What should I eat (part 2): The What and When
So, for those of you who are just joining us, last time we covered the fact that:
- If you want to build muscle, you are going to have to add fat as well.
- You are going to have to eat more, specifically more carbs and more protein.
This leaves us with some questions as to what YOU want to do, and I am keeping things simple for the same reason the blog was created, all of the specificities and quantities, and blah blah blah can be talked to death, so I am being vague for a reason, I will go into more detail at some point, but that is not what you need now.
If you want to get stronger you don’t need to touch diet, just lift weights, lower reps, higher sets and continue.
But, BIG BUT, at some point you are going to plateau with the muscles you got, and when that happens you will HAVE TO GET BIGGER MUSCLES, a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle, that’s just facts. #Knowledge
So, I hope you have an idea what you should eat, now let’s tweak the what and when.
WHAT
Carbs, let’s be honest. I am not going to ask you to go organic, local, gluten-free, wheat-free on this. However, there is a lot of data and just common sense to back up getting your CARBS from quality one-ingredient stuff.
So the big stuff to get your carbs from are:
- Sweet Potato
- Oats
- Bananas
- Whole Grains
- Berries
How about the proteins? The truth is is that the amount of protein you really need to be taking while on a strength and muscle building routine is more than you most people can comfortably take with one-ingredient stuff like chicken and eggs. and those are the big ones.
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Fish
- Beans
- Steak and Pork (up to you, depending on cholesterol and fat, you may wanna stick with chicken and eggs)
We also want to add a protein SUPPLEMENT which I will discuss more in my next post.
Now, you will have to determine HOW MUCH of these things to add to your diet Overall, but let me give you some pointers surrounding your TRAINING DAYS
On training days, you will want to eat a higher carbohydrate meal, between 1–2 hours BEFORE your workout. This will help give your muscles some gas during the workout and stop you from feeling tired.
A good example a lot of people use is: Oatmeal (CARB) with banana (CARB) and peanut butter (FAT)
Now for those of you who are working out 3 days a week or more, go ahead and ignore the italicized lines below:
For those people only working out a few days a week, you will want to push the carb and protein intake so that it falls roughly within 24 hours AFTER YOUR LAST WORKOUT. This is when your muscles are primed to take into the stuff from food to repair themselves. This is often referred to as the Anabolic Window and was once thought to exist for only about 30 minutes after your workout, but actually is on for more like 24–36 hours. But, there still is a period of time when your muscles will respond best to food, and that is within 24 hours of your last workout. Just sayin’.
A lot of people like to simply bring a shake with them to the gym, so that they can just suck down their Carbs and Proteins right after. Why? Because you’ll remember to drink something right after you lift. It is probably more mental then anything else, but people do it.
