Do you obsess about what to eat to gain muscle? Usually when I tell people that they can relax and stop worrying so much about what they are eating, I get confused looks. Here is the thing, probably the biggest fitness industry money makers is in telling people what to eat in order to market super solutions suggest you will gain muscle fast. Unfortunately building muscle mass quickly is not really about what you eat but in how you workout the muscles. Food simply is not as critical to build muscle as the fitness magazines would like you to think.
How much you eat, can certainly have ramifications on your body fat percentage, but diet is more about fat weight than actually gaining muscle. By focusing on what to eat to gain muscle you are just making yourself miserable.
Keep in mind that we are speaking of gaining lean muscle mass not overall body mass which includes fat. If you just want have a bigger body, then go ahead and eat until the cows come home... just consume tons calories. But it will be fat weight that you gain, and I don't think that is really what you desire. Most people are trying to build an athletic muscular body with a sexy six pack.
It is often difficult to change people's conception of the fitness magazine ads along with their hype concerning muscle gain. They always seem to be talking about what to eat to gain muscle and how often to eat- this is mostly to sell you stuff (proof of this is that the fitness magazines often are owners of the powder and supplement companies that they are marketing to you).
The reality is that you must eat as few calories as possible if you want to be lean. There is a particular amount of calories that is naturally required by your body when it is at rest (Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR). When you do work, like bench press weight training or running, your body burns a few more calories. You might burn 150-200 calories when you run a mile, depending on your lean muscle mass and how fast you are running. If you eat just the BMR calories plus the exercise calories you will keep the current level of your body fat. Therefore to lean out and lose weight you must lessen your calorie intake.
Muscle mass does need some protein to grow efficiently, but not an excessive amount. You will probably be getting enough if you just eat a tiny bit of protein, like meats, eggs, or dairy products, each time you eat.
Although when you eat may have some affect, I don't advise eating six small meals a day like you often hear in the bodybuilding mags. I see it this way: You are fighting against estimating estimates. This is because the number of calories printed on the bags and cans of food are only estimates. Your BMR and work calories burned are just estimates. Now, if you over estimate by as little as 75 calories (which is very easy to do- for instance that is only one tablespoon of hummus) at each of the six meals then you are nearly 500 calories over what you need and that all turns to fat. A weeks worth of this and you would gain about a pound of fat!!
Try working out in a fasted state- so before you eat breakfast. This will cause human growth hormone to increase and help to burn off any extra body fat. If you wait to eat for about 30 minutes after, the body will burn up any free fatty acids released durning your workout. It is critical that you only eat a normal size meal and then go on with your day.
Work your muscle to hypertrophy and try not to worry so much about what to eat to gain muscle. If you want more information on diet or how to build muscle just visit me at http://gainmusclenotfat.com
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