Basic Nutrition Facts - What You Need To Know to Gain Weight and Build Muscle

Get confused with nutrition rules?  Think nutrition is difficult?  Follow the principles below, and you’ll see how simple it all is.

Okay, let’s start with a test!  In two minutes, see how many diets or eating plans that you can name.  Start now…

Right, time’s up.  How many did you get?  I bet that you got at least four, possibly five.  What about: Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Nutrisystem, no carb, low carb, no fat, low fat… No wonder you get confused, there are so many and they all tell you something different.

The simple fact is that it doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing to gain weight and muscle.  Below, I’ve put together some simple nutrition principles for you to follow – and they will work!

Eat natural, unprocessed foods

The human body has taken many thousands of years to evolve, and it has evolved to process natural foods for optimal function.  Processed foods, on the other hand, have been around for a few decades.

If you want to think of it another way, imagine what would happen if you put diesel into your petrol car… Now do you get the picture?

I live in the real world and I know that it’s not always easy or convenient to eat freshly prepared foods.  What I’m suggesting is that, whenever it is possible for you to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, you do so.  You’ll find that you lose fat without even trying.

Eat plenty of good quality, lean, protein

Muscles are made of protein so, if you want to build muscle, you need to give your body the materials to make it.  Take in lean protein on a regular basis and you will providing the basic building blocks for muscle fibers, your body will use it and, providing you exercise as well, you will build the muscles you want.

As a guide, you need 1 gram of lean protein per pound of lean bodyweight.  We don’t measure total bodyweight because fat is metabolically inactive. 

Good sources of lean protein are:

 Lean cuts of meat (like sirloin beef)

Oh, and don’t be scared of eggs – they will not raise your cholesterol levels as far as many people worry about.

Don’t cut out good fats

You know, not all fats are bad, no matter what you may have read.  Some of them are, in fact, extremely good for you – even when you are trying to lose weight.  They are used in lots of body processes, including:

 Hormone production

Like many things, moderation and being sensible are the keys to success here, and fat intake shouldn’t exceed 30% of your daily calories.

Good sources of good fats are:

 Oily fish

By including these oils in your diet, you will feel good and efficiently burn your fat stores.  Try eating a few almonds every day, or taking a supplement of fish or flax oil.

Carbs aren’t the enemy

Refined sugar might be an enemy, but some carbs are very good for you and contribute to the total health of your body.  Just don’t eat refined carbs.

Minimize ‘empty’ foods

This is easy and straight forward – you know what foods are empty of nutrition – try to avoid highly processed snack foods, chocolate, cakes, and biscuits.

Realize though that, if you are not getting your essential nutrients, you will more likely crave these empty foods.  It’s your body trying to get what it needs and to raise its insulin levels.

Fill up on salads, fruit, and vegetables

See, told you it was all common sense!  Eat plenty of fruit, veggies and salads – they not only fill you up but they keep your system clean as well, because of the fiber content.