Protein-rich foods are a necessity for maintaining everyone’s health, regardless of whether one is a professional athlete or not. In this article, we will explain why you should learn what protein-rich foods are, which foods have the most protein, and where you can find them.
All this to ensure your meal is balanced and you can stay healthy, gaining lean mass.
Regardless of whether the person is an athlete or not, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, prioritizing a balanced diet, physical exercise and mental well-being, is a fundamental aspect to be successful in this proposal to lose fat, maintaining only what is considered a healthy level of this body component.
It is worth remembering that every human being also needs carbohydrates, fat and sodium in the body, not just protein.
It turns out that everything must be in perfect balance, without excess or deficiency, according to each person’s lifestyle. A professional athlete, for example, has different needs than someone who rarely practices sports.
However, in order to maintain a healthy body, muscles must be constantly improving, whether by practicing functional training three times a week or professional football, as they are what provide the strength for us to walk, pick up a glass, stand up and perform other daily activities.
Once you understand the importance of muscles in the life of any human being, you need to feed them, which is done by consuming proteins and external stimuli, such as practicing physical exercises, remembering, again, according to your needs.
It is important to consult a nutritionist or dietitian , precisely to balance the ideal quantities, so that each individual consumes all types of food in a correct and healthy way.
In any case, what you should take into account is, whenever possible, to replace bread with something more protein-rich, for example.
And we’ll help you by indicating the foods that contain the most protein. Oh… and we’ll tell you in advance: there’s room for vegans too, because the list of proteins we’ve created includes a lot of protein from the plant kingdom too.
9 protein-rich foods to gain lean muscle
1. Eggs
Avoid adding too much fat when preparing, but a drizzle of olive oil goes well.
2. Peanut butter
It can be added to fruits, such as bananas, in small quantities. Choose those that only contain crushed peanuts in the ingredients.
3. Yogurt
If possible, make it at home, with kefir; otherwise, choose the one with less sugar and more protein, such as Greek and natural yogurt.
4. Pumpkin seeds
You can lightly toast them and they are great for snacks.
5. Cottage cheese
Try to make your own, if you can’t, find one that has fewer additives: read the label and always choose those that contain the most natural ingredients possible.
6. Almonds
Another great option for snacks.
7. Quinoa
Considered a superfood, it is great to add to salads, yogurt or replace rice, for example.
8. Beans, lentils and chickpeas
Pakis tend to skip traditional beans when they are on a diet, but they are a very rich source of protein.
9. Meats
In general, meats are excellent sources of protein and, we emphasize, the less processed, the better!
What to eat to gain muscle mass faster?
When we eat a food rich in protein, which is recommended right after exercise, we provide our muscles with a rest, as the proteins ingested heal the injured muscle , that little pain after weight training, which everyone knows.
It is important to remember, however, that it is also necessary to ingest carbohydrates combined with these proteins, as they are what inhibit catabolism, that is, they inhibit muscle degradation after training.
Thus, in a virtuous cycle, those who work the muscle (something we are, or have to be, doing all the time) need to provide means for its recovery (it also gets tired), which is very well done through the ingestion of proteins, not only immediately after training, but in your diet in general.
In other words, keeping your entire body well-nourished is of utmost importance, not only during pre- and post-workout meal times , but throughout the day.
Only then will your body have all the nutrients well stored and be able to work easily to achieve the desired goal, thus ensuring good health in general, which is always the goal, right?