Exercising is meaningless if your diet is reckless. This is not to say that you need to be austere and starve yourself, but a little discipline and planning would help big time.
Some hormones associated with muscle building are:-
Hormone#1 Insulin
Hormone #2: Glucagon
Hormone #3: IGF-1
Hormone #4: Cortisol
Hormone#5: Testosterone
Hormone #6: Growth Hormone (GH)
Some hormones build muscle while some breakdown muscle. Some hormones burn fat while some store fat. The two most important hormones associated with our concern would be insulin and testosterone. So without getting too scientific here, let’s just go through them and see if we can change our eating habits accordingly.
- INSULIN:-
Insulin can be your best friend or your worst foe. It promotes muscle building but also promotes fat storage. The role of insulin in the body is to lower blood sugar levels when they get too high.
Insulin carries amino acids into the muscles promoting protein synthesis (muscle building) and preventing protein breakdown (muscle loss). Your muscles and liver have a limited storage capacity and once they reach capacity insulin has to carry the remaining glucose somewhere else. YOU GUESSED IT, YOUR FAT CELLS!! SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER INSULIN CAN ALSO LEAD TO FAT STORAGE.
Different foods can cause higher insulin release than others.
- Carbs- When eaten alone carbohydrates cause the largest insulin release because they are converted directly into sugar by the body
- Protein- When eaten alone Protein causes a smaller insulin release than carbohydrates
- Fats- Only a very small percentage of fat will appear in the bloodstream as glucose. Fat has almost no blood sugar increasing effect at all.
What times of the day is your muscle and liver glucose storage at their lowest levels?
At breakfast and after your workout (cardio or weights)! These are the two main times in the day where your body will take full advantage of the anabolic effects of high insulin with the slimmest possibility of fat storage.
- TESTOSTERONE:-
Probably the most well-known hormone its primary role is muscle growth. It also helps to burn fat and establishes your sexual identity. Testosterone causes muscle growth by directly stimulating protein synthesis. Women also produce testosterone but in much smaller amounts than men do which explains why men are naturally more muscular.
Fortunately, to some extent, testosterone levels can be controlled by our diet and exercise levels.
Tips to naturally increase Testosterone levels
- The higher your stress level the lower your T.
- Intense training causes an increase in T but then it will drop. T will stay low for a day or two before rising again which is another reason for hard gainers to train every second day.
- Alcohol decreases T…… I know it sucks!!
- Diets high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat will increase T.
- Sex, masturbation, and erotic stimuli will cause an increase in T.
- Painkillers such as aspirin, marijuana, and codeine will decrease T.
There are no particular diet plans associated really. One eatable can be beneficial or harmful depending on the person. For example, offer me a glass of milk and to a lactose intolerant, you’ll know what I mean.
NOTE: – When it comes to eating, listen to your stomach, not your mind.
