Bodybuilding diets

I want to give you guys some ideas and examples of different diet plans and meals, these are obviously an outline and need to be fine tuned for every individual. There are some basic rules when putting together bodybuilding diets to build mass or to lose fat. In this article I will focus on lean bulking. I will cover the fat loss diet in later articles.

In order to gain solid muscle weight bodybuilders need more food, more often.
Don't gorge yourself, but be prepared to eat and train hard. Protein from red meat, poultry and fish build muscle most effectively.

Whole grain breads, cereals and muffins work well for carbohydrate and fiber intake, while potatoes, rice and pasta are the most stable and popular sources of carbs. Some theories were to avoid carbs or limit them to maintain as lean a physique as possible. This is something I dont really agree with in a mass building diet. If you want to gain sugnificant muscle mass certain sacrifices must be made, like abs!

Too build mounds of beef we need to feed the muscles not just with protein to rebuild the muscle but also with clean carbs, these fuel the muscle and build up glycogen. What is glycogen you ask? It is the bodies version of premium gas. It is what our muscles need to perform. When the body runs out of glycogen it turns on itself and will actually use the muscle itself as fuel, not what any bodybuilder wants to hear! So this is my reasoning for keeping moderate carbs in this style diet.

Something else that a lot of trainers don't understand is the importance of fat in the diet. Unlike protein which we see on the shelves of every supplement shop and magazine that deals with health and fitness, fat is the ugly step child. Does it deserve this bad rap? Absolutely not. There are good fats, the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These contain essential fatty acids, such as omega 3. The body needs these for many important maintenance functions, including keeping joints healthy and promoting growth. The body does not produce these EFA's naturally, so you need to get them from your food. Excellent sources of these ‘good fats' include certain nuts, fish and olive oil.

So lets look at a sample that puts these ideas to use.