What To Eat To Gain Weight

What to eat to gain weight? Of course, eating and gaining lean muscle can’t exist without each other. But eating the same thing every day gets boring. It's also not healthy. Each protein source has a somewhat different combination of amino acids. By varying the types of protein you eat, you provide the broadest spectrum of these vital nutrients for muscle growth. Vegetables and fruits also have different vitamin and mineral profiles. A variety of foods will help ensure a well-balanced diet and could even boost your testosterone level.

Athletes are creatures of habit. Once they develop a diet that works, they often stick with it for extended periods. This can make preparation easier because you can cook up large batches of baked chicken breasts and other favorites at once. It can also provide a stable intake of calories as long as your daily portions remain constant. However, eating the same foods all of the time can actually hurt your progress. You need to include a variety of different proteins and carbohydrates in your diet program. So, eating and gaining lean muscle effectively is not easy.

Eating Protein To Gain Weight…

Each protein source has its own unique blend of amino acids. Even complete proteins contain variations in their amino acid compositions, which is part of the reason why proteins have different Biologic Values. Yet, you can't rely solely on Biologic Value to determine your protein selections. Whey, for example, has a value of 104 but has less glutamine and arginine than casein or soy with their values in the 70s. In order to ensure a full spectrum of all of the amino acids, you need to eat a variety of different foods, including chicken, turkey, fish, dairy products, soy, and even lean beef or pork occasionally. You must select protein sources with a low fat content, of course, but make it a point to vary what you eat.

The same principle applies to vegetables and other carbohydrates when gaining lean muscle. Each source of carbohydrates has its own unique blend of nutrients, including essential vitamins and minerals. Fiber content also varies among the edible parts of plants. Although starchy carbs such as pasta, potato, rice, and grains have lower nutrient profiles than vegetables, even these carbohydrates should be alternated in your diet program.

Meal Variety When You're Eating To Gain Weight…

Another way to add variation to your diet is to use seasonings. Spices and herbs are full of flavor, but have no calories. They titillate your taste buds and make your meals something special. With a change in seasoning, you can create a delicious meal in a few minutes that will be a welcome break from eating the same thing all of the time.

There's more to meal variety than just keeping your mind interested in eating. It can actually impact your hormone levels. Sometimes athletes eat a diet consisting largely of protein. A study by Anderson compared the hormonal response of a high-protein diet (44 percent of total calories) with a diet that contained a moderate level of protein and more carbohydrates (70 percent of the total). The high-carbohydrate diet produced a higher level of testosterone and a lower level of Cortisol than this high-protein diet. So, when you provide your body with a variety of carbohydrates and limit your protein consumption, you not only get more nutritious and enjoyable meals, you could also boost your supply of a major anabolic hormone while reducing the quantity of a catabolic hormone. Yet another reason to make variety a founding principle of your diet program.