Men’s Nutrition Plan To Build Muscle And Get Ripped

Muscles are built at the gym and in the kitchen.

Having a good nutrition is key if you want to build lean and defined muscles.

The food you eat provide you the energy required to perform your workout properly.

But good nutrition plays also a big role in how you feel outside the gym.

In this article, we provide you a nutrition plan that is optimal to help you get that strong body.

Calories And Macronutrients Are What Matter The Most In A Nutrition Plan

Whether you want to build muscle, get ripped or maintain your weight, nutrition will play a big role during this process!

Your nutrition is what fuels and build your body with food, which is measured in calories.

You caloric consumption will determine what kind of body you will obtain:

Build Muscle: If you want to build muscle, your body will need more energy than usual in order to make you get bigger. You will have to eat more calories than you burn, often called: caloric surplus. If you increase your calories too quickly, your body will store fat. So it’s very important to do it progressively, so you can track your progress and avoid storing fat.

Maintain Weight: It’s simply when you burn as many calories as you consume, often called: calorie maintenance. Knowing your maintenance caloric intake is the starting point. From there, you can determine how to eat in order to build muscle or get ripped. Use this calorie calculator!

Get Ripped: If you want to get ripped, you will have to burn more calories than you consume, often called: caloric deficit. It’s when your body uses fat stores for energy, which leads to weight loss. Be aware, the body can also use muscle tissue; which is bad for you. This is why you must lose fat progressively, if you’re doing it too quickly you will kill your health.

Explanations Of Macronutrients Ratio

Macronutrients are nutrients that our body needs in large amount: Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat. It’s important to define the right macronutrient ratio according to your fitness goal; whether you want to build muscle or get ripped.

In short words, this ratio will depend on:

Your Body Type: Some people tend to gain more weight than other. They should consume less carbohydrates and fats than the ones having a hard time toning up.

Your Fitness Goal: If you want to get ripped, you won’t have the same macronutrient ratio that someone who wants to build muscle.

Your Gender: Men have the genetics to build muscle faster than women.

Macronutrients Ratio According To Your Fitness Goals

During this men’s nutrition plan we will define a general macronutrient ratio for each fitness goal: building muscle, getting ripped and maintaining weight. Like said earlier, we all have different body types, so it will be your job to slightly change this ratio if your body doesn’t respond to it.
The macronutrient ratios are:

Build Muscle: Carbohydrate 40% - Protein 40% - Fat 20%

Maintain Weight: Carbohydrate 35% - Protein 35% - Fat 30%

Get Ripped: Carbohydrate 30% - Protein 40% - Fat 30%

There Is Good Fat In This Nutrition Plan

"I want to lose fat, shouldn’t I avoid eating fat?".

This is good question, in fact there are several type of fats, some are good and some a bad.

Eating Healthy Is Not The Main Factor To Good Nutrition

Nowadays, eating healthy means consuming foods low in fat and high in micronutrients; vitamins and minerals.

Indeed, healthy foods have micronutrients that will make you feel good.

However, you can eat all the healthy food of the world, but if you don’t hit your daily macronutrient; you won’t get the results you want. Does it make sense?

In other words, calories are calories. If you want to achieve your fitness goals you first need to worry about hitting your macronutrients, then focus on providing your body the best quality food possible.

The More Often You Eat, The Better You Will Feel

We all know that person that tried every diet that exists on earth and always give up because it’s too hard. Nowadays, diets are all about food restrictions so you feel guilty if you eat one more rice grain than indicated. What is really important there, is your ability to hit your daily macronutrient.

Whether you want to build muscle or get ripped, we will aim for 3 main meals and 1-2 snacks.

However, if you can attain your calories in less meals, feel free to do it.

Why? Because eating every 3-4 hours will allow you to never feel hungry, which will help you to stop craving junk food.

This men’s nutrition plan will be an example, so you can organize it according to your schedule. It’s very important to eat something between your main meals and once again hit your macronutrients!

Daily Calorie Intake For Men

Your calorie intake depends on your age, height, gender and how often you exercise weekly. I recommend you to try a calorie calculator.

For a healthy man with a balanced diet, who is moderately active it’s recommended to eat between 2300 and 2500 calories. We will start with these numbers.

Converting Percentage To Grams

Here’s how you calculate how many grams you should have for each macronutrient.

First you need to know how many calories contain each macronutrient:

Carbohydrate: 4 Calories per gram

Protein: 4 Calories per gram

Fats: 9 Calories per gram

Then, let’s take 2500 calories as an example and our macronutrient ratio for maintaining weight:

35% Carbohydrate -> 2500 x 0.35 / 4 = 218.7g

35% Protein -> 2500 x 0.35 / 4 = 218.7g

30% Fat -> 2500 x 0.3 / 9 = 83.3g

Cheat Meals And Men’s Nutrition Plan

You can reward yourself with one cheat meal per week, where you won’t count your calories at all; yes you deserve it!

Men’s Nutrition Plan To Maintain Weight

This men’s nutrition plan will be the basis for the other ones, so take notes. Just a few changes will be made in order to hit your macronutrients.

Download the men’s nutrition plan

Nutrition Facts

Carbohydrate: 35%
Protein: 35%
Fat: 30%
Calories: 2500 calories