*I had a request for a diet thread awhile back…
Bodybuilder training is second in importance to only 1, bodybuilder eating. It doesnt matter how hard you train, if you arent eating, you arent growing. Now if there were ever a controversial thread that ive created, this will be it. Other people believe different things, different eating habits work for different people, etc. SO what im going to do in this thread is give a little info, and drop MY diet plan. A key idea for all of my threads has been “Find what works for you,” and Diet is no exception. You can get hints from others, you can be put on the path of another’s diet, but it MAY NOT necessarily work just as well for you as it did for them. Any others who have been successful in massive weight gain/dieting/have won competitions can feel free to add their information/diet plans.
Lets start with some basic knowledge-
Carbohydrates- Carbs are the major source of fuel for the body which fall into two categories, Simple and Complex. Complex carbohydrates are slower to break down and cause a gentle increase in blood sugar levels, which does not lead to extreme insulin secretion. These are the type of carbohydrate that you will have loads of in your diet. Think of Your body as a Building. The Carbs are the construction workers. You can have all the bricks in the world, but if you dont have the workers, you will not build a building.
Simple Carbs intake first boosts rapid increase in blood sugar levels. This triggers higher insulin secretion and, as a result, lowers blood sugar levels. This is something that is necessary to have post training. Basically the only time i allow simple carbs is in a PWO shake.
Now, if we’re talking bulking, which im going to assume we are, then on a training day, im basically having carbs with most of my meals except for my Pre bed snack. Regardless of that fact, a BULK of my carb intake comes in the form of my PWO shake and my PWO meal. These two meals combined can be around 30-45% of my daily carb intake. Like i said, if we’re talking bulking While trying to keep it clean, i believe some of the best carb sources would be for complex: pasta, oatmeal, wild rice, beans, corn, yellow and green vegetables, foods made from whole wheat flour and rye-bread. And for Simple: Sport drinks, apples, bananas and oranges.
Protein- Dunno how much questioning there is about proteins, yea i can get all scientific and discuss BCAAs and the 8 you cant synthesize yourself, and yadda yadda. But i dont really see that as necessary at this juncture. Basically, this is your building blocks (back to the building reference). This is what your workers (Carbs) will be using to build your mighty structure with. Now, talking powders, there are different forms of protein(A couple off the top of my head; whey concentrate, Whey isolate, Casein, Egg, Soy, etc), but for the sake of my attention span, im going to highlight two here, Whey and Casein. Whey is a quickly digested protein, and as such it is ideal to use during workout and post-workout. During the post workout time, there is a great need for amino acids to begin muscle repair and Whey protein is excellent for this. Whey is highly bioavailable, and boasts the highest biological value of any protein source. Casein however, is slower absorbing from the stomach and small intestine so the blood amino acid levels don’t rise quite as rapidly. The slow absorption will help sustain elevated amino acid levels over a longer period of time. Because it is a extremely slow digesting form of protein, some people see it as inferior. I however see casein as a rich protein source that will feed the body at a steady rate while you sleep. This is why i believe Casein is the best form of pre bed Protein. Now if you pair this with some other form of slow burning fuel, such as dairy (Milk if you dont care about calories, Cottage cheese if you do), you will turn your body into a Fuel burning machine WHILST you sleep. Forms of good protein include Fish, beef, chicken, dairy, eggs, etc. What you cant get from whole meat, substitute for powders.
Fats- “NEWSFLASH: Fats DONT actually make you fat!” You will never see that on the news. Why? Cuz its a billion dollar Bullshit nutrition scam. I see products daily that BOAST NO FATS, and are inversely Loaded with sugars. The truth is, Essential Fats play a key role in improving energy levels, stamina, performance, recovery, healing and fat loss. They are essential for all types of athletes. They may improve brain function, skin conditions, digestion, cardiovascular health, immune function, joint problems, and general health, and prevent many health problems. Notice i said ESSENTIAL FATS, these are your EFAs (Your Omegas). Some sources of this are flax seeds, walnuts, green leafy vegetables, canola oil (GMO free) fish, sunflower, corn, sesame, borage, or Olive oil.
Now, I will show you my diet. I plan to reveal it in full, minus the numbers since i REALLY dont feel like counting stuff up this morning lol. No understand, this is a bulking diet, this also may be more than most need. When i begin a cut, the diet will change drastically, IE more food buckling down, and less of it. Adjust the diet to your needs and size. Backstory: im 5’9, 260lbs. I eat approx 5k calories a day.
Breakfast- 1 tbsp Olive oil
6 eggs (4 whole 2 white)
1 Whole wheat pita
1 slice of cheese
1 cup of oatmeal
1 1/2 scooops of protein
Snack- 1 Detour Oatmeal bar + 1 scoop of protein
Pre workout- start sipping on 2 1/2 scoops of Anaconda + 2 1/2 scoops of Surge workout fuel. If there is too great a time discrepancy between my snack and my workout, i will make it a Banana + 2 scoops of whey.
During workout- Anaconda + Surge. (note: i use 2 1/2 as servings because i do workout for quite a bit longer than most)
post workout- 4 scoops of N large + 1 scoop of whey protein.
Dinner- 10-12 oz of meat (changes daily) normally 2-3 servings of a carb (be it brown rice, Wheat pasta, or Sweet potatoes), and some form of vegetable.
Pre Bed- 2 scoops of Syntha-6 + 1 scoop of whey + WHOLE milk.
I remember a video i saw awhile back that really changed my perspective on eating. In the video, the man commented on ‘Foods that worked.’ Egg whites, Oatmeal, tuna, Banana, Chicken breast, Brown rice, Sweet Potatoes. If you were ever like me, and at one time debated if you could eat something, if it wasnt good for you or you really werent sure, or are just trying to stay lean. That list of 7 foods is your fallback. That is your safe house.
Im gonna finish breakfast now…Happy Eating.
) Carbs are all complex, oats, rye, legumes, except that huge surge of maltodextrin-dextrose during my workout (but although I pack on fat easily, that surge seems to be beneficial without any adverse effects… harder-longer workouts, more capacity, lesser soreness, and NO FAT)