Protein Intake
Since amino acids are the building block of your muscles, you need to supply your muscles with this building block and that too 6 times a day. Each of your “6 meals a day” should be rich in protein. Now coming towards the exact amount of protein you need to take. There is no complex scientific formula involved to calculate the requirement. You need to take 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight. So if you weight 170 pounds, take 170 x 1.5 = 255 grams of protein. Its simple as that. Still struggling to calculate the exact protein requirement, use this protein requirement calculator.
Sample 6 meals a day diet plan for bodybuilder followed by this discussion will contain the exact break up of each meal and the amount of protein per meal. You can figure out the nutritional benefits and sources of protein from the Macronutrient Nutritional information.
Carbs Intake
You need energy to perform daily activities and carbohydrates are the main source of energy, so you need to intake carbs. In addition with your bodybuilding routine, you need more energy daily so you need to intake cleaner and complex source of carbohydrates. This macronutrient is not only a good source of energy it also results in the release the most anabolic hormone “insulin”. This hormone helps in the delivery of the nutrients like carbs, amino acids and creatine to the muscles and boosts the body’s anabolic process. But be careful with carbs intake, as increased amount of insulin could also lead to fat storage. So my advice is to keep your food clean and healthy. You should take as much of complex carbohydrates as you can. Avoid sugar and simple carbs. Your breakfast and post workout meal should contain a good amount of carbs. You can take simple sugar only as a post workout meal. Rest of your meals should only contain fibrous and complex carbohydrates.
Now coming towards how much carbs do you need daily? Calculations are simple again. You need to intake 2.5 to 3.5 grams of carbs per pound of your bodyweight. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should intake 500-700 grams of carbs. Eat complex carbs though!!!
Sample 6 meals a day diet plan for bodybuilder followed by this discussion will contain the exact break up of each meal and the amount of carbs content per meal. Detailed discuss about the nutritional values of complex and simple carbs included in the macro nutrients discussion.
Fat Intake
Your body needs a fat to perform several anabolic functions. So a proper diet should include all the fatty acids required for a proper diet. For bodybuilders it increases the anabolic hormone level while suppresses the inflammation. But you need to be careful will taking fat, you need to stay away from saturated fats and stick to more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Detailed information about the nutritional value, types and sources of fats is included in the Macro Nutrient Discussion.
Multi-Vitamins / Multi minerals
As a bodybuilder your body needs more minerals and vitamins than a person with normal routine. You should not fall for the myth that balanced diet - contains all. You need more than average amount of supplements than normal idle persons. With proper supplementation you will feel the difference, you wont get sick often and you will recover quickly also. XXXXXXXXXX is a premier source of multi-vitamin and minerals. It takes care of the daily requirements and keeps you fit for your heavy bodybuilding routine.
Detailed discuss about the nutritional importance of micro nutrients vitamins and minerals is included in the micro nutrients discussion.
Supplementation
Supplement –as the name implies – adds to your diet routine. Protein supplements are discussed below. Complete discussion for supplements in included in the section Supplements.
Protein Supplements
You need 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight. So in order to take proper amount of protein daily hassle free and with ease, you should take protein supplements. This is an extremely cost effective and convenient way to add intake daily protein requirement. Other way around is to eat lots of meat and that too six times a day. But taking into consideration, the busy routines and hassles involved its best to use the protein supplements. Most of the supplements available around have the protein content listed. So you can measure easily the protein you take each time. You can also calculate the calorie intake from each meal. They are easy to make and is soluble in almost all kind of juices, water and milk. In addition they are available in your favorite flavor. Lots of flexibility and ease of use. 1
