Why Skipping Meals will Kill Your Muscle Building Hopes…
Building muscle is not an easy task. It requires discipline, dedication, and organization. All the pieces of the puzzle have to fit…if one if not in sync then everything else won’t be right…
With that said, one of the most important aspects of muscle building is nutrition…you already know that. You know that eating the right amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and micro-nutrients is key, but do you know the importance of meal frequency?
Meal frequency refers to how often you eat. You may have heard about eating 5-6 smaller meals a day, but you probably under-estimate the importance of it…
Food consumption is like feeding wood to your metabolic fire. Your metabolism rages after each meal, especially if you eat the right type and quantity of food. The more often you eat, the more your metabolism churns, which helps you burn off a lot of fat.
Frequent meal consumption also keeps you in an “anabolic” state, in which you’re constantly building muscle. After a grueling workout, your body needs fuel to repair and grow muscle, and the food you eat provides that much-needed fuel.
You see, amino acids are the building blocks of muscle, and anytime amino acids run low in your bloodstream, your body looks to breakdown existing muscle to replenish the amino acids supply. Muscle breakdown, also known as catabolism, is the last thing you want happening if you’re trying to “build” muscle.
The more often you eat, the more frequently you supply amino acids in the bloodstream, keeping your body in a muscle-building state…for longer.
The moment you skip meals or go a long duration without a meal, the body breaks-down existing muscle.
Moreover, positive nitrogen retention is also a great indicator of how much protein you’re synthesizing. Postive nitrogen retention is achieved through frequent eating.
The goal isn’t to stuff yourself. Rather, you need to eat small to mid size quantities of food every 3-4 hours, with an emphasis on lean protein, slow-absorbing carbs, and unsaturated fats. Throw some whole milk in there with a good multi-vitamin, and you’re ready to gain a lot of muscle…fast!