Body Building Diet

BACKGROUND
The Body Building Diet is a general acceptance amongst those who work to regularly develop muscle tone that a diet based on 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 20% fat will support the person’s weight training program while still supplying them with enough energy to accomplish their daily tasks and feel their best.

Often times, body builders will tout and even promote the use of protein powders, along with additional liquid supplements, to round out their program. It is curious why body builders have long supported this method of supplement delivery, however, upon further research and exploration, it is easy to see that these supplements, when ingested in liquid form, are digested more quickly, allowing the body builder to target nutrients to each individual workout.

Body builders have a long history of maintaining a healthy diet, and many diet programs today follow a few of the basic principles of a Body Building Diet, such as six mini meals, moderate carbohydrate intake, and food journaling.

PRO
- The Body Building Diet is perfect for those individuals who love to eat, as eating all day is the crux of the program.
- The Body Building Diet is synonymous with intense physical activity, which builds lean muscle mass, which in turn, makes it easier to maintain the weight loss once it is achieved by elevating the resting metabolism of an individual
- The euphoric state that most report immediately following a body building routine generally translates to enhanced feelings of happiness in other areas of one’s daily life

CON
- Additional equipment is necessary to engage in body building, either through the acquisition of weights and pulleys, or a gym membership
- Some women falsely believe that body building will make them look too bulky, or less feminine, which could scare some women off of a Body Building Diet once started
- Body building will change someone’s body appearance, but may actually add pounds on the scale, as muscle holds water, and water weight is heavier than fat weight. For someone focused on the scale rather than how clothes fit and feel, this could be discouraging.

FOOD and RECIPES
There are as many food programs within the Body Building Diet as there are body builders themselves. This is an individualistic sport; therefore, most people take pleasure in creating the precise diet program that works for them, and only them.

From Hugo Rivera at about.com, one can find excellent advice in how to “ease” into a Body Building Diet, over a 10 week period. The basic steps are simple, common sense and provide quick results; however, body building is not a quick fix to a weight issue, but rather, a new way of living one’s life. Therefore, to look at making long-term changes, experts agree that assimilating habits one by one and slowly over time is what facilitates new actions as new habits for life.

EXERCISE
Body building is at its core, resistance activity. Whether gravity driven (free weights) or pulley driven (Nautilus™, Bowflex™, resistance bands), by forcing the muscles to resist against the kinetic motion, one increases the size of muscle cells within the muscle tissue, and larger muscles result. Because of the energy required to enlarge muscle cells, most always one also sees a reduction in the size of fat cells, as the lipids are utilized to provide energy to the muscle.

Body building is an anaerobic activity, in that it does not utilize oxygen. However, this allows for glucose storage, and sustained feelings of energy. In order to support other muscles such as the heart, most body builders also engage in aerobic activity as a supplement to their body building routine.

The internet provides extensive content regarding activity programs and menu plans. One should use caution however, and compare any advice given against common medical knowledge of healthy practices.

EXPENSE
Cost of the Body Building Diet can vary tremendously, as one could find a free-weight set for little to no cost in the used market, or spend thousands of dollars equipping a home gym. Gym memberships are often offered at rock-bottom prices throughout the year. Suffice to say that with a bit of research, anyone could find a body building program to fit their individual budget.

Additional costs of food would be realized for someone who has engaged in a poor diet in the past. The health benefits of a Body Building Diet however, include enhanced self-esteem, better health, more energy, increased happiness, decreased depression, along with a reduction in negative behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption or cigarette smoking. In general, the body builder gives up these unhealthy behaviors, and transfers the cost of being unhealthy to one of wellness.

CONCLUSION
The Body Building Diet is not necessarily a diet, but rather, a lifestyle. Body builders have a heightened sense of awareness regarding food intake, and will often use food journaling as part of their daily routine. While diets come in a variety of packages, at their core, they are all a method for increasing awareness about one’s food intake, which will in turn, contribute to weight loss.

COMMON MISSPELLINGS
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