Introduction to Nutrition
Nutrition is a key element to any weight training or gym program. If you don’t have the proper nutrition, you will not get the results you desire. Many people make the mistake of thinking that just eating healthy food is enough to give your body the proper requirements it needs. Think again.
When you’re training, your body is in need of proteins and amino acids to recover, so you need to increase your intake of those key ingredients. Also, limiting bad foods and fatty foods will help you reach your goals faster, but we all like to have the occasional meal of fish and chips so I always recommend you have a couple of cheat days each week in your diet (otherwise you’ll start going mad!)
First, we need to break down the different types of food, which are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Proteins are any type of meat like chicken, fish, tuna, and egg yolks. There’s also a lot of protein in milk, nuts, soy protein, as well as a whole range of other, different products.
The best foods to eat for protein are chicken, fish, and occasionally, red meat (to keep your iron levels high).
I also like to have the special meal of lamb or pork, but try to keep chicken, fish, and a few steaks as the main part of your diet.
We mainly eat carbohydrates for energy.
Carbs include food like pasta, potatoes, rice, and bread, which I don’t recommend you eat too much of. There’s also simple carbs like fruit. Green, leafy vegetables are also great to eat as well. Our body uses carbs to give it energy to run on, while the protein is broken down to repair and grow our muscles. With that, fats are usually included along with these proteins and carbs, but I don’t recommend having too much fat. You do need fat in your diet, but only a small percentage will do to keep you running properly. If you can, I’d suggest putting MCT oil in your meals to replace the fats that you’d be missing out on otherwise.
You should try to eat up to 6 meals a day – small meals, without too many carbs. This way your body can metabolize the food you’re taking in. If you have too many large meals, your body can only use a certain percentage and then the rest is stored as fat or gets put out as waste. These small meals will keep you from getting hungry, too. Try to aim for 30 grams of protein and a maximum of four grams of fat with each meal. I only have carbs in the morning, early afternoon, and not too late at night. This gives me only three major meals of carbs, with the rest of my meals being made of up mostly of protein. Just remember, it’s all about achieving a delicate balance. If you don’t have carbs, fat or protein, you won’t reach your goals. Each one of these is important to include in your diet. A high protein diet should be about 60% of the rule for your routine. Training, sleep/rest, recovery, and supplements make up the other 40%.
You must know what your goals are when creating your own nutritional program. For example, if your goal is to increase your fitness level and have more energy or endurance, you will want to keep your carbohydrate intake high. If your goal is to burn fat in order to look lean, you’ll want to keep your carb and fat intake low. When designing your own nutritional program, you should have at least 30-40 grams of protein per meal; the only thing you need to change is how much carbs and fat you eat.
Write down how many hours you have in any particular day, and split your meals evenly throughout the day. Make sure to take into account the times you train and when you go to bed. You don’t want to have large meals before you go to bed since they will be held in your body as fat. I typically eat up to 14 meals per day, mainly because I need to. Otherwise I feel like I’m going to fall over. It’s highly unlikely that you will need to eat as many meals as I do. Here is a basic nutritional plan. Use this as a guideline and then design your own plan to suit your specific goals:
Meal One
Cereal, egg whites, a protein drink and a piece of fruit
Meal Two
Forty grams of protein – chicken or fish
Meal Three
Forty grams of chicken and 30 grams of pasta
Meal Four
Thirty grams of tuna and a piece of fruit
Meal Five
One hour before your workout, eat 40 grams of protein and 40‐50 grams of carbs, such as rice or pasta
Meal Six
Eat Meal Six after your workout. This should be a high protein meal with no carbs or fat.
Before Bed
Have a protein drink with no carbs
We will discuss supplements very shortly, but always try to have protein in your system about an hour-and-a-half before you go to the gym. This will give you the amino acids your muscles need to repair themselves right away. Another meal right after your workout will also help repair your muscles.
Post and Pre WorkOut
Pre and Post workout is a major part of a bodybuilder’s routine. Without good pre and post practices then the workout can be hindered and even deemed useless. What I have to tell you now, is that you must take in the correct nutrients before and after your workout because without the correct nutrients or you are not going to get the muscle gains you desire. There is of course more to it than that !
So what do I eat before the gym ?
First of all, an hour before I go to the gym I try and have some complex carbohydrates and Protein which is usually a whey protein blend including a whey isolate protein and a whey concentrate protein, this is because the protein will stay working in my system before, during and after my workout. I choose to have this protein with complex carbohydrates because complex carbohydrates give energy for my workout. I also like to have some simple carbohydrates before I go out and train as well, such as Honey.
One of my favourite meals before the gym is rolled oats with honey and fruit and a protein drink to flush it all down. I find it a very good appetiser before the gym because it gives me all I need Energy, Protein and the food is digested feeding me while I’m training and even after.
During My Workout
For most people I would recommend drinking powerade during a workout to replace potassium and sodium levels as well as keep you hydrated.
However I do something kind of different, I like to carry around the gym a pack of marshmallows. Why ? Not just because they taste nice but because they deliver my body some simple sugars, They’re great for my energy and upping my natural insulin levels.
I also like to eat during my workout jelly lollies that get absorbed into my body easily so if you love lollies maybe this is good for you as well.
So if lollies are for you, make sure that you bring a big bag of lollies to the gym and between sets, eat away keeping in mind you need to be keeping hydrated and keeping your potassium and sodium levels replenished.