The hardest part of being a bodybuilder is probably not lifting weights, but sticking to a strict diet. Bodybuilding is all about building your body's muscles through weight lifting and nutrition. Whether recreational or competitive, bodybuilding is often referred to as a lifestyle because it encompasses both the time you spend in and out of the gym. To maximize your results in the gym, focusing on your diet is an absolute must, as eating the wrong foods can be detrimental to bodybuilding goals.
Phases of bodybuilding
Bodybuilding differs from powerlifting or Olympic lifting and is judged on a competitor's physical appearance rather than physical strength. Bodybuilders strive to develop and maintain a well-balanced, lean and muscular body. To do this, many bodybuilders start with an off-season diet, followed by an in-season diet referred to as the bulking and cutting phase.
During the bulking phase, bodybuilders eat a high-calorie, high-protein diet and lift weight intensively with the goal of building a lot of muscle.
The cutting phase aims to lose as much fat as possible while maintaining the muscle mass developed during the bulking phase. This is achieved through diet changes and exercise.
Benefits of bodybuilding
To maintain and build muscle, bodybuilders train often and vigorously. Resistance and aerobic training methods are considered the most beneficial among bodybuilders.
Resistance training increases muscle strength and size. Muscle strength is strongly correlated with a lower risk of death from cancer, heart and kidney disease.
Aerobic exercise improves heart health and significantly reduces the risk of developing heart disease. Following a healthy diet, including nutritious foods from all food groups in the right amounts, can significantly reduce your risk of chronic disease.
Diets followed by bodybuilders
Although bodybuilders include a wide variety of foods in their diet, let's first discuss the foods they should avoid. Alcohol negatively impacts the body's ability to build muscle and lose fat, especially if consumed regularly. Therefore, it is one of the most important substances that bodybuilders should avoid. Foods high in added sugars, sweets, cookies, donuts, cakes and drinks such as soda are enemies of a healthy body. Fried foods are also greatly avoided by bodybuilders because they promote inflammation.
Before hitting the gym, high-fat meals, buttery foods, creamy foods, high-fiber foods and carbonated drinks should also be avoided as these can slow down digestion and cause stomach upset during exercise.
Food bodybuilders should favor meat, ground beef, chicken breast, salmon, dairy products, grain-based foods, plenty of fruits, starchy vegetables, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, seeds and nuts, beans and legumes, olive oil and avocado oil. The list goes on, but the foods mentioned are among the most nutritious and healthy for building muscle.
The benefits of rice, chicken and broccoli
A popular meal combination for bodybuilders is rice, chicken and broccoli. It's actually a very simple but effective meal. The benefits are quite simple: it helps fill the body and replenish a lot of energy. The high protein content of the chicken will help repair damaged muscle fibers, while the carbohydrate content of the rice will replace and replenish muscle glycogen levels. Perfect for a post-workout meal. However, it is not a smart decision to eat this combination for a long time and repeatedly.
One of the main reasons why bodybuilders eat rice and chicken is because it is cheap, clean, and incredibly good for building muscle. This is because it provides a good mix of carbohydrates to rebuild muscle immediately after a workout, with also plenty of protein to kick-start the muscle-building process. Rice and chicken are good for the body and they are not "processed fillers" and filled with tons of artificial junk - they are natural.
The number of nutrients available in a combination meal of rice, chicken and broccoli would include roughly 550 calories, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fat and 43 grams of protein. With a cut it will be about 1/3 of the daily calorie intake and with a bulk it will be about 1/5 of the daily calorie intake.
Rice, chicken and broccoli also make it easy not to gain weight because it is quite filling.
That said, clean eating in general is a bit misleading. It's hard to define. A clean diet bans processed foods, but that's too simplistic. Whey protein, peanut butter and oatmeal are all good for the body, but are highly processed. Eating “clean” foods alone will not make a person thin. it's still possible to overeat chicken and broccoli. If one understands the concept of calorie intake, it is entirely possible to eat flexibly and enjoy meals and drinks with family and friends. In summary, achieving the desired bodybuilder look requires regular exercise and special attention to diet. The diet should include nutrient-rich foods, 20-30 grams of protein at each meal and snack, limited consumption of alcohol and fried or high-sugar foods. This ensures you get all the important nutrients your body needs to build muscle and overall health.
