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12 Rules of a Bodybuilding Diet
A Guest Article by
Dave Draper
In March 2001, I traveled three separate one-week
intervals from San Francisco to London, from Columbus to Pittsburgh
and from San Diego to Tulsa. Each excursion drew on my
experience and history as a musclebuilding contributor, and each
added to them immeasurably. I was pressed before people young
and old who love bodybuilding, the iron, and the steel -- fans,
competitors, entrepreneurs, promoters, curiosity-seekers, and
consumers. I was an inquiring curiosity in a curious world.
I learned some things. Londoners are more fit
and less fat than most folks I know, and they put up with far more
grief. They rush about physically from place to place to keep
up and get things done. It's almost athletic. They have
less, which curbs gluttony, engenders resourcefulness and action,
and keeps the obesity in check.
I love the town and the people. They serve
beer in the pubs, which in contrast to their "track work" on the
streets and in the underground, they drink slowly and with genuine
laughter. The jolly pubs also serve up ample portions of
protein and fresh vegetables -- the right foods. Stay lean and
survive, or become lean as you survive -- there's a correlation here
somewhere.
I also learned, or rather was dramatically reminded,
that be it ever-so-humble, there's no place like home (Santa Cruz,
California, USA). Let us choose to be lean and fit by the
marvelous activity of resistance exercise and the ingesting of the
finest of the right foods. What a privilege, what an
advantage, what a simple and desirable responsibility. Let us
have all that we already have, and add the qualities of life that
only we, personally and internally, can supply.
So let's get to work. Our topic here is your
favorite four-letter word, DIET. Don't gasp and go for
the chocolates. Relax. Read the twelve simple rules that
follow, and toss out the ones you don't like. Whatever of this
you can do, it's a start.
RULE # 1 -- Be tough. Stay away from
nasty fats, excessive salt, and simple sugars. This eliminates
ninety-nine percent of the fast foods, munchies, and soft drinks.
Who needs them? In a few short weeks, you won't want them,
will wonder why you ate them, and will feel sick if you do! I
don't mean to be rude, but ... junk is for dumpsters.
RULE # 2 -- Eat a basic breakfast of complex
carbohydrates, protein, and fat to establish your metabolism for the
day and provide fuel and muscle-sustaining ingredients. In a
nutshell (and setting aside for now the hormonal and enzyme
chemistry taking place at all times), protein builds muscle, while
carbohydrates and fats supply fuel for energy. Breakfast can
be an easy-to-prepare meal from a quality protein shake to a bowl of
oatmeal, a scoop of cottage cheese, and fruit. If you don't
feed yourself a wholesome meal in the morning, your body will draw
on your muscle stores as a source of energy, putting you in a slump
and making you muscle-deficient. As a major insurance policy,
add a good vitamin and mineral formula and a gulp of flaxseed oil
(an essential fatty acid) each morning to protect your system and
put order and efficiency in your body chemistry.
NaturoDoc Note: The coconut oil we advocate is
better for weight loss and protection from oxygen damage than
flaxseed or fish oil. Read our article on coconut oil
here.
RULE # 3 -- This one can be the rascal:
with whatever effort it takes, feed yourself every three to four
hours throughout the day -- again, each meal consisting of protein,
fat, and carbohydrate. Any combination of the following is
perfect: tuna and brown rice, a hamburger patty and red
potato, cottage cheese and fruit, chicken and salad, etc.
You'll notice that sandwiches are not in my top-five list.
Discover Tupperware and packet-size meal replacement powders.
RULE # 4 -- News flash: To gain weight,
eat more. Assuming you're hitting the weights, be prepared for
solid bulk weight; lean muscle mass exclusively is a daydream.
To lose weight, eat less, but still as often. Don't starve the
muscle.
RULE # 5 -- I have always instinctively
leaned toward a higher protein intake over carbohydrates to build a
lean body. Emphasize protein. Vegetarians, take
particular care in order to get plenty of protein in your diet.
RULE # 6 -- It's okay for the trainee
looking to gain weight to eat between-meal snacks if the snack is
truly nutritious -- no junk. Don't let snacks become a
substitute for complete meals, or a weak habit. You who are
seeking weight loss, consider snacking to be counter-productive.
Good snacks are fruits or vegetables, jerky, protein energy bars,
yogurt, cottage cheese, and light protein drinks.
RULE # 7 -- Simple carbohydrates (sugar,
honey, soft drinks, candy, and cakes) provide a quick pick-up but
let you down just as quickly. Excessive sugar plays havoc with
the insulin metabolism and leads to fatigue, poor performance, fat
storage, and diabetes.
RULE # 8 -- Fuel up before your workout.
Eat a small, easily digested meal about an hour before you train.
With protein and complex carbohydrates in your system, you'll train
harder, longer, and with more enthusiasm. You won't experience
low-blood-sugar jitters or dizziness; you'll get a great pump
and probably hit that last rep. A big tip: whey protein
drinks are great for this, and they also work well as a post-workout
muscle repair food. They're convenient, inexpensive, and
effective.
RULE # 9 -- Similarly, you need to eat a
hearty protein meal with sufficient carbs within forty-five minutes
of the completion of your workout. This is necessary to
provide the muscle-building materials to repair depleted tissue and
support the process of building new muscle.
RULE #10 -- The most important ingredient in
your body is plain water. The quality of your tissues, their
performance, and their resistance to failure is absolutely dependent
on the quality and quantity of the water you drink. Detoxify.
Flood yourself throughout the day, especially during exercise.
RULE #11 -- Sleep, rest, and relaxation are
of prime importance. It's during periods of sound sleep that
the body recuperates and builds muscle tissue.
RULE #12 -- Regard these twelve rules as a
regular lifelong, life-rewarding priority -- one that hones
discipline and is honed by that same discipline. Remember also
that laughter builds strong bodies and healthy minds, and restores
the soul.
Dave Draper is a former Mr. America, Mr. Universe,
Mr. World of the 1960s and '70s. Now pushing sixty, Dave began
his training adventure at the age of eight; his fifty years of
bodybuilding experience form the nucleus of his life, his book, and
his gym in central California. He has an information-packed
website, IronOnline.
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