You may think you already eat a lot, but if you struggle to add lean muscle you’re probably not consuming enough calories. It’s not just protein you need to build more muscle (I’ll cover that next) but a surplus of calories to create an anabolic environment in the body. If you don’t achieve your total intake of calories, you’ll never have enough “bricks” to build the body you want.
One common pitfall that Paleo-dieters fall into is a low-carb approach to eating. Because an ancestral or Paleo approach lends itself so well to a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, it’s easy to get pulled toward this macronutrient balance, leading to a shortfall in not only your carb intake, but total calories, as well.
While LCHF is a fantastic way to lose weight and improve your health if you’re overweight, it’s not the best approach to trigger muscle growth and the insulin hormone release you need to create an anabolic, muscle-building environment. Carbohydrates help stimulate robust insulin release and when combined with strength training provides the ideal hormonal terrain for building muscle. Not only that, carbs are the fuel you need to refill muscle glycogen – the carb stores in your muscle tissue — and when training at high intensity, carbs are your primary fuel, so don’t cut yourself short.
Start adding more Paleo-friendly carbs like yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, yucca, and root vegetables to all your meals. If you consume shakes pre- or post-exercise, try adding unpasteurized honey (1-3 tbsp) to add more “low-fermentable” carbs to your nutrition arsenal.
