Your Ultimate 7-Day Meal Plan for Muscle Gain
Note: The sample 7-day meal plan provided here is intended for informational purposes only and may not be suitable for everyone. If you have other medical conditions, allergies, or dietary restrictions, it is essential to consult with your physician or a registered dietitian before making any significant changes to your diet.
You may have heard that gaining muscle is good for your health, but what does it actually mean? Muscle gain (also known as muscle hypertrophy) is the increase in the size of a muscle. This will come with an increase in overall body weight. Muscle gain differs from shifts in body composition, which focus on building muscle mass and reducing body fat with minimal weight changes.
Resistance training, such as lifting weights, can stimulate muscle gain. But you also need the right nutrition plan to help support muscle growth. Eating more calories than you burn is an important part of gaining muscle. Your body needs calories to repair the muscle damage caused by resistance training and leading to muscle growth. We put together a 7-Day Meal Plan for Muscle Gain to help you get the calories and nutrients you need to optimize your muscle growth!
The Essentials of Muscle-Building Nutrition
Why Protein is Key for Muscle Growth
Protein is a macronutrient that makes up the building blocks of muscles. It can be found in animal-based foods including meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Protein is also found in plant-based foods such as beans, legumes, and soy products like tofu and tempeh.
Getting enough protein is key for supporting muscle growth. But how much do you really need?
The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. This means that someone who weighs 165 pounds (75 kg) would need 60 grams of protein per day.
The RDA is only the average daily amount of a nutrient that meets the needs of almost all healthy people (97-98%) in a particular group. The RDA for protein does not account for physical activity levels and is likely not appropriate for someone who wants to gain muscle.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends a range of 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram (g/kg) of body weight per day for building and maintaining muscle mass. For a 165-pound person, this equates to 105 to 150 grams (g) of protein per day.
Still, these ranges are just suggestions and may not be appropriate for all individuals. A registered dietitian can help determine how many grams of protein you need given your health history and goals.
Balancing Carbohydrates and Healthy Fats for Optimal Results
Besides protein, carbohydrates (carbs) and fats also play a role in muscle building.
According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 45-65% of calories should come from carbs, 20-35% from fats, and 10-35% from protein. For a 165-pound person aiming for 2 grams per kilogram of body weight of protein, this equates to 150 grams or 600 calories of protein daily.
Let’s say this person eats 3,000 calories per day. If they shoot for 55% of calories from carbs, that would be roughly 412 g of carbs or 1,648 calories per day. Fats would fill the remaining 752 calories, translating to approximately 83 g of fat per day.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, carbohydrates are needed to fuel your muscles. Your body uses carbs to make glycogen, the stored form of glucose (sugar). Glycogen stored in muscles provides a direct source of fuel (energy) to power exercise. Eating enough carbs keeps muscular energy stores filled. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends choosing nourishing carb sources, such as whole grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables like potatoes.
Fat also provides fuel during exercise and is an overall source of total daily calories. Adding healthy fats to your meals in the form of olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds can be a helpful way to meet your calorie needs on a muscle-gain nutrition plan. This is because fats are more calorie-dense than carbs and protein.
Our meal plan below has plenty of great ideas to help you incorporate both carbohydrates and fats into your daily routine!
