Diets for Building Muscle

Many athletes new to bodybuilding think of weights as the all-important element of muscle growth. In truth, however, weight training is only part of the equation; gains in mass and strength also require a diet that primes the body to burn fat and pack on muscle. Thankfully, the days of drinking two raw eggs in a glass for breakfast are long gone--today's bodybuilders eat a diet that's as well-rounded as their biceps.

Start With Muscle Fuel

Protein is the building block from which muscle is made. It's no surprise, then, that your body needs a lot of it to increase muscle mass and strength. Try to incorporate some protein into three of your meals a day, and stick to lean proteins like chicken and fish; they'll supply your muscles with the protein and essential amino acids they need to grow without adding a lot of the animal fat that hides your six-pack.

Add Energy

Some dieters focus on eliminating carbohydrates from their diets completely, but this is a mistake for those looking to build muscle. Your body needs carbohydrates both for energy during your workouts and as fuel for your brain to keep you sharp and alert throughout the day.

The key to preventing carbohydrates from increasing your waistline is timing; if your body burns through the carbs quickly, it can't convert them to fat for storage in your midsection. Therefore, be sure to eat most of your carbs early in the day or directly after working out, when your body is trying to recover. Refrain from eating carbs before bed; an inactive body stores the carbs it doesn't need as fat.

Eat whole grains rather than refined carbs like white bread and regular pasta; they only provide "empty calories" that offer none of the real nutritional value that whole wheat bread and brown rice do.

Beyond Energy

The body is a complex machine, and it needs more than fuel to function well. In order to operate at maximum effectiveness it also needs the vitamins, minerals and fiber that come from fruits and vegetables. Eat three to four servings of vegetables a day and fruit at least twice daily; although healthy, fruit is also high in sugar, which compromises your results by contributing to fat gain.

Milk and cheese are high in proteins like casein as well as vitamins and minerals like vitamin D and calcium.

Considerations

Although you can make significant muscle gains without them, some supplements do increase the body's effectiveness at building muscle and burning fat. Creatine, for instance, increases your muscles' ability to absorb nutrients quickly by expanding the blood vessels and increasing the blood and oxygen flow, or "pump," in the muscles.

Whey protein powder digests quickly after a workout to provide tired muscles with the protein they need to grow and the amino acids they need to recover. Multivitamins ensure that the body gets everything it needs to run at optimum efficiency.

Timing

Most diets require people to eat less than they're used to eating. To build muscle, however, you need to eat more--once every two hours is ideal. When you don't eat for more than a few hours, your body enters "starvation mode." Your metabolism slows and your body reaches for the easiest fuel source it can find for energy: the muscle mass you've worked so hard to build.

Add three snacks to the traditional three-meals-a-day routine to keep your metabolism running and ensure that your muscles never go hungry. Eat a protein-packed breakfast with eggs, oatmeal and fruit to jump-start your metabolism in the morning; snack on a protein bar mid-morning to keep your energy up; eat a healthy lunch with chicken, fish or a salad around noon to replenish your body's stores of vitamins and nutrients and keep you energized throughout the afternoon. Try a protein shake for a mid-afternoon snack to pull you through the 3 p.m. slump, and for dinner, enjoy a well-rounded meal with lean proteins like chicken, some vegetables, and some healthy carbs like whole grain rice. Another protein shake before bed will ensure that your body keeps working -- and your muscles stay fed -- throughout the night.

By maintaining a well-rounded diet of healthy foods, eating every few hours, and never letting yourself go hungry, you'll ensure that your muscles never lack what they need to recover quickly from your workouts and really grow.