weight-loss-foods

The Best Foods For Bodybuilders

When you look at performance diets, at first they seem cluttered, expensive and all around fancy, however that is not the case.

They have a few key components that are vital to your bodily functions and the ingredients are actually pretty simple.

If you eat the correct food at the correct time, your body will make great use of it and use it to improve your shape and health as well.

If you haven’t been aware of these foods, which you probably have since you’re on the internet, run straight to your nearest market and don’t look back.

Let’s take a peek at some of these delicious foods to see what exactly is it that makes them so great.

Egg whites

When you look at any decent bodybuilder’s diet, you will notice lots of egg whites included in lots of recipes. If you’re trying to be a bodybuilder and you’re not eating egg whites, not only are you missing out but you’re also falling short of your potential goals.

Egg whites are some of the best readily available proteins, and adding some oatmeal to an omelet made of egg whites will give you a meal full of nutrients that will keep you going until your next meal.

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When you’re shopping for eggs, you need to check a few things to make sure you’re getting the best product. First, you need to check the expiration date and make sure that you’re buying healthy, solid eggs without any cracks in them.

Also, the place you’re shopping from needs to have the eggs refrigerated for best quality, so make sure to refrigerate them when you get home too. If your eggs are not refrigerated, granted, they won’t make you sick but you’ll be losing a degree of quality daily, so make sure to throw them in the fridge.

How to cook eggs ?

There are lots of ways to separate the egg whites from the yolks, including all kinds of gadgets and contraptions. However, the easiest and most efficient method without getting any extra dishes to wash is to just use your own fingers.

Make sure you wash your hands to avoid any unnecessary unpleasantries and crack the eggs into a medium-sized bowl. This recipe is for a six-egg-white omelet, so crack six eggs and then reach in with your clean fingers and pull out the yolks with a very light touch.

Unless someone else in your house wants them, throw them away – you won’t need them. Throw some salt, pepper and possibly some spices in the egg whites and whisk it all together.

You need to whisk the mixture until some bubbles pop up – that’s how you’re going to know that it’s done. Take a medium sized nonstick skillet and evenly distribute some cooking spray on it.

Then, put it on a high heat and put the mixture into the skillet. After 15-20 seconds, you will need to reduce the heat to a medium level so you don’t burn your food.

Afterwards, take a spatula and gently pull in on the edges, slightly tilting the skillet so the uncooked egg whites can slide underneath the cooked part. Do this around the entire pan until you are left with a mostly solid result.

After that, fold your freshly made omelet in thirds so that it looks kind of like a letter being folded to fit in a standard business envelope. Slap that delicious omelet on your plate (make sure you don’t drop it!) and eat it immediately.

This recipe has about a hundred calories with 21 grams of protein and two grams of carbohydrates. If you do the math you can see that 23 grams of the whole thing will be pure nutrients, with the remaining 7 grams for everything else. Pretty good!

London broil or top round steak

When it comes to meat, everyone immediately reaches for the chicken, however if you get a lean cut of red meat you will be filling yourself up with much more complete protein and your gym endurance will be way better if you’re trying to gain more muscle.

You can find London broil at most markets, but make sure that you buy it when it’s completely unspoiled – if it has even a slight brownish tint to it, then it’s starting to go bad.

Make sure to buy only purely bright-red cuts. If you’re opting for the steak or roast, make sure it’s at least an inch thick and has a low quantity of visible fat. This way, you’re getting the best out of your steak.

How to cook top round steak ?

You need to preheat any regular grill to its maximum level. First, take the steak or roast and remove any visible slabs of fat from it so that you don’t fill up on garbage.

Cut the meat into four to six ounce pieces and season it with your favorite marinade, spice rub and of course salt and pepper. Put it on your preheated grill and cook for a minimum of three and a maximum of six minutes per side, or just however you like it.

If you like it rare, it will take less time, if you like it well done, it will take more. A four ounce piece of steak will have 138 calories when cooked, with 24 grams of that being protein and 4 grams being fat. Delicious!

Salmon fillets

When shopping for food without any unhealthy fats, you want to get anything with the adequate amount of protein and also some unsaturated fats, which are good for your body. This means that you want to buy salmon.

Some bodybuilders avoid salmon because it has some fat in it and they’re on super-low-fat diets, however if you want to get your fill of healthy fats you want to include certain fish in your diet.

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You can find Atlantic salmon in almost every grocery store or market and it’s also relatively cheap. Fresh salmon will be bright orange and won’t emit a strong smell, nor will it feel slimy and slippery.

When you can, choose thick cuts of the fish because of all the action the tail gets when the fish is alive. This means that tail meat will be tougher than the rest of the fish.

How to cook salmon fillets?

In order to eat any fish, first you must remove the bones. If you buy fillets that shouldn’t be a problem because they are boneless by default, but if the factory missed some bones make sure to pluck them out so that you don’t choke.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and put the four to six ounce fillet on a pan or baking sheet with your favorite seasoning. If you don’t want to wash any dishes afterwards, put some aluminum foil on the pan before putting the fish on it.

After you’re done eating, just throw the foil in the bin. You will need to bake the fish for 10 to 14 minutes, depending on which way you want it.

When it’s ready to eat, it will be pink in the center and you will be able to pull it apart with a fork. This meal has 23 grams of protein and 12 grams of fat, when cooked with a four ounce fillet.

Chicken breasts

Ahh, the famous chicken breasts. Eaten by everyone and anyone, bodybuilders and non-workout people alike. Most people who have ever been in a gym and watched their diets have eaten chicken breasts for their nutritional benefits regularly.

It has a high protein content and a low fat content, so along with a very mild and somewhat sweet taste, chicken meat has a place on this list.

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When you buy chicken breast and you want to save some money, go to the freezer section and pick out skinless, boneless pieces and get them in bulk.

Raw chicken meat is supposed to be kind of pink, not white. If the chicken is white that means it was refrigerated improperly or it has experienced freezer burn, and you definitely don’t want to eat that.

Leave it to defrost over night in your fridge and when you get it out make sure it doesn’t smell or feel slimy and disgusting.

How to cook chicken breasts?

Mostly everyone has cooked chicken in their life. First, preheat your grill to the highest possible temperature. Then, chop off any fat that you can see on your meat and put some spices, sauces, seasonings on it, or just drop it in a marinade.

Put the prepared chicken on your grill. You should hear a sizzling sound, which means you did it right.

After that, turn down the heat to the lowest possible temperature. Cook it for 4-6 minutes and then flip it and give it that much again. It will be ready when it is not pink anymore in the center or when you stick a thermometer in the thickest part, it will read at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

A six ounce cut of chicken breast will have 205 calories, of which 28 grams will be protein and 4 grams will be fat. It will be tasty!

Sweet potatoes

When you want to build a healthy, muscular physique you need more than just protein. You also need lots of carbohydrates to fuel your body so that it can train as hard as its potential will let it, and sweet potatoes are perfect for that role.

They have lots of simple and fast-acting carbs that will give your system enough energy without pushing it too far. Professional bodybuilders use them before a contest to fill out any depleted muscle tissue, but if you’re just a regular Joe going to the gym, they can be a great source of carbs and an important part of your dieting or bulking tactic.

When you buy sweet potatoes, consider the fact that there are two types of potatoes readily available – the first type is white and it looks like a normal baking potato, while the second type is darker with orange insides full of all the nutrients you need.

When you’re picking out a sweet potato from the shop, check its surface for any irregularities, as they’re supposed to be smooth with firm, unblemished and unbruised skin.

You want to get the small to medium sized potatoes because they will usually have a better taste than the bigger ones.

How to cook sweet potatoes ?

Potatoes, as you may know are very simple to cook. Just preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and clean your potatoes. This is done by scrubbing them with a veggie brush under a stream of cold water, which will remove any dirt from it.

Dry it up with a paper towel and make a few holes in it with a fork. Put it on the lower rack of the oven and bake it for about an hour. This applies to potatoes usually eight to twelve ounces in size.

If you pierced it with a fork, cook it until it’s soft. An 8 ounce sweet potato will have 240 calories out of which 4 grams will be protein and 55 grams will be carbs, but it will also have a gram of fat and 7 grams of fiber. A great all-around mea

Pork tenderloin

While you will usually hear all kinds of people say that pork is not acceptable to eat while dieting, this is just wrong. It has a lot more flavor than regular chicken and if you select the correct cut it will have almost as much fat as one too.

It packs a really big dose of protein as well. When buying pork, make sure to go for the pork tenderloin as that is the best part – the filet mignon of pork. It’s by far the leanest piece of the pig, as well as the tenderest. Pork tenderloin will usually be sold pre-packed and wrapped in plastic.

It will have a date on it so make sure you aren’t buying meat that is about to expire or even worse, has already expired. The piece you will be looking for will have very little visible fat or gristle, it will feel firm and have a dimmed pink color.

If the meat is kind of grey or dry, put it back and pick a different one.

How to cook pork tenderloin?

First, you need to clean your meat. Since you purchased a lean cut, there shouldn’t be too much fat on it, but if there is, trim it off. Put the cut of meat in a marinade of your choosing for one hour up to a full night and stick it in the fridge.

You can also coat it with a spice rub if you prefer that. When it’s time to cook, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Take a skillet and put some nonstick spray on it, slap the meat on there and put it on some very high heat.

Wait until it’s brown on both sides, which will take about a minute each and then put it in a baking dish. Put the baking dish in your oven and wait until your meat thermometer measures 155 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you don’t trust your thermometer, make sure that the meat is a little bit pink inside – this will take anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes depending on the meat.

Slice it up and eat it hot, it’s going to be delicious. There will be 136 calories in a 4 ounce serving, out of which 24 grams will be protein and 4 grams will be fat. It will rock your world!

Asparagus

Remember when everyone told you to eat your veggies at the dinner table so that you could grow? They were right! Vegetables need to be a significant part of your diet if you’re going to improve your physique and asparagus is right at the very top of the list.

Other awesome vegetables are broccoli and spinach but asparagus has a special property – it drains the excess water from your body. This means that bodybuilders use it to tighten up their bodies before getting up on stage.

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It makes them look and feel better as well, since it removes extra weight. When you buy asparagus, make sure that whatever the form, it has a bright green color.

Its surface shouldn’t have any bruises or blemishes, and the buds shouldn’t be wilting or drying up – they should be closed very tightly. When you buy it, you have three days to cook it and eat it before it changes its taste.

How to cook asparagus?

First, you will need to clean your vegetable. If you bought slim stalks, just cut off the base, but if you bought thick ones just peel the base a little in order to not throw away any delicious goodies.

You can do this by putting a spear of asparagus flat on its side, then peeling the lower half. Rotate the spear until all of the lower half is peeled and the base is about as thick as the widest part of the tip. After that, get a pan that will fit the spears, put an inch of water in it and some salt, then put it on high heat until the water boils.

When the water boils, put in the spears with the tips on the same end and boil them for up to 4 minutes if the spears are thin and up to 6 minutes when they’re thicker. Also, you can boil them until they’re nice and crisp, with a tender feel.

Take them out of the water, slap them on your place and consume while they’re hot. A 4 ounce serving of asparagus will have about 27 calories with three grams of protein, five grams of carbs, a gram or less of fat and two grams of fiber.

Asparagus makes the perfect side to any meal and will give especially delicious flavor if properly prepared beforehand. You can also season it with anything you wish after it’s done cooking but I wouldn’t recommend messing up the flavor.

In the end, it’s your choice to make and it will taste delicious either way with the previously mentioned pork tenderloin, chicken breasts or any type of steak.


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