i have to say i don't personally agree with everything in here, but its a good read for the most part.
-Bodybuilding Nutrition for Real People
(Dave Picard)
Daily Caloric Intake
This is an area that has been used and abused a lot over the past several years.
At one point, high calorie diets are in and a year later low calorie diets are
back in fashion. The same holds true for Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats.
Opinions seem like they're changing on a daily basis and they are! The following
formula is tried and true. lf you follow it and make adjustments where they're
needed, you can't help but to achieve nutritional nirvana. Many complex
formula's for figuring daily caloric needs have been introduced. My formula is a
simplified and effective version.
Take your current body weight or a realistic body weight goal (Up or Down), and
multiply it by your desired factor (either 12, 15, or 18). If you want to lose
weight or have a slower metabolism, multiply your weight by 12. For maintaining
your current weight, multiply your weight by 15. And for hardgainers or those
looking to gain weight, multiply your weight or desired weight by 18. This is a
starting point for figuring out your daily caloric needs. (Example: Male who is
200lbs x 15 = 3000 calories per day, Female wh is 130 lbs x 15 = 1950 calories
per day). You may need to adjust your caloric need by 50 - 100 calories per day
should you stagnate and not be achieving your desired goals. This formula also
works as a nice starting point for a bodybuilder looking to figure out the
different caloric needs over the course of a year.
A Pre-Contest bodybuilder would use their desired body weight multiplied by 12.
An off-season bodybuilder would use their weight or desired weight multiplied by
15 or 18 depending on how fast their metabolism is and how lean they want to
stay in the off-season. I personally use my body weight multiplied by 15. This
allows me to grow and stay very lean in the off-season. This formula works
equally well for both men and women.
After figuring your daily caloric needs, you now need to figure out how many
grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat you'll take in per day. Roughly 30-35%
of your calories should come from protein, 50-60% from carbohydrates and 10-15%
from fats. Each gram of protein or carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories. Each
gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. Your calories should be partitioned somewhat
equally throughout 5-6 meals or more per day. Higher calorie post workout meals
are encouraged and will be discussed later in this article. Although vitamins
and minerals will not be discussed in detail in this article, I do recommend
everyone use some type of Mega Multi Vitamins or Vitamin Pack on a daily basis.
Such supplementation provides daily insurance and eliminates the worry of
meeting required needs for general health and recovery.
Protein
Protein is essential for the repair and growth of muscle tissues. The amino
acids derived from proteins form the building blocks for all cells in the human
body. Without protein, your organs, hair, nails, immune system and every other
part of your body would not survive. Those who work out need to supply their
bodies with enough protein to carry out the bodies regular day to day functions
along with recovering from your daily workouts. Daily protein requirements for
active people have been disputed for years between sports medicine professionals
and those who decide on the US RDA's. My personal opinion and that supported and
accepted by most sports nutritionists and bodybuilding experts is 1 - 1.5 grams
of protein per pound of body weight. This is a perfectly safe and very effective
amount. Any less and your recovery and growth will suffer. Higher amounts of
protein don't seem to be any more beneficial, either.
Your protein intake should be approximately 30 - 35% of your total caloric
intake. A 200 lbs male eating 3000 calories per day would want to consume 250
grams of protein per day, this would be 33% of his total calories. A 130 lb
female eating 1950 calories per day would want to consume roughly 160 grams of
protein per day, this would be 33% of her total calories. Your protein intake
should be divided somewhat equally throughout all of your meals. If our 200 lbs
male consumed 6 meals per day, he would want to consume 35-43 grams of protein
per meal. If our 130 lb female were eating 6 meals per day, she would want to
consume 20-30 grams per meal.
Best Protein Sources: Protein Powders and Supplements, Turkey, Chicken, Fish
(White), Lean Red Meat, Egg Whites.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the bodies preferred energy source. For the purpose of this
article, I will break them down into two categories: Simple carbohydrates and
Complex carbohydrates, Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that are broken
down slowly and elicit a mild blood sugar response. With the exception of post
workout meals, complex carbohydrates should represent the majority of the
carbohydrates in your diet.
Simple carbohydrates are only recommended during the first two hours following
your workout. The reason for this is simple carbohydrates elicit a rapid rise
and fall in your blood sugar levels. This not only causes you to feel sluggish
and tired but it also causes such an insulin spike that the body begins to
convert and store those simple carbohydrates as fat, sometimes even before the
simple carbohydrates leave the liver. Needless to say you've triggered hormones
that are more conducive to fat storage than they are to fat burning and muscle
building.
However during that two hour period following your workout, often considered the
post workout window of opportunity, your body and your muscles are very
receptive to simple sugars. Spiking your insulin levels at this time will not
only help to begin refilling all your depleted glycogen stores but will also
help you recover and feel revived from your intense workout. It is believed that
60 - 80% of your glycogen replenishment (carbohydrate storage & replacement)
needs to take place within two hours after training. In other words, the quicker
you can get the carbohydrates into those hungry muscles, the better your chances
of having a great workout the next time out. It only makes sense that simple
carbohydrates would work the quickest and get the job done with no drawbacks.
But remember this is really the only ideal time for simple carbohydrates in your
diet. During all other time frames, complex carbohydrates will help you to
sustain a nice steady energy level that delivers a!
steady flow of carbohydrates to the muscle.
Carbohydrates should make up 50-60% of the calories in your diet. As with
proteins, you need to space your carbohydrates throughout your meals for the
day. A good ratio would be 1 - 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per gram of protein in
all your regular meals and 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per gram of protein in
your two post workout meals. I mention two because one should come immediately
at the gym usually in the form of a drink or bar or both depending on your size,
and the other should come about 60-90 minutes later in the form of a meal at
your home, office or other destination. These two meals should represent 30-45%
of your total calories and carbohydrates for the day. If you use a higher
carbohydrate pro workout meal (60-90 minutes prior to training), its perfectly
fine to make adjustments in your other meals ratio's to balance out your daily
percentages.
If you do eat foods that contain simple sugars, an easy way to combat the
insulin spike is to simply make sure your eating complete meals. In other words,
taking in protein with simple sugars, or for that matter any carbohydrates will
slow down the absorption rate for a much more favorable and growth promoting
blood sugar profile.
Best Complex Carbohydrate Sources: Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Beans, Hot Air Pop Corn,
Green & Yellow Vegetables, Shredded Wheat, Yams, Sweet Potatoes.
Best Simple Carbohydrate Sources: (Post Workout). American Body Buildlng's
Critical Mass, XXL, Bulk Force, Amino Force, Carho Force, Steel Bar's, Amino
Power, Super Shakes (The product of choice depends on your size and caloric
needs). Foods include Boboli Pizza with Fat Free Cheese, Whole Wheat or
Buckwheat Pancakes, Whole Wheat Pasta's, Syrian Bread sandwiches with real
turkey or chicken, etc.
Best Meal Replacements: American Body Building's High Voltage.
Fats
All the fat you need should occur naturally in your everyday diet. However, if
your fat intake is extremely low (below 10%), I would recommend supplementing a
tablespoon of flaxseed oil, olive oil or even a serving of peanuts just to make
sure you get your essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids do play a role in
growth, recovery and day to day well being. My recommendation is your daily
caloric intake consist of 10-15% fat.
Mid Night Meals
At one time or another you've probably been warned not to cat anything before
bed or in the middle of the night because it will turn immediately to fat. This
is Dead Wrong! One of the biggest mistakes a bodybuilder can make is to go 10 or
more hours without eating. If you eat every 2 - 4 hours during the day to
prevent catabolism, what logic could convince you to fast every night for 10 -
12 hours. This might be the easiest way to interrupt recovery and growth on a
daily basis. The following recommendation might be the most important growth
promoting tip you've ever received. Eat 1 - 2 times during the course of the
evening. I'm not talking about a full meal but rather a small protein based
meal. Carbohydrates are not all that important during the middle of the night
simply because you're not doing anything but sleeping. However, protein will
help to prevent catabolism and, during the all important Growth Hormone
releasing sleep, promote anabolism. l'd recommend either drink!
ing a protein shake, taking some amino's, eating 3 - 4 egg whites or having a
cup of cottage cheese just before bed and then once again in the middle of the
night when you get up to go to the bathroom. All you need is about 75 - 125
calories in each meal and don't forget to include them in your daily counts.
Start eating in the middle of the night and you'll be growing around the clock,
and don't worry, I guarantee you won't get fat.
Summary
As I stated in the beginning of the article, nutrition is by far the most
important factor and is almost always responsible for either success or failure
in bodybuilding and most fitness programs. Although very complex, a basic
understanding can guide anyone in the right direction. As you progress in your
bodybuilding and fitness programs and gain further understanding of the
relationship between performance, recovery and nutrition, you'll be able to find
certain nutritional strategies and manipulations that will help drive you to new
heights. In future articles, we'll discuss such strategies and manipulations.
Until the next issue, good luck to all and hopefully bodybuilding's nutritional
jigsaw puzzle is a little easier for you to understand now.
-Bodybuilding Nutrition for Real People
(Dave Picard)
Daily Caloric Intake
This is an area that has been used and abused a lot over the past several years.
At one point, high calorie diets are in and a year later low calorie diets are
back in fashion. The same holds true for Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats.
Opinions seem like they're changing on a daily basis and they are! The following
formula is tried and true. lf you follow it and make adjustments where they're
needed, you can't help but to achieve nutritional nirvana. Many complex
formula's for figuring daily caloric needs have been introduced. My formula is a
simplified and effective version.
Take your current body weight or a realistic body weight goal (Up or Down), and
multiply it by your desired factor (either 12, 15, or 18). If you want to lose
weight or have a slower metabolism, multiply your weight by 12. For maintaining
your current weight, multiply your weight by 15. And for hardgainers or those
looking to gain weight, multiply your weight or desired weight by 18. This is a
starting point for figuring out your daily caloric needs. (Example: Male who is
200lbs x 15 = 3000 calories per day, Female wh is 130 lbs x 15 = 1950 calories
per day). You may need to adjust your caloric need by 50 - 100 calories per day
should you stagnate and not be achieving your desired goals. This formula also
works as a nice starting point for a bodybuilder looking to figure out the
different caloric needs over the course of a year.
A Pre-Contest bodybuilder would use their desired body weight multiplied by 12.
An off-season bodybuilder would use their weight or desired weight multiplied by
15 or 18 depending on how fast their metabolism is and how lean they want to
stay in the off-season. I personally use my body weight multiplied by 15. This
allows me to grow and stay very lean in the off-season. This formula works
equally well for both men and women.
After figuring your daily caloric needs, you now need to figure out how many
grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat you'll take in per day. Roughly 30-35%
of your calories should come from protein, 50-60% from carbohydrates and 10-15%
from fats. Each gram of protein or carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories. Each
gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. Your calories should be partitioned somewhat
equally throughout 5-6 meals or more per day. Higher calorie post workout meals
are encouraged and will be discussed later in this article. Although vitamins
and minerals will not be discussed in detail in this article, I do recommend
everyone use some type of Mega Multi Vitamins or Vitamin Pack on a daily basis.
Such supplementation provides daily insurance and eliminates the worry of
meeting required needs for general health and recovery.
Protein
Protein is essential for the repair and growth of muscle tissues. The amino
acids derived from proteins form the building blocks for all cells in the human
body. Without protein, your organs, hair, nails, immune system and every other
part of your body would not survive. Those who work out need to supply their
bodies with enough protein to carry out the bodies regular day to day functions
along with recovering from your daily workouts. Daily protein requirements for
active people have been disputed for years between sports medicine professionals
and those who decide on the US RDA's. My personal opinion and that supported and
accepted by most sports nutritionists and bodybuilding experts is 1 - 1.5 grams
of protein per pound of body weight. This is a perfectly safe and very effective
amount. Any less and your recovery and growth will suffer. Higher amounts of
protein don't seem to be any more beneficial, either.
Your protein intake should be approximately 30 - 35% of your total caloric
intake. A 200 lbs male eating 3000 calories per day would want to consume 250
grams of protein per day, this would be 33% of his total calories. A 130 lb
female eating 1950 calories per day would want to consume roughly 160 grams of
protein per day, this would be 33% of her total calories. Your protein intake
should be divided somewhat equally throughout all of your meals. If our 200 lbs
male consumed 6 meals per day, he would want to consume 35-43 grams of protein
per meal. If our 130 lb female were eating 6 meals per day, she would want to
consume 20-30 grams per meal.
Best Protein Sources: Protein Powders and Supplements, Turkey, Chicken, Fish
(White), Lean Red Meat, Egg Whites.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the bodies preferred energy source. For the purpose of this
article, I will break them down into two categories: Simple carbohydrates and
Complex carbohydrates, Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that are broken
down slowly and elicit a mild blood sugar response. With the exception of post
workout meals, complex carbohydrates should represent the majority of the
carbohydrates in your diet.
Simple carbohydrates are only recommended during the first two hours following
your workout. The reason for this is simple carbohydrates elicit a rapid rise
and fall in your blood sugar levels. This not only causes you to feel sluggish
and tired but it also causes such an insulin spike that the body begins to
convert and store those simple carbohydrates as fat, sometimes even before the
simple carbohydrates leave the liver. Needless to say you've triggered hormones
that are more conducive to fat storage than they are to fat burning and muscle
building.
However during that two hour period following your workout, often considered the
post workout window of opportunity, your body and your muscles are very
receptive to simple sugars. Spiking your insulin levels at this time will not
only help to begin refilling all your depleted glycogen stores but will also
help you recover and feel revived from your intense workout. It is believed that
60 - 80% of your glycogen replenishment (carbohydrate storage & replacement)
needs to take place within two hours after training. In other words, the quicker
you can get the carbohydrates into those hungry muscles, the better your chances
of having a great workout the next time out. It only makes sense that simple
carbohydrates would work the quickest and get the job done with no drawbacks.
But remember this is really the only ideal time for simple carbohydrates in your
diet. During all other time frames, complex carbohydrates will help you to
sustain a nice steady energy level that delivers a!
steady flow of carbohydrates to the muscle.
Carbohydrates should make up 50-60% of the calories in your diet. As with
proteins, you need to space your carbohydrates throughout your meals for the
day. A good ratio would be 1 - 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per gram of protein in
all your regular meals and 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per gram of protein in
your two post workout meals. I mention two because one should come immediately
at the gym usually in the form of a drink or bar or both depending on your size,
and the other should come about 60-90 minutes later in the form of a meal at
your home, office or other destination. These two meals should represent 30-45%
of your total calories and carbohydrates for the day. If you use a higher
carbohydrate pro workout meal (60-90 minutes prior to training), its perfectly
fine to make adjustments in your other meals ratio's to balance out your daily
percentages.
If you do eat foods that contain simple sugars, an easy way to combat the
insulin spike is to simply make sure your eating complete meals. In other words,
taking in protein with simple sugars, or for that matter any carbohydrates will
slow down the absorption rate for a much more favorable and growth promoting
blood sugar profile.
Best Complex Carbohydrate Sources: Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Beans, Hot Air Pop Corn,
Green & Yellow Vegetables, Shredded Wheat, Yams, Sweet Potatoes.
Best Simple Carbohydrate Sources: (Post Workout). American Body Buildlng's
Critical Mass, XXL, Bulk Force, Amino Force, Carho Force, Steel Bar's, Amino
Power, Super Shakes (The product of choice depends on your size and caloric
needs). Foods include Boboli Pizza with Fat Free Cheese, Whole Wheat or
Buckwheat Pancakes, Whole Wheat Pasta's, Syrian Bread sandwiches with real
turkey or chicken, etc.
Best Meal Replacements: American Body Building's High Voltage.
Fats
All the fat you need should occur naturally in your everyday diet. However, if
your fat intake is extremely low (below 10%), I would recommend supplementing a
tablespoon of flaxseed oil, olive oil or even a serving of peanuts just to make
sure you get your essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids do play a role in
growth, recovery and day to day well being. My recommendation is your daily
caloric intake consist of 10-15% fat.
Mid Night Meals
At one time or another you've probably been warned not to cat anything before
bed or in the middle of the night because it will turn immediately to fat. This
is Dead Wrong! One of the biggest mistakes a bodybuilder can make is to go 10 or
more hours without eating. If you eat every 2 - 4 hours during the day to
prevent catabolism, what logic could convince you to fast every night for 10 -
12 hours. This might be the easiest way to interrupt recovery and growth on a
daily basis. The following recommendation might be the most important growth
promoting tip you've ever received. Eat 1 - 2 times during the course of the
evening. I'm not talking about a full meal but rather a small protein based
meal. Carbohydrates are not all that important during the middle of the night
simply because you're not doing anything but sleeping. However, protein will
help to prevent catabolism and, during the all important Growth Hormone
releasing sleep, promote anabolism. l'd recommend either drink!
ing a protein shake, taking some amino's, eating 3 - 4 egg whites or having a
cup of cottage cheese just before bed and then once again in the middle of the
night when you get up to go to the bathroom. All you need is about 75 - 125
calories in each meal and don't forget to include them in your daily counts.
Start eating in the middle of the night and you'll be growing around the clock,
and don't worry, I guarantee you won't get fat.
Summary
As I stated in the beginning of the article, nutrition is by far the most
important factor and is almost always responsible for either success or failure
in bodybuilding and most fitness programs. Although very complex, a basic
understanding can guide anyone in the right direction. As you progress in your
bodybuilding and fitness programs and gain further understanding of the
relationship between performance, recovery and nutrition, you'll be able to find
certain nutritional strategies and manipulations that will help drive you to new
heights. In future articles, we'll discuss such strategies and manipulations.
Until the next issue, good luck to all and hopefully bodybuilding's nutritional
jigsaw puzzle is a little easier for you to understand now.
