Bodybuilding.com - My Bodybuilding Diet Philosophy And Precontest Diet!

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Many times I have asked various people advice on bodybuilding. The fact that most of the advice was so different made it hard to determine what was

My Bodybuilding Diet Philosophy
Article 02/08/01

By: Delbert Hickman

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