Diet & Nutrition

For bulking up and weight loss eating can be seen as almost just as important as exercise itself, but with so many foods and supplements out there it can be hard to know what to eat.

Weight Loss
The key to losing weight is lots of exercise and a healthy diet, however this doesn't always mean cutting fatty foods out of your life completely. Many of the 'diet giants' (Weightwatchers etc) include some surprising recipes as part of their schemes, you just need to watch out that you're not having these high calorie meals every day, maybe 1-2 times a week at the most. Also snacks can play a big part in weight loss, more so the reduction of snacks. Its okay to have a nibble in between meals, however this really should be something healthy like a piece of fruit, its eating things like crisps and chocolate in between meals that can really bulk those calories up and lead to weight gain.

Biggest Loser Winner, Michael Ventrella's before and after shots.

You can reduce the number of calories you eat by making healthier choices when it comes to food and drink. Often, that will mean swapping high fat or high-sugar foods for alternatives that contain fewer calories, or eating these foods in smaller portions or less often. And it’s not just foods: drinks can be high in calories, too. To consume fewer calories you should choose drinks that are lower in fat and sugar or consume high-calorie drinks less often. Don't forget alcohol is also high in calories. As well as choosing foods and drinks lower in fat and sugars, also think about reducing the size of your portions. Research suggests that we tend to eat more when we are served more, even when we don’t need the extra calories. When serving yourself at home resist filling your plate, and think about if you are really hungry before having an extra helping. When eating out, avoid supersizing or choosing large portions of food or drink. Knowing the calorie content of different foods and drinks can be useful when it comes to achieving or maintaining a healthy weight. It can help us to keep track of the amount of energy we put into our bodies, and ensure that we are not eating too much.

Bulking Up
Quite the opposite to weight loss 'bulking up' also requires a change to your diet as it is a key factor in helping build muscle (this doesn't mean however go out and get fat), however, it is good to know that while most of the weight that you will gain will be in the form of muscle, some of it will be in the form of fat no matter how good your diet is. The reason for that is the fact that on a state of caloric surplus (when you feed your body more calories than what is burned) some of those calories are stored as body fat. However, by bulking up on good foods, by training hard and by starting from a low percentage of body fat, you will minimize the fat gain and maximize the muscle mass gain. Here's a few 'Bulking Up Basics';

 - Bulking Up Basic #1: Increase your protein intake to 1.5 grams of protein per pound bodyweight. Therefore, if you weigh 200lbs, you need to eat around 300 grams of protein per day. I have noticed that if I eat more than 40 grams of protein in one sitting I feel lethargic and have issues digesting the food. Therefore, divide 300 by 40 and that will give you the amount of meals that you need to eat per day. In this example, the 200-lb bodybuilder will need to eat, around 7-8 meals per day spaced out with a minimum of 90 minutes in between meal and a maximum of 3 hours. Protein sources should come from lean low fat sources like chicken, turkey, 93% lean red meats, tuna, egg whites, shrimp, tilapia, mackarel, and salmon.

 - Bulking Up Basic #2: Increase your carbohydrate intake to between 1.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. In order to gain muscle, a carbohydrate increase will be required to keep your energy levels high, and thus fuel your workouts, and in order to help shuttle the amino acids from your proteins into the muscle tissue (since carbohydrates increase insulin levels and insulin is necessary for the transport of the aminos into the muscle). The key thing to ensure that muscle mass is maximized as opposed to fat gain when consuming carbohydrates is to ensure that your intake of them is mostly from low glycemic index ones (slow digesting/released carbs) like brown rice, oatmeal, pasta and sweet potatoes. Limit the higher glycemic complex carbs (like cream of rice) and simple carbs (like bananas) for after the workout when the body needs fast released carbs and proteins in order to quick start the recovery and re-building process and also to help refuel the energy stores (glycogen levels in the muscle and liver) that have been drained.

 - Bulking Up Basic #3: Increase your intake of good fats. Some fats are necessary to ensure good hormonal production and thus muscle growth. Eliminate all fats and see your testosterone levels take a dive. The body needs fats like the Omega Essential Fatty Acids in order to ensure proper hormonal production and brain function. These oils are essential because the body cannot manufacture them and they help with many things like enhanced recovery due to reduced inflammation, enhanced nutrient partitioning due to their ability to neutralize enzymes necessary for fat storage (so this means more calories go toward muscle production and less to fat) and even help with enhancing your mood!