No matter your genetics or the goals you’ve set for yourself, you need to follow the rules of bodybuilding nutrition if your hard training is going to pay off.
No matter your genetics or the goals you’ve set for yourself, you need to follow the rules of bodybuilding nutrition if your hard training is going to pay off. Granted, nutrition can be a complicated subject. Carbs, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, not to mention meal timing, creatine, and shelves and shelves of other exotic supplements—it can all make your head spin.
Stop spinning. We’ve compiled 20 rules of nutrition to help guide you through the minefield of all things related to food and supplements. This comprehensive compendium of commandments gives you easy-to-follow principles that have passed the M&F test for accuracy and efficiency. As you set your sights on bulking up, you can be sure that you’ll find the answers here.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the right amount of protein to consume, in conjunction with an active lifestyle, is 1.7 grams of protein kilogram of body weight— or 0.8 gram per pound. That’s 160 grams of protein for a 200-pound person. The good news: You’ll save a little coin on protein powder.
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Make Your Carbs Complex
Complex carbs (constructed of long chains of sugars) are easily digested yet slow burning. Since they are a longer-lasting fuel than simple carbs, there’s less chance they’ll be stored as body fat. Strive to take in 3g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day, mainly from sources such as vegetables, pasta, potatoes, rice, and oatmeal.
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Know Your Fat
Foods containing unsaturated fats, particularly monounsaturates, are excellent for those folks who are more physique-focused. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish and flaxseed oils, are important for creating a favorable hormonal environment for building muscle tissue. Other unsaturated fats, such as those found in olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive and canola oils, also provide numerous muscle-building advantages. Except when you’re cutting up, fats should represent 15 to 20% of your daily diet.
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Watch Fat While Cooking
Besides careful food selection, the best way to control the amount of fat you’re taking in is through careful preparation. Of course, you’ve got to avoid adding unwanted fats to the foods you’re preparing. (Do you really need to put that pat of butter on top of that lean cut of filet mignon?) Also, trim off all visible fat and blot off grease and oils from cooked foods. Grilling is a better option than frying, as the fat drips off.
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Count Calories
Whether you’re bulking up or cutting down, it doesn’t matter: Count your calories to avoid getting sloppy. The increase of calories you’re taking in shouldn’t be drastic, either. Whatever your maintenance level of calories is (calculator.net has an easy-to-use calculator), you should add about 350 to 500 calories to that number and start there. Also, weigh yourself weekly and adjust by 100 calories (from carbohydrates), depending on whether you’re gaining too quickly or losing weight.
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Weigh Your Food
You should be weighing your meals at home to keep your macros in check. “Really?” you ask. Yes, really. For example, 2 tablespoons (or 20 grams) of peanut butter has about 190 calories and 16 grams of fat. Don’t weigh it out, and you risk adding another tablespoon or so, tacking on almost an extra 100 calories to your meal. That might not seem like much, but trust us, over time, these micro additions can really screw up your progress, leading to your packing on more weight (in areas you probably don’t want weight).
Eggs are an amazing protein source with nutrient-packed yolks. However, one standard jumbo egg has about 6 grams of fat and protein, so we recommend cutting them with egg whites to keep your fats in check for the day. Consuming five whole eggs would yield 30 grams of fat in just one meal.
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Use Whey Protein
It’s not new news, but, especially when you’re bulking, whey protein is an easy way to get an extra 25 to 30 grams of protein into your system with little to no extra fat. Also, a meta-analysis found that supplementing your resistance workouts with protein is linked to big gains in muscle size and strength.
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Take Anti-Oxidants
Antioxidants can help you prevent muscle loss by quenching free radicals formed during and after intense exercise. Include 400 to 800 international units (IU) of vitamin E, 500 to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, and 200 micrograms of selenium (from selenium yeast). Also, eat five to six servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
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Maximize Your Minerals
Take extra calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Most multis contain only a small percentage of the recommended daily value of these three minerals. Calcium is important for metabolic health, magnesium for training performance, and potassium for muscle cell volume. Be sure to take 1,000mg per day of supplement-source calcium (or 2 to 3 cups of fat-free dairy products), 450mg of magnesium, and five or six servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
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Try Melatonin
To grow, sleep—and the recovery that happens during—is essential. For more restful sleep, melatonin—a hormone naturally produced in your body that signals time for sleep—can be taken in pill form. Research conducted at MIT confirmed that 0.3 milligram helps adults fall asleep and return to sleep after waking up.
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Try Vitamin E
This antioxidant is especially protective of body tissues. Vitamin E acts as a preservative that prevents many substances from destructive breakdown in the body. Vitamin E also prolongs the life of red blood cells and is necessary for the proper use of oxygen by the muscles. Bodybuilders should supplement with 400 to 800 IU per day.
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Eat A Small Pre-Workout Meal
The word used to be that you should train on an empty stomach. But research has shown that a small meal, preferably liquid, taken 15 to 20 minutes before training, may aid post-workout recovery. Providing your body with simple carbs and whey protein is an ideal way to kick-start recovery before these nutrients are even needed. Keep the calorie count on your pre-workout meal low, 200 calories or fewer, equal to about 20g of protein and 25g of carbs, so digestion doesn’t interfere with your workout.
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Never Go Hungry
Bodybuilders, even those on body-fat-reduction diets, should learn to use the feeling of hunger as a warning sign of the need for food energy. Hunger means your body is tapping into your muscle stores and burning them as energy. If you’re in a body-fat-stripping phase, eat basic bodybuilding foods high in protein and complex carbs when you feel hungry. If you’re in a mass-gaining phase, you have a little more latitude. Take in the foods that serve your current needs, keeping your protein requirements in mind.
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Cheat
Mindlessly eating junk food destroys progress faster than almost anything else does. Judicious selection of cheat foods, however, can help keep you sane and help ensure your adherence to your overall diet strategy. If you have a particular craving, feed the beast, but keep it in moderation. If doughnuts are your thing, for example, allow yourself a Sunday morning Krispy Kreme. But be sure to set limits and adhere to them.
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Schedule Your Cheat Days
Cheat days aren’t just for mental health. They’re important for your physiological system as well. The human body is an efficient machine that has evolved over eons. It has an internal register that strives for homeostasis, the balance of all internal systems. You need to jack things up and slow things down occasionally to keep the pump primed, and that’s when cheat days come in. Schedule them to suit your needs, whether that means once a week or once a month. Let the mirror–and your sanity–be your guide.
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Read Labels
Learn to watch for deceptive practices. For example, sometimes “low-fat” and “low in sugar” don’t mean what you think they do. The best way to watch out for these sneaky practices by food companies is by reading the fine print closely. Know the differences between the types of carbohydrates listed on panels, and keep in mind that not every calorie is created equal. And do the math. Pay attention to the number of servings per package and how the nutritional information adds up. Get the label lingo down. It should help your bodybuilding efforts immensely.
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Don’t Fear Restaurants
If you have discipline and communication skills, you can generally find a reasonable meal on almost any menu. Rule No. 1 is to stick to the basics: Order baked or broiled meat dishes, without breading or sauces. Order vegetables as simply prepared as possible. Ask about food prep: Are the mashed potatoes made with heavy cream? If so, choose a plain baked potato instead. Stay with vinegar-and-oil salad dressing, and when in doubt, ask for it on the side.
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Be Choosy With Condiments
Some, such as mayo, are loaded with saturated fats and are best skipped entirely. (Non-fat mayo, on the other hand, is OK.) Condiments can make bland food tastier, and they may encourage you to eat a greater quantity of quality calories. Some condiments, such as mustard, are generally low in calories and high in flavor, making them ideal for cooking or enhancing taste.
