When creating their bodybuilding diet, many bodybuilders are facing issues with the the choice of bodybuilding foods to eat. This is why, in this article we compiled a bodybuilding foods list from which you can create a full diet plan and start building some quality muscle mass.
Most products you can buy on the market, contain a combination of protein, fats, and carbohydrates, so the classification of bodybuilding foods is performed conventionally only by giving emphasis on certain macro-nutrients and their amounts in the particular food.
Try not to eat the same food for long periods of time and in large quantities, or you just might develop aversion to it. Try to alternate the products, and diversify your diet as much as your conditions allow it.
Protein Rich Bodybuilding foods
Protein-rich foods are are not so many, when you think about it. However they are essential if you want to build muscle. Here are the most popular and affordable high protein foods, often used by bodybuilders.
1. Meat – choose lean meats. Poultry is preferable as it contains very little fat and is easy to digest. Next are the lean beef, and rarely, lean cuts of pork.
2. Fish and other seafood. Fish is a good source of protein, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. You can freely add fatty fish such as salmon 2-3 times a week.
3. Eggs. Daily, you can eat 6-8 eggs including the yolks. Research has confirmed that if you have no health problems or already elevated blood cholesterol, the egg will not affect cholesterol levels in future.
4. Dairy products. Give preference to low-fat products. The most popular are cottage cheese, yogurt, milk (used rarely because of the lactose).
5. Legumes. Beans, beans, peas, mung bean, lentils – these are the most important vegetable protein sources, though vegetable protein’s value is lower than that of other products. Lentils and chickpeas contain a significant amount of BCAA. Soy is not specifically included in this list, because these days soy products are often genetically modified. Besides are not recommended to use soy because of its hormonal activity.
6. Nuts – they not only contain protein, but also good amounts of valuable unsaturated fatty acids.
Carbohydrate rich bodybuilding foods
1. Cereals.
– Cereals contain slowly digestible carbohydrates, protein, as well as minerals and vitamins. The most useful cereals: buckwheat, barley, oats, rice, millet, corn, wheat.
– Pasta and noodles. Give preference to products made out of wheat flour and durum wheat.
– Bread. Skip the bread made from refined flour and eat whole wheat bread.
Flakes and muesli are a good way to diversify the menu of the athlete.
2. Vegetables and mushrooms.
– You should limit all starchy vegetables such as potatoes, boiled or stewed carrots and beets (except after training). The most useful are fresh vegetables, as they contain the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables should be combined with almost every protein meal because they help the digestion of animal protein, they are a source of the necessary amounts of fiber.
– Mushrooms give the dish flavor and taste, but nutrition wise, the protein they contain has very low biological value.
3. Fruits.
Fruits are very useful if you eat them in reasonable quantities. You should eat fruits like grapes, pears, bananas, persimmons in moderate amounts as they contain a lot of simple sugars.
Healthy Fats for Bodybuilding
Omega 3 fatty acids have many benefits for your health, immune system and muscle (they help in production of crucial hormones such as testosterone). The main source of healthy fats should be seafood. Some people can’t eat seafood and in that case a good idea would be to use supplements to get your omega 3 fats.
