Tips for Getting Lean Muscle: Benefits of Proper Diet and Ready Meal Plans

1259

Building lean muscle mass while burning fat at the same time can seem complicated, but in reality, is rather straightforward. No matter how much time you spend in the gym, and no matter how much effort you put into your workouts, building lean muscle mass requires a well-balanced diet. For most bodybuilders and casual gym-goers who are looking to get a lean physique, sticking to a proper diet can be difficult with everything else going on in their everyday lives. Preparing 3 or 4 meals a day is an impossible task for most, and eating healthy at restaurants is expensive.

Luckily, there’s a great solution that has only recently risen in popularity – ordering a ready lean muscle meal plan. These meal plans are an affordable, convenient way to stick to a healthy, balanced diet, allowing you to focus on your workouts and other everyday activities rather than spend hours in the kitchen. However, in order to choose the best lean muscle meal plan, there are a few things you need to figure out. You need to figure out how many calories, protein, carbs and fat you need to take in order to make the best choice. Ready meal plans are highly customisable, so you can tailor one to your specific needs to ensure you reach your fitness goals easier.

Foods-For-Getting-Lean
Source: antonio-carluccio.com

On workout days, you need to eat more calories to build new muscle. On non-workout days, however, you have to eat just enough calories to not lose existing muscle. If you don’t reach your daily calorie target, the body will start converting existing fat and muscle into energy, resulting in losing muscle mass. If you measure the circumference of your arm after you’ve only consumed half your recommended daily calorie intake, you’ll notice that you’ve lost an entire workout’s worth of muscle growth and that right there is one of the most annoying parts of building lean muscle – consistent dieting.

The daily calorie target you should aim to reach is calculated from your basal metabolic rate, which refers to the number of calories your body burns just for being awake and perform its most basic functions like powering your brain, pumping blood, breathing, etc. This means if you eat the exact number of calories that your body spends for performing the most basic functions, and you don’t partake in any extra activities like weightlifting, walking or running, you get just enough calories to prevent your body from breaking down muscle.

healthy-meal-delivery-service
Source: youtube.com

However, rarely are we sedentary, and if we’re working towards our fitness goals, we’re burning a lot more calories, so we need to consume beyond our basal metabolic rate to avoid being in a caloric deficit. You can find online calculators to estimate your daily calorie target. However, as briefly aforementioned, you shouldn’t take the same number of calories when you have workout days versus when you have rest days. Most calculators will require you to write down your weight, your activity level, and your desired fitness goals.

And worth knowing is that there’s no such thing as a bodybuilding diet. It’s all common sense nutrition and hitting your daily calorie and macro targets. You can follow just about any diet you want: vegan, paleo, keto, whatever. As long as you hit your calorie and protein targets, you’ll be fine. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t base your meal plan off of what are known as core foods. These are healthy, high-calorie, protein-dense foods that you should look to consume in order to get the best results.

For instance, if your daily target is 2.000 calories, and you get most of them from brown rice (about 200 calories per can), you’ll need to eat 10 cups of brown rice. Other foods that are popular among bodybuilders include sweet potatoes and oatmeal. Decide which foods you’d like to eat, then order a ready meal plan that contains them. With ready meal plans, you’ll know exactly how much calories, protein, carbs and fat you’re consuming, giving you an easy way to keep track of your daily goals.

Using-Supplements
Source: addiction.com

When you compliment a healthy, balanced diet with supplements such as protein powder, BCAAs, creatine and L-carnitine, you’ll reach your fitness goals significantly faster. Of course, you’ll have to keep hitting the gym and pushing your body, but the process will be more enjoyable and convenient, as your body will regenerate faster, your endurance levels will rise and your strength will improve. However, as is with everything else in life, consistency and discipline are key. Stick to your diet and workout plans for as long as possible. Cheat days are fine but don’t overdo them, and make sure you get right back on track after having one. Last but not least, make sure you get enough sleep. I can’t stress how important sleep is for recovery. Try to get 8 hours of sleep every night for optimum recovery.