Protein Rich Food in India For Muscle Building

Have you been trying to get ripped lately but fail to find enough protein sources in your Indian diet? Then protein rich food in India is just the right thing for you to rely on.

Do you feel that your Indian diet plan for weight gain has not shown much results? Have you been trying to get ripped lately but fail to find enough protein sources in your Indian diet plan for weight gain? Then this Indian High-Protein Diet Plan For Muscle Building is just the right thing you have been looking for.

Getting a ripped and muscular body with your regular Indian meal might sound like a difficult idea. The Indian meal is never known to be too dense in protein as it is predominantly made of grains, lentils, and vegetables with some amount of dairy. The concern of every bodybuilder to find an Indian high-protein diet plan for muscle building is stemmed out of this reality only. But, how genuine is this concern?

Is our regular Indian diet unable to provide you with enough amounts of protein to build muscles? Are there some alterations that can make it a perfect muscle building protein rich diet? Do you need to add protein supplements to your diet consequently for better results? Let’s try to find answers to all these questions further.

How Much Protein Does Your Body Require?

Before we move on to anything, the first and foremost thing that we need to identify is the amount of protein your body needs to build muscles?

Protein is important, we all know that. It is perhaps the most important food required for building and maintaining muscles. Protein synthesis that takes place in your body is responsible for giving you perky muscles. In addition to this, protein is required to provide enough power to your body so that it can repair muscle tissues from daily wear and tear after a workout. Therefore, protein rich food is essential for speedy recovery and increased strength in the body. A bodybuilder needs two to three grams of protein per kg of their body weight daily to ensure all the above-mentioned activities are taking place as required.

But, getting that much protein from your regular Indian diet may not always be possible. This leads to a protein dilemma for many individuals. Food remains your primary source of protein unless you decide to include supplements. But, not all food proteins are created equal and are categorised by their completeness and bio-availability. The amount of protein absorbed by your body is the final output that matters. If your body is not able to break down the protein and absorb the same, it will be as good as not eating it at all.

Undoubtedly, the animal protein is more beneficial and complete as compared to the plant protein. It contains all the essential amino acids that your body is unable to make like phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine. However, your body can use only a fraction of plant protein available, for example, beef contains only about 20% of usable protein, which might not meet your protein requirement alone.

Identifying the Right Protein for Your Body

An important factor that one must consider while evaluating the protein is the quality of amino acids making up that protein. The body needs to break down protein from all amino acids it is consuming which will then be utilised to make the body’s protein. Your body’s ability to absorb protein greatly depends on the quality, quantity, and type of amino acids you are consuming. Thus, any protein that lacks amino acids is not worth taking.

BCAAs present in any form of the protein is another important factor in determining protein quality. The branched structure of BCAAs includes leucine, isoleucine, and valine. All three of these are important for bodybuilders as they get oxidised in the muscle and provide extra energy for the workout. The high amount of BCAA in protein means it has higher bioavailability, and foods like chicken and eggs are the powerful sources of both these nutrients.

Digestibility of protein can be another important concern as many find digesting proteins difficult, especially the one available in red meat. However, the problem is more common with elders because as you age your stomach starts producing less amount of acid and when your stomach does not have sufficient amount of acid, then you will not be able to digest protein to build muscles or burn fat.

Some people are even allergic to protein, especially the one coming from soy or egg. So, it’s better you check your allergies before including a protein source in your diet.

Protein Rich Food in India to Build Muscle

If you are looking for a nutritionist approved Indian high-protein diet plan for muscle building, then we have provided a sample one for reference. You can make alterations to the same for each day. These can be by replacing some of the food items with other same protein content items as per your taste and preference.

A sample ​high protein Indian food chart may look like:

Pre-Breakfast

Start your day with a scoop of whey protein in either milk or water as part of your protein rich diet. This will give the required boost to your muscles so that they will be regenerated from the night slump.

Breakfast

Your breakfast should be a complete meal as it is the first thing that you eat before starting your day. Begin with a glass of low-fat milk as it is a great source of casein protein. You can add oats to your milk for some healthy carbohydrates and fibre to boost the metabolic rate of your body. High metabolic rate promotes enhanced performance for a strenuous workout session. Oats also contain a high amount of Vitamin C, folic acid, zinc, biotin tablet, iron, and thiamine, which are all helpful in boosting muscle healing.

Four whole eggs, either boiled or plain omelette without oil should be added to your breakfast for a daily dose of BCAAs. These BCAAs are essential for muscle development. Having fruit is crucial, and bananas are an excellent choice if your goal is to build muscle. They are a great source of dietary fibre that promotes fat burning process while maintaining gut health and suppressing appetite.

Pre-Workout

BCAA or a Whey protein supplement in a smoothie or milk form for the necessary protein boost before a workout. 

Must Read – Pre Workout Food – Facts and Meal Timing

Lunch

For lunch prepare a fresh green veggie salad either in a raw or boiled form. Do not add any fattening dressing to it. It is advisable to eat veggies at least 4 to 5 times in a week for their folate, chromium, vitamins and fiber content. The high level of amino acids present in some vegetables can help your body absorb excessive salt and water from the body.

Add apportion of chicken or meat in boiled or roasted form to maintain your protein intake.  Cup of broccoli/cauliflower/pulses, a large chunk of paneer, 1 cup rice and one chapati will make an ideal protein rich lunch. ​

Evening Pre-Workout

One scoop of your favorite whey protein with a glass of milk, you can add nuts like walnuts and almonds to it for a protein boost.

Dinner

Dinner should be light with a cup of boiled pulses, a small portion of chicken, and a bowl of fresh cut fruits.

Before Sleeping

A glass of low-fat milk with casein protein to keep your muscles in an anabolic state during the night hours.

Protein Rich Food in India – What to Eat?

The Indian diet is all about cereals, legumes, and dairy, which are a mixture of carbohydrates, fats and a limited amount of protein.

An average Indian bodybuilder needs to get 40 percent of his daily calories from protein only. It means, he must include various food combinations in his diet to maintain protein intake.

Here is a brief snapshot of how much protein the main components of an Indian diet contain so that you can decide what you wish to include in your meal plan.

1. Grains and Beans

A large number of grains and beans that we include in our daily diet are a complete source of protein. However, they lack in providing the amino acids ratio which is essential for muscle building.

It means that even if you have grains and beans in proper combinations you may lack the amount of protein and amino acids needed for bodybuilding. Also, you will have to eat them in greater quantities as compared to animal protein to obtain the equivalent protein value.

Grains and beans are considered a good source for sedentary people who need a low amount of protein, which is not adequate for a bodybuilder.

For muscle building, you need more concentrated sources of protein that must have a good mix of branched-chain amino acids which grains and beans alone may not be able to provide.

2. Legumes

Legumes mostly lack essential amino acids and contain a different amount of protein depending on which legume you are eating. For example, red, yellow, brown, black and green have over 17 grams of protein per cup but vary in quality. One cup of whole boiled lentils contains around 18 grams of protein whereas one cup of boiled ‘rajma’ contains around 15 grams of protein.

3. Rice

Rice is an Indian diet staple and contains a minimal amount of protein in it which is only 5 to 7 percent. However, you can combine rice with yellow peas to make a protein booster combo. Rice protein contains a rich amount of sulphuric amino acids called cysteine and methionine whereas it has a very low amount of lysine which lends a negative impact to its bioavailability.

On the other hand, pea protein contains a good amount of lysine with lower quantities of methionine and cysteine. Thus, making a combination of these two can offer a whole protein and amino acids ratio.

4. Peas

Peas are an excellent choice when it comes to protein rich food in India. A cup of fresh green peas contains about 7 gms of protein, so adding the same to your diet is worth it as it is low in carbs as well.

5. Soybeans

Those who cannot take animal protein, mostly rely on soy protein as it is the richest source of plant based proteins. 1 cup of boiled soybeans contains around 29 grams of protein. However, the downside of soybeans is that including them in your protein food chart in large quantities may damage your liver.

6. Dairy

Your favourite cup of low-fat milk comes packed with the goodness of 8 grams of protein and only 10 grams of fat. The biological value of low-fat milk is about 80 to 90 with a net protein utilisation of 81. Do you need any more reasons to have that glass of low-fat milk daily? However, bodybuilders are often suggested to take normal milk with enough fat to cash on its insulin neutral properties.

The protein present in milk is called casein which is roughly 80 percent of the total protein rest 20 percent is whey. Casein is a slow digesting protein that takes 5 to 7 hours to get digested completely.

Every time you take casein your amino acid levels in your bloodstream start rising slowly thus keeping the same elevated for a longer period. This slow increase mechanism of casein allows you to work hard for a longer period.

7. Cottage Cheese

The muscle building powers bestowed upon cottage cheese come primarily from casein and its good bacteria. The bacteria present in cottage cheese helps in breaking down as well as absorption of the nutrients you consume for your daily protein intake.

If we see on the nutritional level, Indian is a mixed bag of all kinds of nutrients in varying quantities. Casein is a good dairy protein, but some adults find it difficult to digest milk properly. A good amount of Vitamin A is also needed to ensure proper digestion of all the protein you are taking.

Your cereals, legumes, beans, and vegetables are a good source of protein and amino acids, but the quantity of different branched amino acids is often low in these products thus hampering their bioavailability.

But, there is animal protein as well which one can include in their diet. It contains protein as well as all the essential amino acids which lack in plant protein. Here are some common animal protein options for an Indian diet.

8. Meat

The plus side with meat is that it is the whole and complete source of protein as well as essential amino acids. Also, this protein rich food is not known for any allergic tendencies. However, people often find absorbing animal protein difficult and only 20% of the total protein is usable. Also, it is low on natural nutrients and vitamins, and contains a lot of calories combined with unsaturated fats. All these components make it hard to digest animal protein from meat.

Must Read – Top 10 Reasons to Include Protein in your diet

9. Chicken

A three ounce serving of chicken can provide you close to 27 grams of protein during a single meal and will include only 2 to 3 grams of fat, which is considered essential for muscle building.

10. Fish

Fish is a good source of protein with five grams in every three-ounce serving, But the best part about eating fish is it is a powerhouse of Omega 3 fatty acids and is extremely low in carbs and saturated fats.

11. Eggs

Eggs remain an unavoidable part of every high protein diet because of their ideal protein ratio. One medium sized egg contains roughly 6.2 grams of protein, which means eating two whole medium sized eggs for breakfast who have already consumed about 13 grams of protein for the day. But there may be some people who are allergic to eggs. Therefore, it becomes important to track your health or consult a physician before bingeing on an egg diet.

Note: Studies have shown that eating more protein than the amount required by your body can lead to weight gain, diabetes, and even cancer in some cases. Additionally, both animal and plant foods are contaminated with pesticides and antibiotics to make them look fresh. So do not fall for the trap and try to buy organic as much as possible. 

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Importance of Protein Supplementation

If you are a vegetarian and cannot eat any animal protein in any form, then it will become impossible for you to get protein through your Indian diet only. In such a scenario, over the counter protein supplementations should be your obvious choice. Though they won’t be able to replace the goodness of the high protein Indian food, they will be good enough to give you your quota of protein every day.

Whey supplement is the most recommended protein supplementation option for muscle building. It is far better than your milk based protein supplements, egg proteins or even soy proteins and it comes with a very high biological value. Additionally, the whey protein supplements available in the market are a rich source of branched-chain amino acids which are quickly absorbed by the body.

Conclusion

Adding a good amount of protein to your daily diet is important to promote weight loss and muscle gain. But overeating can have some adverse effects on your health. So, make sure to ask your trainer about your daily protein requirement according to your body weight.

Finding out about your daily protein needs will help in planning your Indian high-protein diet for muscle building smartly for better results.