At least 80% of a bodybuilder's success comes from eating. Workouts
can be missed occasionally without any ill effects but go on a couple of food binges and watch those cuts disappear.
I have done the Body for Life program for three plus years and my eating
is in keeping with its recommendations. 40/40/20, protein/carbs/fat. To find your portion use your palm for the proteins and
the size of a closed fist for the carbs. You can be more liberal with green vegetables.
I drive everyone crazy with my eating habits. Six meals a day, every
2-3 hours. Everything that I eat is completely intentional and never haphazard. It is usually planned the night before. Everything
is designed to build muscle and provide energy. I'm pretty close to being on the God diet. If God didn't make it I don't eat
it. There are a few exceptions to this rule but not many.
The trick is to have a portion of protein, carbs and fat at each meal
with protein and carb grams being about equal. This way there is a constant uptake of nutrients and your body never thinks
you are starving it. So as a reward for eating so often your body lets go of its stored fat more readily if a consistent calorie
deficit is maintained and there is regular cardio and weightlifting.
You see people who ask why they are fat because they never eat a thing.
That is precisely the reason why they remain fat. One 800 calorie meal a day is going to turn them into a very efficient fat
storage machine. Since the body has no clue when or if you're going to feed it it hangs on tightly to what fat is already
stored. The body doesn't know there's a McDonald's on every corner. It still thinks we are the hunters and gatherers of the
stone age. Starvation mode also presents another problem. The body dumps whatever muscle there is because muscle is very high
maintenance. If the body thinks it's starving it will dump the muscle. This makes for a slower metabolism thus making it
even more efficient at storing fat. How to break the cycle? EAT!
A sample day of meals might look like this:
1. 2/3 cup oatmeal(the five minute kind not the instant), and
4 scrambled eggwhites and one whole egg,
2. A medium apple and 3/4 cup cottage cheese
3. Tuna on half a slice of whole wheat bread and a cup of green beans
4. A container of fat free no sugar added yogurt and a protein bar
5. A grilled chicken breast, baked sweet potato, and steamed broccoli
6. A protein shake
I do use the commercial meal replacement shakes and bars and protein
powders. They are convenient and keep me from eating bad food if I'm out and there aren't any other choices. I don't
leave home without taking a cooler with a couple of meals in it.
Eating out sometimes creates a problem but not very often. You can
always find grilled chicken on any fast food restaurant's menu. At upscale restaurants there is always salmon. Most places
will accommodate your request to have steamed vegetables instead of french fries so speak up. The only places I really don't
go are Italian restaurants. I don't eat veal and everything else is covered with sauces that have CUO(carbs of unknown origin).
It is difficult at first to remember when to eat and what combinations
of foods to eat but after a while it becomes second nature and you barely have to think, just grab and go.
About once a week I will indulge in a free meal but usually this is
not a whole lot of junk food or sweets.
To keep lean I tend to zig zag my calories. I don't really count them
but for four or five days a week will eat a regular carb portion with each meal, then for the last two or three days
will increase the carbs a bit. It doesn't take much. Fat storage doesn't occur and my body doesn't adapt to the strict
regimen and stop responding.
Things I never eat are pizza, sweet breakfast cereals, regular soft
drinks, anything fried, any baked goods, white bread, any candy or confections, no bagged or boxed snack foods, alcohol, or
any mixed "casseroles" that I don't make myself.
I am constantly ridiculed about the way I eat. Usually it is by someone
who is at least 40 pounds overweight. After eating this way it all starts to taste really good even though it isn't the most
exciting way to eat. The eating has been my one way ticket to bodybuilding success.
Some favorite meal combos that totally rock as far as muscle building food:
5 boiled eggs(only one yolk) and veggies
broiled salmon(medium, not dry), brown and wild rice, steamed veggies
sugar free yogurt and cottage cheese
cottage cheese and a Pink Lady apple
chicken breast, sweet potato, lima beans
Myoplex vanilla shake with a tablespoon of peanut butter blended in
5 scrambled eggs(only one yolk), a tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese, and steamed asparagus
oatmeal with splenda and cinnamon and a protein shake.
albacore tuna on one slice of whole wheat bread and a handful of baby spinach
sliced turkey breast on whole wheat with a side of mixed veggies
Some of these are repeats of what I listed in the sample meals near the top of this post.
I tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over because they work, and building muscle is top priority, not food pleasure.
Just remember, if you eat crap you're gonna look like crap.
