What To Eat For A Bigger Butt

It can be super frustrating and discouraging to train hard for months to see little to no results. The reality is, no matter how hard you train you won't see results unless your muscle building nutrition is on point. You must consume enough calories with a protein focus. When you work out regularly you are constantly fighting to hold on to that muscle. If you exercise too much without refueling, you will likely see your glutes shrink as you get skinnier. 

The staples of your diet for glute gains will be eggs, chicken, fish, nuts, seeds, hummus, and tofu. Your meals should always be a combination of healthy calories and whole feeds. This means lots of vegetables and lean proteins that are known to increase muscle mass. Eggs and spinach are at the top of the list as they are known to increase muscle mass as well as aid in performance. You can read my other informative article top 10 foods to build a bigger butt here.

Rest is crucial in order to grow your glutes. Your muscles grow when you are relaxing and asleep. The gym is where we break down the muscle, creating tears. These tears can't repair unless we rest adequately. 

Calculate Your Macronutrients

                                       Photo credit: Gymguider.com

You will likely lose weight and muscle mass if you eat less calories than you burn. This is why it's vital that you know your "macros" or macronutrient ratios. Every thing we eat is made up of three macronutrients; fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Winter time is considered bulking season in the bodybuilding industry. Knowing your macros for gaining muscle and strength will help you do this efficiently. The rule of thumb is to be in a 10% caloric surplus, with 2-2.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight, 4-7g of carbs per bodyweight and 0.5-2g of fat per lb of bodyweight. You can calculate your macros using this useful caluculator here. Once you know your daily caloric value for the day, add 10% to that number. That is the amount of calories you should be eating for gains. So if your daily caloric needs are 2,500, for gaining, you should be eating 2,750 calories per day. You can use calorie and macro tracking apps such as Myfitnesspal to stay on top of things. 

The Right and Wrong Foods

Which foods you get your calories from will make or break you. Now that you know your macros and caloric intake, it's not a free-for-all in your fridge or pantry. Consuming the wrong foods or not enough of the right ones could be detrimental to your goals for bulk. In order to maximize muscle growth while minimizing fat gain, you need to focus on limiting processed foods and consuming whole foods. 

Limit or avoid:

• Alcohol
• Added sugars with no nutritional value.
• Processed or packaged foods with little to no fiber or nutritional benefit.

Increase your intake of:

• Meat, seafood, beef, poultry, chicken, turkey, cod, halibut, salmon, shrimp
• Nuts and seeds: flaxseed, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts
• Vegetables: spinach, green beans, broccoli, kale, peppers, asparagus, beets, tomatoes
• Whole grains: rice, quinoa, oats, granola, pasta
• Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, mango, berries
• Starches: sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams

Sample 1-week Meal Plan

Day 1

Breakfast: Banana pancakes or almond flour pancakes, 3 scrambled eggs, 1 cup unsweetened coffee.

Snack: Handful of almonds or nut butter.

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad

Snack: Berries, protein shake

Dinner: Salmon or tilapia fillet, 1 cup quinoa, 1 serving asparagus

Day 2

Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 1 slice whole-grain toast, grapefruit

Snack: 110kg greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of granola

Lunch: Oven-baked chicken breast, veggies

Snack: Protein shake, handful of pumpkin seeds or almond butter

Dinner: Salmon and avocado salad

Day 3

Breakfast: 1 cup tofu, 3 scrambled eggs

Snack: 1 handful cashew nuts, 1/2 avocado

Lunch: Baked salmon, 1 cup brown rice

Snack: Protein shake, 1/2 cup blueberries

Dinner: Tuna fish and spinach salad

Day 4

Breakfast: 1 cup milk, 3-4 egg whites

Snack: Protein shake

Lunch: Mixed greens with roasted beets

Snack: 1 cup greek yogurt, berries

Dinner: Tuna with 1/2 cup black beans, 1/2 avocado, sweet potato

Day 5

Breakfast: 1 cup greek yogurt, 1 slice whole-grain toast with peanut butter, 1 small banana

Snack: Protein shake, 1 handful sunflower, almond or pumpkin seeds

Lunch: Roasted zucchini with ground turkey and sliced carrots

Snack: 1 cup low-fat popcorn, string cheese

Dinner: Roasted vegetables with chickpeas over brown rice

Day 6

Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich (whole-grain bread)

Snack: Berry smoothie with chia seeds 

Lunch: Chicken and brown rice

Snack: 1/2 sweet potato

Dinner: Grilled chicken salad with vinaigrette dressing

Day 7

Breakfast: 2 slices turkey bacon, 2 eggs

Snack: 1 cup low-fat popcorn

Lunch: 1 can tuna on a bed of mixed greens

Snack: 1 hardboiled egg, 1 handful almonds

Dinner: Veggie stir-fry with grilled beef