What To Eat And What To Avoid When Bodybuilding

Doing the right exercise when you are bodybuilding is key to bulking up properly, but so is eating the correct foods and the amount that is being consumed. No matter if you are skinny or not a proper diet will make it much easier to help you in bulking up your muscles faster than if you would simply dedicate to weightlifting. If you want to maximize the results of your daily gym routine and increase your muscle gain much faster, then you need to know which foods are good to be consumed and which ones are not.

Unlike Olympic athletes or powerlifters, a bodybuilder separates their food intake into two different phases known as the bulking up phase and the cutting up phase. The first phase aids the bodybuilder in preparing his or her body by consuming high calorie and protein-rich foods. The cutting phase, unlike the bulk up phase, is when a bodybuilder needs to focus on losing as much fat as they can, so they make drastic changes in their diet to ensure fat is lost while muscle mass is being properly developed.

The Bulking Up Phase:

The phase known as the bulking up phase consists of a diet of both protein-rich and highly caloric food, yet bodybuilders continue to lift weights as much as they can to increase their muscle mass. For the bulking up phase, you need to aim to intake 500 extra Calories (Cal) of what you would normally need. Depending on your body size, it would be the number of calories you need to consume, usually, a person needs an average 2000 Calories per day, so the estimate would be consuming 2500 Calories when you are bulking up.

Here are some examples of good bulking up foods you can try:

Breakfast:

1. Whey protein shake
2. Milk and banana shake
3. Kale Smoothie
4. Eggs
5. Bacon
6. Sausages

Lunch:

1. Pasta
2. Beef or chicken sandwiches
3. Beef or chicken wraps
4. Meats (Beef, chicken, fish)
5. Beans
6. Dairy (Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)

Dinner:

1. Meats (Beef, chicken, fish)
2. Dairy (Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
3. Vegetable stir fry (broccoli, carrot, spinach, etc.)
4. Eggs
5. Avocado
6. Nuts

The Cutting Phase:

As stated, before the cutting phase is when you lower down your calorie intake to ensure your body stops receiving more fat than what it needs. In this phase, you will drastically change your diet, especially the amount. It is highly recommended to calculate properly your caloric need to ensure better results than what you would get by just following the examples. On average, during the cutting phase, a person cuts between 500 to 750 calories from their diet, which helps in lower down weight. If we use our average example of 2000 calories you would need to consume between 1500 to 1350 calories during the cutting phase.

Let me provide you a few examples of what foods you could consume when cutting:

Breakfast:

1. Low-fat yogurt
2. White kidney beans
3. Green tea
4. Lettuce and tomato wrap
5. Grapefruit
6. Cottage cheese toast

Lunch:

1. Meats: Lean beef, chicken and fish
2. Lentils and beans
3. Mushroom and vegetable stir fry
4. Turkey breast
5. Whole-grain bread
6. Salmon
7. Flaxseed and sesame oil

Dinner:

1. Pears, apple and other healthy fruits
2. Spinach, kale, broccoli and other green leafy vegetables
3. Flaxseed and sesame oil
4. Green tea
5. Brewer’s Yeast
6. Cottage cheese toast.

The foods above can be mixed up and eaten up to your preference, just remember that you need to keep your caloric intake on a margin. Rather than keeping on checking what you eat, you need to keep on check how much you are eating. There are always a few foods you should avoid as these can damage your body and affect negatively your muscle gain.

The Foods That Are Recommended To Avoid Are:

1. Deep-fried foods (Pretty much anything that is deeply fried)
2. Foods high in sugar (Candy, cake, doughnuts, ice cream, etc.)
3. Alcohol (Alcohol is a big no when you are bodybuilding!)
4. Carbonated beverages
5. High buttery foods

Experts such as at My Body Life and other professional bodybuilders will always recommend you to properly determine how many calories your body needs before planning your diet. You need to consume the correct number of calories so you get the most out of your weight training. Eat the correct foods while always keeping in mind your caloric intake and soon you will see the impressive changes both proper training and diet do to your body.