If individuals who want to build muscle do not act in a planned and conscious manner, they are trying in vain. There are many urban legends about this subject. Most of the hearsay information, especially about nutrition, is wrong. Now here we will turn our wrong information into truth.
The first issue is who can build muscle? Both men and women can build muscle. However, due to the testosterone hormone in men, muscle building is faster than in women. It will be more disciplined and take longer due to the decrease in testosterone hormone in later ages.
ENERGY: The amount of calories to be taken should be regulated according to gender, age, height, weight, and daily expenditure. It is not possible to build muscle with insufficient energy intake. If you follow a low-calorie nutrition program, the body will use proteins as energy.
CARBOHYDRATES: Our first source of energy is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have a great importance in sports nutrition. The body must meet its energy needs from carbohydrates so that it does not use proteins as energy. The point to be considered here is to stay away from simple carbohydrates and foods with high glycemic index. Candy, white bread, cake, cake, etc. Instead, we can provide carbohydrates with oats, legumes, nuts, bulgur, rice quinoa, whole wheat pasta and whole grain bread. It should not be forgotten that consuming too much carbohydrate turns into fat, and the amounts should be adjusted individually.
FATS: All studies conducted in recent years report that the results of training with a normal fat rate increase more muscle mass in the same period of time compared to training with a low fat rate. . Of course, these fats we are talking about are fats obtained from healthy foods. These are the fats we obtain from foods such as olive oil, fish, nuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds. Considering that fats have a high caloric value, the amounts should be adjusted according to the person.
PROTEIN: We need protein for the development of our muscles, also known as muscle growth or hypertrophy, for the strengthening or restructuring of our existing cells. Protein intake between 1.2-2 g/kg per kilogram is sufficient, more is unnecessary. The most important source of protein is the egg, which we call sample protein. �r. Since we will generally obtain proteins from animal foods, we should prefer products such as lean meat, chicken, and 1% fat curd cheese in order to avoid a diet high in saturated fat. We should increase our consumption of fish and seafood in order to have a diet rich in omega-3. We should include foods that are high in vegetable protein, such as legumes and nuts.
LIQUID: What we need even for the smallest metabolic events is water. If you have an intense training program to build muscle, we should definitely pay attention to fluid consumption. Beverages such as tea, coffee and soda do not replace water. Many drinks containing caffeine cause dehydration. Since we consume more protein than normal, in order not to damage our kidneys, 2.5-3.5 liters of water should be consumed to eliminate toxins, depending on our weight and the training performed.
VITAMIN - MINERAL: As in a healthy diet. Vitamins and minerals are also important in muscle development. Especially A, C, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, biotin minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, chromium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, copper and potassium are needed. In this case, we need to neglect vegetables and fruits.
As can be seen, just loading on protein does not provide a solution for muscle development. Carbohydrates and fats should be monitored as strictly as protein. If we organize an adequate and balanced nutrition program, increase the amount of protein a little, pay attention to fluid consumption, make time for regular exercise, sleep and rest, we can have the look we want, regardless of our age group.
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