Bodybuilding Diet Fundamentals

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No matter what diet you choose for your muscle-building campaign, there are certain fundamentals that you should adhere to.

It could be a carb-cycling diet, high-carb, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, whatever! There are certain recommendations that apply to them all!

Take a look at the following and make sure you can check them all off your list.

Bodybuilding Diet Fundamentals

(1) Get Enough Protein To Build Muscle. To get your daily protein, multiply your lean body mass in kilograms by 2.75.

LBM (kg) x 2.75

If you only know your LBM in pounds, divide it by 2.2 to get it in Kg. If you only know your total body weight, consume 1g protein for every pound to give a good ball-park figure e.g. 180lbs = 180g protein.

Do you NEED to split it up into 6 separate servings? No, not necessarily. The body can and will absorb more than 30g of protein in 1 sitting. However, if you believe that you are carb-sensitive and want to control your insulin levels, you should eat smaller, more frequent meals for that purpose (especially on a higher-carb diet like GLAD).

Get a high-quality protein like Whey Isolate from MyProtein, or Isopure or Optimum Nutrition Whey.

(2) Calories. Your Calorie-level depends on your goals. When on a Gain Cycle, the key word I always stress is “SUFFICIENT”, not “surplus”.

A workout does not “produce” muscle growth. It “stimulates” it. From there the body goes to work repairing, compensating, and then overcompensating for the damage done. At no point does a “surplus” come into the equation. But you do need sufficient or adequate nutrition for sure.

I recommend you figure out your maintenance calories and add on 200-300 to ascertain your Gain Calories. See this post on gaining 12 pounds of muscle in a year for more.

When I release my upcoming new FREE book, “MuscleHack Chow!“, I will be including a free calculator that will do all this for you  .

Note: Cutting is a whole different animal, and yes, Total Six Pack Abs is the way to go. If any readers haven’t yet seen MuscleHacker Brandi McAtee’s article in here local paper about her recent triumph, go here (there’s a nice shout-out to MuscleHack there too).

(3) Creatine. Creatine is one of the only proven supplements to work. It’s proven and it’s safe.

A lot of people fall into the ‘more is better’ mentality with creatine. More is not better with this supplement. By taking too much it is possible to cause creatine saturation outside the cell. This can prevent effective muscle uptake of creatine. 5g per day is the dosage I recommend. I also recommend taking this AFTER your workout.

Remember that creatine is NOT a pre-workout “energy” supplement. It doesn’t give you a buzz; that’s not the purpose of creatine. See here for more on that.

(4) Eat Carbs. Yes, carbs are necessary for optimal workouts. I often get referred to as the “low-carb guy”, but that’s obviously by people who don’t know the full scope of my work.

Even MANS has a 36 hr carb-up, and the option of another carb-load during the week. Carbs are simply required to fill the muscles with glycogen, which is the energy the body will start to tap into once your training crosses a certain threshold of intensity.

(5) Eat Fat. Fat IS necessary in your diet. Especially relevant for bodybuilders is the requirement of fat for the production of testosterone. But additionally, fat:

 supplies essential fatty acids (and they are essential). EFA’s must be obtained from diet as the body cannot manufacture them

 forms the structure of cell membranes

 is required for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K).

(6) Post-Workout Protein. A workout is a catabolic activity. Like I stated above, a workout does not actually “produce” growth. It stimulates it. This is because anabolism is stimulated by catabolism. The body works with these type of “negative-feedback loops” that signal an opposing mechanism to kick into gear when something goes too far in one direction. Another example of this is the regulation of blood sugar.

Many people seem to be under the idea that catabolism is some evil to be avoided at all costs. The truth is that you need it to stimulate its opposite, anabolism. This is exactly what we do during a workout.

The process of recovery and growth will start to kick in after the workout. Since protein synthesis is what we are after, it only makes sense to supply the body with a fresh batch of the building blocks of muscle: protein.

While strictly speaking you could just eat food, you aren’t normally in the mood to eat a meal straight after a workout. Also, taking protein in the form of whey will supply the fuel a lot quicker than eating a chicken breast for example.

I’m hoping y’all can check all 6 off your list, especially if you’ve been coming here for a while!

Train With Intensity & Eat Intelligently!

Mark

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1. Bodybuilding Diet Program – Glycemic Load Anabolic Diet
2. Best Bodybuilding Diet Plan Revealed!
3. The NEW Bodybuilding Diet – G.L.A.D.
4. Download Free Workout Plan & Bodybuilding Diet Ebook
5. No.1 Mistake People Make On The MANS Diet