When you're in the gym, you're causing micro tears within your muscles while working out. Lifting weights causes damage. To recover and build new muscle, you have to eat food. Have plenty of protein, carbs, and fats and of course enough calories. If you don't get in enough calories, you'll end up losing weight AND not building muscle, optimally. So as a result, you're regressing instead of progressing in muscle building.
SIGNS OF NOT GETTING ENOUGH CALORIES
- Not able to Fully Recover
- Hindered performance. Affected power/strength/stamina.
- Sluggish, tired, drained all the time
- Can't build muscle, or lose muscle
- Becoming skinny too quickly
- No muscle mass is present
Creating & maintaining muscle requires enough protein and calories. Carbs and fats play a role in energy and hormones. Not as important as calories and protein.
You need to reach your protein & calorie quota on a daily basis if you're wanting to create NEW muscle and maintain what you have. If not, then you won't recover properly or efficiently, and building NEW muscle will be quite impossible.
--> Muscle Building FOODS - List- <---
Calories overall matter the most. Sure protein is vital as well, but if you're underfed in the first place, you won't simply grow or recover efficiently. To determine whether you're underfed or fed properly, examine your physique. Examine your energy, and performance levels. If you aren't growing or always feeling lethargic, and whatnot, perhaps you're underfed. If you're growing and seeing results, especially week after week or month to month, then you're doing it properly.
When working out, you should never skip any meals. If you skip meals, you're missing out on opportunities to grow. You stimulate muscle protein synthesis when you consume Protein and food overall. Working out causes muscle protein synthesis after the session is done. So, consuming meals pre & post-workout is highly recommended, to optimally build muscle.
Tracking Calories is Highly Recommended to Stay On Track!
If you have an issue reaching your calorie or protein consumption quota/goal, then you should track your food or calories. By tracking your food intake, you understand how many calories you've been consuming. From this, you have the data and knowledge to go about your goals for the day. So by understanding the data, you can dictate whether to consume more or fewer calories/food in order to stay on track. Using Myfitnesspal App or online calorie tracking sites is recommended.
TIPS TO GET IN [MORE] CALORIES AT THE END OF THE DAY
- - PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS / PROTEIN SHAKES
-- 7 Reasons why to use Protein Powders!
- - MASS GAINERS
- - USING TESTOSTERONE SUPPLEMENTS TO AID IN TESTOSTERONE PRODUCTION[OPTIMIZE TESTOSTERONE FOR EFFICIENT MUSCLE GROWTH]