Nutrition is one of the most confusing subjects in bodybuilding and fitness in general.
The purpose of this article is to lay the foundation for proper nutrition when the goal is increasing Lean Body Mass while minimizing increases in bodyfat. You will understand the fundamentals of setting up a proper diet for gaining lean mass, macro nutrients, some basics on metabolism, calculating protein, carbs, fats and total calories, basic effects of foods on hormones, etc. Good nutrition, like good training, is simple - learn the basics and practice them consistently.

There are two general classes of nutrients:
macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. Macro-nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Micronutrients include vitamins, minerals and otherassorted compounds.
We will concentrate on macronutrients.

Proper choices means the right amount and types of proteins, carbs and fats in the right ratios.

Characteristics of a Good Nutrition Program

1) Have smaller meals throughout the day instead of large and infrequent ones. Your metabolism increases when you feed your body several times a day. Therefore, you burn more fat. Frequent feedings are of particular importance since after three to four hours of no food your body switches to a catabolic state (a state in which you lose muscle and gain fat!).

The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. In order for your program to work, you have to eat between four to six meals (depending on gender and goals) a day spaced out at 2-1/2 to 3 hour intervals. To gain weight, eat more and eat more often. Be ready for solid bulk weight - lean muscle comes slowly but surely. To lose weight, eat less, still as often, consuming the majority of your calories early in the day.

2) Stay away from fats, excessive salt and simple sugars. This eliminates 99% of the fast foods, munchies and soft drinks. Who needs them? In a few short weeks, you won't want them, wonder why you ever ate them in the first place.

3) Eat a basic breakfast of complete carbohydrates and protein to set up your metabolism for the day and to provide fuel and muscle building ingredients. Basically, protein builds muscle and carbohydrate supplies fuel for energy. Breakfast can be an easy to prepare meal from a quality protein shake to a bowl of oatmeal, scoop of cottage cheese, fruit and coffee. Remember, if you don't feed yourself a small wholesome meal in the morning, your body will draw on your muscle tissue as a source of energy, putting you in a slump and in muscle deficit. Add a good vitamin and mineral formula each morning. (Vegetarians - take particular care in order to get plenty of protein in your diet.)

4) Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios. Having a meal that is not balanced (for example only carbohydrates) won't yield the desired results. Every macronutrient has to be present in order for the body to absorb them and use them properly. If you only eat carbohydrates in one meal your energy levels will crash in about 30 minutes and your body will be storing any carbohydrates that were not used into fat. Conversely, if you only eat protein, you will lack energy and your body will not be able to turn the protein into muscle because it is difficult for the body to absorb protein in the absence of carbohydrates. In addition, the ratios for each particular macronutrient have to be correct in order to get the results that you want. The ratio of your diet should look like the following:

40% Carbohydrates
40% Protein
20% Fats

For every serving of carbohydrates, you get a serving of Protein. Count a portion of carbohydrates as the amount of food the size of your clenched fist and a portion of protein as the amount of food the size of your open palms.

5) Between meal snacking is okay if the snack is nutritious - not junk! They are not a substitute for a meal. Good snacks are fruits or vegetables, low fat muffins, protein energy bars, nonfat yogurt, whole wheat bagels, cottage cheese, etc.

6) Eat before your workout. Eat a small easily digested meal 30-60 minutes before you train. With 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 will experience a great muscle pump and probably get that last rep.

7) The most important nutrient is plain water. The quality of your tissues, their performance and their resistance to injury is absolutely dependent on the quality and quantity of the water you drink. Cold water increases your metabolism. Drench yourself throughout the day with water, especially during the workout. In order to know how much water your body needs a day, just multiply your lean body weight by .66. This would indicate how many ounces of water you need in a day.

8) The calories should be cycled. This will not allow the metabolism to get used to a certain caloric level; something that leads to stagnant results.

Therefore, bodybuilders in search of just muscle mass should follow 5 days of high calories (lean body mass x 15) with two days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12). Bodybuilders in search of losing fat while building muscle at the same time should follow 5 days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12) with 2 days of higher calories (lean body mass x 15). (Note: If you build muscle and lose fat at the same time you will not gain muscle as fast as you would if you just concentrated in muscle mass. However, you get to get both goals accomplished at the same time).

People interested in bodysculpting should alternate between two weeks of lower calories (around 2000 for men and 1200 for women) and two weeks of higher calories (around 2500 for men and 1500 for women). These caloric intakes assume a normal activity level that only includes Body Sculpting training. Those of you involved in activities like marathon running or heavy physical labor jobs need to adjust your calories upwards accordingly mainly in the form of carbohydrates in order to support your higher levels of activity.

Carbs and Protein

There are 3 macronutrients that the human body needs in order to function properly.

#1 Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. When you ingest carbohydrates your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is very important because:

1) It converts the carbohydrates and either stores them in the muscle or stores them as fat.

2) It converts the amino acids (protein) and shelters them inside the muscle cell for recovery and repair.

Most people that are overweight and are in low fat/high carbohydrate diets got into that condition because they are eating an overabundance of carbohydrates. Too many carbohydrates cause a huge release of insulin. When there is too much insulin in the body, your body turns into a fat storing machine.

Carbohydrates are divided into complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates give you sustained energy ("timed release") while the simple carbohydrates gives you immediate energy. It is recommended that you eat mainly complex carbohydrates throughout the day except after the workout where your body needs simple carbohydrates in order to replenish its glycogen levels immediately, something that will aid faster recuperation and rebuild of the muscle. Below is a list of good sources of carbohydrates:

There are two types of Carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates:

1)Starchy: Oatmeal (1 cup dry), sweet potatoes (8 oz baked), potatoes (8 oz baked), rice (1 cup cooked), pasta (8oz cooked), corn (1 cup canned), peas (2 cups cooked). Each serving approximately equals 40-50 grams of carbohydrates.

2)Fibrous: Broccoli (1/2 cup raw), carrots (1 cup raw), cauliflower (1/2 cup raw), green beans (1/2 cup raw), lettuce (5 cups raw), mushrooms (3/4 cups raw), pepper (1/2 cup raw), spinach (3-1/2 cups raw), zucchini (1 cup raw). Each serving approximately equals 6 grams of carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates:

Apples (1 apple), bananas (1 banana), grapefruit (1 grapefruit), grapes (22 grapes), oranges (1-1/2 orange), pears (1 pear), pineapple (3/4 of a cup).
Each serving approximately equals 20-25 grams of carbohydrates.

#2. Protein

Every tissue in your body is made up from protein (i.e., muscle, hair, skin, and nails). Proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue. Without it, building muscle and burning fat efficiently would be impossible. Its importance is paramount. Protein also helps increase your metabolism every time you eat it by 20%! It also makes the carbohydrates timed release, so you get sustained energy throughout the day.

Everybody that is involved in a weight training program should consume between 1 gram of protein to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass (meaning that if you are 100 lbs. And have 10% body fat, you should consume at least 90 g of protein since your lean body mass = 90 lbs.). Nobody should consume more than 1.5 grams per pound of lean body mass as this is unnecessary and the extra protein may get turned into fat.

Good examples of protein are eggs (I use Egg Substitute: 1-1/2 cups liquid), chicken breast (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), turkey (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), lean (90% lean) red meats (6 oz), and tuna (6 oz). Each serving size equals approximately 35-40 grams of protein.

Healthy Fats

All the cells in the body have some fat in them. Hormones are manufactured from fats. Also fats lubricate your joints. So if you eliminate the fat from your diet, then your hormonal production will go down and a whole array of chemical reactions will be interrupted. Your body will then start accumulating more body fat than usual so that it has enough fat to keep on functioning. Since testosterone production is halted, so is muscle building. Therefore, in order to have an efficient metabolism we need fat.

There are three types of fats: Saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

a) Saturated Fats: Saturated fats are associated with heart disease and high cholesterol levels. They are found to a large extent in products of animal origin. However, some vegetable fats are altered in a way that increases the amount of saturated fats in them by a chemical process known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are generally found in packaged foods. In addition, cocunut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil, which are also frequently used in packaged foods and non-dairy creamers are also highly saturated.

b) Polyunsaturated Fats: Fats that do not have an effect in cholesterol levels. Most of the fats in vegetable oils, such as corn, cottonseed, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oil are polyunsaturated.

c) Monounsaturated Fats: Fats that have a positive effect on the good cholesterol levels. These fats are usually high on the essential fatty acids and may have antioxidant properties. Sources of these fats are Fish Oils, Virgin Olive Oil, Canola Oil, and Flaxseed Oil. We like to refer to these type of fats as good fats.

Twenty percent of your calories should come from good fats. Any less than 20% and your hormonal production goes down. Any more than 20% and you start accumulating plenty of fat. The way that I get my fats is by taking 1 teaspoon of Flaxseed Oil three times a day (I put them in my protein shakes).

Good sources of fat are canola oil (1 tablespoon), natural peanut butter (2 tablespoons), olive oil (1 tablespoon), flaxseed oil (1 tablespoon), and fish oils (1 tablespoon). Each serving size contains approximately 14 grams of fat.

Finally, sleep, rest and relaxation are of prime importance. It's during periods of sleep that our bodies recuperate and build muscle tissue.