Burn fat like a bodybuilder (without losing muscle!)
Achieving a low body fat percentage takes hard work and discipline, but knowing how to manage your carbohydrate intake can help make the process easier. There are an almost unlimited number of strategies to burn stubborn body fat. All kinds of fat loss exercise programs, diet programs and latest techniques flood the internet every day, making promises they can't keep.
Are you also a victim of this sensory overload? Do you know where to find the right information? You need look no further than competitive bodybuilders when it comes to losing fat and keeping your hard-earned muscle. Bodybuilders have a unique perspective when it comes to losing unwanted pounds - they have to do it. It's not something they wish or dream about, it's something they have to do to achieve their ultimate goal - to perform as well as possible in a competition. It's like their job. Do what it takes to lose fat and maintain your muscles. We can all learn a thing or two from the traditional bodybuilding diet, but first let's look at what the typical bodybuilder does to achieve such a low body fat percentage.
How bodybuilders burn fat
Competition preparation is not something that can be taken lightly and done with a few superficial suggestions that are easy to implement. Rather, it's a very well thought out plan that consists of precisely timed meals, adjusted macronutrients and a labor-intensive consistency. Below are some of the key concepts of a traditional bodybuilding fat loss diet:
- All macronutrients(protein, carbohydrates and fat) are carefully composed based on body weight, body composition and ultimate goal. Water intake is kept high.
- Protein intake is kept in a range that is optimal for muscle gain and prevention of muscle loss.
- Healthy fats are essential for hormonal balance and energy supply.
- Carbohydrates are consumed in the form of complex carbohydrates and are often cycled for greater fat loss.
- A minimum of 12 to 16 weeks is required to achieve the goal.
- Training continues with heavy weights and cardio is added to the training program for accelerated fat loss.
- Progress is carefully monitored on a weekly basis. Adjustments are made as necessary.
- Rest and recovery will be emphasized with the utmost discipline to ensure that all body systems are functioning properly.
- Cheat meals, if any, are planned intentionally and infrequently.
- Consistency is a bodybuilder's best friend.
It takes work - and lots of it
One of the most important - if not the most important factor in success is consistency. Staying on track and not wavering or looking for excuses is the surest way to reach your goal. Bodybuilding diets are not full of nice little ways known to be flexible or easy - they represent disciplined and deliberate plans of consistent action, all aimed at one goal - getting you hard and defined. It's not an easy or enjoyable process, but if your goal is to lose fat and you're serious about it, then the bodybuilder approach could be just what you need.
What you can do to burn fat like a bodybuilder
Below are some ways to make bodybuilding diet plans work for you. They have been presented so that you can easily put them into practice for your personal success.
Make a plan
The most important part of a sublime endeavor is to have a comprehensive and well thought out plan of action. If you're new to this, the trick is not to jump headfirst into this endeavor, but to gradually build up some consistency over time. Building muscle and losing fat takes time, which is why you should apply the same mindset to your long-term diet goals. Gradually transition to a clean diet, gradually become more consistent with your meals and gradually improve your discipline. This will create a solid and stable long-term foundation that you continue to build on each week. Make a plan and build on it.
Keep your protein intake high
You've heard of this principle before, but are you actually putting it into practice? Start by adding a little protein to every meal. This can include adding 50 grams of meat or one or two eggs or egg whites per meal. The first step is to make sure you are eating at least two grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Later it may be necessary to increase this amount slightly to 2.5 or 3 or even 4 grams per kilogram. The key is to consume a consistent amount of protein to reduce the risk of losing muscle during fat loss.
Support your training
While we're on the subject of protein, it's worth mentioning that you should make sure to support your training with high quality protein sources. Of course, you need to eat several protein-rich, high-quality meals a day, but you should also make sure to fuel your workout with adequate amounts of amino acids. For convenience, a whey protein powder may be ideal. 20 to 30 grams of whey protein before and 40 to 50 minutes after your workout will ensure that your recovery process is running at full speed so that you can maximize the rewards of your training sessions. If you prefer whole protein sources, easily digestible proteins such as eggs and fish are viable options.
Fats can stay - increase their amount if necessary
New research is constantly being published showing the benefits of healthy fats. Not only do healthy fats provide an excellent source of energy when carbohydrate intake is kept low (while dieting), but they have also been shown to play a key role in regulating key hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone, which can be crucial to the fat burning process. Healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and olive oil should normally make up 20 to 30% of your calorie intake. On extremely low carbohydrate days, fat intake can be increased slightly to compensate for the lack of energy.
Count the types of carbohydrates
It goes without saying that you should eat complex carbohydrates. Brown and white rice, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, oatmeal and quinoa are just a few examples of ideal energy sources. The first thing you should do is eliminate highly processed carbohydrates such as sweets, pasta, most breads and snack foods from your diet. Not only will these carbs make you fat, but they will also cause your blood sugar levels to go haywire. Aim for 2 to 4 grams of high-quality, complex carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight as a baseline. Later you will know where you stand in terms of your energy levels, changes in your body weight and your training performance.
Use a cyclical carbohydrate intake
And here's the trick. Most successful bodybuilding diet plans will have you manipulate your carbohydrate intake in one way or another. From my experience, cyclical carbohydrate intake seems to be an effective and quick way to lose fat, maintain your muscle mass and keep your energy levels high for your training sessions. As I see it, there are two ways to go about this, with both approaches you manipulate your carbohydrate intake by cyclically depleting and replenishing your glycogen stores.
- You can reduce your carbohydrate intake to 2 grams per kilogram of your target weight for the low-carb phase and increase your carbohydrate intake to 4 grams per kilogram on training days. You also have one day per week (preferably a heavy training day) on which you consume 6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. This day is also known as a cheat day.
- You can have set days per week where you reduce or increase your carbohydrate intake, such as 4 low-carb days followed by a high-carb day. This 5 day approach would be done cyclically.
Cheat discreetly
"Cheating" during your diet is not a license to completely freak out and eat whatever you want in whatever quantities you want. For the disciplined few, it simply means eating more of the same bodybuilding-friendly foods. With a cyclical carbohydrate intake, the high-carb day serves as a cheat day for most. For those who can afford it, a weekly cheat meal may also be an option. But don't kid yourself. If you're not losing at least a pound or two of fat per week, then you have no justification to eat high-calorie meals every week.
Have patience and discipline
Anything worth striving for requires hard work. Results don't happen overnight, day to day or weekly. Your body is not a machine. It does not respond to your efforts in a linear fashion with evenly distributed gains or weight loss. Especially during plateaus and phases with minimal or no progress, patience is a prerequisite on your way to a lean body. As mentioned earlier, discipline is built over time, just like your body. Trying to do everything perfectly at once from the start is the perfect recipe for failure.
An example bodybuilding diet plan
Below is a sample diet plan for the average 90 kilo strength athlete who wants to lose fat like a bodybuilder. Use the low-carb and high-carb days according to your needs and personal preferences - either as low-carb non-training days and high-carb training days or as cycles of 3 to 4 low-carb days in a row followed by a high-carb day.