# BEGINNERS Guide to Dieting - How To Construct A Diet



## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

This is still a work in progress, as requested by Cellarat I've knocked up a post on how to construct a diet...

Be kind...



> *The Basics Of Constructing A Diet*
> 
> Constructing a diet is a relatively simple affair once you get your head around it, but getting your head around it seems to be the part most people have difficulty with.
> 
> ...


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## cellaratt (Jul 16, 2008)

Thank You Tall


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## SX Dave (Jun 14, 2007)

another good post mate


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

This subject needs a book and as Tall has said we're all different on top of which, body time, BMR, job, age and sex and training regime will all have an impact. Eg I can't eat like my training partner he carries a good 50lb more muscle than I do and has a different body type.

But the basics are similar. I also think high fat low carb is pants for bodybuilding - muscle needs glycogen for energy and to look "full" protien can be converted to glycogen but naturally the body converts carbs

I eat way more than 1lb of protein per lb of lean bodyweight, I'll have 35g -50gram across each meal and then 100g with the post workout shake which conservatively puts me close to 2gram per lean lb, could I get away with less probably, but then I want to ensure there's enough in my system at anyone time.

I try to stay away from simple sugars as much as possible, I eat an organic grapefruit each morning as they are good to encourage absorption of other supplements through the stomach lining and I'll eat a couple of apples per week otherwise unless I'm allowing myself a cheat I stay clear. However a sugary drink whilst training encourages an insulin spike which means the post workout meal will be transported to the muscle cells better. While it works it also gives me a banging headache - we're all different&#8230;my training partner swears by it even when pre contest&#8230;

I cycle carbs, and whilst it takes some mental discipline it's a great way to grow, keep carbs low for a few days and watch your body grab them when you do refeed, using this method I can grow steadily without layering loads of fat. Just by changing the refeed profile around I can also rapidly lean up .If I go with consistently high carbs I feel bloated after a few days and loose all appetite. And if I go with consistant low carbs to diet I soon feel terrible&#8230;When I was younger and doing a lot more cardio based training I probably ate 3-4 times the amount of carbs I do now, I didn't get fat and I was 10K - 15K lighter than I am today. I'd eat a full malt loaf for energy prior to a cardio based session&#8230; Equally I was never competition lean.

With carbs my main view is keep it low to medium GI, in the main I'm aiming for steady lean growth

I'm bad for not eating enough fats, amongst other things this tends to cause me dry skin patches, there's good and bad fats , avoid saturated animal fats but complex triglycerides are good for the body it's a good idea to include some, nuts, oily fish and seeds in the diet, when not pre contest I eat pumpkin and sunflower seeds with my salads.

On the whole I think the best advise is avoid ready meals, as they are normally full of salt, simple carbs and fats, try and eat natural solid food as much as possible, make sure protein supplements are good quality and don't get much saturated fat down your neck .

If your are interested in bodybuilding get a couple of good books there's loads out there, most people seem to think bodybuilding is about gear, considering effective muscle stimulation and rest as a given diet is a very major factor, you could never grow to your maximum potential and never be ripped if your diet isn't bag on for what your trying to achieve...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Pikey said:


> I also think high fat low carb is pants for bodybuilding - muscle needs glycogen for energy and to look "full" protien can be converted to glycogen but naturally the body converts carbs


^^^ Very good point Mr Pike.

Zero Carbs will strip the fat off you, but Low Carbs just make my head fuzzy.

I'll add a rider that its definately not for anyone in PreContest - thats a whole different kettle of fish.


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

good fcking post tall!

make it a sticky.

i reckon the 1/4 pound a week figure for muscle is spot on as a maximum.

(altho i doubt this could be sustained,but if cycling your training spot on for the periods of heavy lifting)


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

crazycal1 said:


> good fcking post tall!
> 
> make it a sticky.
> 
> ...


Cheers Cal. Still a fair bit of work to be done to it (I've not checked the accuracy of any claims I've made yet... :becky

I'm also going to change 'Bulking' and 'Cutting' to 'Growing' and 'Showing', Bulking and Cutting are terms perhaps best used in relation to Diets linked to AAS cycles. IMHO.


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

agreed training/diet is not the same for the 2 groups-

a fact heavily misconstrued by many.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2008)

tall, top post mate


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

crazycal1 said:


> good fcking post tall!
> 
> make it a sticky.
> 
> ...


Stickied it. Needs some work still though izza:izza:izza:


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2008)

how many grams of carbs would you recommend for me (200 lbs) when bulking?


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

scottswald said:


> how many grams of carbs would you recommend for me (200 lbs) when bulking?


You're 200lbs? Heck thats alot bigger than you look in your avatar - you need a better photographer mate. :becky:

Whats your current macros?

As a minimum: 150g P | 350g C | 75g F

Aim for 1-2lbs per week weight gain. When the weight increase starts to slow down, each week increase your daily carbs by 30g until you start gaining again.

Obviously if this is less than you are eating now you'll need to play around with it :becky:


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## properjob1466867940 (May 22, 2008)

I'm new to all of this and don't understand a fair bit of what I've read on the internet (all gets very confusing very quickly) but I understood pretty much everything you were saying at first glances there.. good work mate


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## Lbertov05 (Jun 27, 2008)

F?ck I just got reading this Thread and I got a headache. I feel like a virgin in prom night man. This is like a work overload for me. I seriously think I bat more than I can chew. Dam you guys are so outta of my league that it ain't even funny.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Lbertov05 said:


> F?ck I just got reading this Thread and I got a headache. I feel like a virgin in prom night man. This is like a work overload for me. I seriously think I bat more than I can chew. Dam you guys are so outta of my league that it ain't even funny.


Pick your main energy source - carbs or fats, and supplement with the other.

Eat your protein. Eat your green veg.

Sorted.


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## kefdono (Aug 18, 2008)

like alot of people i have trudged through s**t loads of diet advice on the net, most of it gives me a headache... thanks for posting something so easy to follow that dose not make me want to fall asleep half way through reading. gonna have a proper look at how i eat now. thanks again mate


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## Gilbert74 (Mar 23, 2009)

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this, been trainign since the start of the year and still trying to get my head round diet.

When I am working out my protein / carb requirement against my body wieght, should I base it on my total weight, or should I use my lean body weight. I am currently carrying quite a bit of fat, so I assume it's my lean body weight. If so how do I go about calculating that?

Cheers in advance.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Gilbert74 said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm new to this, been trainign since the start of the year and still trying to get my head round diet.
> 
> ...


Hi mate.

Google will give you some calculators which can use either lean body mass or total body mass.


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## neivindamin (May 19, 2011)

reaaly very gud post as diet is the basis thing that is to be looked if u want to make gud phique.

nd tips above given are r very gud so once again thanx bro..


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## adam.fisher456 (Jul 21, 2011)

Thank you Tall for basic information about constructive diet, i think In-depth article that shows you how to create a bodybuilding diet with the right combination of proteins, carbs and fats.


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## The Trixsta (Sep 6, 2009)

Superb post Tall. Very interesting. The more I read, the more I learn!


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## justheretosnoop (Jun 15, 2012)

Haven't read this thread in ages!

Anyone know how long you should wait after training before eating the likes of oats? I eat them every Sat morn prob around 30-40 mins after I finish. Guess i'd better knock that on the head by the sound of it.


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