Carbohydrates as fuel
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for muscle function during strength training. They are stored in the muscles as glycogen. This "fuel" is used to deliver short but powerful bursts of energy. The more active and longer the muscles work, the more glycogen they require. Therefore, carbohydrate requirements vary depending on the intensity and duration of the workout. For those who train at a leisurely pace for no more than an hour, a minimum of two grams of carbohydrates
per kilogram of body per day may be required. Complex and intense workouts lasting more than two hours increase the need for carbohydrates. For the average man who exercises regularly and intensely, experts recommend consuming a minimum of 400-600 grams of carbohydrates per day. Preference should be given to “slow” carbohydrates, which are found in cereals, grain products, vegetables and fruits.
How to lose weight through sports
Alexey Korochkin, a researcher at the Department of Exercise Therapy and Sports Medicine at the Russian State Medical University, talks about how to eat for a person who is training to lose weight, not gain muscle mass.
Menu for gaining muscle mass for a man
Foods that contain all the essential nutrients will help you build muscle mass.
For muscle growth, it is necessary to rely not only on protein foods, but also on healthy carbohydrates, since it is carbohydrate-containing foods that charge you with the energy that is so necessary after intense training. The complex is important in everything, you will not achieve the desired effect if you do one thing, for example, play sports, but do not adhere to the diet, therefore, in order for muscles to really grow, you need a specially designed training regimen plus appropriate nutrition.
Proteins as building materials
Protein helps repair muscle tissue damaged during exercise and also increase its volume. Since protein is the main building material for muscles, those who are keen on strength training require more protein food than people leading a sedentary lifestyle. Keep in mind that most recreational athletes seriously overestimate their protein needs
and consume excess amounts of it.
According to experts, a person needs about 0.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For those involved in strength training, sports nutritionists recommend increasing protein intake to 0.6-0.8 g per kilogram of body weight. However, in no case should you consume more than 450 g of protein per day! The approximate norm is from 90 to 115 g
of protein per day for a person weighing about 70 kg and
from 130 to 170 g
of protein per day for those who weigh 90 kg. Avoid drinking protein shakes. Adequate amounts of high-quality protein can be obtained from low-fat dairy products, eggs, lean meats, chicken and fish. Pay attention to a variety of plant protein sources: vegetables, nuts and legumes.
Diet
Healthy nutrition is not only good for the body, but also very tasty!
In order to gain weight steadily, be sure to include the following products in your menu:
- chicken;
- legumes;
- potato;
- chicken eggs;
- sea fish;
- rice;
- pasta;
- cereals (oatmeal, wheat, semolina, etc.);
- dairy, fermented milk products;
- fresh fruits and vegetables (bananas and grapes are considered the best helpers in weight gain).
When planning your meals for the day, don't stop at one or two items from this list. If your breakfast, lunch and dinner consists only of pasta or only potatoes, this will negatively affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and the general condition of the body. Compose your diet wisely, taking into account the correct ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Example menu
An example of a one-day menu for a person who wants to increase their body weight:
- Breakfast: oatmeal or semolina porridge with butter, a sandwich with cheese, cottage cheese, coffee or tea with milk, freshly squeezed fruit juice.
- Second breakfast: a small portion of any recommended product (for example, baked potato, omelet or chicken leg).
- Lunch: soup with meat broth (any taste is suitable, the most preferred option is borscht), for the second - a meat dish with a side dish. If you don't feel full enough, you can add any salad to lunch.
- Snack: fruit or vegetable salad, nuts (a mix of different varieties is best), berries, natural yogurt.
- Dinner: meat dish with side dish and salad.
- Before bed: It is not recommended to eat solid food at night, but without compromising the rest of the digestive system, you can drink a glass of milk or kefir.
The sample menu should not be taken as a mandatory algorithm for planning your daily diet. Try to eat so that every meal brings you pleasure: if you eat tasty food, then normalizing your weight will be easy and pleasant! Love food for the energy it gives you and try to get as many healthy nutrients as possible every day.
Water reserves
In addition to the mandatory one and a half liters of water that a person should drink daily, a lover of strength training should take care to replenish fluid reserves lost during training.
To prevent dehydration, drink two glasses of water two hours before class. Also, take a large sip of clean drinking water every 15-20 minutes during your workout. If you want to know exactly how much fluid you're losing, weigh yourself before and after your workout. For every half a kilogram lost during exercise, about 400 g of water is consumed. This is how much you need to drink afterwards to replenish fluid loss. Defining goals
Do you want to lose weight or gain muscle? Relax with exercise or come out of hibernation? Find out how to choose the physical activity that's right for you.
Weekly menu for gaining muscle mass
Consider the option of a weekly menu with 6 meals a day.
• Monday
» Breakfast: 3-4 egg whites (boiled), oatmeal with 1 banana and honey. » Second breakfast (snack): cottage cheese with any fruits and berries. » Lunch: baked chicken breast with vegetables, boiled bulgur. » Dinner: steamed fish, avocado salad, whole grain bread.
Eating before training:
natural yogurt with fresh fruits and berries.
Meal after workout:
boiled chicken breast with rice.
• Tuesday
» Breakfast: 3-4 egg white omelette, greens, oatmeal with water and apples. » Second breakfast (snack): natural yogurt, banana, a handful of walnuts. » Lunch: steamed fish, vegetable salad dressed with olive oil, buckwheat. » Dinner: baked chicken breast, salad with egg whites and herbs.
Eating before training:
whole grain bread with honey and nuts.
Meal after workout:
turkey with stewed vegetables.
Photo. Protein menu for muscle gain
• Wednesday
» Breakfast: oatmeal with 2 apples, honey and nuts. » Second breakfast (snack): cottage cheese casserole with berries. » Lunch: steamed turkey with vegetables and rice. » Dinner: boiled fish, fresh vegetable salad.
Eating before training:
fruit salad (apples, grapes, oranges).
Meal after workout:
tuna in its own juice with fresh vegetable salad.
• Thursday
» Breakfast: 3-4 egg whites (boiled), cheesecakes with banana and honey » Second breakfast (snack): natural yogurt with nuts and fruits. » Lunch: boiled chicken, vegetable salad with avocado, brown rice. » Dinner: cheesecakes with dried fruits, kefir.
Eating before training:
whole grain bread with apple, honey, nuts.
Meal after workout:
steamed beef with buckwheat.
• Friday
» Breakfast: 3-4 egg whites (boiled), oatmeal with apples and honey. » Second breakfast (snack): cottage cheese with any fruits, berries, nuts. » Lunch: fatty fish baked with bell pepper, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetables. » Dinner: chicken breast and grilled vegetables.
Eating before training:
natural yogurt with banana and strawberries.
Meal after workout:
steamed turkey with fresh vegetables.
Also read:
The benefits of saturated fat in bodybuilding
• Saturday
Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole with banana and honey. Second breakfast (snack): protein omelet (3-4 proteins), vegetable salad. Lunch: boiled beef with vegetables, buckwheat. Dinner: steamed fish, vegetable salad.
Eating before training:
fruit and berry salad with natural yogurt.
Meal after workout:
baked chicken breast with vegetables, brown rice.
• Sunday
Breakfast: cheesecakes with protein, fruit salad. » Second breakfast (snack): 3-4 egg whites (boiled), greens. » Lunch: pasta with seafood, vegetable salad. » Dinner: turkey and grilled vegetables, greens.
Eating before training:
whole grain bread with apple, honey, nuts.
Meal after workout:
cottage cheese with natural yogurt and banana.
For those who find this menu option too complicated and costly, you can create a budget meal plan. Where there will be more grains, less variety of meat products and not so many fresh fruits. Homemade meals for gaining muscle mass consist mainly of steamed, oven-baked or boiled foods. The basis of nutrition for a beginner should be protein foods: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk.
How to eat properly and healthily for a skinny girl?
The diet when gaining weight should be rational. You shouldn’t go to extremes and eat only fast food. Such food will not help you gain weight, but it will seriously undermine your health. A reasonable solution would be to switch to healthy foods; you will also need to eat split meals 6 times a day. This could be three full meals and 3 hearty snacks. Below is a list of foods that will help you gain weight without compromising your health:
Pasta and baked goods belong to the category of high carbohydrate foods. Fast carbohydrates are primarily converted by the body into fat. You are allowed to eat fresh white bread and rolls, croissants, cookies, pastries and cakes. These products will help you gain weight and are also an excellent option for snacking between meals. Dairy products are no less effective in weight gain. These include: milk, sour cream, yogurt When choosing fermented milk products in the store, pay attention to those that have a high percentage of fat content. Their use will not only allow you to gain weight, normalize your intestinal microflora, but also improve your metabolism. Meat A rich and irreplaceable source of proteins. The meat menu should include beef, pork, poultry and definitely fatty fish, which is rich in omega-3 acids. Vegetables and fruits
The presence of fiber in food is very important for proper digestion. Beets, cabbage, pumpkin, zucchini - a rich source of vitamins and fiber
Persimmons, bananas, apricots are not only delicious fruits, but also high in calories. Porridge cooked with milk is considered an ideal breakfast to help you gain weight. Adding a piece of butter to your porridge will make it more nutritious. Not only can chocolate contribute to weight gain, it also has the unique ability to improve your mood. Buy only high-quality chocolate made from natural cocoa beans. Fruit juices increase appetite. A glass of juice before meals stimulates increased production of gastric juice, and this contributes to active weight gain. Water. You need to drink up to 2-3 liters of any liquid per day.
