Dietary Mistakes & Correcting Them

[jerrywear]

MISTAKE: OVERESTIMATING YOUR CALORIC INTAKE

The biggest problem I see is that people say they eat and eat, but they don't really monitor how much they eat. I do nutritional counseling, and it's funny to see how many people say they eat large quantities of food, but when I have them record how much they actually eat, they realize they're overestimating their caloric intake. Maybe this happens because a guy eats a very large dinner, but he skips breakfast and eats a small lunch. Also, people may tend to figure out how much they're eating on a day when they eat a lot, and they convince themselves that they're eating that much all the time. Many people eat only 2,500-3,000 calories a day, and the average person needs More than that to make muscular gains.

SOLUTION

Its important, particularly for hardgainers, to eat enough calories and protein to create the conditions necessary for the muscle growth. To be certain that your getting enough, write down everything you eat in a journal and monitor every calorie you consume. Being more aware of the calories you take in will help you more accurately assess your nutritional needs, and this will lead to overall progress in your growth. Too many bodybuilders take nutrition for granted, when, in reality, its as essential to your progress as your training. People who want to lose weight have to monitor what they eat, so it only makes sense that people who want to gain weight need to do the same. Keep track of every day, not just one day.

MISTAKE: REDUCING CALORIES TOO MUCH WHEN TRYING TO SHED BODYFAT

Even though theres so much information about nutrition out there, too many bodybuilders shift into starvation mode when they try to get in shape. I think these people believe that if they radically reduce caloric intake, they'll lose wight and look great. That's unhealthy, and it doesn't work. By the time they lose there weight, they don't look toned, or ripped, or muscular, because that kind of extreme diet eats away the muscle. At the same time that they're losing the fat they want to shed, they're also losing the muscle they want to keep.

SOLUTION

Instead of placing yourself on an extreme weight-loss diet, you really need to assess your physique. I recommend a little trial and error. Reduce fat while increasing protein consumption; at the same time, keep carbs moderate so that you have a slight overall reduction in caloric intake. If that still doesn't work, try varying carbohydrate consumption. Eat more carbs on some days; on others, eat fewer. Staggering the amount of carbs you consume from one day to the next shocks your body into losing fat. This is particularly effective for people who have trouble losing bodyfat on other types of diets.
Your body will dictate the number of carbs you need to vary. Fluctuating 100 grams(g) of carbs from one day to the next might be enough for some people. Other extreme cases might need to drop to zero carbs one day, then consume a normal amount the next. It depends on the person, but staggering carb intake is an effective method for reducing overall bodyfat.

MISTAKE: PAYING TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE ADVERTISING CLAIMS ON LABELS

People pay too much attention to labeling. They think because a product says fat-free in big bold lettering. They can eat it without adding body-fat. They get into everything from licorice to Gummi Bears to cookies. They don?t realize that even if a product is fat-free, it still has calories that can be packed onto a body as fat. Or, they might think that they can just burn it off. If you ride a stationary bike and burn off 243 calories in a half-hour?s time, and you go home and eat fat-free licorice, you?ve just added another 250 calories. You?ve wasted your time. You?re spinning your wheels. You put the calories back on, with no nutritional benefit. Fat-free nothing.

SOLUTION

People need to learn how to read labels. Look at the nutritional information on the side or the back of the package, not the labeling claims on the front. Does the product contain a lot of simple carbohydrates(sugars)? If it does, it will add fat to your body unless you expend the energy to burn it.
Learn toe stay away from foods that claim to be ?fat-free?- they tend to be full of simple carbs. Instead, find foods that are natural. Buy food from the produce department. Get your chicken fresh, not prepackaged and preserved with all those sodium product that will cause you to retain water. Also, try to stay away from supplemental drinks that are loaded with sodium and simple carbohydrates. Some of them have as much as 350milligrams of sodium and 50g of sugar. Instead, if you?re thirsty, drink water. If your hungry and need protein, eat protein, don?t drink it.

MISTAKE: EXCESSIVE CALORIE IN-TAKE WITHOUT REGARD TO MACRONUTRIENT BREAKDOWN

People overload with calories to gain muscle mass. They gain 50 pounds, and 45 of those pounds are bodyfat. This is a common mistake because everyone at the gym wants to get bigger, and they think that if they eat more, they?re going to put on muscle mass. This is particularly a problem for novice bodybuilders.

SOLUTION

Understand that all calories are not the same. Nutrients are much more important than calories. We know that protein builds muscle, and carbohydrates and fat give you energy. I believe you need to consume very large quantities of dietary protein to build muscles, and I suggest 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. In addition, you need to determine how many energy calories you need on a daily basis. This number varies depending on your bodytype, metabolism, age, sex and other factors.
To put on quality weight, you need to consume more than you burn, but you don?t want to eat in such quantities that you gain too much bodyfat.

MISTAKE: NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN

The biggest dietary mistake people make, by far, is not eating enough protein. People should keep track of their diets for a week or so. They will find, especially women, that they don?t eat nearly enough protein. Many are surprised to learn they get only 10% of their calories from protein. That number is far too low. Also, some women think they don?t need as much protein because they are female, but they?re wrong.

SOLUTION

The only thing that makes muscles is protein, so you need to consume and adequate amount of it. We recommend that people keep track of how much protein they eat to make certain they?re getting enough. A bodybuilder needs to consume at least on gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight.
Sometimes it?s hard to have that much protein every day. Like most women-to have a chicken breast and then another chicken breast is just too difficult. After a while, it gets nauseating to eat that much solid food, but if you can drink a shake, you can get your protein that way. Many shakes contain carbs, but there high in protein, too.

[absoluteherb]

Thank you for this .It is just so wonderful.I think I was one of those who were making these nutritional mistakes.

[jerrywear]

we all make mistakes until we learn the right way

[jumpman23]

Great article. Thank you for posting!

[CoachBeezy03]

Great article! Thank you. Do you have a chart that gives specific dietary info on things such as protein content?

[MovieFreak]

good question i think he will have it, the question is what he doesnt have lol

[sgtmayo]

For me personally, it is impossible to know exactly what I am taking in w/regard to carbs/prot/fats without keeping it in a journal. I am too forgetful. I often lack in protein intake as you have indicated.

[jerrywear]

i know how it goes. for me it was really easy to forget meals, and i was doing that all the time. but it came to the point where i was stated competing, this is where i started learning or i should say training myself where i knew what time it is because i was getting hungry every 2 hours, and that just stuck with me. it took me 3 months of dieting to get that way. and now it doesnt matter what time it is i can eat. i guess good for me

[dms71455]

Great article! So many times I skip breakfast or lunch and have no idea what my calore intake is for that day.

[rad1]

This is gold! thank you.