The Right Bodybuilding Diet for Women
A 'diet' can mean totally different things for different people, especially when you are a female bodybuilder. Most people automatically associate diets as something that is done solely for the purpose of losing weight. However, a bodybuilding diet is completely different; it is comprised of foods that help to put on muscle.
Here's how to find the right diet for you to get strong and stay strong.
Focus on Fitness
Concentrating on losing fat alone is the worst mistake you can make, especially if you want to go on a bodybuilding diet. Looking at just fat loss alone will likely have you starving your body of essential items that it needs to function. As a bodybuilder, the primary focus of your diet should be to maximize intake of the needed nutrients and then cut down on everything else.
Don't worry so much about fat; you are likely to burn the fat gradually as you do your exercise routines. Besides, your body will be much, much more efficient at burning fat once you've got some muscle on you. Each pound of extra muscle you gain will increase your fat burning rate by up to 30 calories/hour, so build up first before you reduce.
Nutrients You Need
The most egregious error you could commit is to just scale down your consumption of all foods, believing that that will improve your overall physique. While that will reduce your body fat in the short term, you are putting your health at risk by not giving your body essential nutrients.
As a bodybuilder, the primary nutrient you will need is protein. You probably know that much already given the number of protein supplements available at any gym. Protein helps in building up muscles and acts as fuel for the muscles that are already there. Carbohydrates are also an important part of your diet because they are the primary fuel for the rest of the body, critical for activities like running and cardio exercises.
Designing a Bodybuilding Diet
The ideal bodybuilding diet should have at least three adequate meals a day and several snacks in between as necessary. Yes, that's right - snacking is allowed. Any trainer will tell you that snacking is okay as long as you snack on the right stuff. That means fish and lean meats, not candy and Krispy Kreme.
Start your day with a lot of protein and some carbohydrates, especially if you do some of your routines in the morning. The protein jumpstarts your systems while the carbs will give you energy for the first part of your day. Lunch should be a similar affair that's a little heavier on the carbohydrates so that you'll be peppy for your post-work and afternoon exercises.
Dinner is in most cases the odd one out of the bunch. Unless you exercise between dinner and bedtime, carbohydrate intake for dinner should minimal. While you are sleeping, any fat and carbohydrate that you consume during dinner will get stored as fat.
Bodybuilding diets take some planning and strategy, especially if you want to keep your menu varied and interesting. Your diet should never require you to starve or go hungry. Feed yourself properly and see yourself perform at your peak.
Nurishment for Bodybuilding
A great bodybuilding diet, is a balanced diet consisting of carbs, proteins, and good fats. High protien, low carbs with low fat diet works for losing body fat while helping gain muscle. Calories need to be adjusted depending on your height, current weight and goals.
What Makes Up A Great Bodybuilding Diet?
Carbohydrates - Carbs produce energy for your body.
For a bodybuilding diet carbs they should come from complex sources such as oatmeal, grits, brown rice, sweet potatoes in combination with fibrous vegetables like green beans and broccoli.
Proteins - Proteins build muscle in the body. Good sources of protein are chicken, turkey, tuna, and lean red meats.
Fats - Good fats are used by the body to produce hormones, lubricate the joints, and aid in
brain function, should be limited, and come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources.
Almonds, virgin olive oil and flax seed oil are good sources of fats.
