Bodybuilding is as much about nutrition and eating good food as it is about lifting weights, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine in its personal trainer's manual, "Essentials of Personal Fitness Training." Since 500 calories per day will result in a 1 lb. per week gain in muscle mass, when combined with effective strength training, you will have to eat more food. If you eat the wrong foods, however, your gain could be fat, despite your training regimen. Bodybuilders have several good diets available.
Fundamentals
According to the NASM's manual, strength training athletes need more protein than non-athletes. John Berardi, a sports nutritionist from Canada, writes in his article "Protein Prejudice," that it is not that simple. Athletes do need protein, since that is what builds muscle, but they need it at certain times. Determining the amount of protein you need and when depends on the athlete. Athletes also need carbohydrates and dietary fats, according to the NASM article, a fact that Berardi and other nutritionists, such as Dan Benardot, Ph.D., agree with. In "Advanced Sports Nutrition," Benardot explains that carbs are critical to maintaining muscle mass and energy. Dietary fats and cholesterol, writes Benardot, are necessary precursors to testosterone production.
Atkins Approach
The Atkins Diet, developed by the late Robert Atkins, M.D., is a popular method of weight-loss that has found great popularity among bodybuilders, since it focuses on the intake of proteins and healthy fats, while restricting carbohydrate intake. The underlying concept of the Atkins diet is the idea of gluconeogenesis, the idea that the body can create energy from glycogen from protein and fat, while excess carbohydrates not needed for energy get turned into body fat. This allows the athlete to gain muscle instead of losing weight, if that is the goal, by simply eating more.
Paleo Diet for Athletes
The Paleo diet was first popularized in the 1970s by Walter L. Voegtlin, M.D., a gastroenterologist who believed that modern human digestive systems were developed, based on the diets of paleolithic ancestors. The Paleo diet focuses on eating the kinds of foods that were available in paleolithic times, such as those that could be hunted or gathered, such as seeds and vegetables, as well as meat and seafood. In "Paleo Diet for Athletes," author Loren Cordain suggests that the Paleo diet is ideal for modern bodybuilders who seek the same kind of densely muscled, lean physiques that advocates of the Paleo diet believe human ancestors possessed.
The Zone Diet
Barry Sears, M.D., an expert in cardiovascular health and disease, developed the Zone diet. "The Zone," his seminal work on the program was published in 1995 and has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Sears' theory was that a balanced approach to macronutrients would provide the healthiest nutrition plan for athletes and non-athletes alike. Berardi advocates the balanced approach of the Zone diet as well.
References
- "Essentials for Personal Fitness Training;" National Academy of Sports Medicine; 2007
- John Berardi
- "Advanced Sports Nutrition;" Dan Benardot; 2005
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