Vegetables are the most nutritious food group, it is also the group with less calories per gram. Make sure you include a great variety of veggies in your diet. Plan your meals around vegetables rather than think of them as optional side dishes.

Eat 2 to 3 servings of fruit a day. Most people are scared of fruit because of the high sugar content. The reality is that fruits are a rich source of nutrients and eaten in moderate quantities are an essential component of any diet.

Not all carbs are the same. We have heard this jingle before but it is true: refined carbs are all calories and very few nutrients. Eat whole grains and avoid anything with the word “enriched” it actually means that nutrients have been taken away from the grain. Avoid white bread, white rice, white pasta and other refined sugars, eat 100% whole grains and get the nutrients your body needs rather than diminished products.

Reduce the amount of saturated and polysaturated fats in your diet. They are much harder to burn.

Reduce your red meat intake to avoid excess cholesterol and saturated fats.

Fish is an important component of a healthy diet for weight loss. Make fish you primary source of animal products, it is leaner has healthy omega-3 fatty acids and it is a great source of protein.

Reduce alcohol intake.

Alcohol has a similar structure as a carbohydrate but it metabolizes like a fat (twice as slow). Alcohol in very small quantities can be good for the heart but even in moderate amounts can be detrimental to your organs, slows down your metabolism and makes you gain weight.

Drink plenty of water. Water helps with circulation, metabolic processes and has zero calories.

Reduce meal portions, especially if you are eating foods that are large in calories. Weight loss is about calories in vs. calories out. You won’t loss weight if you eat more calories than the ones you burn. This doesn’t mean you should starve yourself to lose weight. If you are are exercising you will naturally feel more hungry. Just don’t go overboard with food and eat healthy.

Avoid hydrogenated fats. This chemical will not just make you gain weight it could also contribute to cancer development.

Exercise regularly. This can’t be stressed enough. If you think diet alone will make you lose weight then you are right. However, the weight you lose will include large quantities of muscle and eventually halt progress as your body adapts to eating less calories. The only way to successfully lose weight, keep it off and live a healthy life is to eat a healthy diet and have an active lifestyle.

Don’t be a prisoner of the scale. While the number of the scale can measure progress, sometimes when you exercise the gain in lean muscle will make that number stay the same or even go up. Do not get discouraged as this is a desirable effect that will pay off in pounds lost in the near future. Your body fat percentage is what you want to keep an eye on and is a better gauge of how you are progressing.

Carbs might be the basis of your bulking diet, but don’t go thinking carbs and protein are the only macronutrients you should be consuming. Yes, you do need to include fats along your bulking diet. Low-fat cheese, eggs, red meat, and dairy are excellent sources of healthy fat. These food sources have just enough saturated fat to aid your body in production of testosterone while at the same time not clogging up your arteries for reduced blood flow.

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The thing is, fat is an extreme necessity in our diet. That goes for anyone’s diet. If you’re not getting in enough saturated fat into your system, a lot of health issues can arise and not to mention reduce the production of testosterone to a great level. With your body not producing enough testosterone, it’ll be counter productive against your goal to gain maximum muscle mass. It’ll also have a drastic impact on your sex life if you’re not consuming enough saturated fats.

If you eat right, you’ll boost growth hormone levels, testosterone, insulin, and other anabolic hormones. You will yield the greatest gains in muscle mass if you follow through your muscle building diet. In order to gain maximum muscle mass, you should be eating 6-12 ounces of red meat and about 2-3 egg yolks per day for maximum gains in muscle mass.

You should also include sardines, canned salmon, shark, and even mackerels in your daily bulking diet for added fat content. They are pretty good if you know how to prep these foods. By including seafood into your diet, you will be able to supply your body with omega-3 fatty acids that prevent and fight muscle inflammation. If you’re one of those that are real hardcore into training, you know what I’m talking about.

By consuming more omega-3 fatty acids into your diet, your body will be able to produce more muscle glycogen and also boost your immune system. It’s beneficial to do so because as your body becomes more efficient in producing more muscle glycogen from the carbohydrates you consume, your body will start to produce less of body fat from carbs. So with that said, you’ll be able to get big and lean at the same time.