Hey guys! In this post, I’ll be discussing the diets for a body builder. It’s totally different from that of a regular person.

First off, I’d like to make a funny confession, actually, I like to build my body, to some extent. I’m not interested in looking like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I like to be very fit, muscular to some extent you know, looking ripped to some extent. My confession is, I’ve never been to the gym before! Yeah, you read right. I don’t use actual gym equipment. I base my focus on home workout, and I’m so dedicated and committed to it. Well, it’s not like I don’t wanna go to the gym, it just that I don’t have the time and freedom to go to the gym as I like, so I just gotta do the home workout without equipment for now, until I’m ready and free to hit the gym. So I just wanna tell you that, even without going to the gym, you can still build muscles and look ripped. It all depends on how seriously you take it and how good your diet is.

So, without much ado, I’ll go straight into the diet for a beginner bodybuilder.

Before going into serious workout to begin your bodybuilding, the first thing you have to do is to “BULK UP” and thereafter move to the “CUTTING PHASE”. What do I mean? Bulking up means you have to train the body with a high-calorie diet and intense weightlifting in order to increase the overall mass of the body, especially the muscles. So the main aim of bulking up is to increase the overall mass of the body – To gain weight. You don’t want to be looking so thin and bony. So, after bulking up, the next thing is the cutting phase

So, for bulking up, your diet must be focused on carbs, proteins and fats. Carbs and proteins contains about 4 calories per gram while fats contain 9. At this stage, you need to eat a lot of calories. You need to increase you calorie intake by about 15%. For example, if you normally take 1000 calories per day, you need to increase it to (1000 x 0.15) + 1000 = 1,150 calories per day. Well, most people don’t measure the amount of calories they take per day. Lol. But my point is, you have to increase your calories intake. Sources of calories are:

• Meats, poultry and fish- Chicken breast, pork tenderloin, ground beef, venison.

• Diary- low fat milk, cottage cheese, yoghurt.

• Grains- Rice, popcorn, oats, bread

• Fruits- bananas, apples, oranges, watermelon etc.

• Beans and legumes- Beans, kidney beans, chickpeas

• Starchy foods- Cassava, potatoes

• Seeds and nuts- Almonds, walnuts

• Oils- Olive oil.

• Water

PROTEIN SHAKE: Protein shakes are a wonderful source of protein. As a matter of fact, you should try to consume as much protein shake as possible, if possible, everyday. Meanwhile, if you feel you take very high quantity of protein daily, then you might not need to take protein shakes, maybe a little. There are actually three forms of protein shakes: Protein concentrates ( Contains protein + carbs + fats), Protein isolates (Contains proteins only) and Protein hydrolysates (Bonds between amino acids are broken which helps in easier absorption by the muscles). Protein shakes can be taken as snacks alongside strawberries, walnuts, grapes etc.

So, you have to take those foods, as much as possible for the bulking up phase. Actually, there are some foods that some people should not take too much of it, like Oils for those that have acne and pimples issue. Oils cause pimples breakout. You can visit your dietician for foods that have adverse effects on you.

FOODS TO LIMIT DURING THE BULKING UP PHASE

• Alcohol. Either beer, wine or even liquor.

• Sugar and sugary foods and drinks like candies, cookies, ice cream, sugary beverages like soda.

• Deep-fried foods like fried fish, French fries, fried chicken and so on.

You should also avoid these foods before going to the gym or doing your home workout: Beans, high-fat foods, high-fiber vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, energy drinks, smoothies.

Also, note that you should not workout on empty stomach. Before working out, you should eat like banana and some peanut butter, or hard boiled eggs. They are good pre-workout foods. They should be eaten like 1 hour to workout time. The main point is do not workout on empty stomach. You must have eaten like 1-3 hours before workout.

So, the bulk up phase should last for like 4-6 months. You must have been well bulked up. Do not forget the intense weightlifting during the bulking up phase and a lot of sleep, about 6-8 hours of sleep daily

And then you can move to the cutting phase. In this phase, you reduce your calories intake. Your aim is to lose fat but not lose muscles. At this stage, you lose the fat that you have gained during the bulking up phase by doing a lot of exercises. You should eat foods like lean meat, eggs, milk, tofu, seeds, nuts, pulses like beans, peas, chickpeas. The main point in this stage is to lose weight and then build your muscles.

So, after the bulking and cutting phases, you continue to workout hard and maintain good diet to keep building your muscles

ANABOLIC STEROIDS: This is a class of steroid hormones that build tissues. It is used mainly by bodybuilders. This is a very very very harmful substance for the body. It is just so harmful, so you should stay away from it. It can cause acne, high blood pressure, heart diseases risks, aggressiveness, infertility, baldness. In fact, steroids aren’t good, whether in excess or controlled. It can be popular and tempting to use, but is totally unsafe.

Finally, I’d like to tell you about the bodybuilding supplements. Some are good while some are not.

These are the best bodybuilding supplements:

• Creatine: It gives you more energy. There are many types of Creatine but a very good one is Creatine monohydrate.

• Whey protein: Whey protein powder intake is an easy way to increase your protein level

• Caffeine: This is found in coffee or tea. It helps you reduce fatigue and helps you work harder

Also note that multivitamin and mineral supplements might help during the cutting phase to cut down fat in the body.

On a final note, hard work + good diet coupled with good sleep of about 6-8 hours (muscles breakdown during workout and are rebuilt during sleep) is what helps you achieve the good shape you desire. Good luck!

Merci 💪