Interview with a bodybuilding expert (7)
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Bodybuilding Nutrition and Supplements
Q - What is the importance of a good nutrition plan to body building?
A - Nutrition is just so important. It goes hand in hand with bodybuilding. You could have the best bodybuilding workout in the world but if you don't have good nutrition you are not really going to get anywhere. The same applies to weight loss. You could run all the time but if you are eating junk food you aren't really going to lose the weight.
Q - What are the basic essentials to keep in mind regarding nutrition for body builders?
A - Well, for building muscle the number one thing to keep in mind is you need protein. Protein is the building block of muscle.
A lot of people will argue about how much protein you need but a good rule of thumb is one gram of protein for every pound you weigh. So, say you have an individual who weighs 160 pounds he needs 160 grams of protein every day. Personally I would recommend between one and two times your body weight. Also, it is important to eat healthy.
You should eat immediately after you lift. It's important to get protein immediately after lifting. Preferably you need whey protein, which you can get from a supplement and just mix with water.
When you lift weights your body is going to be using a lot of glucose, so in order to refill that and repair the muscle you need carbohydrates. I would recommend that you get that from dextrose or multi-dextrose, which is corn sugar. You can get it at health food stores or Wal-Mart. Another good source for that are raisins. I want to stress that when you lift weights you are using up all your glucose and you need to replace that so it can repair and build your muscle tissue.
Q - Is fat good or bad for bodybuilding?
A - Certain types of fat are definitely good and other types of fat aren't going to help you at all.
Q - Why do you think that is and what are the differences?
A - Well there is saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat and you want to keep the saturated fat low. If you are having a meal that has over 5 grams of saturated fat and you are eating that all the time that is probably going to be too much. Basically what fat does is it helps you carry everything around. So you need a little good fat. You can get good fat from peanuts, peanut butter, flaxseed or lean meat.
Q - What supplements other than the ones you have already suggested would you recommend?
A - Everybody needs to be getting a multi-vitamin. I would also suggest as I said earlier a 100% whey protein and for a lot of people creatine is a great supplement and also a multi-mineral and flaxseed.
Q - Can you give me some idea of your typical diet for the week is?
A - Right now I am a pretty big guy, so what I would eat would be too much for the normal individual. For breakfast I have 8 egg whites, orange juice and a banana. When I first started, of course, I started out smaller and then as I gained more weight I started eating more and more. The more you weigh the more you are going to have to eat to gain muscle.
For lunch I had spaghetti with hamburger meat and my whey protein. And then in the afternoon I had a meal replacement plan, which is kind of like a protein powder with added vitamins and carbohydrates. It's a liquid protein.
For dinner I usually have a can of tuna on bread or crackers and I will wait awhile and have oatmeal and one or two pieces of protein and a banana and then I head off for the gym.
After the gym I usually have my post workout shake which is protein, dextrose and creatine.
When I come home, for dinner I'll have chicken thighs, which are a really good source of protein they are easy to cook.
Q - What vitamins do you take personally?
A - I take a multi-vitamin; the brand is Now 1 a day. I also take vitamin C, which is for your skin and also calcium.
Q - What is the importance of a good nutrition plan to body building?
A - Nutrition is just so important. It goes hand in hand with bodybuilding. You could have the best bodybuilding workout in the world but if you don't have good nutrition you are not really going to get anywhere. The same applies to weight loss. You could run all the time but if you are eating junk food you aren't really going to lose the weight.
Q - What are the basic essentials to keep in mind regarding nutrition for body builders?
A - Well, for building muscle the number one thing to keep in mind is you need protein. Protein is the building block of muscle.
A lot of people will argue about how much protein you need but a good rule of thumb is one gram of protein for every pound you weigh. So, say you have an individual who weighs 160 pounds he needs 160 grams of protein every day. Personally I would recommend between one and two times your body weight. Also, it is important to eat healthy.
You should eat immediately after you lift. It's important to get protein immediately after lifting. Preferably you need whey protein, which you can get from a supplement and just mix with water.
When you lift weights your body is going to be using a lot of glucose, so in order to refill that and repair the muscle you need carbohydrates. I would recommend that you get that from dextrose or multi-dextrose, which is corn sugar. You can get it at health food stores or Wal-Mart. Another good source for that are raisins. I want to stress that when you lift weights you are using up all your glucose and you need to replace that so it can repair and build your muscle tissue.
Q - Is fat good or bad for bodybuilding?
A - Certain types of fat are definitely good and other types of fat aren't going to help you at all.
Q - Why do you think that is and what are the differences?
A - Well there is saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat and you want to keep the saturated fat low. If you are having a meal that has over 5 grams of saturated fat and you are eating that all the time that is probably going to be too much. Basically what fat does is it helps you carry everything around. So you need a little good fat. You can get good fat from peanuts, peanut butter, flaxseed or lean meat.
Q - What supplements other than the ones you have already suggested would you recommend?
A - Everybody needs to be getting a multi-vitamin. I would also suggest as I said earlier a 100% whey protein and for a lot of people creatine is a great supplement and also a multi-mineral and flaxseed.
Q - Can you give me some idea of your typical diet for the week is?
A - Right now I am a pretty big guy, so what I would eat would be too much for the normal individual. For breakfast I have 8 egg whites, orange juice and a banana. When I first started, of course, I started out smaller and then as I gained more weight I started eating more and more. The more you weigh the more you are going to have to eat to gain muscle.
For lunch I had spaghetti with hamburger meat and my whey protein. And then in the afternoon I had a meal replacement plan, which is kind of like a protein powder with added vitamins and carbohydrates. It's a liquid protein.
For dinner I usually have a can of tuna on bread or crackers and I will wait awhile and have oatmeal and one or two pieces of protein and a banana and then I head off for the gym.
After the gym I usually have my post workout shake which is protein, dextrose and creatine.
When I come home, for dinner I'll have chicken thighs, which are a really good source of protein they are easy to cook.
Q - What vitamins do you take personally?
A - I take a multi-vitamin; the brand is Now 1 a day. I also take vitamin C, which is for your skin and also calcium.
