Best Muscle Building Foods: Whey Proteins and Oatmeal

Importance of Muscle-Building Foods

A successful process of building lean muscles involves three major factors. They are resistance training, correct technique, and using the right amount of resistance. Here’s how you can use the trio in proper sync to get better results to stay fit and healthy.

Whey proteins and oatmeal are the best muscle-building foods for fitness professionals. These high-energy foods improve metabolism and help shed some extra flab. These health foods work on the principle of energy exchange- when you eat them in some form, you are accumulating more calories than usual in your body.

You can use these excess calories to work out harder and develop your muscles, and thus have better fitness. It is also why most fitness experts ask you to go for a protein-rich diet. They know that your body can use all the amino acids in the proteins to strengthen the muscles and to give them prominence. These muscle-building foods thus help you get better results in a shorter time.

Part 1: Whey Protein

What is whey protein? How is it made?

Whey protein is one of the most popular sources of taking proteins over and above your daily consumption through the diet. It is absorbed and utilized efficiently by the human body. This is why it is chosen by athletes, bodybuilders, or people who need to gain muscle mass and strength while losing fat.

It is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, a liquid residue after making cheese. It is rich in α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, serum albumin, and immunoglobulins and directly helps in building leaner muscles.

It is made by coagulating milk while making cheese, and only contains water-soluble nutrients that together reduce the pH below 4.6. Once the mixture is further treated to remove lipids and fats, the remaining proteins are concentrated. The more it is treated properly, the better quality of whey protein is created in the process.

Tip: Here are two free resources (here and here) that you can use to build your fitness. (You may also go for a personalized 7-day diet plan for weight loss if you think you are overweight. Consulting a professional nutritionist for the same would also be a smart step to take).

Why is whey a high-quality protein?

Whey protein is a type of protein that is found in high-quality milk. All of the standard 20 amino acids are present, but most importantly is that the 9 essential amino acids are present. It is a proper muscle-building food because it provides nutrients that the body cannot make on its own.

All of the amino acids in the protein consumed exist in the same ratio as they exist in muscle tissue. This proportional effect is better known as limiting amino acid. Proteins from animal sources such as beef, chicken, and fish offer the same value as do milk or eggs. Whey protein is one of the two proteins commonly found in milk along with casein.

Nutritional value of whey protein

Here’s a tabular representation of the nutritional value of whey protein:

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Source: Wikipedia

Fitness benefits of whey protein

The purpose of a resistance workout is to exercise several muscle groups sufficiently to break down the fibers, thus causing a microscopic muscular tear in the muscle. The next phase is to rebuild the affected muscle with proper nutrition. This is where whey protein proves its importance as a popular muscle-building food.

Here’s why you should include whey protein in your fitness schedule:

1. Lesser cost

2. No need to take individual protein foods

3. Works faster

4. Promotes muscular growth

5. Improves BP and blood sugar levels

6. Safe for Type-2 Diabetes patients

7. Reduces inflammation

8. Fosters newer tissue growth

9. Reduces pain during workouts

10. Helps you feel less hungry

11. It is not habit-forming

12. It is easy to digest

What is the difference between whey protein and an isolate?

Fitness professionals go for either whey proteins or isolates. These two muscle-building foods differ based on how whey is processed or extracted from milk- and this also translates into a different taste and nutritional value.

1. Liquid whey from cheese or yogurt is processed to increase its protein concentration.

2. The resulting mixture is dried to reduce moisture and to make whey concentrate. This may contain up to 80% proteins by volume.

3. If this mixture is further dried and processed to make the protein concentration go up to 90%, then whey isolate powder is obtained.

Thus it all depends on the protein value and concentration in both the powders. You may note that most of the other nutrients like amino acids are the same in both form and substance in both types of protein powders.

What are the benefits of whey protein isolate?

As an evolved and highly nutritious form of concentrated proteins, isolated whey proteins are a bit expensive but well worth their process. They can be taken by both beginners and experienced professionals, and offer the following benefits:

1. Promote faster weight loss

2. Easy to digest

3. Repairs muscles tissues faster

4. Improves athletic performance

5. Can be taken with any diet or exercise plan

6. Offer higher immunity

7. Reduce cholesterol

8. Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases

9. Normalizes BP and blood sugar

10. Helps gain weight after illness

What are hydrolyzed whey proteins?

Hydrolyzed proteins are also fitness products that help in making leaner muscles. It is made from a specialized solution of hydrolyzed proteins to segregate amino acids and peptides. It is a simpler and highly nutritious food that is made of regular whey.

Considered the best whey protein for beginners, it is easier to digest and helps the muscles recover faster. The only downsides are that it is expensive and poor quality products may also be sold by unscrupulous retailers in its name.

How to make whey protein at home?

Whey proteins (normal, hydrolyzed, or isolates) are the best muscle-building foods. While you can buy it from your gym or supermarket, it is always better to make this fitness powder at home. Here is how you can do it:

• Blend 1 cup each of amounts of dry milk, oats, and almonds for a few minutes

• Blend 2 more cups of fat-free milk powder with it after some time.

• Add some grounded cardamom or vanilla to it

• Transfer the mix to an airtight jar

• Use it as and when you are going for your fitness session

Why are proteins important?

After your workout, you should consume enough protein to rebuild the muscle tissue bigger or stronger than it was before. The first meal after your workout is important because muscles are more receptive to proteins taken in the first 24 hours of the workout.

This also helps them grow and become stronger. It is essential to consume sufficient carbohydrates, in particular complex carbohydrates, to spare the whey protein for use in muscle building and not allow the protein to be used for energy needs.

The human body only considers the quantity of amino acids, proteins, and other nutrients. It makes no distinction based on whether it is coming from cheese, milk, whey, beef, or anything else. The only thing necessary to consider is the amount of protein that one is planning to consume.

Tip: Sleeping continuously for six hours in the night would help you recover faster from the physical strain. It would also help the amino acids in muscle-building foods to repair body tissues.

Possible side effects

Here are some possible side effects of consuming whey proteins, both for fitness-minded beginners and professionals.

1. Lactose intolerance

2. Allergy

3. Indigestion

4. Nausea and bloating

5. Irregular bowel movements

6. Cramps and pain

9. Backache

10. Kidney diseases

Part 2: Oatmeal

What is Oatmeal?

Oatmeal is a porridge made of dehusked, steamed, and flattened oats. It may also be made of coarse flour made of hulled, milled (ground), or steel-cut oats. They can be added to warm milk and made more edible by adding sugar or honey and seasonal fruits. The more nutritious topping you add to it, the more calorific value you may get from it.

Oatmeal may also be taken in raw or uncooked form. No matter what form you prefer, you would get a similar nutritious value from it.

Benefits of eating oatmeal every day for breakfast

Having a bowl of oatmeal can make a difference in the way you work out. As a proper muscle-building food, it helps your body to improve its muscle size and strength. It also helps you reduce your bad cholesterol (LDL) and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Here’s how it sums up:

• Normalizes BP and blood sugar levels

• Helps fight signs of aging

• Improves metabolism

• Cuts the risk of cardiovascular diseases

• Reduces indigestion and nausea

• Is an energy meal

• Removes skin infections

It is a gluten-free whole grain meal that is rich in vitamins, fiber, proteins, and antioxidants. All these nutrients can help you have it twice a day to satisfy your hunger without worrying about weight gain.

Nutrition Facts for Oatmeal

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

These values are taken from Wikipedia and are sourced from USDA.

Oatmeal Diet

Having a bowl of oatmeal is considered to be a full breakfast in itself. It packs in many minerals (like iron and calcium), proteins, calcium, carbs, and fiber that make up a large part of your daily dietary requirements. It can also provide you with enough proteins and calories that will help you work out better.

Also read: Can Oatmeal And Cinnamon Help With Weight Loss?

If you eat oatmeal every day, you can count on a healthy weight loss, lower blood sugar and pressure levels, boosted metabolism rates, and adequate energy levels. You can even lose up to four pounds of weight in a week by having two bowls of oatmeal every day (once in the morning and once in the evening).

Oatmeal Is a Complex Carbohydrate

You can expect up to 12 gms of carbohydrates in every 100 gm of oatmeal.

There are three types of carbohydrates- simple, complex, and fiber. The primary function of carbohydrates is to provide rapid energy to the body. Simple carbs are mostly glucose which is otherwise known as sugar or fructose which is found in fruit. They are not exactly the kinds of foods that you can eat to build muscles and strength.

Like individual amino acids, the body only absorbs individual molecules of glucose or fructose through the small intestine. Oatmeal, being a complex carbohydrate, is a chain of many glucose molecules attached. Digestion of carbohydrates is the process of separating them into individual units of glucose for absorption in the small intestine.

Consult a Professional Nutritionist to Lose Weight and Develop Leaner Muscles Faster

To allow the protein to be used for building muscles, it should not be used for sustaining the energy requirement of the body. It means that whatever you eat as oatmeal would not contribute to putting on any weight, you would rather use the energy so derived to build more muscles. Oatmeal can also provide enough energy for workouts while whey protein can be had for muscle development.

You should go for a personalized and nutritious fitness plan and diet for the best results. Consulting a professional nutritionist would help get personalized inputs for your health and fitness as per your sleep and sleeping and eating patterns. You can use this advantage to melt excess flab, work out harder, and derive better results in the gym!