"Muscles in the Making"
In order to gain muscle, you need to be making sure you are fuelling correctly. In most cases muscle gain occurs easiest when in a calorie surplus. Having lean muscle mass provides maaaany benefits, but lets talk about one in particular...
Having more muscle mass reduces our risk of developing Sarcopenia and Fragility.
With a decrease in muscle mass, comes an increased risk of injury and other negative outcomes such as Falls, Loss of independence, Inability to complete daily household tasks and burning less calories over all.
Most cases of Sarcopenia occur in 45+ years of age.
To reduce the risk of fragility and Sarcopenia.
Keep your muscles active! Resistance and Aerobic training in combination can prevent and even reverse muscle loss.
A study conducted on 227 people aged over 65, founds that after 6 months of walking, muscle mass increased!
Eat enough protein!
When we consume protein, signals get sent to the muscles to build, strengthen and grow! As we age these signals are not as strong, so more protein is required to stimulate the signal to our muscles.
Protein promotes recovery and repair. Helps build and retain lean muscle mass (and bonus! aids with satiety.)
Vitamins, Amino Acids, Minerals and some Supplementation are beneficial to include in your diet for muscle growth.
Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in the world and has evidence based advantages for muscle growth and strength.
Studies also show that consuming Omega-3 through supplementation (or seafood directly) also increased muscle growth.
Tips for eating in a calorie surplus for Muscle Growth.
Understanding calorie density will be your go to for navigating a surplus.
If you are someone who struggles with consuming larger volumes of food, it would be wise to choose a calorie dense option to hit your targets whilst consuming lower volume. We still want to prioritise whole food, however some processes options will actually help you with your goals.
This can look like:
-Opting for a glass of orange juice instead of eating a copious amount of fibrous fruit.
-Having some cereal instead of a huge quantity of pumpkin/potato/sweet potato.
Check out our instagram slides on Calorie Density here! and follow for more tips and tricks!
Having an understanding of what is going into your meals , and how that impacts how you feel and perform day to day!
If you feel like you’re eating heaps of food (volume) but feel fatigued and tired… you could be UNDER-fuelling! And need to consume more calories (which is when having dense calorie options may come in handy!)
Want to learn how to effectively and efficiently gain muscle , whilst keeping body fat down, send us a message!!
@jvia_nutrition
Julia Higgs
Accredited Sports Nutritionist (Adv.Dip) and Gym Owner.
