12 Rules of a Bodybuilding Diet

A Guest Article by  Dave Draper : https://www.davedraper.com/

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.

About the Author

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.