Want the best foods for bodybuilding? If so, you must be taking into account the foods you are eating on a day to day basis. Make no mistake about it, if your diet isn’t up to par, your results won’t be either.

You can workout as hard as you like in the gym each day, but without that backing of a solid diet plan, you’re going to fall short.

The number one problem that most people face as they go about their quest to build muscle fast is not getting in enough calories overall.  Basically, they barely eat enough to maintain their body weight and expect to actually gain weight on that intake.

Is it any wonder then why they aren’t seeing results?

If you don’t provide sufficient fuel to build new muscle with, you’ll just stay looking the same as you are right now.

So the mission with the top bodybuilding foods is not just to make sure you are getting quality proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fats in, but also to make sure that you are choose food choices that will allow you to optimize your total calorie intake.

This said, let’s look at the top 10 foods that anyone who wants to build muscle mass should be eating almost every day of the week.

The Best Foods For Bodybuilding

Dry Oatmeal

First, when you sit down for breakfast in the morning, don’t dish up a bowl of hot oatmeal. Doing this would be a mistake. Hot oatmeal is too high in volume to really help you get sufficient calories in.

For fat loss, it’s perfect. For muscle gain, it’s less than ideal.  Instead, serve it raw. You can eat it just as you would any other cold cereal and you’ll easily take in triple the calories for the same amount of space in your stomach.

Top it with some slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and skim milk for a quick and delicious breakfast alongside whatever protein source you’re eating.

Nut Butter

Speaking of nuts, also consider adding nut butter to anything you can.  Add it to smoothies, make a sauce with it, smear it over your fruit – or just eat it out of the tub.

Few things are more calorie-dense than this condiment and you’ll take in a good mix of healthy fats and protein.  Just do be sure that it’s a natural variety so that you avoid the sugar that typically comes with most nut butters.

Salmon

Salmon is the next food that you need to be getting in as often as possible. Rich in protein and high in omega-3 fats, this one will help you maximize your insulin sensitivity, which means you can build lean muscle mass more easily.

In addition to this, this fish variety is far more calorie-dense than white fish varieties such as bass or tilapia, so that’s another reason to be getting it into the picture more often.

You can eat 4 ounces of salmon or 8 ounces of tilapia. Which one will be easier to get down?

Grass Fed Beef

Another must-have on the list of protein-rich foods is grass fed beef.  Grass fed beef contains CLA fats, which can help you burn excess body fat quickly, which is great for staying lean as you build muscle mass as well.

Furthermore, grass fed beef will also contain iron, which is going to be important for keeping your energy levels up for all those intense workouts you have planned.

Once again, it’s a higher calorie source of protein for your body, so one that you must be including into the picture.

Quinoa

Quinoa is the next great food to be adding to any bodybuilding diet plan.  Quinoa is a complete source of protein, so can help you get your intake up a little higher and in addition to that, it’s also rich in complex, slow digesting carbohydrates.

These will help to promote a full and complete recovery after each workout you do, while helping you get those calories adding up.

Serve it any way you’d serve regular brown rice for a versatile side dish you can eat multiple days per week.

Avocado’s 

The next good healthy fat source to be adding whenever you can is avocado. Many people overlook avocado’s entirely, but they’re excellent for a mild, creamy flavor to the foods you eat.

They’ll also supply you with a good dose of vitamin E, for keeping your skin and hair healthy while improving your immune function and give you cholesterol-lowering unsaturated fat.

Use them pureed in a sauce, add them to a green salad, or simply slice one up and add it to your sandwich.

Whole Milk

While you may think that you should avoid whole milk entirely due to the saturated fat content, don’t be so quick to assume this.

Some saturated fat is important to take in as it will help to keep your overall testosterone level elevated. Men who use very low fat diets will quickly see a decline in testosterone release, which means slower progress on their bodybuilding protocol.

Whole milk is rich in calories and will offer a decent amount of protein, so start using this in smoothies or over that morning bowl of oats.

Bananas

It is still important that you get in some fruits over the course of the day for the beneficial nutrients they provide. This said, choosing the most calorie dense ones is going to be very beneficial.

Bananas come in as one of the top fruits to consider as they not only contain simple fruit sugars, making them ideal for an insulin response after your workout, but also contain a decent level of starch carbohydrates as well, which will digest more slowly and help you maintain that energy for the long haul.

Bananas are fast to pack with you so pull one out and eat it at any point during the day.  Even better, smear it with some peanut butter for a complete snack.

Olive Oil

Always aim to cook with olive oil whenever preparing stir-fry’s or simply grilling your meat. This is a very easy and fast way to get in more healthy fats and calories, while adding texture and taste to your foods.

Olive oil is one of the best heart-healthy fats to be eating, so one that will promote optimal well-being while also helping you grow.

Bagels

Finally, one last good carbohydrate source to eat immediately after your workout session is a bagel. Bagels are ideal as they are much more dense than bread, so you’ll take in more carbohydrates per serving.

Smear one with a little jelly to get some insulin-spiking simple carbs in and then get that meal in with your protein shake immediately after you finish up in the gym.

A powerful hit of carbohydrates at this time is one of the best things that you can do to help promote massive growth.

Conclusion

So have a good look at your current bodybuilding simple diet plan.

Are you eating these foods often?

If not, it might be time to make a few adjustments to your meal choices so that you are getting them in more regularly. Whenever you add a food to your diet, always assess it for not only the nutrition it provides, but also for how many calories per serving it will give you as well.

-Terry Asher