Bulking is effective when done with a regular resistance training program. Consuming bulky foods can help you gain muscles, improve your performance in a workout, and gain the weight necessary for your body.
You must include bulky foods in your diet only if you want to enjoy any of the above benefits. Now, to know what foods are good to include in a bulking diet. Read on!
This article will tell you the ten most beneficial and healthy bulking foods to include in your diet.
10 Healthy Bulking Foods to Include in Your Diet
Bulking is eating surplus calories, meaning more calories than you burn. And we will mainly focus on healthy bulking foods. Otherwise, there are 3 types of bulking food categories: regular, clean, and dirty bulking diet. Clean bulking is eating a moderate amount of calorie intake than you burn.
And dirty is eating excess calories from high caloric foods, which increases weight gaining faster. And a regular bulking diet is the average intake of calories you consume daily. So, let us combine all the three types and talk about the most healthy ones you can consume to maintain your fitness.
1. Dairy Product
Whole milk, cheese, and low-fat yogurt are some of the best healthy bulking food items to include in your diet if your goal is to gain weight or bodybuilding. A cup of whole milk will contain around 149 grams of calories, 8 grams of fat, and 8 grams of protein. You can drink at least 3 cups of nonfat milk every day. But one cup of whole milk is enough as it is thick and retains its fat.
And a bowl (8 ounces) of low-fat curd has around 12 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, and 143 calories. Along with protein, it also has calcium to contribute to muscle building. But if you want to gain weight, consume fatty yogurt. Consume around 3 cups of yogurt per day.
Cheese, especially cottage cheese, is high in protein and a good source of bulking diet. A 100 grams of cheese has around 98 calories, 4.3 grams of fat, and 11 grams of protein. You can add it to curry, bread, or any other food item or eat it raw.
2. Avocados
Avocados are a rich source of fibers, Vitamin E, antioxidants, oleic acid, which provide you with healthy fat and calories to build muscles. An avocado will have 29 grams of fat, 322 calories, and 4 grams of protein. It is excellent to include in your diet if you are on a bulky session.
Avocado is a bulky food, but it helps lower LDL (bad cholesterol) in your body as it has monounsaturated fatty acids, which are good ones. It also helps reduce weight and is keto-friendly because of the presence of fibers.
3. Eggs
Include omelets, scrambled eggs, or boiled eggs to your bulking diet. Eggs are high in healthy cholesterols, proteins, and fat. Also, it has almost all the essential amino acids required for muscle building. More than half of the necessary nutrients of eggs are in the yolk. So, do not throw away the yolk and eat the whole egg.
An egg will provide you with 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, and 78 calories. Hence, you can eat three whole eggs every day after work out. And if your purpose is to gain weight, consume around 6 eggs per day.
4. Bread
Bread is loaded with carbs, and if you spread some peanut butter or any other nut butter and carb-rich fruits like a banana on the bread, it will load you with more healthy carbs. Wholemeal bread is the best as it also has fibers, vitamins, and minerals essential for your body to increase muscle mass.
A bread crust has around 3.6 grams of protein, 0.9 grams of fat, and 69 calories. And if you add banana to the bread, it will provide you with 44 grams of carbs, 4.6 grams of protein, and 194 calories. You could consume a total of 2,800 calories of bread slices in a day for muscle building.
5. Oats
Oats are rich in soluble fibers. And it has healthy protein and carbs to recover from workouts and increase muscle mass. You can consume a bowl of it in the morning every day. To make it delicious, add some milk and spread nuts, garnish it with dried fruits and consume it.
Per serving (81 grams) of oats will provide you with 307 calories, 55 grams of carbs, 11 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber. You can buy any of the rolled oats, crushed or steel-cut oats.
6. Pasta
Pasta has Vitamin B to increase metabolism and carbs and protein to help increase muscle mass. In a bulking session, pasta is a great choice of meal to consume after a workout. Go for whole grain or white pasta for a healthy option! You can also combine pasta with other healthy bulking food like lean beef.
A 100 grams of pasta will have around 5 grams of protein, 25 grams of carbs, and 1.1 grams of fat. You can have it both pre-workout and post-workout but in a gap of at least half an hour.
7. Rice
The richness of rice in carbohydrates, calories, and carbs makes it a good food source to include in the diet during a bulky session. Consider buying white rice as it contributes more to adding muscles to your body.
A 100 grams of white rice will provide you with 2.7 grams of protein, 0.3 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbs, and 0.4 grams of fibers. But, in comparison to white rice, brown rice is high in fat and fibers. So you can choose any one of them based on your goal through a bulking diet.
8. Olive Oil
Replace your home oils with olive oil. It is a plant-based oil and thus provides you with healthy unsaturated fats and calories. Therefore, olive oils are good to include in your bulking diet. You can use it to drizzle on salads, cook curries, or bake chapatis.
Per tbsp of olive oil has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat. But it has 0 grams of protein. And a spoon every day is good for overall body health as a spoon of olive oil will have antioxidants, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, which help treat you from many diseases.
9. Potatoes
Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, complex carbs, and carbohydrates essential to building muscles. Carbohydrates in potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, provide you energy to work out more and improve athletic performance to gain muscles.
100 grams of potato has 77 calories, 0.1 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, and 2.2 grams of dietary fibers. The best way to eat potatoes or sweet potatoes is to boil, bake or make a curry. And avoid fried potatoes to avoid intake of unnecessary and unhealthy trans fats.
10. Bananas
Bananas are fibrous fruits rich in vitamins, minerals, potassium, antioxidants, and various phytonutrients. And they are high in healthy carbs and calories. Potassium in bananas is good for muscle contraction.
You can eat around two bananas per day to stay healthy and fit. A 100 grams of banana will have around 89 calories, 0.3 grams of fat, and 1.1 grams of protein.
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Conclusion
Bulking is eating more calories than you burn. It helps build muscles, increase muscle mass, and also helps gain weight. But, you must consume healthy bulky food items instead of dirty or junky bulky foods.
You can include whole milk and eggs, yogurt, cheese, avocados, bread, oats, pasta, rice, olive oil, potatoes, and bananas in your diet. But, do not overeat them. Please read the above points to know about the right quantity to consume per day according to the calories and fats they provide you!
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