The Natural Bodybuilders Bible

What food should I eat?

 

You can continue eating your normal three meals a day as long as they contain a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals.  Instead of eating an unhealthy snack between meals like chocolate I recommend you have muesli, milk, and fruit.

 

BREAKFAST

When you wake up your body is starving for nutrients so make sure you have a good breakfast.  A good breakfast would be two eggs on toast, cereal, a glass of milk and fruit.

 

LUNCH

For lunch make sure you have a good protein source.  For example if you are choosing a sandwich have chicken or tuna because they are high in protein and low in fat.  Instead of having crisps have a salad which is rich in complex carbohydrates (ie, not simple sugars like sucrose), vitamins and minerals. 

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EVENING MEAL

For your evening meal try and eat lean meat with plenty of vegetables (preferably steamed so they haven’t lost their vitamin content.)  If you think these meals are really boring then you can spice them up with a low calorie dressing.

 

Remember to drink plenty of water with each meal.  Apart from making up a large proportion of the muscle, water helps to flush out the toxins produced from those little delicacies of life ie) junk food and beer. 

 

                          WHAT TO EAT                                                          TIME     

 

   MEAL 1:         BREAKFAST                                                             As soon as you wake up.

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   MEAL 2:         bowl of muesli, fruit, glass of milk.                        Mid morning

 
   MEAL 3:         LUNCH                                                                     Early afternoon.

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   MEAL 4:         bowl of muesli, fruit, glass of milk.                        Late afternoon (2 hours before workout)

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   MEAL 5:         SUPPER                                                                   Evening

 
   MEAL 6:         glass of milk                                                           Half an hour before bed.

 

It is a good idea to train two hours after eating a small meal.  If you train too soon after a meal then the blood you want to use to pump up your muscles won’t be available because it’s being used for digestion.  Also training too soon after a meal could result in vomiting when you train hard.

 

Remember that you’re not going to suffer if you eat the odd unhealthy meal.  In fact it will help you to relax if you eat something you really enjoy.   Relaxing reduces stress which can damage your body internally and externally, and therefore is very important to do.  The important point about diet is knowing how to LIMIT the unhealthy food.  That requires mental discipline (a fundamental aspect of bodybuilding) and also practice (your not going to turn from junk food addict to healthy eater over night, it may take a few weeks.)

 

FOOD SUPPLEMENTS

 

VITAMIN PILLS

Vitamins and minerals are another essential part of bodybuilding.  It is important to take them because when you do intense exercise your body has more need for them compared to a sedentary person.The important point is not to take too many.  One multi-vitamin and mineral pill a day should suffice.  Choosing a good pill is extremely important.  Go for the pill which is slow releasing and easily absorbed into the bloodstream.  Be careful of some cheap pills which can sit in your stomach for several weeks like a lump of chalk!  You should take your pill with breakfast because it will help you get through the stresses of the day.  However, if you want a really good source of vitamins  and minerals then eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. 

 

PROTEIN POWDERS

Natural food will always be superior to pills and powders because they are much easier digested.  One of the problems with protein and carbohydrate powders is that they are very hard on the digestive system.  Symptoms can range from diarrhoea to constipation.  Once again if you want to use a protein powder (which is necessary if you want to become really good) choose one which is not too rich and is therefore easy on the digestive system.  Also be careful of ‘weightgainer powders.’  These powders will make you gain weight, but probably because they are full of sugar. Learn to read the labels of protein powders.  Look for one that with each dose gives you about 30g of protein.  This is the amount of protein the body can digest at a single time.  Any more protein than this will be converted by the body into fat.  So you will be gaining weight but not the lean muscle mass you really want.