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There is no doubt that the best way to achieve an incredible physique is to incorporate a healthy bodybuilding shopping list into your routine. By combining the power of a diet with a dedicated workout program you are certain to see noticeable results in no time. A healthy bodybuilding list is something that should be adopted by all serious bodybuilders and should form the basis of your nutrition and workout program.
Bodybuilding is a sport that requires its members to eat a certain amount of food on a daily basis. In order to build muscle and get it burning, bodybuilders must consume a large amount of protein. This is why many amateur bodybuilders are looking for quick and easy weight gain supplements such as powders and drinks. While these types of products can help bodybuilders achieve some results, they should only be a part of their bodybuilding diet. These supplements should not form all of a bodybuilding shopping list.
Benefits Of Healthy Eating For A Bodybuilder
When a bodybuilder performs a routine, he has to eat healthy food. Eating healthy foods does not necessarily mean consuming only one type of food. For instance, if a bodybuilder were to consume three healthy shakes every day, the intake of carbohydrates would then be three times greater than what it is actually recommended for an average person.1 Bodybuilding by definition requires one to consume large amounts of carbohydrates. In fact, a bodybuilding diet would consist of a wide range of food items and each item would have a unique role in promoting bodybuilding.
Your metabolism will actually work more efficiently when you’re healthy eating as well. You won’t be burning off calories at a fast pace as you would if you were dieting. This can also be a benefit for someone who has a job and can’t stick to certain foods all day long. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a gym-class bodybuilder or you just want to maintain healthy living, healthy eating is the best thing that you can do for yourself.2
One of the best things that you can do is make a grocery list of all the healthy foods that you can eat. Just put all of the food groups on one page with the nutritional information for each group. You don’t have to worry about portion sizes because you’re eating healthy foods and only eating healthy foods.
Good Sources Of Protein For A Bodybuilder
One of the great sources of protein for a bodybuilder is chicken breast. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you probably find it difficult to get enough protein in your diet and when you do eat chicken breast, the protein comes from the breast meat itself and not the poultry that surrounds it.3 If you are looking for a great source of protein, try increasing the protein content of your everyday meals by consuming lean sources of protein. Lean sources of protein are fish, tofu, nuts, and legumes. There are many other great protein sources for a bodybuilder.4
Another good source of protein is fish. Try eating salmon, tuna, halibut, swordfish, and even catfish. To add protein to your diet, try eating several smaller fish during the week rather than just one large fish. If you don’t like fish, you can substitute with tofu, which is also a great source of protein and very healthy as well.
Cottage cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese products all have low-fat content, high nutritional value, and are great sources of protein for a bodybuilder.
If you aren’t a big fan of fish and other animal meats but still want to consume high-quality protein, you can opt for sources of whey protein such as the whey protein supplements that are available on the market today. These types of supplements are great sources of protein and have been shown to improve muscle gains in bodybuilders that use them. However, you need to be careful about putting soy or whey protein supplements in your body if you are allergic to these ingredients. If this is the case, then it is better for you to eat natural sources of protein, such as nuts, eggs, and beans.
Bad Sources of Protein that Bodybuilders Should Stay Away From?
When considering protein for bodybuilding, you will find a wide variety of choices, from powders and supplements, to protein bars and shakes, to meat, poultry, and dairy products. How can you know which protein sources for bodybuilders are best? In reality, there is no “best” protein source for bodybuilders, there are just different ones that work better for certain types of people.
Unhealthy protein sources include some beans, rice, beans, eggs, cheese, whey protein, dairy products, chocolate, tomato sauce, potatoes, fried foods, chips, cookies, fried chicken, ice cream, soda crackers, fast food, beef jerky, hot dogs, and other processed foods that are nutritionally dead foods.5 If you want good quality protein, make sure that you are getting natural organic protein sources such as meat, eggs, and fish, instead of unhealthy sources of protein such as hamburger and hot dogs.
To get the best results with protein for bodybuilders, make sure that you are consuming healthier protein sources like whole eggs, fish, cheese, yogurt, nuts, legumes, like beans, seeds, soy beans, rice, and other whole grains. By eating better sources of protein, you will burn more fat and build more muscle.6
Good Sources of Carbohydrates – Types and Benefits of Carbohydrates
Most people probably do not consider vegetables as good sources of carbs, but they really are. There are numerous reasons why you want to get your carbohydrates from vegetables. A good benefit of having your carbs from these healthy carbs is they all contain all of the necessary nutrients and vitamins that serve as the building blocks of the human body. When you eat healthy carbs, especially in leafy green vegetables and other fresh fruits, you get the most nutritional benefit from every serving. These foods also are easy to prepare, are very quick to satiate hunger, and are cheap to buy.
Other good sources of carbs include whole-grain bread, brown rice, some cereals (oatmeal and wheat berries), whole-wheat pastas, popcorn, dried beans, and peas. Another good idea is to make use of chips as an alternative to eating bread, cakes, and cookies. Using chips instead of those “gone bad” foods will keep your fat intake down while at the same time keep your blood sugar in line. This keeps you feeling satisfied longer, which leads to a reduction in calories, which, in turn, leads to weight loss.
There are many foods that can be categorized as good sources of carbs, but there are also many foods that should not be consumed in large quantities, as they can cause damage to your health. Fruits and vegetables are an excellent choice, as they are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are naturally low in calories and loaded with fiber. They are a very healthy choice when it comes to lowering your cholesterol, as they are naturally low in fats and high in fiber, both of which are protective against heart disease.7
Bad Sources Of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are important to a diet. We need them for energy and many of the common foods that we enjoy like bread, pasta, rice, and cereal contain at least some degree of carbohydrates. However, carbohydrates are not good for you if taken in large quantities. When you eat foods that are high in carbs it can lead to weight gain, hunger pangs, and in some cases bad breath. This is because carbohydrates get converted into sugar in the body when you eat them. This sugar enters your bloodstream, where it works like an elevator to get to your insulin and other hormones that control your blood sugar.
There are two main categories of carbohydrates, simple and complex.8 Simple carbohydrates, also called starches, are digested quickly and used as energy. Examples of simple carbohydrates are pasta and potatoes, which are always part of a healthy diet, and fruits like bananas and apples, which are also part of a healthy diet and provide you with plenty of nutrients and lots of dietary fiber.9
Complex carbohydrates are not as easily digested as simple carbohydrates and need to be consumed slowly over a long period of time in order to maintain good health. You should try to eat as many whole grains as you can as they are very filling and healthy.10 Eating plenty of fruits in your diet is also good because they are high in both vitamins and minerals and fibers, which are good carbohydrates.
Foods that are high in calories but low in nutrition are bad carbohydrates. It’s important to remember that bad carbohydrates should be avoided as much as possible in order to maintain a healthy diet and for weight loss.
Healthy Fats For Bodybuilders
One of the biggest questions when it comes to building healthy foods for bodybuilders is ‘what are good sources of fats for bodybuilders?’ Let’s get one thing straight: the body needs fat to function properly! And yes, that means you need to be eating a diet of fat and protein, not just any old fat. When you’re out there hitting the gym and lifting, you’re burning calories (and sometimes even building muscle) so your body needs those foods. But what kinds of healthy fats for bodybuilders are the best?
Good sources of fats for bodybuilders are definitely fish oil and flaxseed oil, but these can be somewhat costly. If you have limited finances, you could use olive oil as your main source of fat, which is moderately priced and found in pretty much every grocery store. Most people don’t know that olives are good sources of fats. So if you love olives, by all means stock up on them…but look out – they are very high in sodium.
Some other good sources of healthy fats for bodybuilders would be sunflower seeds, walnuts (to eat pure), safflower oil, coconut oil, and salmon. It’s really important that you get a diet of healthy fats as part of your muscle building diet. It will help you burn fat much quicker, particularly in your biceps, triceps and forearms, and will greatly improve your overall heart health.
Bad Sources Of Fats And How To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Naturally
In order to successfully build muscle and get the maximum amount of results from your bodybuilding program, you must learn how to eat the right kinds of foods to give you the nutrients and calories that you need. Getting the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals and fiber is the key to a successful diet program. The bad thing is that there are so many different diets out there that promise to be the best when it comes to losing weight or gaining muscle. 
Unhealthy fats are bad sources of fats because they have a tendency to slow down the entire process of burning fat, meaning that instead of getting a better burn of calories, you will actually consume more than you should be. For instance, extra virgin olive oils are great sources of essential fatty acids because they contain high levels of omega 3 fatty acids. These acids are very beneficial when it comes to burning fat and are therefore great to include in your diet.11 The downside of these oils is that they are extremely high in calories, so even though you may think you are eating healthy, you could be consuming more calories than you should be. Extra virgin olive oils are therefore not the best choice if you are trying to lose fat.12
Bad sources of fats also come in the form of refined carbohydrates, which are found in most foods today, including most types of breads and pasta. Refined carbohydrates are digested too quickly by your body and end up being stored as fat. Unhealthy carbohydrates also include foods such as pastas, white rice and potatoes, even though they are generally considered healthy by the government. Unhealthy carbohydrates such as white flour are also bad sources of fats and should therefore be avoided.
Image Credits
RunTastic / August 2020
Precision Nutrition / 2021
Precision Nutrition / 2021
VeryWell / January 4, 2021
Scroll.in / April 25, 2018
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