Principle #6: Eat 20-30 Grams Of Fat Per Meal
About 30% of your diet should consist of fat - this number
should remain pretty consistent for everyone. And
as a skinny guy or anybody who wants to maximize muscle growth, then eating 30%
of your intake from fat is critical for boosting testosterone levels. However, the
key is to balance out your intake between saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
fat. If you achieve 1/3 in each of these, then you will optimize your health and
muscle gains. This is not as complicated as it looks.
Since North Americans are harshly deficient in mono (olive
oil) and poly fats (from fish oils) and get enough of saturated fats as it is, your
job is to simply include more olive oil and fish oil into your diet. This is something
that can be recommended for every man and women and has no potential side effects.
Again, don't worry; the meal plans included have got you covered.
The only fats you MUST avoid at all costs - for so many reasons
- are trans fats.
Trans fatty acids, also known as trans fat, is an artery-clogging
fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening.
It is found in many other foods besides margarine and shortening, including fried
foods like French fries and fried chicken, doughnuts, cookies, pastries and crackers.
In the United States, typical French fries have about 40 percent trans fatty acids
and many popular cookies and crackers range from 30 percent to 50 percent trans
fatty acids. Doughnuts have about 35 percent to 40 percent trans fatty acids.
To determine the amount of trans fat in a food you must know what to look for on
the food labels. Whenever you see shortening, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated
oil higher up on the list of the ingredients, the more trans fat.
Principle #7: Eat Vegetables With Every Meal
How are vegetables supposed to promote muscle gain? Your mom was right when she
told you to eat up all your vegetables if you wanted to grow big and strong. Finally,
the 'muscle-nerds' are catching up. Not only are vegetables loaded with
vitamins and minerals but they also contain important plant chemicals called phytochemicals
that are essential for optimal physiological functioning.
The most neglected benefit of eating vegetables is their role in recovery. Sure,
you need calories to grow, but you also need these veggies for their high antioxidant
profile that will help reduce the amount of free radicals from heavy training, and
they will accelerate recovery by healing damaged muscle cells.
Most people are unaware that proteins and grains create high levels of acid loads
to the blood, and if this is not balanced out with alkaline rich vegetables and
fruits, then too much acid can result in a loss of bone strength and muscle mass.
So it is important to keep these acid levels balanced by ingesting vegetables (and
fruits) for their alkalinity to the blood.
The best way to get your vegetables is to cut them all up at the start of the week.
This will make life easier and make them more accessible. Aim for at least 2 servings,
which is the equivalent of 1-2 cups per meal. Yes, every 2-3 hours you must be eating
veggies.
Principle #8: Eat Your Biggest Meal At Breakfast, Pre-Workout and Post-Workout
No matter what anyone says, I believe this is the safest and most effective way
to maximize your muscle:fat gain ratio when bulking. In this article we will not discuss
the topic of
nutrient timing.
Shortly we will discuss the benefits of packing the bulk of your calories around
the most catabolic and anabolic times of the day so you will have sufficient energy
to train hard and heavy without any risk of muscle breakdown, not to mention enough
calories to support muscle growth. How much food you eat at a particular time of
the day should be based on the NEEDS OF YOUR BODY AT THAT CURRENT MOMENT.