When you’re building your body and shedding fat while you develop muscles, you’re probably taking supplements such as legal steroids or prohormone pills. Taking these things or drinking a daily protein shake might lead you to believe you’re getting all the nutrients you need. However, nothing can beat the vitamins and minerals you receive when you eat your fruits and vegetables. This is the most important food group for anyone who is trying to live a healthy lifestyle. You need your apples and your spinach to build a better body. You cannot do it without a well balanced diet that includes a lot of high fiber veggies and fruit. While protein is important for muscle development and recovery and carbohydrates and fats are essential for energy and calorie burning, you need fruits and vegetables in order to ensure your body is performing at its peak. Everything works together. Your workout plus your steroids plus your diet plan are pushing you towards one single goal: a bigger, stronger body. It’s important not to compromise that goal just because you don’t like salad.
Green is Good
The list of vitamins and minerals you need in order to be a fierce bodybuilder is long. There’s the vitamin B family of nutrients, as well as iron and folate and vitamin A and vitamin D and magnesium and calcium. All of these things are not simply luxuries. They are essential ingredients that need to hit your bloodstream fast. Depriving your body of a particular vitamin or mineral will only slow you down and impair your ability to grow the muscles you want.
Variety is indeed the spice of life, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. One of the best reasons to add a piece of fruit to a meal or have a second helping of veggies is that it allows you to create variety in your meals and your snacks. You’ll get bored eating the same foods over and over again. Luckily, there are hundreds of different types of vegetables to choose from when you’re creating a salad or adding something packed with vitamins to a protein-packed meal. When you’re desperate for a snack, the supply of fruits available to you are endless. You should never get bored. You can have a plum in the morning, an orange in the afternoon and a banana in the evening. Eat broccoli with your lunch and snap peas with your dinner. There are so many choices.
Color is important when choosing your veggies, picking a piece of fruit or creating a plate. Much of your protein and carbs will be the same white, brown or red color. With your fruits and vegetables, you get a splash of color. This isn’t meant to simply make your plate prettier. Those colors matter. When you eat foods that are green, red, orange, yellow or purple, you’re getting valuable antioxidants that will only help your muscles develop and your immune system stay strong. You won’t be able to hit the gym when you’re sick. So avoid illness and eat those greens.
What to Eat
The best types of veggies and fruit are the ones that you like. If you have nightmares about your childhood when you were forced to finish your brussel sprouts, stay away from those. Instead, you can eat sautéed spinach, roasted cauliflower and twice-baked squash. Try a plate of raw carrots, celery and cucumbers with a little bit of hummus. Satisfy your sweet tooth with fresh cherries, peaches or a fruit salad that contains three or four different types of berries. You’ll never run out of options or ideas and your body will respond in positive ways.
When you’re taking steroids or prohormones to increase your muscle mass, it’s a good idea to help things along with the right diet. It’s easy to forget about vegetables and fruits when you’re so focused on protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. Don’t forget the fresh, fiber-filled things, however. Include your favorite veggies in any of your meals, or eat them as snacks throughout the day. Add fruit to oatmeal or make smoothies with strawberries and bananas so you’re sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need to increase your strength and keep the fat away.