Eating is a very pleasurable thing for most of us, but for bodybuilders - it's their JOB! Nobody enjoys tossing down 12 or 18 egg whites for breakfast, let's be honest. Nobody enjoys the taste of chicken off the Foreman grill, by the pound. And how many whey shakes can we toss down each day before we lose our minds? The answer, if you wish to be a successful bodybuilder and maximize your muscle-building potential, is that you will eat WHATEVER IT TAKES to build and maintain muscle mass.
If you're looking to make the most possible gains from your training efforts in the gym, then you need to make sure you're giving your body adequate protein for building muscle & recovery. This may mean going above and beyond your normal 'comfortable' eating patterns. You won't want to engorge yourself with food and end up feeling miserable all morning. And you won't want to chew down foods that you actively despise. Instead, you simply want to find a way to achieve a safe and balanced protein intake commensurate with your bodyweight.
If you are currently 150 pounds, then you should be eating 250 to 325 grams of protein per day. You'll also want to add more carbohydrates and fats to your diet since, as you probably already know, you probably do not carry as much muscle mass as you are capable of carrying.
Do you tip the scales at 200 pounds yet? In this case, gaining muscle mass will be tougher, and you'll have to consume a great deal more calories - and grams of daily protein. Scoot between 300 and 375 grams of protein per day from a variety of sources, and keep the calories high enough that you never lose weight of the muscular variety.
If you are 240 pounds of above, whether lean or obese, then you need to be consuming 400 or more grams of protein daily. If you're already that big, and you're fairly lean and muscular, then you probably already know what level of caloric intake and protein work best, but you should be enjoying 60 to 80 grams of protein with each daily meal.
There are some additional factors to consider. There is a point where too much protein becomes a bad thing. If your urine is smelling strong and your kidneys begin hurting, see a doctor for a blood panel to ensure they are healthy. If you are a steroid user, you will be able to make use of 450 to 550 grams of protein per day, but going that high for a natural will result in wasted protein excreted in urine.
If you're looking to make the most possible gains from your training efforts in the gym, then you need to make sure you're giving your body adequate protein for building muscle & recovery. This may mean going above and beyond your normal 'comfortable' eating patterns. You won't want to engorge yourself with food and end up feeling miserable all morning. And you won't want to chew down foods that you actively despise. Instead, you simply want to find a way to achieve a safe and balanced protein intake commensurate with your bodyweight.
If you are currently 150 pounds, then you should be eating 250 to 325 grams of protein per day. You'll also want to add more carbohydrates and fats to your diet since, as you probably already know, you probably do not carry as much muscle mass as you are capable of carrying.
Do you tip the scales at 200 pounds yet? In this case, gaining muscle mass will be tougher, and you'll have to consume a great deal more calories - and grams of daily protein. Scoot between 300 and 375 grams of protein per day from a variety of sources, and keep the calories high enough that you never lose weight of the muscular variety.
If you are 240 pounds of above, whether lean or obese, then you need to be consuming 400 or more grams of protein daily. If you're already that big, and you're fairly lean and muscular, then you probably already know what level of caloric intake and protein work best, but you should be enjoying 60 to 80 grams of protein with each daily meal.
There are some additional factors to consider. There is a point where too much protein becomes a bad thing. If your urine is smelling strong and your kidneys begin hurting, see a doctor for a blood panel to ensure they are healthy. If you are a steroid user, you will be able to make use of 450 to 550 grams of protein per day, but going that high for a natural will result in wasted protein excreted in urine.
