Sample Low Carb Bodybuilding Diet

The muscles of successful bodybuilders are both big and well-defined, with few fat deposits between their muscles. If you seek a bodybuilder's body, you must first "bulk up" by eating more, which may temporarily increase your body fat percentage. After that, you must reduce your body fat so that your new muscles will be visible. A low-carb diet is one way to accomplish this.

Ketosis

Ketosis occurs when your body, lacking carbohydrates to burn for fuel, starts burning fat instead. Ketosis is the cornerstone of the Atkins Diet, popularized by physician Robert Atkins in 1972. To stimulate ketosis, reduce your daily carbohydrate intake to less than 20 grams for the first two weeks, then gradually increase your intake to between 50 and 150 grams. Your doctor can perform a urine test to find out if you have entered ketosis.

Benefits

Low-carb diets can promote weight loss, according to MayoClinic.com. As a bodybuilder, however, you may be more interested in losing fat while maintaining a stable body weight. For this reason, keep your protein intake to between 0.65 to 0.80 grams per pound of body weight, advises Joseph A. Chromiak of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Low-carb diets can cause you to lose water weight, which is particularly important for bodybuilders right before a competition. They can also reduce calories by limiting the variety of foods you eat, and can make your stomach feel full by filling it with slow-digesting proteins and fats.

Risks

By limiting the variety of foods you eat, a low-carb diet may tempt you to overeat fatty and high-cholesterol foods. If you cut down on whole grains because of their high carbohydrate content, you may deprive your body of fiber, which can cause digestion and gastrointestinal problems, so it's important to eat plenty of low-starch, fiber-rich vegetables as recommended by many low-carb plans. Ketosis itself can cause weakness, dizziness, nausea and dehydration according to MayoClinic.com.

Low-carb diets are rich in meat, fish, eggs and poultry. Some vegetables low in starch, such as celery, radishes and mushrooms are also encouraged. Beans, pasta, bread, sweets, grains, fruits and starchy vegetables such as carrots and potatoes are either forbidden or strictly limited. Breakfast might include scrambled eggs and bacon; lunch might include sliced ham, a sour pickle or even a hamburger without the bun; dinner might include steak, fish and steamed, non-starchy vegetables.