Now that you can take care of your diet include the right amount of protein. These are 12 foods that cannot be missing from your menus if you want to gain muscle.
Table of Contents
1. Spinach
This vegetable contains a remarkable source of glutamine, an amino acid essential for developing lean muscle mass. It also helps increase endurance and gain muscle tone.
You can prepare it raw in a salad. If you add carrot, fresh cheese, and some nuts, the result is a light and, at the same time, protein first course.
2. Low-fat dairy
You will find a valuable source of animal protein in milk and its derivatives (yogurts and cheeses). The important thing is that you choose their skim or low-fat versions.
If you take them at night and recover muscle, you will be promoting rest, thanks to its tryptophan content, an essential amino acid that helps control insomnia.
The cottage cheese -very like cottage cheese without pressure- is a real treat for the musculature that contains casein, a protein that is digested slowly.
3. Eggs
Eggs are considered as one of the complete proteins that exist. It highlights many proteins and nutrients it contains, its bioavailability (about the nutrients present in other foods), and the amino acid balance of its protein.
Most of the proteins are in the white, while the fats are concentrated in the yolk.
4. Turkey and chicken
Taking advantage of the proteins of white meats such as chicken, turkey or rabbit means that in addition to gaining muscle, we will be avoiding the saturated fats of red meats food such as lamb or veal.
Every 100 grams of chicken breast pieces, you get 30 grams of proteins. Avoid cooking it in the batter. Ideally, prepare the grilled breasts and avoid mayonnaise and sauces, unless they are low in fat.
5. Vegetables
Food of animal origin is an excellent source of protein. However, also some vegetables, especially legumes, provide this nutrient to the body.
When we consume protein foods of plant origin, it is essential to combine them with other foods that complete the list of amino acids that we need. For example, an excellent mix is a plate of chickpeas or lentils with rice.
Also, legumes provide you with a large amount of magnesium, which can help reduce cramps. Its fiber also benefits you: some studies have verified that a low fiber diet favors muscle contractions.
6. Tuna
It is one of the foods made up almost exclusively of proteins, it is quickly metabolized, and it is a perfect ally to increase muscle mass. Tuna has more protein content of high biological value (23 grams per 100 grams) than meat.
Once inside the body, its omega 3 promotes the production of proteins that improve the recovery of injured muscles and reduces ramps’ risk.
Other bluefish, such as salmon or sardines, are also a good source of omega 3.
An excellent way to prepare tuna is grilled with some garlic, a dash of lemon, and a handful of parsley.
7. Red meat
Red meat is one of the foods that provide the most proteins. The richest in this protein and nutrient is horse and beef.
It is preferable to consume meat, which, although it is not red meat, contains as many proteins as horse meat and much less fat, making it a much healthier option.
8. Peanuts
Peanuts are the best source of protein, but if we combine them with whole grains or legumes. We can gain a complete protein. The nuts and dry fruits with the highest protein content are peanuts, almonds, and walnuts.
You can eat a full at breakfast, as a snack. But do not overdo it, since these foods contribute a large number of calories.
Peanuts contain 567 calories per 100 grams.
Nuts and some seeds (such as sunflower seeds) are very rich in magnesium, essential to maintaining the right muscle tone and avoiding injury.
9. Sweet potato
Roasted sweet potato is an excellent way to obtain potassium, essential to gain muscle mass. Helps maintain the body’s water balance, nerve impulse, and muscle contraction.
Also, a small amount is enough to feel satiated, and its sweet flavor will make you want something less healthy.
10. Banana
Besides being rich in carbohydrates, essential when doing some muscle training, it contains three essential nutrients for your muscles.
It is one of the most abundant foods in potassium and also provides you with a good dose of magnesium and calcium.
11. Avocado
Avocado gives you about 1,000 milligrams of potassium. Avocado can add to your salads, eat it for dessert, or spread it on the morning toast to prepare your muscles early.
12. Citrus
Any citrus fruit suits you because its vitamin C is necessary to make collagen present in muscle fibers and keeps them elastic.
To ensure that your body gains the necessary amount of this vitamin, take one orange (or two tangerines) and two kiwis daily.
Advantages of increasing or gain muscle mass
Eating consciously so that your muscles are in shape and have all the nutrients they need provides numerous benefits:
Helps prevent fractures. By strengthening connective tissues, bone density increases, and, incidentally, the risk of injury and the chances of getting osteoporosis are reduced.
Increases metabolic rate. That is, without doing anything, you can burn calories.
You gain quality of life. Among other things, increasing muscle mass helps boost balance, regulates the amount of sugar in the blood, improves sleep quality, and relaxes the mind.
Improve posture. And it can prevent nonspecific back pain (the cause of which is not usually discovered).
How long does it take to gain muscle?
If you have decided to gain muscle by following a training routine in addition to eating well, you should know that different aspects intervene in the results. First, genetic. In this matter, we can do little. The other three factors are:
- The type of training
- Feeding
- Rest
People who begin to build muscle notice changes in muscle volume in the first two months, but they are the consequence of an increase in muscle glycogen reserves, which retain fluid.
In this matter, you have to think long term. A visible muscle gain requires time and perseverance. In the first year of the gym, you already begin to notice the muscle gain, but it is from the second when the changes start to be considerable.
The importance of taking care of the muscles
If, throughout our lives, we have not been too constant and regular with physical exercise, from the age of 40, we lose up to 8% of muscle mass in the following ten years.
Everything accelerates: if we continue to lead a more sedentary than active life, as we enter the seventh decade of experience, that loss increases up to 15%.
Perhaps from the start, these data may seem insubstantial, but the truth is that a muscular system in good shape (and delaying the “loss” that we have mentioned as much as possible) helps – and much more – to have a more durable, more resistant and healthy.
