Start talking about fat, and people committed to physical fitness will recoil in fear and disgust. However, fat is an important part of your diet when you’re trying to lose weight and build muscle. If you’re engaged in bodybuilding and really trying to transform yourself, fat is even more important.
The trick is to choose the right kind of fat. You don’t want to fill up on ice cream and butter when you’re looking to incorporate more fats into your diet. Instead, you want to focus on healthy fats that can help you produce muscle and sustain strength. With the right types of fats in your system, you’ll build better muscle and have more energy and endurance to push through your most grueling workouts.
Why Fats Are Important
Without fat, you won’t be able to produce the testosterone that’s necessary to fuel your muscle growth. Low fat diets have been proven to stunt growth, and that’s exactly the opposite of what you want to do. Don’t be fooled into thinking that low-fat diets are an effective way to build your body. You need the fats to produce energy. Those fats will also help your muscle tissues repair themselves during periods of rest.
The right kind of fat in your diet will enhance the anabolic environment in your body, which sets the right scene for muscle building and strength. Overall muscle development will improve, and you’ll also notice that you have better skin and more concentration. Fat is needed to keep your brain working sharply. If you’re not completely focused on your training and your competition, you run the risk of injury.
Increasing your essential fats will also improve your heart health, help you sleep better at night, and speed up the healing of injuries or general muscle soreness. Make sure you’re getting enough fat, and make sure you know what kind of fat to eat.
Choosing Healthy Fats
The best kind of essential fats you can find are in oils. Pick your favorite oil, and use it whenever you can. Perhaps you love olive oil or flaxseed oil. Fish oil is also a great source of fat and has remarkable cardiovascular benefits. It’s easy to add oil to your diet by cooking with it. When you’re preparing a protein like fish or chicken, saute or roast the dish in oil, rather than butter. You should always use an oil-based salad dressing, and you can drizzle some olive oil over veggies and put it on bread. Drop a teaspoon or two of oil into your protein shakes or fruit smoothies. Eat it on pasta and rice when you’re loading carbs.
In addition to oils, you can find healthy fats in fish and nut-based products like almond butter or cashew butter. Keep bags of nuts on hand for when you need a snack. Walnuts, pecans, almonds. and macadamia nuts are all high in fat but exceptionally great for your bodybuilding plans. Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds can also add fat, so toss those into your salads and onto your oatmeal.
Finding ways to incorporate fat into your diet does not have to be difficult. There are many excellent sources of healthy fat that will help you build the body that you want. Don’t be afraid of fat. As long as you’re eating natural, essential fats and not processed or chemical fats, you’re giving your body what it needs. You’ll find that you’re able to get stronger faster, and you’ll look and feel better, too. Any weight you gain from the added fat will be converted into energy and muscle. Your bodybuilding diet depends on good fats. So, get to know them.