Avoid These 7 Nutritional Mistakes for Muscle Building

Many workout plans by bodybuilders nowadays are affected by some of the most usual mistakes and bad habits. As you read on, you will discover some of them and avoid them to build muscles successfully.

7 Nutritional Mistakes for Muscle Building

1- Failing to eat nutrition-enriched foods

Nutritious foods are essential for regenerating the muscles. The body needs vitamins, protein, and not too many fatty and junk foods.

Ensure you take every meal according to your fitness goals more than compromising them. Go for lean meat, fresh fruits, and veggies rather than processed and fat-enriched foods.

Be sure you eat regularly to make your metabolism move and keep the energy for the workouts too. Planning your meal is just like planning your workout routine. They are equally important.

2- Sports drinks are better than water

Sports drinks have electrolytes and may also have sugar, which is not advisable for those who wish to build muscles. Many sports drinks on the market have high fructose corn syrup; they signal the liver to overwork the process of high sugar concentration and store nothing but fat.

If you want your water to have some taste, it will be better to add some lemon or try to make infused water with fruits like berries, pineapple, and cucumber, adding flavor without calories. Go through the sports drink labels to know if there are added ingredients you do not need. Drinking them when you need them or after a rigid workout will be best.

3- The calories are very low for such a long time

Even if it is usual to eat fewer calories to lose body fat, some people do not follow the appropriate number of calories. Most of them go more than the acceptable limit.

By taking very few calorie meals for several months, you will do more harm than good to your body. Do you know that dieting causes stress to your body?

When you add that stress with a robust workout, the cortisol levels may go up, and it may stay that way over time.

Cortisol is a stress hormone whose primary function is to boost blood sugar. Though this is beneficial for fat metabolism early in the day, a drastic release of cortisol may lead to different health effects with visceral fats stored in your tummy.

Research shows that having high cortisol levels may lead to binge eating, which will not help you if you are limiting your calorie intake.

4- Undervaluing the protein consumption

Protein is essential for building and keeping lean mass. If you do not get a sustainable amount of it, it will be hard for you to build or even preserve the muscle you have. If you ask a personal trainer, they will recommend eating more protein.

Usually, bodybuilders may be surprised to discover that they feel much better when they elevate their protein intake. Women ages 17 to 70 must consume around 49g of protein daily, while men must consume 56g of protein within this age group.

It is just right for everyone to eat more protein than this, but if you are building muscle and you work out intensely, you need to consume more.

5- Plan hopping

It is common to hop from one plan to another, especially if you knew someone who has gone through a diet and helped them lose more than 10 lbs. Even if this may be very tempting for you if you will not stay in your program quite long, how will you know if it will work for you?

More often than not, changing your current program will delay your results. The body has its learning curve in terms of nutrition. The diet results may vary depending on the body, genes, and the kind of diet that you have.

Some may even see the results faster, while others may suffer from the plateau, while others do not see the results for several months until they wake up with a brand-new shape.

6- The “I blew it” mindset

Healthy eating is a habit that must be established in you. Suppose you must not be rattled if you are not yet on a 100% plan most of the time. Your diet must not be postponed for the wrong reason that you had a milkshake for a snack.

It is not an activity you can postpone if you are not yet ready. Thinking of your nutrition as an activity more than a lifestyle may lead you nowhere. More than taking the time to enjoy splurging on food, you need to feel guilty every time you make a food treat.

7- Breakfast is not important

When you wake up in the morning, shower, get dressed, and then take a cup of coffee before you go and drive. This is the usual morning routine of every individual, regardless of whether they are into bodybuilding.

Some studies have shown that people who are fond of skipping breakfast are more prone to overeating within the day than those who eat breakfast before leaving for work.

Remember that when you run out of the house with an empty stomach, the body is cannibalizing the muscles to get the energy needed to fuel the person to go through the daily activities throughout the day.

You will suffer from a plateau or backslide if your body does not restock muscle glycogen with amino acids. You are missing an important meal of the day by not eating breakfast.

It can also affect your blood sugar levels and cause mood swings and unwanted fat storage. Even if cereals are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates, a bodybuilder needs an egg for breakfast.

Some research has shown how eating eggs in the morning helps lessen hunger, which may boost abdominal fat loss.