Five Diet Mistakes Bodybuilders Make

There are many mistakes that a bodybuilder can make in their diet to not get the full results that they are looking for. The following are just a few of these mistakes. Avoiding these kinds of mistakes can get you moving in the right direction.

1. The first common mistake is using supplements all of the time or even as replacement for meals. A nutritional supplement is exactly that, a supplement. It is to be used if you cannot get the nutrients that you need in your daily diet. Using it on top of other foods or instead of food will never help you achieve the goals you have. There are some supplements that help build muscle or burn fat, but if you are not eating right along with the supplement, they will do little to no good for you.


2. Another big mistake that bodybuilders make is not drinking enough water. If you have a lot of muscle on your body or you are trying to gain more, drinking the standard eight cups of water a day is not going to cut it for you. Muscles increase your metabolism, and your metabolism burns fat and helps process the ingredients in food that you eat. If you do not get enough water into your body, it makes it harder for your body to break down complex nutrients, such as protein, which means it might not make it into your body.Also, by drinking plenty of water, you reduce your risk of fluid retention, which can give the appearance of weight gain. It is recommended that a bodybuilder drink at least ten cups of water a day. You need to drink even more during the summer when it is very warm outside and during and after work out sessions, because you are sweating so much.


3. A huge mistake most bodybuilders make is eating too much or too little protein. It is so easy to get protein nowadays, especially with protein bars, shakes, powders, etc. In order to gain on muscle, you need to eat one gram of protein for each pound of lean bodyweight per day. If you spread this number out across six meals when you are starting that is great. As you progress, and your training get harder and you want to build more muscle you can build the amount of protein you need. You want to increase the intake slowly, though, moving no more than .10 or .15 grams at a time.


4. Similar to protein, many bodybuilders eat the wrong kinds of carbohydrates. Most bodybuilders will eat just any kind of carbs they can find. But not all carbs are the same and too much of bad carbs can cause you to simply gain weight, not muscle. You should look for a diet that helps you eat complex carbs. Complex carbs will take longer to digest, and burn more fat while being digested.


5. The fifth big mistake that bodybuilders make is cheating with their meals too often. Making the choice to be a bodybuilder requires a lot of commitment, especially when it comes to your diet. It is okay to cheat every once in awhile, but some people slowly start to cheat more and more, until they are gaining fat and losing any momentum they had.

A great idea for body builders is to make a menu for each week. Then have a friend or family member make sure you are sticking to the menu. If you cheat on one of your meals that was not planned as a cheat meal, they will be the ones to make sure you follow it the rest of the week. Accountability plus personal discipline is a great formula for success in bodybuilding.