Chicken and brown rice is a great meal for your muscle building diet.

Photo credit: My Little Rascal

Let’s face it, you could do everything perfectly in regards to training like lift weights three times per week, do the right amount of sets and reps, write down and record every lift in detail, and spend 45 minutes in the gym each session while getting enough rest every night. But if you do everything else perfectly and neglect what you’re eating everyday for the next 6 months to a year, you will see minimal results (especially for you ectomorphic skinny guys) and just be wasting your time. Eating the right food is of the utmost importance when you are looking to slap on the size.

Imagine bricklayers putting down bricks to build up a home. As long as they have a steady supply of the right bricks (nutrition from food), they can build strong, long lasting walls (your muscles), that will be the support of a great house (your body). Without the right kinds of food, and you can forget having a muscular body. Having a dream body is 75% nutrition, and 25% training, in my opinion.

So this article will let you know exactly what foods you should be eating so you can naturally build muscle as fast as possible.

The basic premise of a bulking diet for us skinny guys is to eat 6 meals per day, every 2.5 – 3 hours consisting of:

1. Protein
   • Chicken breast
   • turkey breast
   • chunk light tuna (less mercury than albacore)
   • salmon
   • egg whites
   • whey (usually received with supplements like OnWhey Protein powder)
   • lean beef (round cuts are the leanest)
   • cottage cheese
2. Carbohydrates – Unrefined/non-processed
   • oats/oatmeal
   • whole grains (breads, cereals, brown rice)
   • wraps (the low carb variety are normally very high in protein and fiber)
   • sweet potatoes
   • beans
   • fruit (whole are better than dried or juice)
   • fibrous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and spinach
3. Fats – the good kind
   • peanut butter
   • nuts (almonds)
   • flax
   • fish oil
   • olive oil
   • dressings (without added sugar or hydrogenated oil)
   • avocado
   • products with omegas

A sample meal might be a chicken breast, 1 cup of cooked brown rice, and a good portion size of vegetables. When you wake up, you could eat a bagel with peanut butter, milk, and an apple.

So there you have it, those are the staples that your muscle gaining/bulking diet consists of. Chicken and rice should be a constant. I prepare my chicken for a week or so at a time on the George Foreman grill and get microwavable brown rice that is easy to make. Then heat that up for lunch and I’m good to go. You get great protein and carbs in that kind of meal.

I realize this list does not contain the most appetizing of food choices, but building the body you desire and that others admire is much more important than satisfying your taste buds and cravings. A saying I love is you should eat for fuel, not for taste. After a while, you get used to it and it’s much better seeing muscle being built where there was once skin and bones. So suck it up, don’t complain and be a man and eat this food!

Another aspect I should mention is that of water intake. You need to be getting about a gallon of water everyday if you’re around 200 lbs. Keep drinking water until your urine is clear. Yes, it’s annoying to keep having to go to the bathroom, but you gotta do what it takes and drinking that much water keeps you regular and helps carry all those nutrients you’ll be taking in to your muscles. Drinking water heavily is important, so it’s best to cut out coffee, tea, juices and cokes. I drink water and skim milk for about 95% of my liquids. It’s ok to cheat every once in a while too on liquid and food, just don’t get carried away.

Always stick to your diet and keep drinking that water and remember, nothing tastes as good as looking your best feels.

Our top rated muscle building program is Vince DelMonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building. Yes, it has a nice nutritional section and gives you the information you want to know about dieting for a bulk.