Diet For Body Builders

An hour of tough workout and a carefully planned nutritional diet goes a long way in assuring a good physique. For body builders, consumption of a balanced diet becomes quintessential. Believe it or not - appropriate nutrition truly decides how successful one can be in the bodybuilding schedule. The diet should be planned in a manner that it helps in muscle gaining and not in weight gain. You must also realize that consuming supplements alone will not do wonders for your body. They can only enhance and contribute to the bodybuilding process.

Ideally the body building diet should include food items that contain all categories of nutrients. It is essential to consume all the nutrients, be it proteins, carbohydrates or fats. Some of the various items that bodybuilders can consume for the intake of proteins are: lean meat, fish, eggs, milk, nuts etc. For carbohydrates, brown rice, potatoes, whole meal bread, fresh fruits and vegetables can be the best bet. However, indulging in white flour products can rebound your efforts.

Basic Rules
As a bodybuilder, the foremost thing you need to do is follow the basic rules of diet. Go for small and regular feedings, instead of binging on irregular and large ones. The best option would be to eat six meals a day, spaces out at 2 ½ hours intervals. The proportion of carbohydrates, fats and protein intake should be in the ratio of 4:2:4. This ratio ideally helps in reducing weight and building an impressive muscular body. However, make sure you do not consume carbohydrates three to four hours before going off to sleep.

Week 1 & 2
An important rule for week the first two weeks would be to cycle calories intake. This would help your body avoid the metabolism from getting used to a certain caloric level. For those, who want to increase the muscle mass, go for two days of lower calorie and five days of high calorie diet. However, those of you, who want to lose fat; you need to follow five days of lower caloric intake and two days of high calories. Remember, you diet should provide you with support to indulge in the higher level of physical activity.

Week 3 & 4
Instead of frying food items, begin roasting and steaming. Go for skinless chicken or turkey, instead of high fat meats. Processed foods and junk foods are strict no-no for bodybuilders. The next step would be to eliminate refined sugars from the diet. High sugar content foods like fruit juices and carbonated drinks should pave way for diet sodas. In due course of time, the best bet would be to settle down to water. Make it your main beverage and increase its consumption level. Follow this diet plan, as it is sure to augment with your efforts for a good build-up