Here are the best muscle building foods to maximize muscle growth and keep yourself looking lean.

Eggs

Eggs are the best protein food that you can get. It has the highest biological value (94%) of any food, which is a measure of the protein quality and how much of the body uses that protein to support growth. This provides the most amino acids for growth and tissue maintenance than any other food. A significant part of the egg’s protein comes from the yolk. Therefore, you should not shy away from the saturated fat in the egg yolk because this will help increase testosterone levels, which is a precursor for muscle growth. Eggs contain around 6 grams of high quality protein. Eggs are also rich in many essential vitamins and contain all eight essential amino acids that are needed for proper muscle growth and recovery.

Fish

Fish contains incredible amounts of protein, practically no carbs and healthy fats and omegas. Stick with eating cold water fish (salmon, trout, sardines, etc) because they provide the most Omega 3 fatty acids, which helps fight muscle inflammation so your body won’t feel as sore the next morning (and thus you can workout more effectively and won’t overtrain).

Poultry

Poultry, such as chicken or turkey, is a high protein food with little fat. It has a high biological value (around 80%) and relatively inexpensive to buy compared to fish.

Kidney beans

Beans provide a high amount of protein (14 grams per cup), little fat and possess a lot of fiber to go along with it. Many diets, especially bodybuilding diets, fail to consume the proper amount of fiber. Beans have 11 grams of fiber per cup. In addition, beans have a good amount of carbohydrates (around 40 grams per cup), which is an important muscle-building ingredient.

Beef

Beef contains a high source of protein and has more fat than the other muscle building foods. Saturated fats should be limited but eating saturated fats in moderation may provide better muscle building benefits. Just with the egg yolks, the saturated fats found in red meat, and all other foods, help boost testosterone levels, which aids in muscle growth. Red meats also have higher calories than the other foods, which make it more ideal for those looking to gain muscle mass; it is perfect for the hardgainer.

Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is the ideal food for getting casein protein, a slow-digesting protein. Casein protein stays in your system for hours and gives you a constant supply of protein, as opposed to whey protein that is used in the body instantly. Casein protein is best for sleeping hours, which is the time your body is deprived of protein. When you sleep, your body enters a catabolic phase. Yes…even when you sleep you burn energy. Respiration, dreaming, and reparation require energy. It needs to get the energy stores from somewhere. Anytime you go more than 4 hours without eating, your body turns to its muscle stores, breaking it down so it can use that as its readily available energy. You want to avoid this at all costs. Cottage cheese is filled with casein protein, which is a very slow digesting protein that will keep your muscles supplied with protein all throughout the night and prevent this catabolic state. Furthermore, cottage cheese has an extremely high biological value (around 85%) that is ideal for muscle growth. If you eat cottage cheese before you go to bed then stick with consuming low-fat cottage cheese to avoid storing fat overnight.