Muscle Net Tips: This plan is suitable for athletes to refer to. Friends who are too thin or too fat should refer to separate muscle gain or fat loss plans.
The trick to maintaining long-term muscle growth and low body fat levels is to alternate between two different eating plans, one designed to specifically build muscle mass and another designed to maintain muscle mass while reducing body fat.
No single diet plan can perfectly "kill two birds with one stone." Professional bodybuilders know that the best way to build muscle mass and keep body fat levels low is to eat differently during the off-season and before competition.
As we all know, if you want to increase muscle mass, you must provide your body with a large amount of carbohydrates and protein. Carbohydrates are used to provide energy, and protein is used to "build" muscle mass. When you increase your caloric intake during the muscle building phase, body fat gain is a natural byproduct. Likewise, when you lower your caloric intake during the fat loss phase, you will also "lose" some muscle.
If you gained 12 pounds of muscle during the bulking phase and lost 4 pounds during the cutting phase, you still gained 8 pounds of high-quality muscle. And those who only perform muscle-building training year after year cannot ensure that the muscle growth is of high quality.
Before determining different diet plans for the muscle-building phase and the fat-loss phase, you need to first determine your average daily caloric requirement. The method is to record the caloric intake for 5 consecutive days, calculate the total calories, and then divide by 5 .
After obtaining the average daily caloric requirement, determine the daily caloric intake for the muscle-building stage and the fat-loss stage according to the following proportions. The muscle-building stage is 10~5% higher than the average daily caloric requirement, and the fat loss stage is 10~5% higher than the average daily caloric requirement. This stage reduces the average daily caloric requirement by 10 to 15%.
Depending on the purpose of training, you can put any of the stages ahead. If you value both phases equally, start with the muscle-building phase. idealThe method is to use a muscle-building plan for 4 months, followed by a fat-loss plan for 2 months, and cycle twice a year.
Of course, you can also adopt different arrangements. If one day you suddenly find that you are losing the definition of your abdominal muscles, you can immediately switch to the weight loss stage. Some people lose weight faster than others, and maybe 6 weeks is enough, while others find they need to diet for 12 weeks.
If your goal is sustained muscle growth rather than participating in a bodybuilding competition, then once you reach and maintain the ideal low body fat level, you should return to the muscle-building phase after 1 to 12 weeks, otherwise it will have a negative impact on muscle growth. .
Below are the breakdown of two different diet plans. Of course, the diet and fitness plan provided by Muscle.com is suitable for everyone to refer to and study. It is best to change the specific plan based on your actual situation.
■Muscle Building Diet Plan
The first meal: breakfast
Since there is no food supply overnight, the body is in desperate need of calories, especially carbohydrates, to provide energy for the first few hours of work. Complex carbohydrates "burn" very slowly and provide long-lasting energy, making them a better choice.
Of course, you also need to consume protein to maintain a continuous flow of amino acids in the blood, which helps prevent muscle catabolism. This meal should provide approximately 50 grams of protein.
Second meal: mid-morning snack
About 3 hours after breakfast it is time to eat again. This is one of the smaller meals of the day, simply needed to fuel the body for the rest of the morning and maintain a constant flow of hydrogenated acids in the blood.
Hydrogen acids come from protein. The protein for this meal can be chicken breast or high-protein powder. You can also consume some carbohydrates, such as fruits. Fruit is also a good source of fiber, which is often lacking in most bodybuilders' diets.
The third meal: lunch
The focus of lunch is protein, which also includes complex carbohydrates and vegetables. Protein foods such as beef and salmon are good choices during the muscle-building phase because they can provide additional calories (fat) in addition to protein. The fats contained in salmon and other fish are healthy fats.
As for carbohydrates, you can choose any complex carbohydrate you want, such as potatoes, rice, and pasta.
The fourth meal: before training
Like the morning snack, the main purpose of this meal is to ensure a continuous flow of amino acids in the blood. It should be taken at least one hour before training. During the muscle-building phase, you can choose a high-protein proteinWhite drink, plus some carbs.
The fifth meal: after training and dinner
This meal consists of two parts. The first is a drink consumed within 30 minutes after training. Whether you're trying to build muscle mass or lose body fat, this is the time to consume simple carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores depleted during training. The ideal way is to consume protein and carbohydrates in a 1:2 ratio. It is ideal to consume 25 to 30 grams of protein, because you need to ensure that you have enough amino acids to rebuild muscles, but you cannot slow down the absorption of simple carbohydrates due to excessive protein intake.
The second part of this meal is taken about an hour after the snack and consists of solid food. It should include a complex carbohydrate (such as rice, potatoes) and high-quality protein (such as steak); also eat a lot vegetables.
The sixth meal: Late night snack
The most important part of this meal is protein to ensure that the body is supplied with amino acids while sleeping. If you want to eat, you can also take in small amounts of carbohydrates. Of course, most bodybuilders always avoid carbs completely at night because they are more easily converted into fat while at rest.
■Fat Loss Diet Plan
The first meal: breakfast
Although the goal of this phase is to reduce body fat, adequate complex carbohydrates and protein are still needed to provide energy and avoid muscle catabolism. This meal should provide complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, rice and pasta. The protein comes from egg whites.
This meal has fewer calories than the one in the muscle-building stage; the reduction of calories is to remove the fruit, and the reduction of fat is to remove the egg yolks, but don’t worry about using 1 to 2 egg yolks to provide healthy fats and trace elements.
This will allow you to eat fewer calories while still taking in the protein you need to maintain muscle mass, and you will begin to burn fat instead of using carbohydrates as energy.
Second meal: mid-morning snack
During the fat loss stage, caloric intake must be kept low while ensuring adequate protein. This meal should be 100% protein, such as a can of raw fish, some low-fat meat, or a high-protein drink.
The third meal: lunch
During the fat loss stage, protein such as chicken breast or turkey breast is a better choice. Again, the goal is not to avoid fat, but to avoid consuming more calories than you need from fat. By eating lean meat; you will naturally reduce your fat intake.
Rice is an ideal carbohydrate choice when you are trying to lose body fat. During the fat loss phase, you should also eat as many vegetables as possible, as they are low in calories and provide fiber., vitamins and trace elements.
The fourth meal: before training
Like the morning snack, the main purpose of this meal is to maintain a continuous supply of amino acids in the blood. During the fat loss phase, stick to high-protein drinks and avoid excess calories from carbohydrates. This meal should be consumed at least one hour before training.
The fifth meal: after training and dinner
Just like the muscle-building phase, this meal consists of two parts. After training, whether you want to increase muscle mass or reduce body fat, you need to consume simple carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen reserves consumed during training. The best choice is a drink containing protein and carbohydrates in a ratio of 1:2. The ideal intake of 25 to 30 grams of protein is because you only need enough amino acids to rebuild muscles. Too much intake will affect the absorption rate of carbohydrates.
In about an hour, arrange a big meal. Dinner during the fat loss phase should include smaller amounts of carbohydrates, with the exception of vegetables. The ideal choice for dinner is a large portion of beef, chicken and fish; a bowl of vegetables. It's important not to consume complex carbohydrates at this meal, as reducing carbohydrate intake at this time helps the body burn fat.
The sixth meal: Late night snack
The purpose of this meal is the same as the first phase, which is to provide the body with amino acids while sleeping, which is crucial to maintaining muscle mass during calorie reduction.