is the key, along with optimal diet and exercise routines.