The food you eat and the physical activities you engage in are critical if you want to develop lean muscles. One thing people fail to acknowledge is the importance of food to physical strength. No matter how much you exercise, you won’t achieve your goal if your diet doesn’t support it. All food classes serve specific functions and are all essential for muscle building and attaining peak physical health. Although proteins are essential for bodybuilding, carbohydrates and fats are also necessary for energy production. To build lean muscle, you need to exercise regularly and eat more calories from bodybuilding foods. 

Below are foods that can help build lean muscle.

Eggs

Eggs have been named the best source of protein, and why not? They contain high-quality protein, healthy fats, B vitamins, and choline. Eggs contain large amounts of amino acids, leucine, which is a core part of protein. Amino acid is essential for healthy muscle gain. One thing to take note of is the importance of B vitamins provided by eggs. B vitamins are critically essential for various processes in the body, including the production of energy. 

Salmon and Tuna 

Tuna is rich in vitamin A and several B vitamins, including B12, niacin, and B6. These nutrients are very important to the overall health of the body. They also provide energy and improve exercise performance. In addition, tuna provides large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which support muscle gain and improve the health and processes of the heart. The importance of proteins and other nutrients are gotten from fishy products can’t be overstated. Salmon performs a similar function to tuna. Salmon is loaded with protein, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids. These are very important additions to your diet if you’re looking to gain muscles.

Greek yogurt

Apart from the high-quality protein present in dairy, it also contains a mixture of fast-digesting whey protein, slow-digesting casein protein, and proactive bacteria that improve gastrointestinal health and processes. However, research has shown that not all dairy products contain the same amount of protein. For instance, Greek yogurt houses twice as much protein as regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is the perfect meal before a workout. It provides the body with energy to do more as well as fast and slow-digesting protein. In addition, greek yogurt also works as a good snack during the day or even before going to bed. 

Chicken Breast

There’s a good reason why chicken breast is added to this list. Apart from being filled with healthy protein and fat, they also provide the body with a generous amount of important nutrients such as B vitamins niacin and B6. These nutrients are essential when you’re active. These vitamins help the body function properly during physical activities or exercises. In addition, a high protein meal containing chicken breast is likely to help reduce fat all around the body. This makes chicken breast a healthy weight loss agent. 

Shrimps

Shrimps are almost pure protein. While healthy carbs and protein are important in your overall diet, shrimps provide all these with a notable amount of muscle-building protein and fewer amount of calories. Shrimps are rich in leucine, an amino acid, which is very essential for optimal muscle growth. 

Lean Beef

Beef is packed with lots of high-quality protein, minerals, B vitamins, and creatine. Some studies show that consuming lean red meat can increase the amount of lean mass gained with weight training. However, when attempting to gain muscles, it’s best to choose beef that supports muscle gain while providing fewer calories. 

Brown rice

Although brown rice contains less protein than other sources, remember the goal is muscle building. Brown rice provides the body with the required amount of carbohydrates to fuel your physical activity. You should consider eating brown rice a few hours before going for exercise. This ensures a burst of energy during your workout and increases your endurance. The protein obtained from brown rice is also shown to be as effective as any other protein supplement. It can produce as much muscle gain as whey protein during a weight training program. 

Other food sources to gain lean muscles are:

• Almonds
• Bison
• Pork tenderloin 
• Milk
• Tofu
• Buckwheats 
• Peanuts
• Chickpeas
• Lean jerky 
• Scallops
• Protein powders
• Quinoa
• Edamame 
• Turkey breast 
• Tilapia
• Beans
• Soybeans
• Cottage cheese

There are lots of foods that can help build lean muscle, most of which are proteins. Nevertheless, the importance of other food classes shouldn’t be ignored. In addition to taking protein-filled foods, you should also take carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates and fats supply the body with the energy needed to carry out the exercise. To achieve the goal of developing lean muscles, focus on exercising and incorporating the foods listed above into your diet.