Sample menu for bodybuilders. Proper diet for a bodybuilder for every day Nutrition of famous bodybuilders

We are often asked the question of how to create a balanced bodybuilder nutrition plan for gaining muscle mass. In this material we will tell you how to do this according to all the rules.

So you want to become big? You torture yourself in gym, lift weights until you lose your pulse, and then return home in full confidence that to achieve your cherished goal you don’t need anything else - you just need to regularly pump your muscles with iron. If only it were that simple.

Proper nutrition- alpha and omega processes of muscle growth and recovery, and without these processes you will not see sculpted muscles. A bodybuilder's diet must be adjusted as muscle mass increases: the more muscle you have, the more you should eat, and while your muscles are poorly developed, your nutrient needs are low. But how can we control the processes that occur inside our body?

You have two options for solving this problem. The first is the good old scale that collects dust in the far corner of the bathroom; To understand whether your attempts to build muscle are leading to an increase in overall body weight, you must monitor your weight. If, according to the floor scales, you are marking time and even going down, review your diet and increase its volume. And if the weight grows, how can you be sure that it is really muscle? Maybe the stomach and other parts of the body filled with fatty tissue are to blame? If your belly is growing, it means you are eating too much. Be careful: It's okay to gain a little fat while you're building muscle, but be careful not to let the dreaded process of fat accumulation go too far.

A bodybuilder's diet must be adjusted as muscle mass increases

Another measuring device – a caliper – will help us assess the processes occurring in the body (whether we are building muscle or fat). Remember it once every two weeks, and you will have complete information about what is happening in your body. If you're losing muscle mass due to nutrient deficiencies, the caliper will tell you to eat better. If the caliper warns of an increase in the percentage of fat mass, then it’s time to cut back on your daily diet. A good gym should have these measuring instruments, and provided that the measurements are always carried out by the same person, you will receive complete and reliable information about what processes are happening in your body. As soon as you gain a few millimeters in volume or a couple of hundred grams, the table that comes with the caliper will immediately show what the percentage of fat tissue is in this increase.

It's time to use mathematics and logical thinking. If you know your total body weight and body fat percentage, it will be easy to calculate your total body fat mass. Now we subtract this figure from the total body weight and get the exact amount of lean mass. Of course, this figure includes not only muscles, but also internal organs, bones, etc., but in our calculations we will use this value as an indicator characterizing muscle mass.

We have just learned to identify two important parameters– total fat mass and lean body mass. We write down, remember and keep these indicators in mind. The next time you measure your anthropometric data, you will be able to assess whether your body fat percentage has decreased or not, and, more importantly, whether your body fat has decreased. general content body fat? And has the lean mass increased (after all, this is exactly what we are trying to achieve) or is this indicator, contrary to our aspirations, going down? If your diet is balanced and your nutrition is completely consistent with your body weight and training program, your lean mass will go up and your fat mass will decrease. And if you eat poorly, you will get exactly the opposite results: fat mass will increase, and fat-free (muscle) mass will decrease. Not at all what we expected!

Anthropometric fat calculator

As an example to calculate fat and fat-free mass, let's take a person weighing 90 kg with a fat content of 21%.

From now on, knowing exactly the percentage of body fat, you should strive to constantly increase muscle mass while maintaining a constant or decreasing amount of total fat mass. This is what it looks like ideal scenario development of events, but it is not always realized: sometimes the proportion of adipose tissue increases, and the fat-free mass creeps down. The reason for the decrease in lean mass is probably the loss of muscle tissue in a situation where the body does not receive enough nutrients for the work and training regime in which it is located.

I foresee your questions: what should I do if I work out not in the gym, but at home? In this case, you can use the good old scale and mirror. The one you look into to admire the results achieved!

The bathroom scale will tell you when your overall body weight is increasing, and if it's not increasing, you're not eating well. And the mirror? If the mirror signals to you that there is an increase in the volume of fat in the waist area, then you are eating too much.

Where to start creating an individual diet? First of all, we need to determine the optimal energy value daily ration. To do this, to the number of calories that our body consumes at rest (basal metabolism), it is necessary to add those calories that we expend during everyday activities and during training.

To estimate the daily allowance energy needs, you can use, and to determine the qualitative composition of the diet, we will take the following ratio of proteins, carbohydrates and fats as a starting point: 30% proteins, 50% carbohydrates and 20% fats. Remember that each gram of protein and carbohydrates contains 4 calories, and each gram of fat contains 9 calories.

Example. The calculator determined your daily energy requirement - 2900 calories. It remains to calculate the absolute amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates based on the above ratio:

• : 30% of 2900 = 870 calories. Divide 870 calories by 4 calories per gram of nutrient and we get that we need 217.5 g of protein per day
• : 50% of 2900 = 1450 calories / 4 calories = 362.5 g per day
• : 20% of 2900 = 580 calories / 9 calories = 64.4 g per day

Now that you know exactly the amount of your daily diet, it's time to distribute this amount (approximately) between individual meals. You will have to eat often, and therefore we will distribute the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates calculated above among the maximum possible number of meals, which, as a rule, ranges from 5 to 8 per day.

In order not to make mistakes when distributing the daily volume of products, we will carry out the following calculations:

• The total number of meals is 6
• Protein: 217.5 g / 6 ≈ 36 g of protein per meal x6
• Carbohydrates: 362.5 g / 6 ≈ 60 g carbohydrates per meal x6
• Fats: 64.4 g / 5 ≈ 13 g fat per meal x5

Note: After a workout, we want nutrients to be digested and absorbed as quickly as possible. Fats slow down the digestion of food, and therefore we try to exclude them from one meal.

Below we list those that are ideal for a bodybuilder’s diet, promote muscle growth and speed up recovery after training.

To create a menu, you just need to select foods from the list below and determine how many nutrients you will get with each meal.

Example: dinner

(Requirements: 36 g protein, 60 g carbohydrates and 13 g fat)

As you can see, in one meal you received almost all the necessary nutrients in full. In general, we can recommend larger portions for main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and smaller portions for lunch, afternoon snack and before bed.

By using the tables to calculate the nutritional value of all your meals, you will quickly notice that it is actually very simple. In addition, you will remember what the standard serving size should be for each food.

After distributing foods between meals, give your body time (about 2 weeks) to adapt to the new diet. And then if:

1. You are not gaining weight. In two meals, double the amount of carbohydrates and one and a half times the amount of proteins.
2. Weight increases, but not so much due to muscles, but due to adipose tissue. Eliminate carbohydrates from your last two meals (except for post-workout meals).
3. We gain weight, we lose fat. The recommendations set out in paragraph 1 apply to all meals.
4. At first everything was fine, but then the fat mass creeped up. Cut the carbohydrates in your last two meals by half. If your fat mass decreases within two weeks, increase your carbohydrate intake again.

The Best Foods for Gaining Muscle

Below is a list and nutritional composition of foods that are best suited for bodybuilding goals. Using this table, you can create a diet that is ideally tailored to solve specific problems, such as gaining muscle mass, cutting or maintaining a stable body weight.

Meat, fish, poultry (100 g)
Product	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbohydrates (g)	Fat (g)
	181,8	25,5	0	8,1
English bacon (baked)	96,4	12,1	0	4,3
	271,8	26,9	0	17,4
Beef (back)	194,3	31,1	0	6,4
Beef (tenderloin)	228,6	33,2	0	10,0
Beef (neck)	195,4	35,4	0	5,4
Catfish (fillet)	166,4	28,6	0	4,3
	165,0	31,0	0	3,6
Chicken (drumstick)	84,3	13,2	0	3,2
	232,4	23,2	0	14,7
	105,0	22,8	0	0,8
	97,0	19,3	0	1,6
Roast beef (semi-finished product)	55,4	8,9	2,1	1,1
	140,3	26,7	0	3,0
	107,1	18,9	0,7	2,5
Lamb (leg)	227,5	29,3	0	13,2
	187,1	30,5	0	6,4
	86,7	16,7	2,3	0,7
	98,8	20,9	0	1,1
(fresh frozen)	131,8	28,2	0	1,3
	116,2	25,5	0	0,8
	156,8	21,9	0	7,0
	149,4	29,9	0	2,4
Dairy products and eggs (per 100 g)
Product	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbohydrates (g)	Fat (g)
	156	12,6	1,2	10,6
	382	81,1	7,8	0
	48,5	10,9	≈0,6	≈0,3
Low-fat buttermilk	350	26,9	42,9	7,1
Ricotta cheese (partially skim)	136,8	11,2	4,6	8,0
	55,9	5,7	7,7	≈0,2
	403,6	725,0	1,4	33,2
Swiss cheese (low fat)	200	31,8	3,9	3,9
	35,1	3,4	4,9	0,2
Cheese "cottage" ()	90,3	13,7	3,6	1,9
Nuts and vegetable oils (per 100 g)
Product	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbohydrates (g)	Fat (g)
	756	6,7	6,7	15,6
	882,4	0	0	100,0
	885,7	0	0	100,0
	528,6	18,6	28,6	42,9
	888,9	0	0	100,0
	881,5	0	0	100,0
(fried)	565,4	25,8	16,3	49,1
	653,6	15,4	13,6	65,4
Cereals, bread and pasta (per 100 g)
Product	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbohydrates (g)	Fat (g)
Simple bagel	276,0	9,1	57,1	1,1
(boiled)	353,8	12,5	73,5	2,3
Bun	337,0	7,6	53,8	10
(boiled)	11,8	2,3	23,5	0,8
Corn tortilla (1 piece)	218,0	5,7	44,6	2,85
(boiled)	112,1	3,8	23,2	0,2
Donut	198,0	2,35	23,4	10,7
	313,3	8,3	51,3	7,7
from durum wheat	288,3	11,3	54,8	2,3
(boiled)	67,9	2,4	11,7	1,4
	259,4	8,4	48,4	3,4
Sourdough bread	274,0	8,8	51,9	3,0
from durum wheat	370,2	13,0	74,7	1,6
	360,0	23,1	51,8	9,7
(boiled)	129,7	2,7	28,2	0,3
Whole grain cereals	300,0	7,1	76,4	3,2
from wholemeal flour	473,5	8,6	64,9	20,6
Wholemeal bread	193,0	7,0	40,0	1,0
Pitta made from wholemeal flour (1 pc.)	170	6	35	2
Drying from wholemeal flour	115	3,3	21,4	0,9
(boiled)	101,2	4,0	21,3	0,4
Fruits(in 100 g)
Product	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbohydrates (g)	Fat (g)
	52,2	0,3	13,8	0,2
	48,6	1,4	11,1	0,3
	160,0	2,0	8,5	14,7
	89,9	1,1	22,9	0,3
	57,2	0,8	14,5	0,3
	33,9	0,8	8,1	0,2
	260,0	2,0	39,8	11,0
	32	0,6	8,0	0,1
	38,9	0,5	9,2	0,1
(seedless)	67,4	0,7	17,2	0,3
	36,2	0,6	9,1	0,1
	64,8	0,5	17,0	0,2
	43,7	1,1	10,6	0,4
	47,3	0,9	11,8	0,2
	42,2	0,6	9,8	0,1
	39,3	0,6	9,8	0,1
	38,8	0,9	9,5	0,2
	57,8	0,4	15,5	0,1
	50,3	0,5	13,1	0,1
	45,5	0,8	11,4	0,3
	300,0	2,9	79,3	0,7

The success of training in the gym directly depends on your diet and diet. Sports nutritionists and professional trainers have compiled recommendations for people who want to lose or gain weight. A bodybuilder’s diet when gaining weight should consist not only of large quantity easily digestible protein, but also from slow and fast carbohydrates and unsaturated fats.

Nutrition in bodybuilding for weight should be organized in such a way that the amount of energy entering the body in the form of food exceeds the calories it expends. Workouts aimed at gaining mass should consist primarily of compound exercises with heavy weights and low repetitions. For active muscle growth, it is necessary to consume water in large quantities, as well as adhere to generally accepted recommendations.

Power frequency

To gain muscle mass, it is preferable to eat 5-7 times a day at intervals of 2.5-4 hours. This frequency does not overload the digestive tract, and the circulatory system is constantly replenished with nutrients that keep the muscles in good shape. If you divide the same amount of food into 2-3 meals, the excess calories are transformed into fat, which will be very difficult to get rid of during the period of weight gain.

With fractional meals, minerals, vitamins and amino acids are better absorbed, and the process of producing insulin and testosterone, which affects weight gain, is also accelerated. The daily diet should be divided into approximately equal parts. ¾ of the total food should be consumed before 16:30. In the afternoon, you should avoid fatty and sweet foods, limiting yourself to vegetable dishes, salads and sour-milk products.

Ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates

During the first three weeks, you need to consume at least 1.5-2 grams of protein per day per kilogram of weight. If after this period of time the weight remains at the same level, you will need to increase the amount of protein consumed in the post-workout period. Preference should be given to whey protein; shortly before bedtime, you can include foods rich in casein protein in the menu.

Carbohydrates are necessary to restore strength. Fats are needed for the full functioning of the hormonal system, but their excess is undesirable during the period of weight gain. The following ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the daily diet is considered optimal:

• 30% protein;
• 10-15% fat;
• 50 to 60% carbohydrates.

A daily menu that includes no more than 15% unsaturated fats accelerates the regeneration of muscle tissue, improves immunity and allows you to establish a positive nitrogen balance. When the recommended percentage of fat is exceeded by 10-15%, reverse processes are triggered in the body, leading to worsening anabolism, loss of vitality and active accumulation of fat.

A weight gain diet should include up to 4 grams of carbohydrates per day for every kilogram of weight. If after 3-4 weeks the results remain at an unsatisfactory level, it is worth increasing the consumption of carbohydrates for breakfast (the first meal) and after exercise in the gym by 50%.

Calorie content of food

Eating for weight gain involves consuming 17-25% more calories than the body expends in a day, taking into account intense training. The synthesis of new muscle tissue requires energy, so the diet must cover this need. The number of calories consumed is identical on training and rest days. The plan for getting energy from food looks something like this:

• 20% of calories should come from fat;
• 25-30% – easily digestible proteins;
• 50-55% – complex carbohydrates.

Before training, you should include high-calorie foods in your menu. After 18:00 it is not recommended to get too carried away with complex carbohydrates, since there is a high probability that they will be deposited in the body in the form of subcutaneous fat.

The role of water in nutrition

During muscle mass gain, many metabolic processes in the body are activated, so there is a need to increase the amount of water consumed per day. It is important to drink at least three liters of purified water per day to prevent the risk of dehydration. In order to lose weight or gain weight, it is advisable to drink not only water, but also green tea sugar-free and infusions of medicinal plants such as chamomile and echinacea.

Pre-workout nutrition

1.5-2 hours before class in the gym you should eat, saturating your diet slow carbohydrates and products with high content squirrel. Carbohydrates shortly before training are needed to load the glycogen depot and provide the muscles with sufficient energy. Amino acids are important for activating metabolism and tone, necessary for full work in the gym. If you don’t have free time for cooking, you can limit yourself to oatmeal and protein shake. Some athletes include yogurt or a serving in their pre-workout menu brown rice with boiled chicken.

2 hours before training, you should avoid salt, as it leads to fluid retention in the body and complicates the functioning of the lungs and heart during intense physical activity.

Post-workout nutrition

For several hours after training, it is important to replenish glycogen reserves by consuming foods rich in fast carbohydrates. To gain weight after training, you should drink a sports shake consisting of fast carbohydrates, protein, amino acids and minerals.

Products for muscle growth

When creating a menu for weight gain, it is important to take into account that for the complete absorption of proteins, they must be properly combined with amino acids. Carbohydrates play a leading role in nutrition aimed at weight gain, since if they are deficient, the body will “eat” muscle tissue during periods of increased physical activity.

Products containing protein

Proper nutrition in bodybuilding is unthinkable without protein-rich foods. These include:

• Nuts;
• Beans, chickpeas, lentils and other legumes;
• Low-fat cheese, cottage cheese;
• Lean varieties of meat and poultry.

Soybean is the record holder for protein content (about 36 g per 100 g of product), but it contains a high percentage female hormones phytoestrogens, which slow down muscle growth.

High fat foods

To gain muscle mass, your weekly diet must include foods rich in unsaturated fats. Fats are considered the most readily available source of energy, but if saturated fats are overused, health problems appear such as: a decline in immunity, wrinkled skin, increased wear and tear on joints and destruction of muscle tissue. Foods rich in unsaturated fats include:

• Hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds;
• Wheat sprouts;
• Sunflower seeds;
• Soybeans;
• Soy cheese (tofu);
• Seafood.

Fats, despite their high energy potential, are characterized by a long process of breakdown, therefore they make the body lethargic and reduce vitality. Proper nutrition consists of food that is prepared without frying in butter or vegetable oil. It is preferable to steam or bake products in the oven.

Both weight loss and weight gain are difficult to achieve if there is a lack of monounsaturated omega 3 and 6 fats. Therefore, it is worth including avocado, olive, rapeseed and flaxseed oil and salmon in your diet.

Carbohydrate-rich foods

The diet of a natural bodybuilder for weight should include predominantly complex carbohydrates. Therefore, you should pay attention to the following products:

• Oatmeal, buckwheat, corn and pearl barley;
• Rice (roughly processed);
• Asparagus, green beans;
• Raisins, dates and other dried fruits;
• Durum wheat pasta.

Fruits and vegetables are a source of carbohydrates, as well as useful fiber, necessary for the high-quality digestion of animal proteins. In addition, they contain a lot of vitamins, microelements and amino acids, without which one can only dream of gaining muscle mass.

Carbohydrates digested during meals are transformed into a special type of protein known as glycogen. Its deficiency entails a decrease in muscle volume. You can prevent a decrease in glycogen levels by eating a meal rich in carbohydrates no later than 1.5-2 hours after the end of the workout.

Nutritional supplements

Majority modern species sports involves the use of special supplements that are useful for both girls and men.

• With the help of quality whey protein You can increase muscle mass growth rates.
• is a super-calorie mixture consisting of carbohydrates and easily digestible proteins. You can consume it either immediately after training or during your first meal.
• does not need any special introduction, since it is one of the most popular supplements for gaining muscle mass. You can take a few grams of it both on training days and during rest.
• accelerate metabolic processes and have a positive effect on the process of weight stabilization.

A slender, toned and sculpted body of a woman or man is the result of a lot of work and patience. And this can only be done with a combination of diet and specific physical activity. There is a bodybuilder diet developed by experts - optimal system to achieve weight loss results.

The combination of proper nutrition and physical activity leads not only to weight loss, but also to the formation of beautiful muscle relief from within the body. Experts are well aware that this process is greatly influenced by the foods that are eaten.

The complexity of the task lies in the competent preparation of the menu - it must contain both protein products that promote muscle growth, and low calorie dishes, ensuring the burning of fat.

The main nuances of a bodybuilder’s diet: cooking should be accompanied by the addition of a minimum amount of fat and oil; all products must be natural.

Nutrition rules for weight loss and muscle growth

To achieve the desired results, a person must follow some diet rules:

• Eat food at least 5 times a day. Under no circumstances should you skip meals, as this will lead to stomach tension and overload. A well-designed diet and its strict adherence is a guarantee that the body will receive the vitamins, minerals, micro/macroelements necessary for uniform growth of muscle mass on time and in full.
• The daily amount of calories is divided into upcoming meals. But you need to take into account one nuance - before 16-00 70% of overall indicator. In the evening, especially before bedtime, only easily digestible, unsweetened and low-fat foods are eaten.
• The drinking regime must be observed. Water is a substance that accelerates metabolic processes in the body. If it is consumed in limited quantities, then even a well-chosen diet and aggressive physical activity will produce too slow results. Those who adhere to a bodybuilding diet need to drink 2 - 3 liters of clean, still water per day.
• You should control the amount of fiber you eat. The fact is that its excess leads to inhibition of the digestion process, food is digested in the stomach and intestines too slowly, which provokes weight gain, constipation, and abdominal pain against the background of increased gas formation. Experts recommend introducing no more than 30% of vegetables and fruits from the total number of products into the menu.
• Eating after training should be done only 1.5 - 2 hours later. After physical activity, your appetite is always large; you can quench it with a protein shake or fresh juices. A full meal is allowed only after a specified period of time.

On a bodybuilder’s diet, you are allowed to eat quite a lot of foods, so a person’s nutrition will not be “poor” or insufficient. Here is a list of products that are allowed to be included in the menu:

• buckwheat, rice, oatmeal and any other cereals - cooked in water with the addition of meat;
• any fermented milk products with a low percentage of fat content - there should be a lot of it in the diet, in general it is allowed to be consumed in an amount of 400 g daily;
• – beef, chicken, steamed, boiled or in the oven;
• sea ​​and river fish - you should choose only fatty varieties, you can consume the product in any form and quantity, and in addition you should drink 1 capsule;
• chicken eggs - you can eat 3 pieces per day; if the yolk is excluded, then the rest of the egg can be consumed in unlimited quantities.

Vegetables, fruits, juices, compotes without sugar, tea and coffee without flavoring additives, dry biscuits, rye bread and – all this is also allowed.

Are there differences between women and men?

A bodybuilder's diet must be individualized, as there are large differences in diet between women and men. Experts point out the following nuances:

• if a woman needs to reduce body weight, then no more than 29 Kcal/kg should enter the body per day, and for men this figure is slightly higher - up to 32 Kcal/kg;
• a man’s muscle mass will actively increase if he trains 5 times a week and consumes 42 Kcal/kg per day;
• women will be able to make their body sculpted if they train at least 3 times a week and allow a maximum of 38 Kcal/kg per day to enter the body;
• Representatives of the fair half of humanity need to increase their aerobic exercise to get sculpted muscles.

Women and men should consume different amounts of complex carbohydrates:

• to burn fat, a man needs 3 g per kg of real weight, a woman – only 2 g;
• To build muscle mass and form a beautiful figure, ladies will need 3 g of complex carbohydrates per 1 kg of body weight, men – 4 g.

Expert opinion

Yulia Mikhailova

Nutrition expert

In order not to get confused in the calculations and not to harm your own health, a bodybuilder’s diet should be compiled by a tandem of specialists - a nutritionist and a fitness trainer. If a person does not strive to exercise and only pursues the goal of losing weight, then it is impossible to adhere to such a diet - weight gain may occur rather than loss.

Bodybuilder Diet Results

Weight loss and the appearance of muscle relief will begin only after a month of constant adherence to the training and nutrition regimen. And this is not a fact! You often have to wait 10 - 12 weeks for the first results, but if they appear, then further transformation appearance will be fast and only in the desired direction.

It is worth knowing that you will be able to achieve your goal only if all the rules are strictly followed - no concessions, holidays or weekends. Exiting a bodybuilder's diet should be gradual and intelligent - you cannot immediately include fatty and fried foods in the menu, because serious problems in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract may begin.

It is believed that the option under consideration helps to lose weight by 10 kg per month, but such results will appear only after 1 - 2 months. But they will be stable.

A bodybuilder's diet does not mean that losing weight will be accompanied by aggressive muscle building. On the contrary, the body will only acquire a beautiful relief and become slender and toned. A pleasant addition will be strengthening the immune system, stabilizing the psycho-emotional background and overall health.

Useful video

For information on the principles of losing weight while gaining muscle mass, watch this video:

Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder and strength training are two main components of an athlete’s muscle growth.

As far as correct sports nutrition, there is no need to complicate anything.

But what does it mean for a bodybuilder to eat right? Are there mountains of meat? Spending thousands of rubles on all sorts of miraculous nutritional supplements?

These and other questions will be answered by two “star” professionals Milos Sarcev and Vicky Gates.

They have been conducting personal training for bodybuilding enthusiasts for a long time and know in advance all the “bottlenecks” of your sports nutrition.

Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder

Protein is the head of everything

Excessive protein intake does not stimulate muscle growth. If you decide to eat more protein than usual, your muscles are unlikely to gain volume. But protein deficiency will stop growth, that’s for sure! In short, proper nutrition for a bodybuilder is as needed, but no more. But just what is this need? Nutritionists have their own opinion on this matter, bodybuilders have their own.

For those athletes who are tuned in to proper nutrition professional bodybuilder Milos Sarcev advises beginners to eat 2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. But then you need to experiment.

Heavy training increases the need for protein. Someone who trains 6 times a week needs more protein than someone who trains 5 days. Age, training experience and side stress make their own adjustments.

In any case, if you have stopped muscle growth, do not rush to change the program. Perhaps you simply do not have enough protein in the same amount. Try to raise your norm to 4-6 g per kilogram of body weight.

The current Miss International, Vikki Gates, agrees with Milos: “I’ve been on a high-protein diet for four years now and during this time I’ve built up some pretty good muscle mass.”

Weighing 68 kg, she consumes 225 grams of protein per day; However, on those days when she does not train, this figure drops to 150 grams. Like Milosz, Vicky trains both beginning bodybuilders and representatives of other sports who want to strengthen their “muscle frame”.

According to her, many beginners make a common mistake. They knock back a couple of large protein shakes and think that's enough. “The whole thing is that protein should enter the body 5-6 times a day,” says Vicky.

Bodybuilding nutrition - what medicine thinks

Well, doctors really are sure that our body has a one-time limit for protein absorption equal to 30 g. Where did this opinion come from? It seems that enzymes play an active role in the absorption of protein.

Their supply in the body is extremely small, but without enzymes, protein for the body is waste, an extra burden on the kidneys. However, if you follow this logic, Milos Sarcev, with his usual weight of 130 kg, should be in a state of acute protein deficiency. He eats protein 5 times a day.

Multiply the numbers, and you get the impression that Milos is not even meeting the modest medical intake requirement of 1.2-1.5 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. (The norm that doctors consider mandatory for health.)

There is no reason to dispute the results of scientific experiments, but apparently, with years of training, bodybuilders are able to push the boundaries of average protein absorption.

In any case, beginners should listen to the point of view of medicine and take proteins in small portions for 30-45 years. It turns out that, taking into account the “safety net”, a bodybuilder weighing 80 kg will eat about 250 g of protein per day. The protein intake will have to be divided into 6 servings.

If you look into nutritional reference books, you will see that it is simply impossible to get this amount of protein from natural protein sources like eggs or beef. How can this be? This is where protein powders come in handy - they have no fat, are easy to digest, and with their help you can not only “gain” the required amount of protein, but also save a fair amount.

We will start our conversation about a bodybuilder’s nutrition with what food should be on his table every day.

Here is a list of the best foods for a bodybuilder to eat. Note that every day you need to eat as many foods as possible from this list, and not choose only two or three from them in order to eat them on an ongoing basis. The foods listed below should make up approximately 80% of a bodybuilder's daily diet.

Proteins:

• fish (salmon, tuna, cod, mackerel). Canned tuna in water, salmon in water, mackerel in oil;
• eggs;
• chicken and turkey breast;
• lean beef and pork;
• cottage cheese;
• whey protein.

Carbohydrates:

• vegetables;
• legumes;
• low glycemic index fruits;
• oatmeal;
• cereals;
• bread made from grain flour;
• small portions pasta(together with food rich in proteins);
• basmati rice;
• potato;
• sweet potatoes (yams).

Fats:

olive oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil; almonds (unsalted and unroasted); nuts (except pistachios).

The following foods should be completely excluded from a bodybuilder's diet:

Proteins:

• fatty meat;
• fatty dairy products;
• fast food;
• whole milk;

Carbohydrates:

• regular bread;
• food to which sugar has been added;
• mineral waters and soft drinks;
• industrial fruit juices;
• crackers, baguettes, breadsticks;
• sweets;

Fats:

• margarine;
• vegetable oil(excluding those listed above);
• fried butter;
• fried or fried foods.

Organization of proper nutrition for a bodybuilder

Proper nutrition for a bodybuilder consists of at least six small meals a day. In order not to violate this regime, the bodybuilder must take care of the nutrition he needs in advance. It’s good to prepare the food you need once a week so you can have it on hand in the refrigerator for those days when you don’t have time.

Here's what you can do:

1. Boil a lot of eggs in a saucepan - they will keep in the refrigerator for more than 1 week.
2. Bake a few chicken breasts– Stored in the refrigerator for 5 days.
3. Wash a lot of green salad and fresh onions, first let them dry, then chop them, and put them in a closed container in the refrigerator without adding any oil or vinegar - keep for at least 4 days.
4. Cook 1 package of basmati rice - store in the refrigerator for 3 days.

To maintain his nutrition program, a bodybuilder will need containers of different sizes in which he will put his food, as well as cling film in which he can wrap fruits or sandwiches.

Diet is extremely important for a bodybuilder, and skipping even one meal is unacceptable. And if you feel ashamed to take out a box of food in front of others, think about the shame that others will feel at the beach in the summer.

One word of warning: don't buy anything you don't intend to eat. The most insidious purchases are those that look “almost” harmless. If, for example, you bake a whole chicken, be sure that in some moment of weakness you will eat both the thigh and the wing.

Here are some general rules for proper nutrition for a bodybuilder:

1. Don't mix carbs.
2. Avoid foods high in both carbohydrates and fat.
3. For every low glycemic index carb, always eat protein or good fats.
4. Eat plant fiber at every meal.
5. Always add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to salads.
6. Drink water frequently throughout the day.
7. Avoid drinking mineral water, industrial fruit juices, soft drinks and alcohol (including beer), as these products consist mainly of empty calories and make it difficult to break down fat.
8. At least once a week, abstain from all types of physical exercise, and eat a lot and well on this day.
9. Usually half an hour before training (no later) you can have a snack - for example, one apple. If we're talking about about a full meal - there should be a break of at least two to three hours between it and training.
10. Always weigh your food.

A few more bodybuilder nutrition secrets:

1. The shake you drink immediately after your workout should contain protein, creatine and banana.
2. Always eat solid food after exercise. That is, meat, poultry or fish along with rice or pasta. The post-workout meal should be the most filling.
3. Buy brown bread already cut into slices.
4. Always wash off both water and oil from canned fish before eating.
5. Don't get eggs that are too big because they may have two yolks and you will lose the calorie count you need.

Creatine in a bodybuilder's diet

1. On training days, take 3-4 grams after training.
2. On days when there are no workouts, dissolve 3-4 grams in the juice you drink in the morning. 5 minutes after this you can eat.
3. It is advisable to take a 3-4 week break from taking it so as not to spoil the body.
4. If you want to take creatine constantly, there will be nothing wrong with it. Just make sure that the dose does not exceed 3 grams per day.
5. Keep in mind that more creatine does not mean best results. In essence, it is thrown away in vain.

Features of nutrition of a bodybuilder working with weights

Those who lift weights need an additional 20% of calories daily to speed up the body's recovery after strenuous activity. These calories must be obtained through certain foods.

More specifically, when lifting weights, a bodybuilder's nutrition during and immediately after training should be as follows:

Proteins: whey.

Carbohydrates: glucose with a high glycemic index (dextrose/maltodextrin).

One to two hours after training, this bodybuilder's nutrition should include:

Proteins: plain yogurt or cottage cheese.

Carbohydrates: Cereals with plant fibers (high glycemic index).

Here is a nutritional plan for gaining muscle mass for beginner bodybuilders

Meal No. 1 (05:00)

• 3 egg omelette;
• 100 g oatmeal with milk 1% fat.

Meal No. 2 (08:00)

• 150 g boiled or baked turkey breast or 200 g tuna in water with 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 200 g brown rice or 150 g pasta;
• salad with olive oil.

Meal No. 3 (11:00)