10 Foods that BUILD muscle

 

What kind of foods BUILD muscle?

In the case of building muscle, you are what you eat! I cannot emphasize more on the importance of what you put into your body when you’re trying to build muscle. You can train as hard, and hopefully effectively (if not: How to work out effectively (coming soon)) as you want in your exercises but none of that would matter if you’re not fueling your body with what it needs. Here are 10 foods that BUILD  muscles, which are foods with the highest levels of protein while having relatively low calories.

 

 

Simple and to the point list

Having been skinny basically my entire life, this list is one of the most important to me. The list can be longer but I wanted to share with you both what I think are the top 10 foods that build muscle, along with the ones that I have very regularly in my diet.

1. Chicken breast

I had to include this first on the list. Chicken breast is an absolute staple when it comes to building muscle. Many of you must have heard the classic body building meal; chicken breast and broccoli. There’s a reason, when building lean muscle, chicken breast is one of the top high-quality protein sources that you can have.

Ways I like chicken breast: grilled chicken breast, baked chicken breast, rotisserie chicken.

 

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Chicken breast	100g	19.5g	90 cal	4.62

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Emphasizing the calorie per gram of protein is crucial when it comes to checking your protein food sources because what we want is lean protein that builds muscle, without having the excess calories that can lead to fat gain. THE LOWER THE NUMBER THE BETTER!

 

2. Eggs

When it comes to eggs what I find very significant is how many ways you can cook them. This way, even when you’re having a very high protein diet, you won’t get bored of what you’re eating all the time.
Another amazing thing about eggs if that you have just the egg whites, there are pretty much no excess calories, so its almost all protein.

Ways I like eggs: boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried eggs with cheese.

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Eggs	1 whole (56g) just white (56g)	7g 5g	80 cal 26 cal	11.42 5.2

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3. Salmon

Salmon is delicious and they can be prepared in many different ways. Especially raw. Now, half of you maybe just closed the entire site, but if you like sushi and sashimi (Japanese style prepared raw fish) this is one of the ultimate sources to have the most delicious protein.

Ways I like salmon: grilled salmon, baked salmon, raw salmon.

 

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Salmon	100g (~1 salmon filet)	19.5g	115 cal	6.05

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4. Turkey

Again I have to reemphasize, the many different ways you can prepare one source of protein is very important to me because eating A LOT of foods that BUILD muscle can be a bit challenging. Eating a lot often feels difficult, the more interesting (and especially tasty) ways you can have the food, the better.

Ways I like turkey: deli in sandwiches, turkey bacon.

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Turkey (breast)	100g	28g	128 cal	4.64

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5. Low fat yogurt

It is very important get the low fat yogurt, because otherwise although very tasty, the calorie content exceeds what we’re trying to achieve here. So, it’s great that we have this option, low fat yogurt is a very nice add-on (especially because of the higher calorie per gram of protein) to a variety of meals.

Ways I like low fat yogurt: on the side with any meal, mixed with fruits.

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Low fat yogurt	100g	5g	90 cal	18

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6. Lentils

Now to break down some of vegan/vegetarian foods that build muscle. Lentils definitely rank very high in terms of being a great vegetarian alternative that has a high source of protein.

Ways I like lentils: lentil soup, lentil mixed salad

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Lentils	100g	26g	360 cal	13.8

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7. Pumpkin seeds

One of the secret high protein foods that not many people know about. Great addition to add on variety of foods and just a great snack overall

Ways I like pumpkin seeds: snack alone or with other dried fruits, sprinkled on salads

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Pumpkin seeds	30g (0.25 cup)	9g	180 cal	20

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8. Green peas

Another great vegetarian protein source. Very clean, high in fiber and many other vitamins and minerals.

Ways I like green peas: mixed into a salad, as a side or main in many dishes

 

 

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Green peas	28g (1 oz.)	5.5g	80 cal	14.55

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9. Quinoa

It makes sense why quinoa is such a well-known super food, the stacks in nutritional value exceeds most other grains. Already high in protein, and more importantly quinoa is a complete protein (meaning it has all 9 essential amino acids needed for humans) unlike many vegetarian alternatives. And with high levels of fiber and other minerals, especially compared to most grains.

Ways I like quinoa: heavily mixed in with salads, a carbohydrate alternative to main meals.

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Quinoa	45g (0.25 cup )	8g	190 cal	23.75

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note: DO NOT be discouraged when it comes to the vegetarian/vegan alternatives for their calorie per gram of protein. The foods mentioned here contain many other nutrients (especially good complex carbohydrates, which are great for losing weight) that account for their higher calorie amounts.
These vegetarian/vegan options are great for building muscle.

 

10. Whey (isolate) protein

The ultimate protein source when it comes to the calorie per protein and the sense of convenience as well.
As mentioned before, eating high levels of protein can often be challenging and to reach the optimal amount of protein (1 gram per LEAN body weight in lbs (source)) with whey protein you can top off the amounts needed without stuffing your face endlessly (which I have tried and failed many times)

Wheys I like whey protein: plain shakes (usually chocolate flavor), mixed in a smoothie

 

Source	Amount	Protein	Calories	CALORIE PER PROTEIN
Whey (isolate) protein	30g (1 scoop )	24g	120 cal	5

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These are MY 10 foods that BUILD muscle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not a definitive list by any means. There are many other foods that are great for building muscles but these are the ones I’ve found most convenient and been able to keep consistently in my diet even up to today.

Join my email list and get daily insights/key information as well as sending me any questions or concerns. I’d gladly help where I can.

 

Timur Jun Yigit