When people set out to build muscle, they often concentrate most on which workout routines will be offer the biggest gains, which exercise machines will result in the fastest improvements, and which gyms offer the best value for the money. And to be honest, it is important to work out in the right ways (here at Human Body Knowledge, we’re big proponents of calisthenics for beginners) for your fitness goals. And if you are at the advanced level of body sculpting that truly requires you to use exercise machines to progress, then yes, it makes sense to shop around and get the best prices on gym memberships.
But what so many would-be fitness fanatics miss as they journey along, pumping iron dutifully and even passing muscle milestones and beating personal records along the way, is how much of a difference their diet will make. Diet alone is typically not a make-or-break proposition when it comes to building muscle, but it can make a huge difference in the amount of time it will take you to gain serious muscle mass.
And the faster you build muscle, the easier it will be for you to stay motivated and keep working out more, leading to even bigger gains down the line.
For this article, we’ve come up with four different variations on a theme. We started with the basics: a sample menu of what you would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a meat-eater looking for serious weight gain. Next we did the same for those of you who want to build muscle but also want to lose weight (especially fat) at the same time. Finally we changed it up significantly for people who want to harness the power of a muscle building diet without eating meat and fish or, in the case of vegans, any animal products whatsoever.
In the case of all of these, note that we don’t state specific quantities. This is because we have many different readers of many different proportions, and the exact serving size will vary for each of you. Please take a look at the entire day’s menu and size each meal to fit your own personal caloric and protein-intake needs. And although it isn’t listed in any of these sample muscle building diet menus, don’t forget to take a protein shake right after your daily workouts.
(Note that these recommendations are given based on the dietary needs of a prototypical male athlete, age 25 – 35, of average height and average healthy build. Before you implement any plan outlined below for yourself, take into account what your current diet is like and make the necessary conversions from this outline to your proportions so that you don’t overload your kidneys with too much protein or gain fat from too many calories. And as always, before making any drastic changes to your diet or workout routine, consult your physician. In any event, please don’t sue us.)
Weight Gain Sample Menu
If you want your shirt to burst at the shoulder seams and don’t mind eating a few turkeys and cows to get there, this muscle building diet is for you.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with slices of lean grass-fed steak and pinto beans
Late-morning snack: Lean turkey sausage
Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat; boiled eggs
Afternoon snack: Egg salad sandwich using leftover boiled eggs
Dinner: Broiled chicken with oregano; baby spinach salad with almonds
Weight Loss/Body Sculpting Sample Menu
Losing weight while building muscle is one of the hardest challenges you’ll ever face. This menu should give you some good ideas to help you stare down that difficulty and beat it into the ground.
Breakfast: Scrambled egg whites with lean turkey sausage
Late-morning snack: Peanut butter on apple slices
Lunch: Tuna salad over baby spinach
Afternoon snack: Leftover tuna salad
Dinner: Firm tofu stir-fry with asian vegetables over a bed of twice-rinsed quinoa, with ginger teriyaki sauce drizzled over the top
Vegetarian Sample Menu
All right, vegetarians. Don’t think you have it rough just because you don’t eat meat. This diet will show you a thing or two about easy alternative protein sources.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with black beans, onions and cheese; guacamole
Late-morning snack: Egg salad on whole-wheat toast
Lunch: Falafel (or raw chickpea), navy bean, and black-eyed-pea pita with cheddar cheese and mixed greens in whole-wheat pita pocket; caprese salad with lots of skim mozzarella cheese
Afternoon snack: Leftover caprese salad
Dinner: Cheese enchiladas with bell peppers and olives
Vegan Sample Menu
Vegan and bodybuilding? That takes some serious commitment. Vegans have a challenge to get enough protein to build muscle, but we’re here to help.
Breakfast: Soy chorizo with bell peppers and onions; vegetarian refried black beans
Late-morning snack: Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast
Lunch: Baby spinach salad with corn and plenty of chickpeas and kidney beans, with Veganaise-based dressing; whole grain pasta salad with olive oil
Afternoon snack: Raw almonds and carrot sticks with black bean hummus
Dinner: Firm tofu stir-fry with asian vegetables over a bed of twice-rinsed quinoa, with ginger teriyaki sauce drizzled over the top
And there you have it. Who said diets had to be dreaded? Remember, a consistent, enjoyable diet is a diet you can commit to. Now all this food talk has made us hungry. Until next time…
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