The Best Foods for Bodybuilders

Bodybuilding is considered a lifestyle as it involves intentional activities, time spent in the gym, and diet. A diet meant to help you gain muscles is characterized at about 2500 to 5000 calories among males and within 1500 to 3000 calories for females. This is further subdivided into the following percentages:

• Forty percent (40%) for carbohydrate-rich foods
• Forty percent (40%) for protein-rich foods
• Twenty percent (20%) for fats.

In addition, most of the diets consumed by bodybuilders contain additional supplements.

The functions of the foods consumed by those building their body are more on their appearance than their health. Hence, to have a huge and better body, you need to consider other substances on your plate, including supplements.

When you want to choose an exact type of diet, it’s crucial to know that diet varies from one person to another; this can be confusing, especially to those trying to gain more muscle for the first time. This can be explained in this manner; routines can vary from one person to another; for some, it can be three times a week. For others, it can be seven times a week, especially for body workouts and exercises involving the cardiovascular system. For diet, this can also vary from one person to another; hence, coming up with one diet that fits all people who engage in bodybuilding exercise can be difficult to achieve.

Despite this being the case, a basic diet that caters to bodybuilders should be an excellent protein and complex carbohydrates source. It is important to note that many forms of diets can be designed for bodybuilding exercises; however, this depends on how regularly you participate in the bodybuilding program.

Food Components for Bodybuilding Diet

Diet in bodybuilding comprises three major nutrients in the normal diet; carbohydrates, proteins, and fat.

Carbohydrates

This is the primary energy source for the body; it remains an important nutrient in exercising and heavyweight training. Consuming foods that contain carbohydrates makes the pancreas release insulin; it then converts it to fat or glycogen in the muscle or liver for storage. Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose and released into the bloodstream for the production of energy.

While looking at the foods in this category, consuming complex carbohydrates is best preferred over simple sugars before starting the fitness exercise. This is because complex carbohydrates can provide the body with long-lasting energy compared to simple sugars. However, simple sugars can be consumed after an intense workout to assist the body in faster recovery and in repairing the body muscles.

Complex carbohydrates are found in whole grain-rich foods and vegetables. On the other hand, simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as fruit and sugary foods.

Proteins

These are foods that help the body in building the body’s tissues. Intake of enough amounts of proteins aids in averting muscle tissue wasting and quick recovery of heavy workouts. Practicing heavy weight lifting comes with a significant amount of harm to the muscles of the body. This, therefore, requires an equal response to repair and growth of muscles within 24 hours of the workout exercise.

In the case of inadequate consumption of proteins, you can likely make your muscles suffer a lot and reduce metabolism. Most people who practice bodybuilding require approximately 1-1.5 grams of proteins per body weight every day. However, in cases where you consume more than 3 grams of proteins a day, you can likely suffer from life-threatening complications, including injury to the kidney.

Excellent sources of proteins include poultry, meat, fish, eggs, and soy.

Fats

It is needed for maintaining a good metabolic rate. Consumption of good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) is encouraged for people practicing heavy workout lifting. This is because they lower their chances of developing cardiovascular diseases and other complications that arise due to too much cholesterol.

Excellent sources include avocados, nuts, and sunflower oil.

Other important factors for building workouts are; intake of sufficient amounts of water; some of the benefits of drinking water are controlling appetite and increasing the body’s metabolic rate. Consuming meals in time, before and after heavy workouts, can help ensure the right amount of fats is burnt for metabolism.

Written By: Jackson Omanwa