You’re probably already aware that you need to eat to gain muscle. However, most people looking to add muscle to their bodies are missing essential components of their nutrition that areactually the building blocks to building that muscle. How about we cover those components here.

Before we get started though, let’s make sure we’re both on the same page about the importance of your nutrition when it comes to gaining muscle mass.

Have you ever heard the saying, “You can’t out-train a bad diet?” Yes? No?…

Well in either case, it is most definitely true. Although most who are familiar with the saying, probably associate it with weight loss. But the truth is, it’s just as accurate a statement for gaining muscle as it is for losing weight. And that is because no matter how hard you work to achieve either goal, nutrition plays about a 75% to 80% role in helping you to have success an obtain optimal results in the quickest time possible.

If you don’t feel that to be true, you can probably stop reading this article now because you won’t find the rest of the information in here helpful. However, if we can agree on that, EXCELLENT! Keep reading because you’ll learn 3 critical factors that will help teach you how to eat to gain muscle. Those 3 factors come down to these nutritional fundamentals for adding muscle to your body. They are; what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat.

What to eat – in this article, the assumption is that you want to build muscle and keep the fat weight down. If that is true then your food consumption should consist of high quality products at appropriate proportions. That means your consumption should consist of whole foods as much as possible while avoiding high fat, refined, pre-packaged, high preservative foods that provide little nutrient value.

Consuming foods that are packed with quality proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fat nutrients are going to get you the results you want. For protein these foods include red meat, chicken, kidney beans, eggs, etc., just to name a few. Some of the great carbs you should consume are brown rice, potatoes, fresh vegetables, whole wheat pasta, etc. And for healthy fats you can ingest nut butters, nuts, avocados, canola oil, flax seed, etc.

Your portions of each nutrient will vary depending on your training regimen and the muscle building phase you are in. However, a ratio of 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% of healthy fats with get you started off on the right foot.

When to eat – timing your nutrient ingestion is one of the most important concepts of eating to gain muscle. Yet, it is also one of the most missed and misunderstood concepts as well. So let’s get some of the confusion cleared up here.

One thing to bear in mind at all times is...food is fuel for the body. This is the source of your body’s energy and helps maintain, repair, and restore the health of all the components that make up your “temple.” As a result, you need to consider the timing of your eating to make sure your body stays in optimal health and fully energized to perform when you want it to. That being said, here are some general rules of thumb for when to eat to gain muscle:

• approximately 1 hour prior to your workout • within 1 hour after your workout, (although eating as soon as possible after, prior to 1 hour is better). • eat 5 to 6 times throughout the day

How much to eat – Finding out how much to eat to build muscle is probably one of the most inquired about topics when it comes to eating to build muscle. The truth is…it does vary. The variance depends again on what phase of muscle building you are in, what your muscle building goals are, and how quickly you want to achieve them.

But as done above, here are some general rules of thumb that you can follow to help you on your way. Beginners should be consuming a minimum of 3,500 calories for men and 2,500 for ladies. The calorie count will increase from that point. In many cases for guys who are training optimally and already have several months of consistent training under their belt, a daily caloric intake of 6,000 to 6,500 calories will be required. For women, under those same circumstances, they could easily consume 3,500 to 4,000 calories.

Believing and understanding the importance of nutrition’s impact on your muscle building efforts is critical. This will help ensure you adhere to proper eating habits for effective muscle building. Combining these 3 fundamentals regarding the way you need to eat to gain muscle will help you on your way to achieving your goal of gaining muscle on your body. For best results, practice these eating habits consistently and you’ll be able to build muscle fast and effectively.