If you are a bodybuilder or are looking to become a bodybuilder, a bodybuilder's diet plan is crucial to your training. Lifting weights and sculpting your body will go nowhere if you do not follow a bodybuilder's diet, which provides the body with the energy necessary to develop strong muscles.
As a bodybuilder, you will be trying to increase your muscle, which also means increasing your weight. To do this, you will need to eat more. Weight loss emphasizes limiting your caloric intake. With bodybuilders, a lot of energy and calories are burned in the gym. Thus, it is necessary to replenish your body by eating healthy and in a way to increase your muscle mass.
As with any diet focused on healthy living, but especially with a bodybuilder's diet plan, you should stay away from fatty foods, especially the processed kind. Most overly salty or very sweet processed foods will contain fats that do nothing for your body. Trans fats are especially bad and can be found in most fast foods. They cannot be burned away through exercise; they sit in your body and too much trans fat in your system can lead to heart disease and obesity. Thus, rule number one is to stay away from fatty foods and fast food.
Another necessity in a bodybuilder's diet plan is a higher intake of protein. Lean meats can help build lean muscle mass, which is what a bodybuilder wants. This does not mean that you should cut out the carbohydrates, though. You will need carbohydrates, especially complex carbohydrates, to fuel your body's exercise and weight lifting. However, you should try to consume more protein than carbohydrates as a general rule of thumb.
Before you do a long exercise or lifting sets, you should try to consume a small snack of complex carbohydrates to give you the energy to get through your routine. Often times, those who skip the snack will feel dizzy or weak, as their blood pressure drops dramatically. The carbohydrates are good in this instance because they give you that boost of energy needed to get through your exercise routine without feeling faint or weak.
After you exercise, you should try to eat a balanced meal within an hour to an hour and a half of finishing your routine. You should be sure to include a significant portion of protein during this after-workout meal. Eating within this time frame allows your body to build back the muscles you have just tested faster and better. Remember, being a bodybuilder means a bodybuilder's diet plan is crucial to your training.