When you’re constantly working hard in order to get shredded and you’ve been hitting all the checkpoints along the way such as going to the gym and sleeping well yet it’s not going as planned for some reason and it sometimes seems like you’re staying in one place. The reason for this is probably the food you’re consuming.
A good and balanced eating regimen is very important when you’re working out because that’s where you’ll get the energy for the muscles to be able to perform and grow after being worked. The food you need to eat should consist of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy and lean protein along with some BCAA that are present in poultry, meats, peanut butter and low fat dairy.
However the list of what you should consume is for another time. Now we’ll discuss the foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat, so here are the ones you should definitely avoid:
Foods To Avoid When Building Muscle And Losing Fat
1.Pretzels
Snack foods such as pretzels aren’t very rich in nutrients that your muscles need to grow and recover. They are however filled with empty calories and a lot of carbs which will have the opposite effect of what you want to achieve. The carbs they contain may turn into fat.
In case that you crave pretzels so much opt for ones that are whole grain and get a dip such as peanut butter or almond butter to get some protein and healthy fats in the mix.
2.Bagels
Bagels are quite high on calories, in fact the ones available in stores contain around 400 calories and all are from refined carbs. And bagels usually aren’t as tasty without the cream cheese on top which essentially is saturated fat which isn’t any better since neither offers any muscle building nutrients.
As an alternative opt for a slice of whole grain bread with some peanut butter.
3.Alcohol
Consuming alcohol regularly will absolutely stress out your body because it raises the body’s demands for antioxidants so rather than utilizing the antioxidants to help muscle recovery it would use them to metabolize the alcohol consumed.
So naturally alcohol found it’s way to our list of foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat. Try to diminish the alcohol consumption as much as you can and in case you can’t opt to drink more than 2 glasses per day.
4.All-purpose Flour
Anything made with an all-purpose flour is stacked with a lot of empty calories. Items in this category include most types of cakes, breads, cookies and many more similar goodies.
However if you want to enjoy one of these goodies check for some recipes that utilize a high fiber flour which is much healthier and much more useful for your organism. Or even opt to make your own awesome variation of your favorite cake or cookie.
5.Sausages
Since these are extremely high on sodium, saturated fats and calories they also made it to our list of foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat. Another bad trait they have is that they are highly processed and have a lot of nitrates and preservatives which are utilized to stop bacterial spreading and keep the delicious red colors in the meat.
The reason nitrites aren’t good is because they provoke the creation of chemicals known as nitrosamines which are connected to cancer. A better option would be to go for lean cuts of meat or if you are really craving for sausage pick ones that are nitrite-free.
6.Doughnuts
Although tasty as hell, these treats essential offer no useful or in any way healthy ingredients since they are created from refined flour and they are fried. Try satisfy your cravings for sweets by opting for nonfat Greek yogurt that is packed with protein and topped with some fruit and honey.
7.Pre-made Smoothies
Getting a pre-made smoothie when you’re in a hurry is often a trap since they are usually packed with calories (around 1000 on average) as well as sugar. Usually not even a adding protein powder in the pre-made smoothie would be helpful given how much sugar it has. A smarter option would be to get some fresh fruit and make it yourself.
8.Ice Cream
Basically the reason ice cream is on our list is because it is quite high in saturated fat. In fact only one cup of ice cream contains the recommended amount of saturated fats one should take on daily basis.
And since people usually don’t stop after just one cup they well exceed the daily limit and that doesn’t go well if you want to build muscle or get lean.
Something you can eat instead of ice cream is a Greek yogurt which contains BCAA.
9.Processed Cheese
Every cheese has high amounts of fat and sodium as well as some crucial nutrients for growing muscles but the processed cheese has lower amounts of protein contrasted to cheese that isn’t processed.
There are many more reasons why processed cheese is on our list of foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat.
As an alternative pick an unprocessed cheese such as parmesan, brie or cheddar.
10.Cured Ham
The reason this is on our list is the high amount of sodium sauces that are used when preparing this ham as well as the fact that it’s cured or smoked. Consuming a lot of sodium will make you bloated so avoid this type of ham and stay true to the lean cuts of meat.
11.Potato Chips
Potatoes are actually quite alright for building muscle but after they get processed and made into chips they lose a lot of the previous nutrients they had such as vitamin C.
As an alternative go for baked whole potatoes or baked fries.
12.Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
In order to take out the fat from this butter they use different preservatives, additives and sugar and this process also lowers the amount of protein that peanut butter usually have by 1 gram so it’s best to stick to the natural version.
13.High Sugar Breakfast Cereals
Although the appearance of some cereals is healthy at first glance, most of them usually have a lot more sugar then you originally thought. Check the ingredient label to see how much sugar it contains and if it’s anywhere above 5g then avoid it. Alternatively pick cereals that have around 3g of fiber and lower then 5g sugar.
14.Artificial Sweeteners
These additions have no contribution whatsoever to muscle building or losing fat. They are a lot sweeter than sugar and are likely to get you hooked on sweet foods. As an alternative it’s wise to utilize natural sweeteners like honey, agave or maple syrup.
15.Granola Bars
These bars are can actually slow down your muscle growth because of the fact that they are sometimes higher in calories, sugar and fat even though they have a good combination of oats, dried fruit, seeds and nuts. If you actually like having a granola bar once in a while, go for the ones that have less than 200 calories.
16.Pepperoni Pizza
The reason this particular type of pizza is on our list of foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat is because of the high amount of fat and sodium in the pepperoni as well as the high amount of calories that a pizza topped with a processed meat would have.
All those ingredients aren’t the best for building muscles so as an alternative it would be beneficial for you to make your own pizza at home utilizing wheat crust, homemade sauce, low fat mozzarella cheese and topped with veggies.
17.Soda
All types of sodas are in essence water with sugar and have nothing that your body needs. Another downside of drinking a lot of soda is the abundance of caffeine you get which can weaken your bone strength. Instead of drinking soda it’s better for you muscles to get a low fat milk of just plain and simple water.
Those are the foods to avoid when building muscle and losing fat that made our list. Following these simple rules will surely get you to the lean, shredded form you desire.
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