Episode 24 – Nutrition tips for getting lean muscle mass
Do any of these sound familiar?
- “How do I put on weight?”
- “How do I increase my “gainz?”
- “How do I get more muscle mass?”
If you answered yes, read on. Let’s discuss my top tips for getting lean muscle mass through basic nutrition principles.
1. Eat a lot
Your body is in a state of homeostasis, which basically means your body is seeking to keep you in the same condition you are in now. Simply put, it’s trying to keep you the same. If you want to upset that balance to put on muscle consciously then you need to eat more than you’re currently doing and consistently. By doing this you put yourself in the best position to reset your current “homeostatic balance” by consciously “re-establishing a new homeostatic balance at a higher weight.” Does that make sense?
To make that simpler: provide yourself with more nutrients (through eating more). By having these building blocks readily available to be utilised, it is more likely to be converted into body tissue (such as muscle). If you can’t commit to this first tip then you won’t be in a position to put on weight and thus no progression from here.
How do you eat a lot?
Increase your portion sizes to add in those extra nutrients particularly energy dense options such as:
- Adding in oils to your meals
- Adding in milk (eg. Smoothies over juices)
- Nuts (add to salads)
- Eggs (add to soups, salads, sandwiches, rice, etc) to your meals or
- Choose energy dense foods over low energy dense options at mealtimes (eg. meats over breads or cream soup over water-based soups).
2. Eat often to eat more
This is an easier and probably more comfortable way to get in calories and nutrients. You can observe the success of this tip in bodybuilders as a population group. Yes, it’s more labour intensive – as you need to stop to eat every few hours – however, if you do this and do it consistently, you can place the balance in favour of gaining muscle and also make it easier to eat more calories and nutrients to support your exercise program.
How do you eat often?
Normally you’d eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Well, on top of those three meals, add in three mid-meals or snacks. So, mid-morning snack, mid-afternoon snack, and pre-bed snack. If you want to follow a bodybuilder track, you should try to eat at least six (6) meals within the day, every day. Some bodybuilder’s go up to eight (8) meals in a day. If you can do this, it’ll put you in the best position to gaining muscle.
Need more tips on getting lean muscle mass with nutrition? Read on below.
3. Balance all your nutrients – not just your macros
Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fat whereas micronutrients include but are not limited to: zinc, iron, calcium, copper, selenium, magnesium, manganese, on the mineral side and vitamins such as vitamin A, B-group vitamins, vitamins C, E, D and many others. These all need to be balanced in your diet as well. The best way to balance your nutrients is to eat from a variety of food groups and food selections within each food group on a daily, weekly and even seasonal basis.
Try these different food selections:
- Grains – sorghum, millet, quinoa
- Fruits – starfruit, grapefruit, kiwifruit
- Vegetables – sweet potato, zucchini, beetroots
- Meats – duck, ostrich, rabbit
- Legumes, nuts and beans – split peas, Brazilian nuts, and white beans
- Dairy – cheese, natural yoghurt, and custard
4. Keep consistent by keeping track
There are two basic ways to monitor and manage your intake objectively to keep yourself accountable:
Diet diary
As you progress and eat through the day, write the food down including information such as:
- Time
- Day
- Place
- How you felt (full or satisfied or both)
- Why you ate that food and so on.
24-hour diet recall
At the end of your day, write down all the things you ate at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and include snacks and drinks all in one go!
Micromanage yourself
At the end of the week, track your progress. Ask yourself questions such as,
- Did I consistently eat to hit and exceed my energy, macronutrient and micronutrient requirements?
- What worked well?
- If I wasn’t on track, why not?
Make those Gainz
Here are the top four (4) tips to keep in mind when aiming to get lean muscle mass with good nutrition.
1. Eat a lot
2. Eat often and eat more food
3. Ensure balance over all your nutrients
4. Keep consistent by keeping on track
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Need extra help?
- My PURITY Protocol is an amazing resource packed with 6 secrets to detox your life and supercharge your energy. It’s my personal wellbeing philosophy. Check it out here.
- The First Five Fitness program is a complete 35 day guide to nutrition, mindset, and fitness for beginners and intermediates AND it only takes five minutes blocks to start. Click here for details.
- Don’t know what or how to cook and prepare food?! Check out My Meals & Recipes book here. It’s packed with loads of practical, healthy and simple to make breakfast, lunch, dinner options as well as snacks and drinks.
- Want live coaching? Click here to contact me. I look forward to working with you soon.
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Feel free to watch the video!
Bibliography
- Chek, P. (2009) How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
- Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand (website): https://www.nrv.gov.au/ Accessed: December 2015 to January 2016
- Braun, L., Marc, C. (2005) Herbs & Natural Supplements: An evidenced-based guide, Churchill Livingstone
- Burke, L. Deakin, V (2005) Clinical Sports Nutrition (2nd Ed.) McGraw-Hill
- Duhigg, C. (2012) The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House
- Gropper, S., Smith, J., Groff, J. (2005) Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (4th Ed.), Thomson Wadsworth
- Kausman, R. (2004). If not dieting, then what? Allen & Unwin
- Mahan, L. Escott-Stump, S. (2004) Krause’s Food, Nutrition & Diet Therapy (11th Ed.) Saunders
- Williams, T., (2004) This=That: a life-sized photo guide to food serves
Chris Everingham lives and breathes health & fitness.
Hi, I’m Chris Everingham.
I’m sharing the holistic performance secrets that I both personally used to overcome racial scrutiny, escape poverty and depression, AND taught others so that they too could bring proven success and happiness into their lives.
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