Under Eating...pt 2 of Five Familiar Bodybuilding Troubles
FIVE FAMILIAR BODYBUILDING TROUBLES --- WHICH DO YOU WANT TO OVERCOME? Part 2...Under Eating
In my 3 decades of training experience I have identified 5 major bodybuilding troubles or problems. These are:-
1 Overtraining...training too much...too often and too long. Not taking a complete week off every 3 months...
2 Under eating...Not eating enough...eating inconsistantly...you need 6 meals per day minimum...every day, including
weekends...
3 Neglecting the window of opportunity for rapid growth by not taking Whey protein and creatine immediately after training...
4 Not stretching properly to facilitate easy growth...
5 Not focussing your mental muscle on who you want to become...
In this five part series, this is the second...and I'll be addressing the number two problem on my list...and that's under eating...
Under eating...6 meals per day minimum...every day, including weekends.
This is the next biggest trouble I've found when a bodybuilder just doesn't seem able to gain size. It's no good having a big feed every now and then...it must be done on a consistant regular basis day in and out. 6 to 7 Meals or snacks per day. Eat every 2-3 hours.
This isn't easy... it requires a bit of planning and foresight. If you know you won't easily have access to food at a scheduled meal time...plan in advance how you will overcome this. For exampe, you may have to go on a trip out in the country and there won't be any shops around to buy anything. Rather than thinking, Oh well, I'll just have to skip my morning tea or afternoon snack (depending on the time of day)...take it with you. Take some protein powder, bottled water and a shaker. Perhaps always have a supply in your car for unexpected hold-ups eg getting stuck in a traffic jam. Don't form the habit of making excuses ie "There's nothing I can do about it."...because there usually is...you just have to think ahead. What is harder is eating enough quantity all the time...especially if you are a hard gainer. If you are a hard gainer...you're going to have to eat heaps...there's no getting around this. A lot of the time you won't be hungry and yet it will be time to eat again.
What can you do?
The best solution I've found is to eat delicious food. This might sound a bit simplistic, but believe me it works. For instance...it's time for your next scheduled meal and you feel like your previous meal still hasn't gone down...so you're not hungry and don't feel like eating.Now, if your next meal is plain steamed rice and chicken (which you've been eating everyday for the past 3 months or (
longer)who could blame you for wanting to skip it. You're not hungry and it isn't appealing.You need to make the foods appeal to your appetite...not repel you because of repetitive boredom. Even appetising foods lose their appeal if you eat the same thing everyday.They say variety is the spice of life...and this couldn't be more true as far as food is concerned. Get plenty of variety. Don't eat the same foods day in day out. Have a different lunch everyday. have a different dinner everyday. Never have two successive meals the same. And eat yummy food! Instead of plain chicken...sometimes have it curried, and with delicious sauces and spices and herbs.Vary the rice...there's lots of scrumptious rice dishes to choose from...don't always have plain vanilla even if you love vanilla! It makes a huge difference over the long term to the success of your bodybuilding efforts if you look forward to your meals. The trick is to make it as enjoyable as possible...not something you have to suffer and endure. So eat delicious food, which is constantly varying.
Now as well as frequency...you have to eat enough. If you are an ectomorph(naturally skinny) you will find it the hardest to gain weight compared to other somatypes. So this point is mainly addressed to you. I really know what I'm talking about here because I fall into this category, and I will share with you how I overcame this drawback.Don't be dismayed if you fall into this category, because you can succeed in building a fantastic body...and when you do you will look absolutely fantastic because of your naturally low tendency to carry body fat. In other words, you can look ripped year 'round, eating just about anything you want once you've achieved the necessary muscularity! Other body types although they may gain muscle easier...they also gain fat easier too, which makes the challenge to them to stay lean. And believe me...its easier to keep your weight up when you can eat anything than trying to keep your weight(fat) down, when you have a tendency to get fat.The simple solution I found was to supplement every meal with a protein shake. It is a lot easier to make up your calorie, protein and carb requirements when you can drink it rather than eating all the time. I remember times my jaws used to ache from all the tiring chewing! It was much easier to chew less solid food and slam down a protein shake. Which reminds me of another point...make sure your steaks etc are tender...if not, hamburger style meats are better...you can eat more without all the facial fatigue! If you can't afford a protein powder, use skim milk powder instead...this will give you plenty of protein and carbs. Throw a banana or other soft fruit in and some low fat yoghurt, and you have a delicious, effective and cheap means to get HUGE!
Some people might think what I'm about to say is disgusting...but I'll still say it anyway because it demonstrates an important and true point. Because I was (and still am) a hard gainer (although I know so many tips and tricks these days that it doesn't bother me) my biggest challenge was eating enough. I never skipped training sessions, or missed a meal...but had trouble eating enough...that is why I relied on shakes. I remember my last meal of the day each day was just before bed. It was a huge protein shake...so huge in fact( I'm coming to the disgusting part now) that because I was still full from all the other 6 meals I'd already eaten that day...I had to drink it over the sink because it was coming back up! And that's true...but my method worked. I took my bodyweight up from 67 kg to 108 kg over 6 years...and the huge protein shake before bed was one of my secret weapons in my arsenal of GETTING BIG stategies. Another benefit of such a large drink before bed was that I would always have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet...which then gave me a chance to have another protein shake meal!
In my 3 decades of training experience I have identified 5 major bodybuilding troubles or problems. These are:-
1 Overtraining...training too much...too often and too long. Not taking a complete week off every 3 months...
2 Under eating...Not eating enough...eating inconsistantly...you need 6 meals per day minimum...every day, including
weekends...
3 Neglecting the window of opportunity for rapid growth by not taking Whey protein and creatine immediately after training...
4 Not stretching properly to facilitate easy growth...
5 Not focussing your mental muscle on who you want to become...
In this five part series, this is the second...and I'll be addressing the number two problem on my list...and that's under eating...
Under eating...6 meals per day minimum...every day, including weekends.
This is the next biggest trouble I've found when a bodybuilder just doesn't seem able to gain size. It's no good having a big feed every now and then...it must be done on a consistant regular basis day in and out. 6 to 7 Meals or snacks per day. Eat every 2-3 hours.
This isn't easy... it requires a bit of planning and foresight. If you know you won't easily have access to food at a scheduled meal time...plan in advance how you will overcome this. For exampe, you may have to go on a trip out in the country and there won't be any shops around to buy anything. Rather than thinking, Oh well, I'll just have to skip my morning tea or afternoon snack (depending on the time of day)...take it with you. Take some protein powder, bottled water and a shaker. Perhaps always have a supply in your car for unexpected hold-ups eg getting stuck in a traffic jam. Don't form the habit of making excuses ie "There's nothing I can do about it."...because there usually is...you just have to think ahead. What is harder is eating enough quantity all the time...especially if you are a hard gainer. If you are a hard gainer...you're going to have to eat heaps...there's no getting around this. A lot of the time you won't be hungry and yet it will be time to eat again.
What can you do?
The best solution I've found is to eat delicious food. This might sound a bit simplistic, but believe me it works. For instance...it's time for your next scheduled meal and you feel like your previous meal still hasn't gone down...so you're not hungry and don't feel like eating.Now, if your next meal is plain steamed rice and chicken (which you've been eating everyday for the past 3 months or (
longer)who could blame you for wanting to skip it. You're not hungry and it isn't appealing.You need to make the foods appeal to your appetite...not repel you because of repetitive boredom. Even appetising foods lose their appeal if you eat the same thing everyday.They say variety is the spice of life...and this couldn't be more true as far as food is concerned. Get plenty of variety. Don't eat the same foods day in day out. Have a different lunch everyday. have a different dinner everyday. Never have two successive meals the same. And eat yummy food! Instead of plain chicken...sometimes have it curried, and with delicious sauces and spices and herbs.Vary the rice...there's lots of scrumptious rice dishes to choose from...don't always have plain vanilla even if you love vanilla! It makes a huge difference over the long term to the success of your bodybuilding efforts if you look forward to your meals. The trick is to make it as enjoyable as possible...not something you have to suffer and endure. So eat delicious food, which is constantly varying.
Now as well as frequency...you have to eat enough. If you are an ectomorph(naturally skinny) you will find it the hardest to gain weight compared to other somatypes. So this point is mainly addressed to you. I really know what I'm talking about here because I fall into this category, and I will share with you how I overcame this drawback.Don't be dismayed if you fall into this category, because you can succeed in building a fantastic body...and when you do you will look absolutely fantastic because of your naturally low tendency to carry body fat. In other words, you can look ripped year 'round, eating just about anything you want once you've achieved the necessary muscularity! Other body types although they may gain muscle easier...they also gain fat easier too, which makes the challenge to them to stay lean. And believe me...its easier to keep your weight up when you can eat anything than trying to keep your weight(fat) down, when you have a tendency to get fat.The simple solution I found was to supplement every meal with a protein shake. It is a lot easier to make up your calorie, protein and carb requirements when you can drink it rather than eating all the time. I remember times my jaws used to ache from all the tiring chewing! It was much easier to chew less solid food and slam down a protein shake. Which reminds me of another point...make sure your steaks etc are tender...if not, hamburger style meats are better...you can eat more without all the facial fatigue! If you can't afford a protein powder, use skim milk powder instead...this will give you plenty of protein and carbs. Throw a banana or other soft fruit in and some low fat yoghurt, and you have a delicious, effective and cheap means to get HUGE!
Some people might think what I'm about to say is disgusting...but I'll still say it anyway because it demonstrates an important and true point. Because I was (and still am) a hard gainer (although I know so many tips and tricks these days that it doesn't bother me) my biggest challenge was eating enough. I never skipped training sessions, or missed a meal...but had trouble eating enough...that is why I relied on shakes. I remember my last meal of the day each day was just before bed. It was a huge protein shake...so huge in fact( I'm coming to the disgusting part now) that because I was still full from all the other 6 meals I'd already eaten that day...I had to drink it over the sink because it was coming back up! And that's true...but my method worked. I took my bodyweight up from 67 kg to 108 kg over 6 years...and the huge protein shake before bed was one of my secret weapons in my arsenal of GETTING BIG stategies. Another benefit of such a large drink before bed was that I would always have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet...which then gave me a chance to have another protein shake meal!
posted by Richard Hargreaves at 10:44 PM
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