Many times I have asked various people advice on bodybuilding.
Many times I have been given advice on bodybuilding when not
asked for. The fact that most of the advice was so different
made it hard to determine what was "sound" and what was "fluff".
Like most other fit-conscious people, I many times purchased
bodybuilding, health and fitness magazines looking for the
secret diet or training program that would change my life
forever. What I found was that I became even more confused
and frustrated. Nothing was coming together. In this article,
In this article I will discuss the ups, the downs, and the
all-arounds that I have battled with day in and day out in
regards to a proper Bodybuilding diet program.
I'll first begin by asking you to raise your hand
if you have, like myself, spent hours and days
looking through count-less magazine articles for
that magical diet that will shed body fat and make
you lean and ripped? Okay, you can put them down
now. I have made the mistake of thinking that
there was a diet plan made for me out there and
all I had to do was find it. Okay, next question
and again raise your hand if it applies to you.
How many times has someone(s) given you advice on
how to diet and, if from multiple people, each set
of advice differed drastically making you even more
confused? High carbs, high protein, high fat..
etc, etc.... What to do!!! What to do!!! It's
enough to drive you crazy isn't it?
Before I go into what I found that works for me,
I want to first of all talk about diet and what
it really means. Diet is analogous to being
married in a lot of ways. You first must make
the commitment to diet. This is a hard decision
to make especially if you plan to make it last.
Once you commit to dieting, you WILL work each
and everyday at it. Each day will present different
challenges and will test your commitment. You will
be tempted to do things that will compromise your
commitment (i.e. indulging in foods that will only
deter you from reaching your desired goal). If
you plan to make it, you must treat each day like
it's brand new. This helps keep the flame burning
that fuels your desire to reach your goal. Sound
familiar? To me, and I'm sure several others out
there share my opinion, diet is the difference between
success and failure 80-90% of the time in bodybuilding.
Take a look around you next time you're in the gym.
How many people are pushing huge amounts of weight
or running like mad on the treadmills and their bodies
seem to always stay the same? The reason a lot of them
have not seen a change is because they have not realized
how important a proper diet is. If you take a look
at my photos on the previous page and start from the
March picture on down to the October picture (not trying
to be vain but its a point of reference), there
is a significant and noticeable difference in my
body fat. The reason for the change was that I
slowly learned how to diet. It was a long and
winding road that I'm still traveling. The more I
learn, however, the more I am motivated. Make no
mistake, diet is the hardest thing to master in
bodybuilding. It will test you in everyway imaginable
and will be the one thing that makes most new bodybuilders
ask the question, "Is it really worth it"?
I will detail what I have done for dieting and I must
caveat it by saying that this is what I have found that
has worked for me. It is not meant to be a magically
discovery that will work for you.
8 weeks out from a contest:
- 5:45am - 8oz. very lean beef (eye of round)
3 egg whites,
1 grapefruit
- 9:00am - Low Carb Protein shake (6 gram carbs, 32 grams
protein) with 4 strawberries and 2 TBS Heavy
Whipping Cream,
1 TBS Flax Oil,
1 can tuna
- 12:00 Noon - 8 oz. Chicken Breast
4 Cups Salad (Red Wine Vinegar for dressing)
1 Tomato
- 3:00pm - 8 oz. Chicken Breast,
2 Cups Salad,
3 egg whites,
1 TBS Flax Oil
- 4:00pm - HIT THE GYM!!!!
- 7:00pm - 10 oz. Chicken Breast,
2 Cups Leafy Vegetables
- 9:30pm - Low-carb protein shake (6 gram carbs, 32 grams
protein) with 4 strawberries
- 10:30pm - Sleep
For carb-loading, I replace my sixth meal on Monday and
Thursday with a meal consisting of: 10 oz. sweet potato,
1.5 cups cooked brown rice, 6 oz. banana. As I draw closer
to a competition, I have found a great way to cut calories
is to replace the Chicken or Beef with Whiting Fish Fillet
(about 70 calories per 4 oz.serving which is half of the
same portion of chicken breasts), cut the heavy whipping
cream, and drop the sixth meal and replace the 5th meal with
the Monday and Thursday carb-load. Additional supplements I
used were as follows: Amino Acids (BCAA's), L-glutamine, ZMA,
Dissected Liver tablets, and Vitamin C. I really had and am
having great success with this plan. I was given assistance
by Sandy and Roger Reidinger with Beverly International. They
have been great.
Well there it is. The "magic diet" in all its wonderful
splendor! No much to it huh? Took me months to finally
find it!
Before I go, I wanted to provide some reading material I
think would be helpful to anyone who decides to live a
"low-carb" lifestyle. The book is called "Living Low-Carb"
by Fran Mccullough. Very good information on what to do,
what supplements are needed and helpful. Most of all
there are low-carb recipes included so please check it
out!!
"Live your life as an Exclamation rather than an
explanation."
- Author Unknown
Thanks again,
wnbfprofessional@aol.com
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