Muscle-building shopping list: which foods to choose in weight gain or dry?

Bodybuilding exercises aim to develop our muscles with the objective of acquiring more power, more strength and a beautiful aesthetic. If you practice them, it is important that your diet is in harmony with this muscle building effort. One of the advantages of adopting a proper diet is that you will complement your muscular efforts with a proper lifestyle. With a little practice, you will obtain a durable and quickly visible result. What is the best diet to adopt for a mass gain or for a lean body? We will talk about the foods to consume according to our objectives.

Which foods for mass gain?

In weight training, the weight gain is nothing more than the development of muscles. It is stimulated by sport, but also by an adequate diet. Indeed, to gain mass, you will need to be in caloric surplus. Muscle tissues are largely made up of water and proteins. Therefore, regular hydration is essential to support the process of muscle development. You should also focus on protein-rich foods.

In general, you can consume :

• eggs,
• fish,
• meat,
• of the skyr
• oatmeal,
• pasta or brown rice,
• legumes,
• fruits and vegetables.
• good fats (avocado, salmon, nuts...)

In addition, it is important to note that animal proteins are better than plant proteins. You could build your daily menu around these foods to ensure you are on track with your goal. If you can't do it on your own, you may want to hire a coach to set you up a diet according to your goal.

Some food supplements are also designed to stimulate mass gain. But beware, they are useless if you do not control your diet and that your solid meals are sufficient.

Which foods for the dry season?

You have worked hard on your body, and you have gained enough muscle mass? Then it's time to proceed with the dryer to better show off your musculature acquired from this hard work.

First of all, your coach will suggest a re-adaptation of your training. This will be followed by new eating habits to ensure that your weight loss is successful. Let's look at the dietary advice.

First of all, water should remain an essential ingredient in all your workouts. Whether it is in mass or dry, this will not change. You should drink at least two liters of water per day or more depending on your body type. Moreover, if to gain mass you needed foods rich in lipids, in the dry period, you need them less. This does not mean cutting them out completely. Be careful, fats are essential to your body. You will therefore reduce your carbohydrate intake little by little. Finally, proteins will always be your ally and you should make sure to take between 1.5 and 2.2 g per kilo of body weight.

Food for the dry :

• eggs,
• fish,
• lean meat,
• of the skyr
• oatmeal,
• pasta or brown rice (in moderation)
• legumes,
• fruits and vegetables.
• good fats (avocado, salmon, nuts...)

You will have noticed that the foods are almost the same as in mass gain so only the quantities will be controlled. For this, you will have to count your calories and macros to know your daily intake and thus advance in your objective.

Here is a video that will help you find more tips:

Some of the foods that are popular when it comes to bodybuilding are, in addition to the usual turkey rice, sweet potato, broccoli, asparagus but also oilseeds and green tea.

10 tips to never go hungry when you're on a diet

What foods should be avoided during a dry period?

Whether you are an occasional or experienced sportsman, there are foods that you should not reduce, but rather banish from your diet. Among these products, we think of course of alcohol. It is the main enemy of any sportsman, and this for several reasons. First of all, it does not promote sleep, and this strongly impacts your training plan. In addition, it adds empty calories to your daily intake. If you have a party planned, choose beer or wine in moderation.

It is also advisable to avoid cola and other soft drinks, especially during a dry period. They often contain substances such as sugar and chemicals that you should avoid at all costs.

Cheese and cold cuts are also forbidden because they contain too many calories and bad fats. This would probably put you over your quota for the day with just one small portion.

All industrial cakes and so-called "fitness" cereals (which are not) are full of sugar.

Finally, white bread and pasta should be replaced by wholemeal bread and pasta.

In short, to have a good muscularity, the food behavior is to be adapted to reach your objective in a time-record.

Don't hesitate to call on a coach who can advise you on the diet to adopt according to your morphology and your body's needs.

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