Best Foods for Muscle Growth

Top 3 Foods for Building Muscle from a Dietitian & Bodybuilder

If you are a female focusing on muscle growth, how you fuel your body is very important. You may have heard through social media that protein is an important muscle building food, but protein isn’t the only thing that impacts muscle growth.

I chose my top 3 foods for building muscle not only based on macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates), but micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well.

Muscle-building food 1: Cottage Cheese

I know what you may be thinking: “cottage cheese, really?”. I know cottage cheese has taken social media by storm, but there is good reason for that. However, the reason I chose cottage cheese goes beyond its protein content. Yes, cottage cheese is high in protein (1 cup has about 20-30 grams of protein), but the type of protein also makes it great for building muscle. Cottage cheese is about 80% casein protein. Casein is the main protein found in milk that gives it its white color. Casein protein not only gives your body all the necessary amino acids to build muscle, but it is slow digesting (vs. whey protein which is fast digesting), making it helpful for feeling full.

Foods high in casein, like cottage cheese, are best eaten at night. During sleep, your body can break down muscle if it does not have adequate protein. Eating cottage cheese 1-2 hours before bed ensures that your body has the protein it needs to preserve muscle overnight.

Cottage cheese is also high in leucine. Leucine is an amino acid (building block of protein) that is known for being the most important for muscle-building. Leucine directly stimulates mTOR, a key signaling pathway that tells your body to start muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Think of mTOR as the master control panel. Leucine walks in and flips the switch. Without enough leucine, even if you eat plenty of protein, MPS barely turns on.

If you want to maximize both muscle repair and sleep quality, try pairing cottage cheese with foods like:

• pumpkin seeds

• berries

• kiwi

• nut butter

• honey or maple syrup

• granola

• dark chocolate chips

• chia or hemp seeds

Muscle-building food 2: Sardines

Sardines are my second favorite food for building muscle. First, I want to address the obvious here-sardines are an acquired taste, but I promise you the more you eat them, the more you can tolerate them. Sardines are a great source of protein for a small quantity of food: 1 can of sardines provides about 20-25 grams of protein which is excellent for supporting muscle growth.

Sardines are also very high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are a special kind of fat that we need to get in our diet (our body cannot make omega-3’s on its own). Omega-3’s, especially the kind we get in fish like sardines, help to support our heart and our brains. When it comes to muscle growth, omega-3’s can help to reduce inflammation, aiding in muscle recovery and repair.

The healthy fat, vitamin D, and zinc in sardines also helps to support testosterone production. Testosterone is a major driver in muscle growth, which can be helpful for women who want to build muscle.

Another big benefit of sardines is that if you buy sardines with bones, you get more calcium and phosphorus. Calcium and phosphorus supports bone strength, muscle contraction and overall strength training performance.

My favorite way to eat sardines is with hot jasmine rice and a drizzle of sriracha.

Muscle-building food 3: Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the most underrated muscle-building foods — here are three reasons they deserve a spot in your diet.

Potatoes are packed with high-quality carbohydrates that refill muscle glycogen fast. Muscle glycogen, as I mentioned in my blog post: 5 Common Muscle-Building Mistakes, is the energy bank we rely on when we strength train in the gym. The more glycogen we have, the more energy we have. This results in better, stronger workouts.

Potatoes are also one of the richest sources of potassium, which supports muscle contractions, hydration, and performance. Potassium helps your muscles fire properly so you can lift heavier and recover faster.

Potatoes are also one of the most satiating foods. This means they keep you full for longer, which can be helpful if you are trying to build muscle without gaining a ton of weight. So, the next time someone tells you potatoes are “bad carbs”, send them this blog post.

Bonus Foods for Muscle Growth

Two other foods I am loving right now for the magnesium are pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate (has to be greater than 70%). Magnesium activates GABA receptors, a neurotransmitter that slows brain activity, and helps lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

A great combination for a nighttime snack is: cottage cheese, berries, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and granola, with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Final Thoughts: Muscle-Building Foods

A calorie-surplus, coupled with resistance training is the only way to gain muscle mass. However, the food we use to fuel our gains, helps to quicken this process. Foods like cottage cheese, sardines and potatoes not only help to fuel us with the macronutrients we need to build muscle, but they supply us with the micronutrients necessary to repair and recover.

Let me know your thoughts on these muscle-building foods!

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