Creating a healthy balance in every meal is one of the foundations of effective muscle building. While we may know that we need to include all of the macro-nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat), and some micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals), aswell as some fiber, getting the right balance in our eating is not straightforward; it‘s very easy to end up overeating one and not getting enough of another. If we try to be too precise about all this it would take forever to get a meal on the table, so let’s look at an easy way to get the optimum balance in every meal.
Protein is very important for everyone, not just for those on Atkins! There is still much debate about what proportion of a meal should constitute protein, but we find that the amount recommended by most governments is workable for most people in most situations. Your daily intake of protein should be about 0.4 grams for every pound of body weight, to work this out simply multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.4, this gives you the number of grams of protein you need in one day. If you eat four meals a day divide this figure by four to give you the number of grams of protein you need at each meal. Spreading out your protein intake in this way provides a number of far reaching physiological benefits. It does involve checking labels, and maybe weighing your food at the start, but it’s well worth it. With protein as the foundation of your balanced meal, let’s take a look at what we need to do about your carbs.
Getting the ‘right’ amount of carbohydrates is a much simpler matter than protein. You’ll get carbs from all the good stuff, namely grains, vegetables, and fruits. Including a lot of these three varieties of foods also takes care of your micro-nutrient intake; the best way to ensure you’re getting a good mix is to include a lot of different colours on your plate. You don’t need to be as precise with how much carbohydrates you include in your meal, as long as you’ve got your protein down, and you don’t purposefully overeat, you’ll be fine.
You don’t need as much fat as you do protein, you’ll probably need a maximum of 20% of the total calories for your meal from fat. If you think your meal doesn’t have enough fat already, try drizzling some olive oil on; you’ll just need a bit though, as it’s calorie dense.
When you eat is an important additional consideration; try to plan your mealtimes to be at regular intervals, and be strict with yourself about keeping your eating to mealtimes only, just consuming water in the interim as required. This is especially relevant for those who struggle with binge eating, or compulsive overeating. If you suspect you have symptoms of eating disorders, such as those of anorexia, or of bulimia, then no written advice will really suffice and we strongly recommend that you speak to your doctor.
It should be noted that the above guidelines for balancing your eating are just approximations. In truth, there is no universal diet that is right for everyone; a diet high in red meat is genuinely healthy for some, but will take years off the lives of others. If you want to discover your metabolic type accurately then the Diet Solution Program is the place to go.
While we have attempted to uncover the secrets of what to eat to build muscle in this article, the advice presented is broad enough in its scope to be valid for the health of all people.
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