The science of nutrition in building muscles

No doubt you've read my previous post on what is necessary to building muscles but now lets talk about the nutrition aspect. Everyday we are bombarded with countless number of ads promising us to lose X amount of pounds in a certain amount of time. There are hundreds of diets out there claiming to work. I'll let you in on a secret there is none when it comes to losing fat and building muscle.

There are three components when it comes to good nutrition first theres protein, carbohydrates and yes fats. Fats is the part that often gets overlooked and I don't mean the bad fat which is found in butter and many animal sources but the good fats found in fish( omega 3's, peanut butter, avocados and papayas. Yes these fats are natures true fats designed to loosen your internal organs.

Also carbs have gotten a bad rap as of late. But have you noticed when you go on a low carb diet your energy depletes and you are even hungrier. They key is seperating the good carbs and the not so good ones. Here in hawaii what does everyone eat with every meal. Yes you guessed white rice. Although eating white rice has its benefits its low glycemic meaning it will only spike you insulin levels acting as a sugar . Stay away from that opt for brown rice instead. The general rule of thumb is to stick with whole grain and brown carbs.

Proteins are a must if you want to achieve a lean and muscular physique, but if taken in excess your body stores it as fat. In fact anything taken in excess becomes waste or fat. If you take a glass of water What happens when you fill it past the top. Yes it spills over causing a mess. Well our bodies are exactly the same anything in excess spills over. I know what your thinking your saying well Matt do I have to starve myself the answer is no.

The traditional meal plan is 3 square meals a day. Well what often happens is that you are so hungry between meals that you tend to over eat at theses meals. So the best way to get the best results is to spread it evenly to six meals a day. Yes I did say six meals a day. What this does is it keeps your body in a anabolic state as opposed to a catabolic state. You ever wonder why your stomach feels sore and hungry in the morning. Its because you were in a catabolic state asleep all night.

So what is the best way to ensure that your body is getting the right nutrition. First of all cut the refined foods and sugars in your diet and replace them with fresh fruit. If its sugar your craving go eat a handful of fresh deliciuos red strawberries. Even if its chocolate you are craving and just have to have it opt for the dark chocolate because dark chocolate believe it or not is filled with rich antioxidants that help fight off many diseases.

Heres a diet plan that I follow as well please note that portion sizes vary with each individual based on their fitness goals.

Breakfast:

Eggs, oatmeal or cereal, fresh fruit ( note the everyday kid cereals like cinnamon toast crunch is drenched in needless amounts of excess sugar opt for whole grain cereals like total, raisin bran or my favorite "life")

Midmorning

Protein Shake or Granola Bar and Fruits

Lunch

Chicken Breast, Vegetables, Brown Rice

Afternoon Snack

Protein Shake or Meal Replacement Drink

Dinner

Baked Fresh fish, asparagus and rice or 1/2 baked potatoe

Pre Sleep meal.

Casein Protein Shake ( which is a slower digestibng protein to fight off the dreaded state of catabolism)

This diet combined with regular exercise will help you to achieve not only the body you want but the longterm health benefits. By eating healthier and smarter we only benefit ourselves in everything we do in life. The saying you are what you eat is so true. The biggest mistake anyone can make to lose weight is not too eat. You throw your metabolism off when you do this. Your body will say to itself the next time it eats that I have to store this food instead of burning it off because I don't know when the next meal will be. Thus in effect making you store unwanted fat. So the key to rasing your metabolism is eating the right foods at the right time