Diet for Muscle Building

Today is an off day from the gym, so I decided to write about my diet for muscle building.

When it comes to any kind of food plan, one of the things I think is important is to understand how your body type responds to carbohydrates. Too many carbs on an endo type frame can spell faaaaaaat.

As many of you may already know, there are 3 body types.

Ectomorph - Skinny, difficult to put on weight. Can eat pretty much whatever they want without getting fat. For females, the envy of many.

Mesomorph - Naturally athletic frame/build, puts on muscle fairly easy. Some can probably gain muscle by simply pushing a lawnmower due to their genes.

Endomorph - Puts on fat easily but can also put on muscle easier than an ecto.

Me - I fit into the 75% Endomorph / 25% Mesomorph body type.

Since I've had the opportunity to work with 3 bodybuilding/weightlifting nutritionist during the last 5 years... I've gotten to know my body fairly well and how it reacts to certain types of food. Having primarily an Endomorph bodytype, I have learned that I respond best to minimizing my carbohydrate intake in my muscle building diets. Instead I will use healthy fats in their place during certain meals.

With that said, I try to separate my fats and carbs in the same meal as much as possible (unless I am having a "cheat meal"... which "usually" happens once or twice a week in my offseason diet). I do this to minimize any insulin spike that is caused by combining the two macros and potentially leading to unwanted fat being stored.

So my meals are "usually" protein / fat OR protein / carb. I'll call them P/F or P/C.

Here is what my diet for muscle building currently looks like during the offseason (when I'm trying to "bulk up", for lack of better term... although I don't really like the bulking / cutting way of looking at things).

My Diet on Weight Lifting Days

Meal 1 (P/C)
- 2 servings oatmeal (not the instant stuff)
- 1 cup blueberries mixed in the oats
- dash of cinnamon (for antioxidants and to increase insulin sensitivity)
- 2 scoops Whey Protein Isolate (chocolate flavor) poured over the oats and blueberries
- coffee with Stevia for sweetner
- Supplements: green tea capsule, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, 1/4 Aspirin (I'm over 40), Glucosamine MSM (for joints), Olive Leaf Extract capsule

Meal 2 (P/F)
- chicken breast or extra lean ground beef
- green vegetable (green beans or broccoli)
- 1 TBSP olive oil or 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter
- Supplements: green tea capsule, 3 fish oil tabs

Meal 3 (Pre-workout) (P/C)
- chicken breast or extra lean ground beef
- 200g Whole Wheat pasta (with a little tomato sauce) or Sweet Potato
- Supplements: green tea capsule, Vitamin C, Glucosamine MSM (for joints)

Workout with weights around 1-1/2 hrs after Meal 3, to allow for proper digestion.

During my workout I sip on 10g of branch chain amino acids (BCAA's), with 2.5g of Creatine and 4g Beta Alanine in my 1 liter workout bottle. Plain BCAA's taste like ASS if you've ever had them. Some people like to mix some crystal lite in with BCAA's... I prefer to use a product called Xtend. There are a few different flavors available... Green Apple Xtend is my favorite by far.

Meal 4 (1st Post-workout meal) (P/C)
- 1 cup sugary kids cereal (Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms... something like that)
- 2 scoops Whey Protein Isolate
- Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Olive Leaf Extract... for antioxidants
Note: I like to use kid's cereal at this time when I am most responsive to high glycemetric carbs.. to drive the protein in, which is important for recovery.

Meal 5 (2nd Post Work-out meal) (P/C)
- chicken breast with whole wheat pasta or potato
- green leafy vegetable
- Calcium/Magnesium supplement with Extra Vitamin D (for proper absorption of the calcium)

Meal 6 (at least an hour before bedtime) (P/F)
- chicken breast
- 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter
- Supplements: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Glucosamine MSM (for joints), 3 fish oil tabs

I aim for 1.25-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight in my diet for building muscle.

I try to keep my carbs to breakfast and around my weight lifting workouts, when my body uses them up the best.

When I'm not so active (I'm usually sitting on my butt at work) I try to keep my meals to P/F meals, as my body doesn't need a lot of carbohydrates during this time.

So, if I worked out first thing in the morning (rather than after 3 meals as above)... I would have a P/C meal for breakfast, lift weights, then 2 P/C meals following.. and then switch to P/F meals for the remainder of my meals.

My Diet on Non-Weightlifting Days

On days that I do not lift weights, I aim for burning fat with cardio first thing in the morning to get my metabolism roaring for the day and to try to keep fat gains at bay from all the food I'm eating to build muscle. Visit here for some additional weight loss tips.

So here is what I eat on those days:

Pre-cardio: coffee with Stevia, green tea, Vitamin C and E

Meal 1 (P/C)
- 2 servings oatmeal
- 1 cup blueberries mixed in the oats
- dash of cinnamon (for antioxidants and to increase insulin sensitivity)
- 2 scoops Whey Protein Isolate over the berries and oats
- coffee with Stevia for sweetener
- Supplements: green tea capsule, Coenzyme Q10, 1/4 Aspirin (I'm over 40), Glucosamine MSM (for joints), Olive Leaf Extract capsule

Meal 2 (P/F)
- chicken breast or extra lean ground beef
- a green vegetable (green beans or broccoli)
- 1 TBSP olive oil or 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter
- Supplements: green tea capsule, 3 fish oil tabs

Meal 3 (P/F)
- 2 scoops protein powder
- 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter or some flavored peanuts
- Supplements: green tea capsule, Vitamin C, Glucosamine MSM (for joints), 3 fish oil tabs

Meal 4 (P/F)
- chicken breast or extra lean ground beef
- a green vegetable (green beans or broccoli)
- 1 TBSP olive oil or 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter
- Supplements: Vitamin C

Meal 5 (P/F)
- 2 scoops protein powder
- 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter or some flavored peanuts
- Supplements: Calcium/Magnesium supplement with Extra Vitamin D (for proper absorbtion of the calcium)

Meal 6 (at least an hour before bedtime) (P/F)
- chicken breast
- 1-1/2 TBSP peanut butter
- Supplements: green tea capsule, Vitamin C, Glucosamine MSM (for joints), 3 fish oil tabs

I try to keep protein a little higher on off days due to the fact that there is less carbs on this day. Protein stays closer to 1.5g per lb of body weight on these days.

I'll be getting into how I figure out exactly how much food I need to eat on my diet for muscle building soon...