You cannot just gorge on food indiscriminately when you are trying to build muscles. It will surely make you fat. Lean muscles and not unhealthy fat should provide the weight and bulk you gain. It is therefore very important to learn what food you should eat to effectively build muscle mass instead of gaining fat. Stay away from sugar, starch, fast food and junk food should be something that you already know.

For your body to be able to repair and build more muscles, you have to eat plenty of complete protein. Whatever your body is burning up as fuel should be exceeded by your total calorie intake. It is the surplus of calories that will be used by the body for muscle building. These calories should be sourced from protein food. For serious muscle building with intense weight lifting and endurance training, you need a daily supply of 1.8 grams of protein for every kilo of your body weight. To get your weight in kilos, multiply your weight in pounds by 2.2. if you, therefore, weigh 154 pounds, that is equivalent to 70 kilos. Someone who does intensive strength training needs 126 grams of protein every day for that weight.

Complete proteins contain all the nine essential amino acids that are needed by the body for muscle building. With the proper configuration of amino acids and a high biological value (BV) rating, certain proteins are more efficiently absorbed and used by the body. Your goal is, therefore, to choose a diet high in complete protein food and protein food with a high biological value rating. For your complete proteins you can turn to animal foods. Most common among these are meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk. On the other hand, eggs, cow’s milk, whey protein, soybeans, beef, cheese and fish represent proteins with the highest BV ratings.

You should take multivitamins and antioxidants to supplement your diet and your muscle building workouts. You can prevent free radicals from damaging your muscles by taking antioxidants like vitamins A, C, E, glutathione, glutamine and selenium. Keep in mind that the physical trauma of strength training accelerates free radical damage. To prevent the abnormal increase of homocysteine levels or to reduce its level in your bloodstream, you also need folic acid (vitamin B9), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) and trimethylglycine (betaine). Intense and lengthy workouts increase your homocysteine levels, which may cause blood clotting, heart disease, or stroke as proven by research.

Your basic muscle building plan should, therefore, have a food plan that includes ample amounts of calories that are mostly from complete proteins and protein foods with a high biological value rating. Supplement this with a powerful multivitamin packed with nutrients and minerals, including vitamins, A, C, E, B9, B6, B12, Betaine, glutathione, glutamine and selenium. You will soon see the results reflected in your own body.

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