Bodybuilding Nutrition & Diet

A good bodybuilding diet and nutrition are key components that will determine how successful you are in your bodybuilding program. Training without proper nutrition is like rowing against the current. At best, you would remain on the same place or even move forward a little bit, but in the end, you get nowhere. A Definition of Diet
Usually people associate the word diet with days of starvation and pain. However that is not the correct definition of a diet. The word diet refers to the food choices that we make on a daily basis. Even if you don’t think you that you are on a diet, guess what?! You already are following a diet. Whether you eat candy all day everyday, or oatmeal, that is your diet.
You Don’t Have to Starve When You Diet
A good bodybuilding diet needs to follow 3 rules:

1. It should favor smaller and frequent feedings throughout the day instead of smaller ones.
2. Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios: 40% carbs, 40% protein, 20 % good fats.
3. The calories should be cycled to prevent the metabolism from getting used to a certain caloric level.

While my article on Bodybuilding Nutrition Basics further elaborates on the reasons why the rules above need to be followed, in addition to a discussion on carbohydrates, proteins and fats, I’ll move now to present you with two examples of good bodybuilding diets.
Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Men
Meal 1 (7 AM)
1 cup of dry oats mixed with water
1 cup of egg beaters
Meal 2 (9 AM)
Meal replacement packet like Prolab’s Lean Mass Complex (which has a 40/40/20 nutrient ratio) mixed with water or a protein powder (with around 40 grams of protein) mixed with 40 grams of carbs from cream of rice, grits, or oatmeal.
1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum brand is best)
Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Meal 4 (3 PM)
Same as Meal 2
Meal 5 (6 PM)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Meal 6 (8 PM)
Same as Meal 2
Recommended Basic Bodybuilding Supplements For Men
(Essential to take)
Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil. Also, for convenience purposes a good meal replacement or protein powder is a great way to add valuable calories and nutrients to your diet. For more information on this subject please refer to my article on Bodybuilding Supplementation Basics.
Note: For recipes on protein shakes and protein bars, please visit the Healthy Bodybuilding Recipes page.
Performance Enhancing Supplementation
(Recommended for hard training bodybuilders who want to get the most out of their program}
In addition to those basic supplements, I would also recommend Creatine (please refer to my Creatine Basics article) and Glutamine (please refer to my Glutamine Basics article) as these two supplements offer many of the same properties as anabolic steroids (such as increased recovery, increased strength, increased glycogen levels, enhanced immune system and higher nitrogen synthesis) without the side effects as they are not hormones.
Testosterone Boosting Supplementation
(Optional)
Also, if you are training hard and are a male over 25 years old, assuming that your budget allows for it, I would recommend some natural testosterone boosters like the ones I talk about in my Testosterone Boosting Supplements article.
Bonus: Bodybuilding Supplements To Aid Fat Burning
(Optional)
Are there any bodybuilding supplements that can help a bodybuilder burn fat? If the advice provided above is not followed, then no supplements that you take may help you in your quest for burning fat. However, assuming that you are following all of the advice provided above, there are a few supplement stacks that may indeed improve your metabolism and help you in your quest for better definition.