professional bodybuilders and how they eat

[christof1]

i have been going around the internet learning about how pro bodybuilders eat. from what ive seen they eat only certain foods such as chicken, fish, steak, rice, oatmeal, egg whites, and veggies.


if its all about cals in vs cals out, then why do these guys restrict themselves to a certain amount of foods? i never see a pro bodybuilder eating milk, bread, peanut butter, cheese, a good amount of fruit, cereal, protein bars, etc... and i especially dont see them eating candy, junk food, ice cream, pancakes, burgers, etc...

why is this? do the foods they restrict themselves to, wield better results along with a calorie deficit?

[UCFBuilder]

thats because ur probably seeing thier eating habits while in contest prep....im pretty sure that for most of them..Not all of course...that they eat whatever they want off season

[christof1]

ya i think you are right. but why do they do this during contest preparation? do the extremely clean foods that they eat, really make a difference when trying to get as lean as possible?

[determined4000]

ya i think you are right. but why do they do this during contest preparation? do the extremely clean foods that they eat, really make a difference when trying to get as lean as possible?

1. They are avoiding sodium
2. They are in calorie deficits and are probably trying to maximize the nutritional value of the foods they eat. They aren't bulking, a time when some would meet their daily requirements and then indulge in less "clean" foods to meet their calorie needs.

[mase641]

some foods are healthier ex 100 grams of protein from chicken breast is a lot healthier than 100 grams from a mickey ds cheeseburger

[christof1]

some foods are healthier ex 100 grams of protein from chicken breast is a lot healthier than 100 grams from a mickey ds cheeseburger

well, it is not the protein that is the difference it is the other foods with the cheeseburger that make it less healthy then chicken breast. the protein in the burger is fine, its just the bread, cheese, and other crap they put on the burger that make it worse

[SumDumGoi]

if its all about cals in vs cals out, then why do these guys restrict themselves to a certain amount of foods? i never see a pro bodybuilder eating milk, bread, peanut butter, cheese, a good amount of fruit, cereal, protein bars, etc... and i especially dont see them eating candy, junk food, ice cream, pancakes, burgers, etc...

why is this? do the foods they restrict themselves to, wield better results along with a calorie deficit?

Because to be a professional BB you have to have borderline "obsessive compulsive disorder" at the minimum.

[determined4000]

well, it is not the protein that is the difference it is the other foods with the cheeseburger that make it less healthy then chicken breast. the protein in the burger is fine, its just the bread, cheese, and other crap they put on the burger that make it worse

well No the meat is different
you would have to eat about 3x the # of calories of your average restaurant/fast food burger (just counting the meat) to eat the equivalent amount of protein in a chicken breast
So some1 precontest watching calories will opt for the chicken

[NinaGordaNoMas]

well, it is not the protein that is the difference it is the other foods with the cheeseburger that make it less healthy then chicken breast. the protein in the burger is fine, its just the bread, cheese, and other crap they put on the burger that make it worse

i so agree with that! when i was doing the adkin's type diete, i wouldd go to mickey d's almost everyday. when i go i just ask for the meat plain and tell them to keep the bread and seasonings! quite filling!

[ThaRock]

Yeah the meat has a lot of sodium and other additives. it says 100% beef, but is it really.. is it really!?!?

[rjd221]

Because to be a professional BB you have to have borderline "obsessive compulsive disorder" at the minimum.

well said!

[determined4000]

i so agree with that! when i was doing the adkin's type diete, i wouldd go to mickey d's almost everyday. when i go i just ask for the meat plain and tell them to keep the bread and seasonings! quite filling!

1. no offense but how did that work for you?
2. Like I said, lacks nutrients

[determined4000]

Just looked this up

McD's Big Mac Patty (meat only)
provides 15 g of protein but has 204 calories
The package of chicken in my fridge is 25g protein (4oz) AND 110 CALORIES
So your bbuilder would have to eat 360 calories of burger instead of 110 calories of chicken
Thus the chicken gives him room to eat other foods (and not all the sodium)

[cyde]

What are you talking about? There are plenty of videos on Youtube of professional bodybuilders eating whatever they want. Cutler eats In & Out burgers, Coleman loves country food & bbq, Lee Priest can destroy a family meal from KFC, etc.

Most of the bodybuilders I know continue eating healthy in the off season because ...they ...like it. There's nothing special about it. If someone likes eating healthy, they will continue to do so. Another clear case of the nutrition section over analyzing.

[Simmo0508]

i have been going around the internet learning about how pro bodybuilders eat. from what ive seen they eat only certain foods such as chicken, fish, steak, rice, oatmeal, egg whites, and veggies.


if its all about cals in vs cals out, then why do these guys restrict themselves to a certain amount of foods? i never see a pro bodybuilder eating milk, bread, peanut butter, cheese, a good amount of fruit, cereal, protein bars, etc... and i especially dont see them eating candy, junk food, ice cream, pancakes, burgers, etc...

why is this? do the foods they restrict themselves to, wield better results along with a calorie deficit?

I'll tell you a secret - it's not. Well not in the sense that i think you're assuming it is.

Bodybuilding is very complicated, especially at the level they're at and the things they try to accomplish in their sport. It's much more technical than simply calories in calories out when it comes to creating crazy physiques. It's an art.

Calories in calories out in typically the sort of advice one is given if they're after basic fitness-related goals. Simple weight loss, weight gain etc. outside of the demands of the bodybuilding world. For example a middle aged mum looking to drop some weight after letting herself go for a few years.

You will get a lot of people saying "cals in cals out" are all that matters though. The people who actually have the physiques though, heavily disagree with that generalisation (bodybuilding-wise). When you receive advise from somebody, it's important to understand and make it known what the context is and where that person is speaking from. Otherwise people confuse each other over the smallest traces of miscommunication.

Cutler eats In & Out burgers, Coleman loves country food & bbq, Lee Priest can destroy a family meal from KFC, etc.

Those are typical cheat meals. I know what you mean though, i see it all the time. There's some clips on YouTube as well if anyone wants to check that **** out.

They don't eat like that with their day-to-day diet though. However if one witnesses a bunch of clips or photos of one eating poorly, consecutively, it leads one to automatically assume they eat poorly regularly, which i can assure you in a bb'ers case, isn't true. Their nutrition 99% of the time is tight.

[The_Animal11]

Just looked this up

McD's Big Mac Patty (meat only)
provides 15 g of protein but has 204 calories
The package of chicken in my fridge is 25g protein (4oz) AND 110 CALORIES
So your bbuilder would have to eat 360 calories of burger instead of 110 calories of chicken
Thus the chicken gives him room to eat other foods (and not all the sodium)

congrats. now look up the protein equivalent of 96/4 ground beef.


chicken vs hamburger meat is not apples to apples. youre comparing a completely different macro breakdown here.

it would be more appropriate to compare a lean ground beef patty to chicken or a fried chicken breast (or maybe a piece of dark meat) to a hamburger patty

[SumDumGoi]

Bodybuilding is very complicated, especially at the level they're at and the things they try to accomplish in their sport. It's much more technical than simply calories in calories out when it comes to creating crazy physiques. It's an art.

The only time that diet is complicated is during the couple weeks leading up to a show. Since most people on here don't compete they don't need to read up on the latest dehydration techniques just so they can appear ripped for a day.

[Simmo0508]

The only time that diet is complicated is during the couple weeks leading up to a show. Since most people on here don't compete they don't need to read up on the latest dehydration techniques just so they can appear ripped for a day.

Read the OP's post. He wants to learn about and discuss what the pro's do.

He mentioned nothing of the people this website attracts or anybody else's goals or anything regarding dehydration techniques. If he wants to learn more about something, that's his perogative. Don't tell him what he can and can't talk about. If he wants to read about something, who are you to tell him he shouldn't be?


Now be gone with you little troll.

[The_Animal11]

The only time that diet is complicated is during the couple weeks leading up to a show. Since most people on here don't compete they don't need to read up on the latest dehydration techniques just so they can appear ripped for a day.

either do most people who compete. at least for those of us who compete naturally

[Emma-Leigh]

not going to deal with your silly e-fighting people... ^ any more button pushing from anyone and I'll get out the neg/ ban stick and use it without a second thought.

Don't bring hate from other threads here.... you have ignore buttons USE them.

[SumDumGoi]

Read the OP's post. He wants to learn about and discuss what the pro's do.

He mentioned nothing of the people this website attracts or anybody else's goals or anything regarding dehydration techniques. If he wants to learn more about something, that's his perogative. Don't tell him what he can and can't talk about. If he wants to read about something, who are you to tell him he shouldn't be?


Now be gone with you little troll.

Then given your advice, don't you feel as though it would be wise to separate out what a BB does 90% of the time and at least mention that the "complicated" part only occurs right before a contest?

Most people that post on here are aimed at increasing muscle mass. It is not good advice to give the impression that the way to achieve this goal would be to follow the pre-contest diet of a BB.

[Simmo0508]

Most people that post on here are aimed at increasing muscle mass. It is not good advice to give the impression that the way to achieve this goal would be to follow the pre-contest diet of a BB.

Absolutely, but the OP is not referring to the general members of this board. He simply wants to talk about the demands of what professional bodybuilders do. Nor is he asking for advice on his own fitness goals, or anyone else's.

Just keep it relevant, otherwise you're goin off topic and changing things around to something he doesn't wanna discuss. That's it, you know what i'm sayin man.

Seeing as though we're on a bodybuilding website, he's well within his right to do that.

[SumDumGoi]

Absolutely, but the OP is not referring to the general members of this board. He simply wants to talk about the demands of what professional bodybuilders do. Nor is he asking for advice on his own fitness goals, or anyone else's.

Just keep it relevant, otherwise you're goin off topic and changing things around to something he doesn't wanna discuss. That's it, you know what i'm sayin man.

Seeing as though we're on a bodybuilding website, he's well within his right to do that.

So you don't feel it is relevant to bring up what professional BBs do 90% of the year and how it differs compared to what they do during the 10% of the year leading up to contest prep.

Gotcha!

[SiMON2g]

Because if they ate all about anything before a contest they would put on body fat, and they want to be at the lowest body fat possible to maximise definition.

[itsaburgerrun]

Because if they ate all about anything before a contest they would put on body fat, and they want to be at the lowest body fat possible to maximise definition.

i think u missed the point again,they dont eat like that 100% of the time.it's just a month or 2 that they eat very clean like that BEFORE a contest to get ripped.thats what somedumgoi(or something) has been trying to explain.u want to do(know about) a bodybuilding diet that some real bodybuilders dont even do.(offseason)

just get in ur needed nutrition(important!!!) and have some fun eating stuff u like,u'll have alot more fun instead of eating rice/chicken day in day out.

[Huberus]

RE: 100% beef at McDonalds. There was a rumour circulating a while back that McDonalds sourced its b eef from a company called "100%". .

Doubt its true but I wouldn't put it past them.

Before I started taking my diet seriously and used to stop in at McD's for something to eat, there used to be a monster of a guy, all muscle, there every sunday afternoon sitting surrounded by the containers of 7-8 burgers, 5-6 large fries containers and about 3 or 4 bottles of water. Biggest guy I've ever seen, he was absolutely huge. I think at that stage their maintenance is so rediculously high that its probably hard to hit so many cals healthily without breaking the bank?

That or the roids were making his body go crazy for food? It looked beyond natural but I'm no expert.

[Kostabot]

Yeah the meat has a lot of sodium and other additives. it says 100% beef, but is it really.. is it really!?!?

100% beef is a brand name... or so I've heard. lol

[N@tural1]

So you don't feel it is relevant to bring up what professional BBs do 90% of the year and how it differs compared to what they do during the 10% of the year leading up to contest prep.

Gotcha!

How do you know what bodybuilders do throughout the year?