Other people might tell you that going to the gym is the best way to build muscle. Contrary to popular belief, going to the gym and working out is just one part of building muscle.
Your diet is the key component to building serious gains. Your diet should consist more of protein, a little bit of carbohydrates, and fat so you can build the perfect physique.
If you're interested in learning more about muscle-building diets, check out the meal plans for serious gains in the article below.
Eat to Gain Muscle
If you are trying to build bigger and stronger muscles, working out is key, but you should never exclude a proper diet.
Protein is required to build the tissue that helps repair the damaged muscles when you work out.
It helps repair the muscle fibers and makes them stronger and bigger. But you won't be able to reach that goal if you do not have a proper diet.
This ultimately means that what you eat and how much you eat will affect how your muscles will grow. Without adequate meal plans for serious gains, you won't build muscles.
How Much Do You Need to Eat to Build Muscle
When building muscle, your body will require more energy than it is currently having to maintain such composition.
This means that you must eat more than you usually do, and the excess will be fed to your muscles for repair and growth. The extra calories that you receive from eating will go into muscle development instead of fat, especially when you are working out regularly.
The amount of calories that you need per day will depend on your weight, age, metabolism, and many other factors.
The Essentials for Muscle-Building Diets
There are three essential compounds that you need to learn before you even start your muscle-building journey.
If you want to achieve serious muscle gains, you should understand what these compounds do and why they are required to build muscles.
Protein
Protein is the building block within your body. Everything inside your body is made up of different proteins.
Proteins are used to build and grow the tissues that make up the different organs in your body. They are also important for repair.
Having enough protein will only meet your daily demands but if you eat in excess and exercise, your body will use the extra protein to build more muscle.
Carbohydrates
Although carbohydrates are not recommended in a diet, they are still one of the most essential compounds, albeit in a small amount.
Carbohydrates are necessary to fuel your body and help the body facilitate the muscle-building process.
When taken in small amounts, it should be enough to fuel your body during heavy workout sessions without turning it into fat.
Fat
Speaking of fat, you have grown up to loathe the idea of fat in your body but fat is very important.
Fat is needed to process vitamins and minerals that you consume through your food. Unsaturated fat is healthier fat which you'll need if you want to grow muscles.
This is why consuming small amounts of it will help you grow more.
Muscle-Building Food That Should Be In Your Diet
There are a lot of nutrients that you need to consume if you want to build muscle.
As stated above, foods that are rich in protein, fat, and carbohydrates must be consumed in proper methods to enable the body to achieve proper muscle growth.
Here are some great examples of food that you should be in your meal plans for serious gains.
Eggs
Eggs contain very high-quality protein and healthy fats amongst many other essential nutrients.
Eggs have large amounts of amino acids that fuel your body to produce more muscles.
Salmon
Salmon is another healthy choice for food that is rich in protein.
A 3-ounce serving of salmon contains about 17 grams of protein and many other important nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 helps in muscular health and lowers inflammation during your exercise.
Chicken Breast
Plants are a staple of a muscle-building diet. Chicken breasts contain vitamin B, which is important for muscle growth.
Paired with regular physical activity, it's only a matter of time before your body begins to develop the muscles it needs.
Meal Plans for Serious Gains
When it comes to muscle-building diets, it can be very hard to come up with different meals to make your diet look fresh and interesting.
There will come a time when you'll be fed up with eating just eggs, chicken breasts, and salmon all day, every day.
Here are some meal plans for serious gains that you can do to inject some variety into your everyday meals.
Meal Plan A
Meal Plan A consists of a chocolate-peanut butter protein shake for breakfast which contains carbohydrates and protein to help fuel your body for work.
For lunch you can have a turkey wrap that has a ton of protein then by dinner, a serving of stuffed cabbage soup should suffice.
Meal Plan B
Meal Plan B still consists of the same protein shake for breakfast which should be a staple for your morning routine.
You can move to serving salmon or tuna melt for lunch then prepare a creamy chicken noodle casserole made of chicken breast for that end-of-the-day protein.
Meal Plan C
Meal Plan C continues the trend of having a protein shake, or you can mix it up by having egg muffins for breakfast.
This tasty and savory breakfast is loaded with proteins then your lunch can be salmon and avocados.
Both are high in protein and fat which is essential for your gym session later in the day. You can close the day by having lemon chicken for dinner.
Snacks
Snacks should also be served in between meals but they must be high in proteins.
You can munch on dry-roasted almonds, a peanut butter and banana snack, or indulge in low-fat Greek yogurt with some berries for snacks.
Conclusion
You can go to the gym multiple times in the day and wonder why you're not growing your muscles then realize you're not eating properly. This is why having meal plans for serious gains is more important than just going to the gym. Both diet and exercise as well as a lifestyle change help you achieve serious gains faster.
