If you've been bodybuilding and lifting weights to build muscle for a while, then you know how important a calorie surplus diet is to your entire program. Muscle building nutrition is important. You have to put your body into a positive energy balance every single day to gain muscular weight.
photo credit: yummyporky
There's no way around it. Simple chemistry and physics at work.
Eat Big to Get Big!
That's the motto. That's what every no-name serious lifter would tell you. Straight fact. No nonsense here. You have to eat a lot to gain even an ounce of muscle. Eat more to build muscle. That's the rule. Going around in circles with this rule is like chasing yourself around to find a tail.
So high calorie meals will help you tremendously to build muscle. Meals rich with nutrients, protein, carbs, and fats are essential for building muscle. Simple muscle building nutrition demands eating whole foods. Now you probably know that making meals all the time to meet the demands of your bodybuilding regimen can be a hassle but I've found a simple way to make high calories meal...
Sandwiches
Just sandwiches. You can put a lot of stuff in sandwiches: meats, veggies, cheese,whatever you want in sandwiches. And it's quick and easy to carry around with. You don't need to whip out the pots and pans or turn on the baking oven at 500 degrees for hours on end.
One of my favorite ways to make a sandwich is to just combine a lot of protein sources (meats) with cheese on whole wheat bread. I use luncheon meats, the fresh cuts of meats. Ham. Turkey. All lean meat. Tasty. Common foods. I only use regular foods, nothing fancy at all. Stuff that you could easily get from your local grocer or supermarket. Simple.
Here's my sandwich recipe,
- one whole wheat bread
- 6 slices of ham and/or turkey, or chicken breasts
- one whole fried egg or scrambled egg, 3 egg whites
- one slice of whole cheese
- 2 strips of bacon
- 1 tsp of sugar or a serving of butter
- a handful of lettuce
I'll shove the entire sandwich into the toaster or microwave oven for a few minutes to let it get hot and a bit crunchy.
It's not much of a recipe. Just a regular high calorie sandwich full of the essential protein and carbs needed to build a lot of muscle. The sandwich comes out to around 750 calories and I'd gulp it down with a glass of OJ or fruit juice which adds another 100 calories. That's a total of around 50 grams of protein. If I use chicken breasts, the total protein can be over 70 grams.
Sometimes I would even throw in a small pinch of grounded flax seeds to get those omega 3 and 6 essential fats. Perfect as a post workout meal or high calorie meal. It can also serve as an in-between meal snack if you choose. The sandwich is quick to make. Not messy. Convenient and tasty. Just wrap it up in aluminum or throw it into a sandwich bag and you're good to go.
And above all, it's a lot healthier than McDonald's or fast food burgers and fries since we're using lean meats here without all the greasy trans fats and saturated fats loaded up. Your goal is to build muscle, not build fat. A burger once every other week is good but you don't want to load up your body with grease and saturated fats on empty calories.
And for added taste, you can use butter or a spoonful of sugar melted onto the cheese. I add those on occasion for extra calories when I need it.
Making high calorie meals for building muscle doesn't have to take a lot of effort or creativity. If you're stuck on coming up with high calorie muscle building meals or don't have the time to make and prepare each meal, go with sandwiches.
Sandwiches. Convenient. Tasty. Good for building muscle.
Eat a lot. Eat sandwiches. And build muscle.
Train Hard. Train Safely. Train Smart.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com
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