Building muscle and losing fat with a diet plan is less difficult if you know what foods to eat when. By timing your nutrient appropriately around your resistance training and cardiovascular workouts, you can maximize muscle building and minimize fat storage. The exact numbers of nutrients will vary, depending on your age, goals, metabolism and genetics. Follow these basic dietary guidelines to build muscle and lose fat with your diet plan.
Step 1
Take in five to six smaller meals throughout the day, spaced two to three hours apart. This technique builds muscle and burns fat by keeping your metabolic rate elevated and creating a trickle effect of needed nutrients to muscle cells. Frequent meals also suppress appetite, stabilize blood sugar and cut down the body's production of the stress hormone cortisol, which eats muscle and enables body fat storage.
Step 2
Control your portions at each meal to keep the fat melting off. "The Fat Burning Bible" recommends a macro-nutrient ratio of 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrates at each meal and snack. Cutting your carbs or fats too low can have disastrous effects on your metabolism and muscle building. Moderate cuts provide better results in the long term. Likewise, overeating protein can cause the body to store fat, even though it is not as readily stored as carbs and fats.
Step 3
Stack your carbohydrates around your workouts to build more muscle and burn fat fast. For example, split all of your carbohydrates for the day between your pre-workout and post-workout meal. Since carbohydrates readily store as body fat, you want to limit them. However, your body needs enough to fuel workouts and allow for muscle recovery. Timing carbs means using all of your available resources for energy and muscle growth.
Step 4
Take in a pre-workout meal one to two hours before resistance training. Aim to get 20 to 30 grams of high-quality protein and 30 to 60 grams of low-glycemic carbohydrates. Whey protein makes a great pre-workout protein because it digests quickly, giving your body a ready supply of amino acids for working muscles. Low-glycemic carbs such as fresh fruits (apples, pears, oranges, grapes and berries) or oatmeal give your muscles a steady supply of glucose to fuel your workout.
Step 5
Drink a shake immediately following your resistance training workout. "Optimum Anabolics" recommends 30 to 50 grams of whey protein, 60 to 100 grams of high-glycemic carbohydrates (fruit juice, dextrose or maltodextrin) and 30 grams of healthy fats from flax seed oil or medium-chain triglycerides. Add an additional protein shake before bed to give your body all the nutrients it needs for muscle building while you sleep.
Things You'll Need
- Whey protein
- Fruit juice
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
- Flax seed oil
- Medium-chain triglycerides
References
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- "The Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
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