Build Muscles Faster by Eating These More; No, not expensive supplements

You can get these anywhere!

Rukaya_N.
Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO
3 min readJul 24, 2024

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One of my new year resolutions was starting my fitness journey and hitting the gym, but I didn’t get started till June. Why? Because the whole affair was so confusing to me at the time, especially the meal plan part because while I was aware that food was important on this journey, I didn’t know what and how to eat right.

i found a lot of videos and articles online about what to eat for muscle building but none of them really fit the (my) west African diet and I had made up my mind to not fall into the supplement trap, for reasons I explained in my last article

read why a healthy plate is more important than expensive supplements here

After doing some research, I found a muscle building diet plan that’s available globally, affordable, works for me and would work for you too, especially if you’re in west Africa. 5 weeks into my fitness journey and I’ve started seeing evidence that I’m on the right track.

Here’s what I found;

Eat Foods rich in proteins for muscle building;

Proteins are the principal elements used in muscle building. It goes without saying that if you want a more defined muscle build, you should eat more proteins. One thing about west Africans, we eat a lot of proteins regularly. Take Egusi soup for example, the Egusi alone is very rich in protein, yet we still garnish it with beef, fish and crayfish (which are also rich in protein) . We have a lot of meals like these, and we eat them on a daily basis. This must be why we’re generally “big”. Some other protein rich foods easily found globally are beef, chicken, beans, eggs, soybeans, fish, oats, peas, cheese, milk.

Eat carbohydrates for energy;

You need energy for those muscle building workouts, here’s where the carbs come in. Good sources of carbs found globally are sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, bananas, rice, corn, cassava, bread, pasta, fruits, vegetables.

Healthy fats are important too;

Healthy fats are important for hormone production, which is important for muscle building, thus must be included in your diet. Some sources of healthy fats that can be found globally include cooking oil like palm oil and olive oil, avocados, nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts, almonds, ground nuts, seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds.

Notice how I listed mostly unprocessed foods? You should eat as much of those as you can. Not only are they healthier, but they also taste better than processed foods. Here’s another point to note,

It’s not just about what you eat, but also how you eat.

Moderation is important!

It’s advisable to eat smaller meal portions frequently rather than eat large portions in one sitting. This helps maintain your energy levels steady throughout the day.

Staying hydrated is also important for overall health.

As you eat, don’t forget to drink. When you work out, you sweat a lot and that reduces your body’s water reserve. Drinking water after working out not only quenches your thirst, but also prevent s you from getting dehydrated.

Are you a member of the get-fit family? What part of it most confusing when you just got started?

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Rukaya_N.
Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO

Medical Student | Health & Wellness Writer | Life Of The Party rukayangangjoh@gmail.com for inquiries.