Fruits are an excellent food choice for people who lift weights and trying to gain weight. Despite being high in natural sugars, fruits are nutritionally very good for us. Simple carbs are also very concentrated, so they are an easy way to add calories.
I believe that fruits are the most underestimated part of a weight gain diet. Unfortunately, fruits are often overlooked by many people, especially the younger guys who think its all about protein intake. Protein is important for building muscle, but if you eat too much protein, your body will resort to using it for energy rather than building muscle. Not good! You want to get calories from other food sources like fruits (bananas and apples, for example) which are loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Even though you are lifting heavy weights to gain muscle mass, your body is required to prioritize its activities. Way down the list of priorities is building muscle. You need to keep the heart pumping and the organs working to stay alive. By eating fruits you supply your body with the vitamins and minerals necessary to keep you healthy. A healthy body with a strong immune system is conducive to getting more muscular, so make it a priority to eat more fruits. Here are five ways to include more fruit in your diet:
1. Eat fruit for breakfast
A fruit salad is the perfect for anytime of the day but is great for breakfast. Its a light meal and makes you feel good. I find the energy lasts a lot longer than traditional breakfasts like toast and cereal. To make a fruit salad, you can add apple, grapes, tomato, sultanas etc. Add whatever fruits you prefer really.
If you are in a bit of a rush in the mornings, you can also add it to cereal. Add a tonne of fruit to your cereal bowl with milk and honey. This will turn any ordinary cereal into something really tasty! A delicious breakfast that gives you everything you need.
2. Snack on fresh and dried fruit
When you are hungry try having fresh fruit like a banana, apple or dried fruit. Don’t always think about a can of coke or some hot chips. Think about eating some fruit they are great to snack on. One of my favorite fruit snacks is dried apricots I can’t get enough of them. Consider adding dried fruits to a nuts mix. It’s a really yummy and high calorie snack. You can even make your own dried fruit.
3. Add fruit to your weight gain shake
Adding fruit to weight gain protein shakes is a great way to get more vitamins and minerals after working out and will also help fill you up. Banana is best or any frozen fruits like strawberries and berries will add flavor and calories. These weight gain shake recipes should give you some ideas.
4. Fruit smoothies
A fruit and yogurt smoothie is a quick and easy way to get more fruit in your diet. After a workout its best to have a high protein weigh gain shake, but for other times of the day, a fruit smoothie is a great alternative. These fruit smoothie recipes should give you some ideas. No time to make one? There are a ton of those juice shops which provide juices and smoothies squeezed from pure fruit.
5. Drink fresh fruit juice
Fruit juice is more concentrated then eating the fruit itself, thus a good option when gaining weight to consume more calories. For example, one medium size orange contains about 60 calories, drinking a glass of orange juice contains about 160 calories.
And I don’t mean you should drink the juice you can buy at the supermarket. That fruit juice has been heated to temperatures that kill its nutritional value and has had preservatives added to stay on the shelf longer.
The type of fruit juice I am talking about is the real stuff that you make yourself – 100% natural fruit juice, where you add a variety of fruits into a juicer and drink it fresh. This is a much more healthful option then drinking supermarket fruit juice. In fact, not only is fruit juice a healthy and nutritious drink and easy way to get extra calories, but the juice diet has also gained momentum in the weight loss world.
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