Beginning a bodybuilding diet is a big commitment, so you must start by identifying your goals and expectations. Beginners frequently make dietary mistakes that can limit or impede their bodybuilding progress. Focusing on sound nutrition and a balanced diet goes a long way toward supporting your training and fitness goals. By understanding your individual metabolism and mastering the basics, you can build the best physique your genetics will allow.
Considerations
Beginning a bodybuilding diet requires evaluating your personal goals and experience level. A recreational or novice bodybuilder may not need to monitor every meal. However, professionals preparing for a competition must scrutinize everything they eat. Your metabolic rate determines how many grams of carbohydrates you take in each day, according to "Combat the Fat" by Jeff Anderson. Lifestyle also plays a major role in your bodybuilding diet. For example, students with busy schedules may need to supplement their diets with meal replacement shakes, protein bars and other convenient on-the-go sources of nutrition.
Fundamentals
To figure out your bodybuilding diet, calculate the number of calories needed to achieve your goals, given your individual metabolism. You can use a calorie calculator at Bodybuilding.com to determine your maintenance calories. To gain weight, you must eat 250 to 500 more calories a day than your maintenance level. To lose body fat, cut your calories by 500 or more. Divide your total nutrition into five to six smaller meals throughout the day, say "Xtreme Lean" authors Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman. Choose lean proteins, low-glycemic carbohydrates and healthy fats. A sample meal would include a lean chicken breast, a cup of brown rice, broccoli and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Misconceptions
Beginning bodybuilders often assume that they must eat massive quantities of protein to gain muscle. In fact, gaining lean muscle is more about the kinds of foods you eat and when. Another common mistake is eating too few carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates are crucial to muscle building, because they replenish your muscle glycogen stores, giving your body the energy to rebuild muscles and train intensely, according to "The Carbo Rater" by Jordana Brown. Healthy fats give you energy, speed up metabolism and maintain proper hormonal balance, according to Anderson.
Effects
A bodybuilding diet keeps you energized all day if you eat every few hours. You may find that hunger is a thing of the past, and you can easily control food cravings, once you perfect your eating plan. Bodybuilding diets balance your blood sugar, preventing the vicious cycle of high insulin, hunger and overeating. The bodybuilding lifestyle keeps your body fat down, decreasing your risk of many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, says David Zinczenko in "The Abs Diet."
Expert Insight
Lawson and Holman recommend taking in 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per day to provide adequate amino acids for muscle recovery. Carbohydrates are a more personalized and sensitive issue because your metabolic rate determines how much you need. Hard-gainers, who struggle to put on weight, need more carbs to gain muscle, says Anderson. As for fats, 25 percent to 30 percent of your calories should come from poly- and monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, peanut butter, omega-3, nuts and seeds. Anderson's "Optimum Anabolics" recommends taking in 30 to 50 grams of whey protein and up to 100 grams of carbohydrates after your workouts.
References
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "Xtreme Lean;" Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2005
- "Muscle & Fitness Presents 2010 Edition the Ultimate Supplement Handbook;" The Carbo Rater; Jordana Brown; January 2010
- "The Abs Diet;" David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker; 2004
- "Optimum Anabolics;" Jeff Anderson; 2004
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