Building and growing muscles aren’t as easy as they seem. Aside from working out and executing strenuous physical activities, you need to maintain a healthy diet that could efficiently help you gain muscles. Also, note that muscle-building may require you to take more calories to grow a pound of muscle and support protein turnover.
After your exercise routines, the best way to boost your muscle-building is to eat the right types of foods. You can also take snacks in between your breaks. Particularly, you can take protein ice cream, protein shakes, and other muscle-building snacks that could be great sources of nutrients and energy.
Snacks to Help Muscle Gain
The food you eat plays a vital role in the outcome of your muscle-building and workout activities. While some people would opt for taking fad and crash diets to achieve their purposes faster, some disadvantages could come from these options. So, the safest thing to do is to choose your foods well, including your pre-workout and post-workout snacks.
To help you more, here’s a list of some foods you can take to aid in your muscle-building:
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Potatoes
In some cases, fitness enthusiasts and gym-goers tend to avoid taking on carbohydrates and calories in fear of gaining weight. However, foods rich in carbs and calories are essential to gain more muscle. Even if you don’t like the idea, you can always opt for a low-carb diet that could help you gain sufficient amounts of nutrients your body needs.
Particularly, you can include eating potatoes in your diet snacks during or after your workouts to replenish the calories you burn. Considered as one of the cheapest and simplest alternatives, medium-sized red potatoes contain at least 25-30 grams of carbs that could best aid in your workout regime.
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Eggs
If you’re lacking some proteins and saturated fat, one of the ideal snacks you can take is a scrambled egg. Among the other protein-rich foods you can choose from, eggs have the highest protein components, which make them one of the best foods to eat after strenuous activities.
Not just that, but they’re also known for having a sufficient amount of nutrients that are perfect for your muscle building. For instance, scrambled eggs may have 75 calories, 7 grams of protein, and 1.6 grams of saturated fat. It also has minerals, iron, vitamins, and carotenoids, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin.
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Oats
Talking about getting a sufficient amount of carbohydrates, you can consider taking on oats and other types of healthy cereals. Aside from containing high-quality fiber and vital nutrients, oats also prove to be a great source of carbohydrates. With just a cup of oats, you can gain up to 50 grams of carbs and 6 grams of fiber.
Apart from that, they’re also low-cost and versatile. Unlike other types of muscle-building snacks, you can take ready-to-eat oats anywhere you go.
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Non-Fat Yogurt
If you’re thinking about the other alternatives to include in your muscle-building diet, you can also consider taking yogurt. Besides helping your recover the calories you burn during a workout, a single-serve non-fat yogurt could provide up to 17 grams of protein and 20 grams of calories.
Taking on non-fat yogurts could also help fill up the nutrients and minerals you lose during prolonged workout sessions. If you like, you can also make your recipe for non-fat yogurt. Just add honey, fresh berries or chocolate chips, and protein in your ordinary cup of yogurt for an energizing snack filled with protein and carbs.
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Grilled Chicken Strips
After losing many calories during your workout sessions, the last thing you’d like to do is take on fatty foods. To better assuage your hunger, you can consider eating grilled chicken strips. Usually, these strips could give you at least 16 grams of lean protein and 82 calories. Paired with a small amount of hummus and some veggies, these snacks would make for a scrumptious, low-calorie snack that could aid in your muscle gain.
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Cottage Cheese
If you love to work out at night, this alternative is for you. Although some people would prefer other types of healthy snacks to accompany their workout session, taking cottage cheese doesn’t fall short of boosting your muscle growth and muscle gain.
Particularly, this food could enhance your hydration with its sodium components. Not to mention their electrolytes, cottage cheese also contains casein, which is a form of protein. With just a single cup, you can gain up to 28 grams of proteins from a slice of cottage cheese.
When looking for a snack that could help your muscle building, always remember to choose foods that best suit your needs. Apart from that, you should also consider their nutritional components. Also, don’t forget fluids for proper rehydration. You can also consider the foods listed above in your diet. Through them, you can effectively gain more muscles.