Having a lean, trim, muscularly toned body is a popular goal. Exercising regularly will greatly assist in achieving this goal; however, the rate in which you burn fat, the rate in which you build muscle and your energy levels when you exercise are all dependent on your diet plan. Knowing what to eat, when to eat it and why are all instrumental in striving for a beautiful body.
Considerations
Building muscle requires calories, and lots of them. These calories can't just come from any old kind of food, either. The United States Department of agriculture recommends that active adults age 19 to 50 eat as much as 3,200 calories on a daily basis to maintain a healthy amount of energy. Included in these calories must be a massive amount of protein, twice the amount of that of a sedentary person. For every pound of body weight, you need to eat 0.8 grams of protein every day.
Timing
When exercising your body burns through an immense number of calories. Of these calories, a minimum of 46 percent come from carbohydrates, and the majority of the time that number is higher, according to a 2009 study done at St. Thomas University. Therefore, if you want to have as much energy as possible during your workout, you need to load up on calories just beforehand. If you're going to eat a small meal, you need to eat at least 2 hours before your workout, and if you're going to eat a large meal, you need to eat anywhere from three to four hours before, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Balance
Unfortunately you can't just load up on delicious carbs and protein and expect to build lean muscle. The USDA, and your body still recommend that you get multiple servings from all six major food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat and fats. Your body requires a balanced meal not to stay healthy, but just to continue functioning. Balancing your diet out between all of these groups helps provide your body with all of the essential vitamins and nutrients that it needs.
Misconceptions
You will need to up your protein intake to twice your normal amount if you want to build muscle efficiently. The problem is it isn't always easy to find healthy ways to eat all of that protein. For example, grain-fed beef packs quite the protein punch; however, it contains a large number of calories. If you ate a hamburger per day you'd be adding just as much fat as you did muscle. Grass-fed beef, however, contains up to 65 percent less fat than its grain-fed cousin, while packing just as much protein punch. Salmon is another excellent option, providing more grams of protein per serving than grass-fed beef, with less calories to boot. Meats should still only be eaten in moderation, according to the serving suggestion of the USDA. To assist in daily protein intake, protein powders are an excellent choice.
Proteins
Protein shake containers may all look the same; however, what's inside of them varies considerably. There are two main protein shake formulas on the market: whey and casein protein. Whey protein is fast digesting; in fact, it usually digests in as little as 20 to 40 minutes. Casein protein, on the other hand, is slow digesting, sometimes taking as long as 7 hours. Because the body absorbs whey protein so much faster, it builds muscle at a higher rate; however, it requires smaller servings spread out over several hours. Casein protein is absorbed slowly, which allows the body to steadily use it as a resource in building lean muscle. Thus, one or two servings of casein protein are the ideal choice for lean muscle, while two to four servings of whey protein are ideal for adding bulk.
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