Bodybuilder Diet
Bodybuilder Diet 101 -
“Which Approach Is Right For You?”
As I’ve touched on before in the bodybuilder diet section of Gain-Muscle-Workout-Less.com, there are three different bodybuilding nutrition approaches that really seem to work for packing on muscle mass and stripping away fat fast:
- A traditional “High Carbohydrate” – moderate protein – low fat bodybuilding diet and…
- The “Anabolic Bodybuilder Diet” a high fat – moderate protein – low carbohydrate approach
- A hybrid Carbohydrate Cycling diet
Each of these nutritional strategies have been battle tested and proven to allow you to build muscle mass safely, naturally and quickly.
So Which Approach Should You Implement On Your Quest For More Muscle?
That one’s a bit tougher to figure out, as the answer depends quite a bit on your personal muscle building goals and your personality. As I alluded to earlier in this module, the high fat approach is the one most universally adopted by people who are really serious about building muscle and burning fat (think bodybuilders, actors, athletes in the off season etc.). All of these people realize that there is a price to be paid for a lean and muscular body and they tend to more willing to pay the price for it than the general population.
The high carbohydrate approach is the road typically traveled by the average fitness buff on their quest for a more muscular body. Most of the popular fitness literature promotes this style of eating and it just seems like common sense for most people. Aside from making sure to eat enough protein and managing your fat intake, this style of diet allows you to eat carbohydrates as your body’s primary source of energy.
The carbohydrate cycling bodybuilder diet, brings the best of both world together and allows you to eat a decent amount of high quality carbohydrates while also eating ample amounts of protein and dietary fat, while still cycling your body through a carbohydrate fast. While extremely effective for both fat loss and muscle gain, the carbohydrate cycling approach is the least used style of muscle building diet. Carbohydrate cycling has traditionally been reserved for world class athletes and professional bodybuilders due to the level of sophistication required to make it work.
What makes this style of bodybuilder diet so unique is that it allows you to tap into the fat melting benefits of the Anabolic diet while also reaping the muscle building benefits of the high carbohydrate approach. The end result is a mini fat burning cycle bundled together with a mini muscle building cycle within the same week. This style of diet will allow you to lose some serious body fat while also building muscle mass and increasing your muscular strength at the same time. While the benefits of this style of eating are pretty obvious, the bottom line is that in order to pull this one off, you are going to need to be meticulous about what you eat and exactly when you eat it in order to reap the benefits. In other words, you will need to stick to a somewhat rigid nutrition schedule in order to make everything work properly.
In order to help you figure out which bodybuilder diet is best for you, here is a list of questions that you need to ask yourself…
1.) How committed are you to your diet? Picture yourself staying on course with your diet for at least 5 out of 7 days. All of these approaches will require a commitment. Which approach will be easier for you to stick with for 12 – 24 weeks? Which approach will you be able to stick with for the rest of your life?
2.) What types of foods do you love to eat? Are you a big bread and potato eater? Do you really love to eat steak and pork chops? Are you content eating a moderate amount of everything?
3.) Is it going to bother you if people make fun of the way that you eat? If so, the “Anabolic” bodybuilder diet or the carbohydrate cycling diet may not be the best choice for you.
4.) Can you picture yourself having enough self-control to stay away from carbohydrates for 5 consecutive days? If not can you picture yourself staying away from carbohydrates for 3 days out of the week?In all honesty, you may not know the answer to this one until you give it a shot. I’ve found that most people can make it through at least 3 days eating like this, but 5 days can be a lot tougher for people – even knowing that they can cave in a bit on the weekends.
5.) Will you be able to get all of your required meals down? Some people will find it easier to consume the calorie dense meals that the high fat approach requires because it’s less bulky than the same amount of calories in a carb heavy meal.
6.) There are some harsh realities that can jump up to nip you in the bud when you implement either of the strategies outlined in this manual.
While you follow a high carb approach, you’ll have noticeable food cravings as well as peaks and dips in your energy levels through out the day. For the most part you can manage the energy peaks with proper planning and smart food choices, but it’s still a good idea to think long and hard about whether you can handle this. The benefit’s that you’ll be able to manipulate your blood sugar levels post workout in order to facilitate nutrient uptake during your peak 20-minute post workout muscle-building nutrition window. This can be a huge benefit.
The harsh reality of the “Anabolic” bodybuilder diet is that you’ll initially have a very hard time staying away form carbohydrates, as your body shifts over to fat burning mode. Based on my personal experiences, the first week or two can be pretty brutal. Expect to have major carb cravings and low energy levels for a few weeks, but after that it all goes away – for good!
The problem here is that lot of people simply can’t make it through this 1 – 2 week period. If you’re they type of person who can stubbornly put your head down and grind it out, the benefits far outweigh the downside – but the bottom line is that you’ve gotta stick it out for a while to experience any sort of meaningful benefits from this style of eating.
When you implement a carbohydrate cycling approach, you absolutely need to have everything all planned out and ready to go. This style of diet is not a good choice if you know that you will not be able to plan ahead, or prepare your meals ahead of time. Before you jump into a carb cycling diet, just be aware that there is a lot more or a time commitment before you can jump into it than with the other styles, but based on my experiences the results that you can get from this style of eating far outweigh any time that you will need to invest on the front end.
Hopefully these questions helped you make a decision that will be best suited to your personality and goals. Realize that there is a price to be paid regardless of the style of diet you choose to follow. In order to have muscle building success you’ll need to whole-heartedly commit to one nutritional approach and see it through. If you decide to flip flop back and forth, not only will you have a hard time realizing any real muscle gains, but you’ll also have a greater chance of becoming frustrated and confused.
If You Just Can’t Decide Which Approach Is Best For You…
If you’re really stuck and you just can’t seem to decide which approach is right for you, I would recommend implementing the high carb approach first for at least 6 –8 weeks (or maybe even a whole year), and then if you want to give the Anabolic Diet or the Carbohydrate Cycling Diet a try at that point,l go for it.
This will get you into the habit of eating 5 – 6 complete muscle-building meals throughout the day. Once you’ve developed the habit of planning out and preparing your meals ahead of time, it becomes pretty easy to adapt any dietary changes that you may want to make, be it the introduction of a few supplements or a complete a shift to the Anabolic or Carbohydrate Cycling Diet.
Before I jump into the specifics of each style of muscle building diet, there are a few guiding principles that remain constant regardless of the type of diet you choose to implement.
Below is a list of these universal muscle building nutrition staples…
The Bodybuilder Diet Basics
1.) Target The Correct Caloric Intake
2.) Pay Attention To Adequate Hydration
3.) Proper Frequency And Timing of Meals
4.) Optimized Nutrient Profile of Each Meal
5.) Pre-Workout and Post Workout Nutrition
Keep in mind that regardless of the style of muscle building diet that you choose to implement, these 5 fundamentals will be incorporated into the diet. These 5 points of emphasis are the things that will ultimately allow you to build muscle mass and strip off body fat. A lot of guys believe that there is some sort of “secret” bodybuilder diet that will allow them to build muscle faster, when in reality paying attention to the basics is what will really allow you to achieve your goals.