The Bodybuilding Diet: How I fixed my health, and became The Hulk. In early 2. 01. 2 I started following a strict bodybuilding diet, which involves eating seven times a day, and obsessively measuring out every meal to meet a predetermined ratio of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. To commit to this food plan, I usually have to pack my meals in tupperware and bring them with me to parties and other social outings. This means I’m often caught scarfing chicken between conversations, and pulling out my food scale at awkward places. Although I try to be discreet, I usually end up having to explain my obsessive behavior to those around me. The question I get asked most often is “Why are you doing this?”. My standard response used to be “To look like Arnold“, but I’ve been asked this question enough times where I’ve since given it some serious thought. It first started with a health checkup in early 2. Since I have a habit of working out regularly, and generally stay away from junk food, I was surprised when my doctor told me I had high cholesterol. My total cholesterol was at 2. LDL cholesterol was at 1. People don’t normally get heart attacks until they’re 6. January, 2. 01. 1Around the time when I got my cholesterol checked. I was in good shape, and worked out 3- 5 times a week. Now this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you I went home and immediately started my bodybuilding diet. But like most people who are aware of a health problem, I made no effort to change my habits. That summer, I even traveled Europe for 5 months and ate all sorts of cochinillo, schweinshaxe, and foi gras, cholesterol be damned. By the end of the trip, I still managed to lose 1. I guess that’s what happens when you spend your days lounging in Parsian parks nibbling on macaroons instead of pumping iron. Looks like my ancestors gypped me on the cholesterol gene, but gave me some kind of freakish metabolism instead. By the time I got back to the U. S., I was ready to get back in shape, so I did what I always do when I’m trying to bulk up – I started lifting weights 5 times a week, and eating a gratuitous amount of food in order to gain as much muscle as possible. This method sounds terrible to me now, but in college it worked wonders. I could devour all sorts of cookies, steaks, and hamburgers, and still build muscle while remaining lean. But in my older age, it was clear that my method wasn’t working as well as it used to. Although I was building muscle, I was also starting to develop a gut. Yup, this was officially my first sign of aging. Here’s me in Germany, at 1. March, 2. 01. 2Before I started the bodybuilding diet, I bulked back up to around 2. I wanted. So I turned to the internet for advice. Anyone who has ever tried searching for diet tips online will probably agree with me that it’s about as fun as filing your taxes. You have to trudge through hundreds of contradictory nutritional advice (milk is bad for you, milk is the perfect drink, avoid egg yolks, egg yolks are the best part), dodge gimmicky supplement ads (“Effortless six- pack abs in 2 weeks, or your money back!”), and decode vague health information like “Detox your body with a cabbage cleansing to restore your inner spiritual and emotional balance”. Huh? I wasn’t looking for a flash diet or a quick fix. I wanted to do it the hard way. The way that works. It turns out all the more credible sounding articles were bodybuilding related. Unlike articles marketed towards yoga girls and beach body types, bodybuilding articles tend to dive deeper into the biochemistry of food, and focus on the overall diet, rather than focusing on a specific “healthy food” . I’m still waiting for the day a frozen yogurt cleanse becomes fashionable, triggering a new generation of yoga girls with uncontrollable gas. The more I read about bodybuilding, the more there was to learn. I soon found myself reading all about the glycemic index, the role of B vitamins, the effects of omega- 3 on jaw development, formulas for calculating basal metabolic rate, etc. I picked up copies of books like Strength Training Anatomy, Protein Power, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, where I learned how to properly execute a back double biceps pose, and learned what a protein shake in the 1. It was all fascinating to me. My nightly entertainment quickly degenerated into watching meatheads on You. Tube lift heavy objects while grunting loudly. I was so into my videos that one night my girlfriend had to subtly suggest we watch something less testosterone- charged, like The Notebook. They are not meant to make the claim that the inborn intelligence of the body can. NEW from the author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: The Burn the Fat Online Body Transformation System. Have you heard about the Paleo diet and were curious about how to get started? I went off the diet for a bit when I traveled Indonesia and Vietnam, but I continued to take whey protein (morning, afternoon, night). MSN Health and Fitness has fitness, nutrition and medical information for men and women that will help you get active, eat right and improve your overall wellbeing. MFNRocks.com is an Internet Radio station with daily live streaming video. The station plays Hard Rock, Classic Rock, and Punk Rock. MFNRocks streams music 24/7 365. Transcript: Food as Medicine: Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet. For those of you unfamiliar with my work, every year I read. The AXS Cookie Policy. This website, like most others, uses cookies in order to give you a great online experience. By continuing to use our website you accept to our. We must look at Filipino boxing legend Manny If you are on parole or probation, you may need to get the approval of a probation officer or a judge. Often times they will add a stipulation that you. We compromised and ended up watching Food, Inc. Looking back, it’s kind of amusing that I became so fascinated with a hobby such as bodybuilding. Although I’ve lifted weights for years, I never thought I’d have anything in common with bodybuilder types. But actually its appeal (at least to me) has a lot in common with gaming and general nerd stuff. Watching your body change is like leveling up, and pre- packed meals are like health potions. Following a consistent diet plan allows me to do things like A/B test foods and their effectiveness. Tracking metrics like meal timing and proportions means I know exactly what day and time I will run out of chicken in my fridge. Bodybuilders are really just body hackers. Okay maybe I’m stretching it a bit. But this is how I justify my quick downward spiral into meathead land. What to Eat. One thing I noticed right off when doing my research is that all bodybuilders eat the same few foods. If you go over to bodybuilding. At first it was a weird concept to go from eating whatever I wanted to eating only 1. But actually in an industry filled with noise and drowning in misinformation, this stroke of clarity was what I needed to get started. Here are the foods that all bodybuilders eat over and over: Protein sources: 9. Tilapia. Egg whites. Whey protein. Salmon (this is both a protein and fat source)Carb sources: Brown rice. Sweet potatoes. Oatmeal. Ezekial bread. Fat sources: Almonds. Avocados. Fish oil. Flaxseed oil. Vegetables: Broccoli. Spinach. Asparagus. Kale. There are a thousand reasons why these few foods are popular among bodybuilders, so I’ll mostly summarize. Protein. Chicken breast and tilapia are going to be your main sources of protein because they are lean, easy to cook, and not too expensive. You could also try turkey, halibut, or other lean fishes (sole fish, catfish, tuna, etc.), but I find that each have their respective disadvantages. Turkey, if not ground, can be very tough. Halibut is far more expensive than tilapia. Sole fish is generally very fishy, and flaky once cooked. Also since you’ll be mass producing this food, you’ll want something that will last at least a week in your fridge. Just from my anecdotal experience, chicken and tilapia pass the seven- day- old taste test better than other types of meat. Whey protein (which is extracted from cow milk) will also be a staple. It’s popular among bodybuilders because it’s quickly absorbed by the body, making it perfect in a post- workout shake when the body is in an optimal state the utilize the protein. I also recommend having it in the morning as a breakfast shake if you’re too lazy to make eggs. Before bed, I recommend casein protein (thicker and slower absorbing, also extracted from cow milk). Egg whites are also a great source of protein. It has the highest bioavailability of any protein source, which means the body can utilize more of it due to its balance of amino acids. As a comparison, beef is only 8. The main disadvantage of egg whites is that it naturally contains a lot of sodium. Since I don’t add salt to my food, I was surprised when I first calculated my sodium intake, which was on the high side due to egg whites. For vegetarians, vegans, or those watching their cholesterol (fish, lean chicken, and whey protein all contain cholesterol!), I recommend Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein or Life’s Basics Plant Protein (the unsweetened version is better). Hemp protein (extracted from ground up hemp seeds) is amazing stuff – it’s a complete protein, it’s high in fiber, and it’s rich in Omega 3- 6- 9 essential fatty acids. At first when I did my research, I was set on finding a highly isolated plant- based protein, something like Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro 7. But the fiber and essential fats in hemp is part of what makes it so great, so I actually think the isolated versions take away many of its advantages. If you’re not a vegan, I recommend mixing the hemp protein with whey protein for better bioavailability (hemp is “complete” but still low on certain amino acids, like lysine). If you’re a vegan, I recommend just using Life’s Basics Plant Protein (the pea and brown rice protein fill in the gaps in hemp’s amino acid profile). I use hemp protein twice a day – once in the morning mixed in with whey, and again before bed, mixed in with casein. Beef – I do not recommend eating beef or any kind of red meat. I love a 1. 2 oz ribeye just as much as anyone else, but after looking up the nutrition facts I’ve concluded that you should only eat it on rare occasions, if ever. It has far more cholesterol and saturated fat than chicken or fish, and the visible fat is harder to isolate and remove. If you do eat beef, I recommend it be organic and grass- fed, which is leaner, lower in cholesterol, and higher in omega- 3 than corn- fed beef. The same is true for salmon – if you have the budget for it, I recommend buying wild caught salmon, which contains more omega- 3 and less cholesterol than farm- raised salmon. Here’s a pdf of the leanest cuts of beef. Carbs. Controlling your carb intake is the most important factor in whether you gain muscle or lose fat. Usually the only difference between a gaining diet versus a cutting diet is the increased carb consumption. The best carb sources are whole grain, unprocessed, and high in fiber. Refined carb sources like white rice, pasta, and white bread are not optimal because they have a higher glycemic index (GI) and lower fiber content .
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