The Importance of Diet
You’re wasting your time lifting if you’re not eating right, too.
Growing up, every child gets told to eat food they have no interest in eating; in my house, it was always spinach—yuck. When I’d ask my mother why I had to eat the mushy, green gunk, she usually justified the demand in a way that most parents do. “If you eat your spinach, you’ll grow up to be big and strong like Popeye the Sailor,” she’d say to me before I took my first bite.
Although I didn’t know how right my mother’s justification was at the time, I certainly do now. It’s virtually impossible for a person to have great overall health and a fortuitous immune system if they don’t eat right, and no amount of exercise can make up for this deficiency.
Why Is My Diet Important When I’m Lifting
Imagine your body is a vehicle and that what you eat throughout the day is the fuel that keeps the vehicle going. If you want the vehicle to run at optimal conditions, it’s going to need the fuel that can get it there.
When it comes to weightlifting for the purpose of building muscle mass, protein is going to be the fuel your body needs to get the results you want. Eating protein after a workout will help rebuild the muscle fibers that tore during that strenuous workout; the scientific name for this process is called muscular hypertrophy. After a rigorous workout, consuming complete protein foods like, chicken breast, fish, or egg whites will bulk you up fast; if you’re on the go, try a refreshing protein shake instead.
Breakfast Is an Essential Meal
You’re going to need healthy foods to fuel your metabolism throughout the day, which means eating breakfast is essential. Moreover, eating breakfast will prevent cravings later in the day. Also, when it comes to breakfast, you want to be sticking with healthy proteins: egg-white omelettes, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt are great examples.
Cut Down on Processed and Refined Sugars
Sugar is one of the greatest substances known to mankind; ask any five-year-old and they’ll tell you the same thing. Unfortunately, this greatness is usually overshadowed by the fact that refined sugar is really bad for you in a lot of ways. And for those people who are trying to build lean muscle, a diet consisting of a lot of sugar is going to nullify your gains. If you’re in the mood for something sweet, have a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar.
Eat Healthy Fats
Not all fats are created equal; your heart would tell you this if it could. If you want to have a healthy cholesterol and heart, you need to be consuming unsaturated fats. And when it comes to weightlifting, healthy fats assist greatly in the repair process. If you’re looking for good fats to consume, you can try adding nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado and oily fish to your diet.