If you’ve been looking for a muscle building meal plan to go along with your workout program, read on. The role of nutrition for muscle building is crucial. It plays a very important role in the body’s growth and recovery processes. To extract as much as possible from your meals they should be well balanced and well spaced throughout the day. Structuring meals like this allows the body to better absorb the nutrients and there is less stress on the digestive system.
Protein is vital for muscle growth. It’s a well known fact that if you are weight lifting you will need to consume more protein. It plays a crucial role in the recovery and building of muscle tissue. It is absolutely required by the body to repair and build new muscle tissue. Physiological stresses caused by intense weight training leads to nitrogen loss. To grow and get stronger the body must be in a positive nitrogen balance. This means eating protein every 2-3 hours. For optimum growth you should be ingesting approximately 30-50 grams of protein, 4-7 times a day. This is dependent upon your present weight and the quality of the protein you are ingesting.
Good sources of protein are lean red meat, whole eggs, dairy products, fish and chicken. A high quality protein supplement can also be used, such as whey protein or a good milk and egg mix. High quality protein supplements are absorbed well by the body and do not take as long to digest. In addition to protein, add a multivitamin and creatine to your diet.
Here’s an example of a 1-day muscle building meal plan which I can recommend:
Meal #1 Oatmeal or shredded wheat w/milk, 2-6 Eggs – use 1/2 yolks, 2 Slices of Whole grain toast
Meal #2 Protein drink, 8-12 ounces milk, 1/2 – 1 banana, 1-2 scoops protein powder
Meal #3 Lean Red meat, Baked potato or rice, 8-12 ounces of milk
Meal #4 1-2 cans of Tuna, 2-4 slices whole grain bread, Lite or no-fat mayonnaise, 1 banana, 8-12 ounces milk
Meal #5 Large plate of pasta 3-4 ounces, lean ground beef, small salad w/oil and vinegar dressing, 8-12 ounces of milk
Meal #6 Lean red meat or chicken, 1-3 baked potatoes, 1 serving of mixed vegetables, 8-12 ounces of milk
This diet will provide roughly between 3500-5500 calories depending on the size of the portions. You may need to adjust the calories upwards or downwards, depending on your present weight and training program.
Here are some general tips to increase calories:
1) Eat larger portions
2) Use a weight gain supplement
3) Use 2% or whole milk
4) Eat more red meat
5) Focus on high calorie foods
It cannot be stressed enough the importance of being as consistent as possible about your diet. Do not skip meals, or eat poorly. Your workouts will suffer with poor nutrition. If you are a hardgainer struggling to build muscle and put on weight, then this muscle building meal plan is a good starting point. If you have muscle building meal plans which has worked well for you, feel free to share it in the comments below. It’s always good having variety with your meals.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Good advice. Thanks
I am 21yrs old, 5ft 9″ and 138lbs. How many calories do i need? I don’t want to be a body builder but gain weight to be average good looking body. I know how to work out but am really confused on the food. Can u give me a 5 meal plan, preferably less eggs and less milk. And is chicken breast good too? Is a dinner of 200g chicken/beef/salmon enough with the meats since it’s too expensive to eat meats three times a day.
Here’s my diet plan of around 4000 calories which will also help the above poster…
When rising – 30g Protein, 50g porrage oats, banana nesquick in a shake with water – calories approx 300
9am – Breakfast – two slices of wholemeal toast, multi vitamin, omega 3 tablet, – calories approx 220, optional 2 eggs
1030am – Preworkout – 1 banana
1200pm – Post workout – 30g protein + 40g Dextrose with water, plus weight gain shake (50g powdered milk, 25g banana nesquick, 100g porrage oats in water) calories approx 1200
2pm – 100g chicken breast, 100g wholemeal pasta/rice, mixed veg, cashew nuts – calories approx 680
5pm – 100g salmon, 100g baby/sweet potatoes, mixed veg, brazilian nuts – calories approx 850
8pm – 1 slice of wholemean toast with peanutbutter or beans, almonds – calories 390
10pm – wholemeal roll with ham slices or tuna, calories approx 200
Just before bed – Protein shake, calories approx 120
approx 4000 calories
Protein – 260g
Carbs – 410g
Fat – 105g
I also have flaxseed oil or grape seed oil to cook the salmon in foil in the oven, cud also use a sauce with the chicken & pasta! this this meal plan your only having 2 main meals, others are snacks! Hope this helped!