Muscle Building Diet Plan – Bulk Up

Have you ever tried to find the perfect muscle building diet plan but have struggled? I know I personally have struggled with that in the past. Come to find out, there is no real perfect plan. All this time spent searching, it all comes down to what works best for you individually.

I have gone through a ton of different diet plans for attempting to build more muscle. The outcome was always usually the same. It helped a little but it wasn’t specific to my body. You have to try many different things to figure out what your body needs in order to build muscle.

Of course there are general things like macronutrients and calorie intake that are still important. Overall though, if you aren’t seeing results, try switching something up to fit your body type better.

Muscle Building Diet Plan Guide

As we spoke of previously, macronutrients are still very important. First, what even is a macronutrient? A macronutrient is, according to MD Anderson, “carbohydrates, fat and protein are called macronutrients. They are the nutrients you use in the largest amounts.” These are considered the cornerstone of your diet and should be used as needed.

When trying to build muscle, the tactic for macronutrients that works for me is usually as follows.

1. 35% of your calories are from protein.
2. 50% of your calories are from carbohydrates.
3. 15% of your calories are from fats.

This, of course, is what I use since I am a fairly skinny guy but you are encouraged to adjust your levels based on what fits your body best.

Calorie Intake Guide

When it comes to figuring out how many calories you should be eating per day, there are many different ways to figure it out. The easiest way that I have found is by just using an online calorie intake calculator.

I used the calculator myself and we will use my numbers as an example. When I inputted all my information, it told me that to maintain my current weight, I had to intake 3,295 calories in a day.

Now, the only downside of this website is that it only gives you numbers for weight loss. I have a trick for that though. If you are trying to gain weight or muscle, which you should be, then you are going to want to eat 15% more than your maintain calories intake. So for example, since my intake to maintain weight would be 3,925 calories, in order to bulk up I would want to eat about 3,790 calories (3,295 * 1.15).

Continuing with our example, we know now that I need to eat 3,790 calories per day to bulk up. Now we need to do the math for the macronutrients. Since we talked about my personal percentages of macronutrients, we will use those. For protein, I use 35% of my daily intake of 3,790 for that so I would need 1,327 calories of protein (3,790 * .35). Carbohydrates is 50% for me, so I would need 1,895 calories from carbs (3,790 * .5). Fats is around 15% for me, spoiler alert sometimes I have more or less fats depending on the day though, so that comes out to be 568 calories (3,790 * .15).

As a general rule, protein and carbs contain about 4 calories per gram and fat contains about 9 calories per gram. This means you will have to eat much less fat than protein and carbs, but that probably should have been expected.

Food Types

When it comes to the different food types that you want to be eating, there is no true rule for this. I have seen people who eat anything they want and still lose 20 pounds. I have also seen people follow a very strict food program for losing weight and still gain 10 pounds.

This is something that 100% has to do with your body type and how fast your metabolism is. If you have a very fast metabolism and are working out every day intensely, you will probably have to eat a lot more than someone with a slow metabolism who works out casually.

Being a skinny person with a fast metabolism, some foods that work great for me are ones high in protein. I eat a lot of steak and grilled chicken especially in wraps or sandwiches to get my carbs in as well. I would suggest for anyone to avoid foods that are high in fat because those don’t help very much considering every gram of fat contains 9 calories. You will run out of your fat calorie intake very quickly.

Things that you should definitely avoid would include deep fried foods, added sugars, and of course alcohol.

If you are looking for a great muscle building diet plan sample menu for one week, Healthline has a great plan. It is listed below.

Sunday

Breakfast: Eggs sunny-side up and avocado toast.
Snack: Protein balls and almond butter.
Lunch: Pork tenderloin slices with roasted garlic potatoes and green beans.
Snack: Protein shake and strawberries.
Dinner: Turkey meatballs, marinara sauce and parmesan cheese over pasta.

Monday

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and oatmeal.
Snack: Low-fat cottage cheese with blueberries.
Lunch: Venison burger, white rice and broccoli.
Snack: Protein shake and a banana.
Dinner: Salmon, quinoa and asparagus.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Protein pancakes with light-syrup, peanut butter and raspberries.
Snack: Hard-boiled eggs and an apple.
Lunch: Sirloin steak, sweet potato and spinach salad with vinaigrette.
Snack: Protein shake and walnuts.
Dinner: Ground turkey and marinara sauce over pasta.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Chicken sausage with egg and roasted potatoes.
Snack: Greek yogurt and almonds.
Lunch: Turkey breast, basmati rice and mushrooms.
Snack: Protein shake and grapes.
Dinner: Mackerel, brown rice and salad leaves with vinaigrette.

Thursday

Breakfast: Ground turkey, egg, cheese and salsa in a whole-grain tortilla.
Snack: Yogurt with granola.
Lunch: Chicken breast, baked potato, sour cream and broccoli.
Snack: Protein shake and mixed berries.
Dinner: Stir-fry with chicken, egg, brown rice, broccoli, peas and carrots.

Friday

Breakfast: Blueberries, strawberries and vanilla Greek yogurt on overnight oats.
Snack: Jerky and mixed nuts.
Lunch: Tilapia fillets with lime juice, black and pinto beans and seasonal veggies.
Snack: Protein shake and watermelon.
Dinner: Ground beef with corn, brown rice, green peas and green beans.

Saturday

Breakfast: Ground turkey and egg with corn, bell peppers, cheese and salsa.
Snack: Can of tuna with crackers.
Lunch: Tilapia fillet, potato wedges and bell peppers.
Snack: Protein shake and pear.
Dinner: Diced beef with rice, black beans, bell peppers, cheese and pico de gallo.

Conclusion

After everything, you have to make sure you are doing what is right for you. If you are not seeing the results you are looking for, you have to adjust until you find the right combination of macronutrients and foods. Cheat meals are also acceptable, of course. Comment below what your favorite cheat meal is. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us.