Diet and Nutrition

Diet and Nutrition are one of, if not, the most important part of getting the body you want. You have to eat good to look good. But if you go that extra mile and eat great... you guessed it, you can look great! No matter what your goals are, 1 thing is the same. You need protein, and you don't need fat. Thats the most important rule here. Stay away from fatty foods. Cookies, chips, candy, chocolate, cake, fast food, fried food etc. Not all fat is bad for you though. There is a healthy fat. This fat can be found in fish, nuts and some oils such as flax seed oil.
Eating to lose weight

The first nutritional demand of your body is energy. Without adequate energy, your body will convert muscle protein into energy to feed your brain, nervous system and red blood cells. These particular tissues do not possess the metabolic machinery to burn fat. They only burn carbohydrate. When your intake of carbohydrate falls below these tissues demand, the body begins to convert tissue protein into carbohydrate to meet their need. The net result is a loss of muscle tissue. Yes, the scale may say you have lost "weight", but you have lost the very tissue that burns fat. Muscle tissue burns 70% of the fat in your body; so losing muscle sacrifices your ability to burn body fat. In fact, the "weight" you lose on a diet can represent up to 10 to 20% of those pounds in muscle loss.

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Eating to build muscle

First of all try to Include as much variety in your bodybuilding diet as you possibly can. It's recommended you consume five to six medium size meals during the day rather than two or three big ones. Try to Include a large amount of high quality protein in your bodybuilding diet and cut out as much animal fat as possible. Also, the lighter you cook your foods, the more nutrients will be retained. It's also key to consume lots of natural carbs found in grains, breads, fruits and veggies. Multivitamin-multimineral supplements are also very important as they contain digestive enzymes (this will aid in protein synthesis). Avoid junk food and empty calories (sugar). Try to stay away from soda and beer as they are packed with empty calories. Whatever you do don't miss meals! Missing meals puts your body in a fat-storing mode.

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Muscle Building Nutriton

Strength training and good nutrition go hand in hand. There is little point sweating it out, giving it your all in the gym, unless you support your training programme with sufficient fuel and nutrients. Strength training simply provides the stimulus for muscle growth - your diet provides the raw materials for new muscle.

This topic explains what you should eat to maximise muscle and minimise fat. It covers seven key topics - carbohydrate, protein, fat, fluid, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and supplements - each of which addresses the issues most relevant to strength trainers to give you the straight facts about eating before, during and after training, what and how much you should drink, and which supplements are most helpful for reaching your goals.

Nutritional tip # 3 - Eat 5-6 small meals a day.

Unlike most people's string of painfully low-calorie days, which puts the body in a fat-storing mode since it has no idea when it will be fed next, eating a small meal every three hours keeps our muscles in a fat-burning mode since they're receiving a steady but not excessive supply of nutrients. This practice also helps increase our energy levels and fight the hungry feeling that often leads to cheating with fat-building, between-meal snacks. Eating only 2-3 large meals a day like most people, however, can overwhelm our bodies. Since they can only use a certain amount of food at a time, the remainder will usually be stored as fat.
Here's an example schedule.
Breakfast: eggs, whole-wheat toast, fruit etc.
Mid-morning: protein shake such as Myoplex (I eat this meal in my P.E. class)
Lunch: sandwich (meat, veggies, and whole-wheat bread) fruit or veggies etc.
Mid-afternoon: anything that's good and healthy (I eat this one after school)
Post workout: something with lots of protein- i.e. protein shake, protein bar etc.
Supper: a good meal with protein and some whole grains and veggies.
Nutritional tip # 4 - Consume lots of carbohydrates.

Consume at least 3 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight each day. Make sure that most of these carbohydrates come from comples sources such as pasta, rice, oatmeal, potatoes and yams and fibrous veggies such as broccoli and asparagus. The only time you should be feeding your body fast acting carbs is immediately after your workouts.
Nutritional tip # 5 - Keep good fats in your meal plan.

While TV tells us that eating fat makes you fat, the reality of the situation is that since the "fat-free" craze began, studies are showing that Americans continue to get fatter and fatter. While limiting fat intake is a good idea, totally eliminating it is not. Besides being necessary for healthy skin and hair, fat is involved in the production of many hormones, including testosterone. That's why it's almost impossible to build muscle mass when on an extremely low fat diet. Fat also lowers the glycemic index of many high carb foods, so we don't get that huge fat-producing insulin surge commonly associated with eating fat-free goodies by themselves. More importantly, we need a certain amount of fat to process body fat metabolism. In other words, eating too little fat makes it harder for us to burn unwanted fat.
Nutritional tip # 6 - Don't starve yourself.

Simply put, fat gains and losses are mathematical events. You're not going to look like a sleek, defined racehorse if you eat like a pig. It's important to eat enough good foods to maintain lean muscle mass, but not overindulging to the point of increasing fat storage. Since this line is an easy one to cross, I recommend writing down in a small notebook the calorie content and macronutrient breakdown (grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat) of what you eat. This technique also helps keep me more focused on my goal.
Nutritional tip # 7 - Diet ratio.

Your diet ratio should be 50 to 55% carbohydrates, 25 to 30% protein and 15 to 20% fat.
Nutritional tip # 8 - Drink lot of water.

Drink water...lots of it! I try to drink at least 2 gallons a day during and in between my meals. Muscle is composed of 70 percent water. A high protein diet and intense exercise require more water since these are dehydrating activities. Water is needed to transport vitamins, minerals, and supplements and even foods throughout our bodies. if our water intake is too low, muscle fullness decreases and a toxic buildup of ammonia, urea, and other waste products can result. Contrary to popular belief, restricting water intake can actually lead to more water retention than providing the body with a steady supply.
Nutritional tip # 9 - Consume more calories.

When boosting your caloric intake, gradually increase the amount of calories over a period of 7 to 10 days. This way, you are using the extra calories as fuel as opposed to storing it as fat. If you find yourself stuck, gradually increase the amount of calories per day.
Nutritional tip # 10 - Eat whole grains.

No more white bread and flower. Eat whole-wheat bread and cook with whole-wheat flower. You will get more nutrients from them and they take longer to digest, so they stick with you longer.
Nutritional tip # 11 - No meals within two hours of bedtime.

To prevent unwanted fat storage, I eat my biggest meals early in the day when I'm most active. I particularly limit my carbohydrate foods in later meals. I've found eating too close to bedtime is a good way to lose definition since my body doesn't burn the same level of calories during the sleeping maintenance mode as it does during the waking hours.

Use these 11 nutritional tips to increase your size and strength.