Best Bodybuilding Meal Plan for Cutting Bulking Cycle
Last Updated on October 14, 2023 by Robert Dowling
Bodybuilding is a physical activity to improve your health or stay in shape. Health Benefits are the main reason why most of the people start doing bodybuilding. When you start doing bodybuilding, you first have to find and choose a muscle building plan and a diet plan, based on your body shape, body condition and what you want to achieve on the future.
A lot of people start bodybuilding without making a plan before. They end doing weeks and weeks of training, but they don’t see any huge improvements on their body. This usually occurs because they have not chosen a good bodybuilding diet plan for their body type and condition.
Best Bodybuilding Meal Plan for Cutting
When you start doing bodybuilding, you should be prepared for everything. The things do not always go to your side. You may experience muscle loss, gaining fat etc. You should monitor the muscle and fat levels on your body to see if your diet is improving your body or not. Remember, your goal is to lose as much fat as possible and gain as much muscle as you can.
If you are having difficulties finding the right diet for bodybuilding and are asking yourself ‘What diet should I have for bodybuilding?’, then, down below, I am going to show you a perfect example of a bodybuilding diet plan.
Before giving you the perfect example of a bodybuilding diet plan, I will give you some tips which will help you on your bodybuilding journey.
What diet should I have for Bodybuilding?
Macro-nutrients are very important for a bodybuilding diet. Protein, carbohydrates etc. play an important role on gaining muscle fast and losing fat.
Protein is the most important macro-nutrient for maintaining your body and building muscles. Most of the bodybuilders use protein powders, which are easier to find and you can get the amount your body needs. Also, you should eat dietary protein. Choose to eat foods which are good for bodybuilding, such as eggs, cheese, all milk products, cottage cheese, fish, chicken etc.
To stay more focused on what you want to achieve, read these three main goals for bodybuilders:
- Lose as much fat as possible.
- Try to eat healthy foods and always do your best on the gym and exercises.
- Try to build as much muscle mass as possible.
- These are three important goals a bodybuilder always keeps in mind.
As for meal plan for bodybuilding, you should keep in mind that you must eat 60-90 minutes before going to the gym. The morning meal is very important because is the first meal of the day and you need to get the energy to start your body. You have to adjust the calories you eat according to your total calories amount.
You can find the total amount of calories your body need by doing some basic math. Remember, eat 15 calories/Ib of your body weight. The 15 cal/Ib rule should be followed only for the first three weeks of training. You should take 5-gram carbohydrates per 1 Ib of your body weight. Glucose and sugar play an important role as an energy source on your body, so be careful. The amount of protein is 2 gram of protein per 1 Ib of your body weight. This is the recommended amount, but you can take more because protein is good for muscle building. It is preferred low fat protein and carbohydrate sources.
Bodybuilding Meal Plan
Bodybuilding meal plan plays an important role to build a perfect body. If you want to build a good body, then you need a good meal plan.
As always, protein, calories, and carbohydrates are important for a good meal plan.
Some gym instructors recommend making a bodybuilding meal plan chart to know the amount of proteins and calories you take.
The first thing you have to do is to write down the calorie levels you take. Then start increasing it by 500 calories when you think the previous amount is not enough.
Your diet plan should be divided in different percentages like 60-65% carbohydrates, 10-15% fat & 30% proteins. It is recommended to drink protein shakes regularly.
To make a perfect bodybuilding meal plan, you need to calculate how much calories your body needs every day to gain muscles.
Down below, you can find a good example of a bodybuilding meal plan you can follow to build your body. The plan includes all needed nutrients for a quality body gain.
Bodybuilding Meal Plan
Breakfast Meal: 1 banana, eggs, oats, 1 slice of toast, protein shake.
Morning snacks: 1 orange and 1 protein shake.
Lunch Meal: 150-gram chicken, 100-gram rice, 200-gram potatoes, vitamin C foods.
Afternoon: Gym or Home Exercises.
Dinner: 150 grams mixed vegetables, 200 grams extra leaf beef, 250-gram potatoes.
Evening snacks: egg yolk, 200-gram oatmeal’s, egg white.
Try to eat 6 meals per day or separate your calories in 6 meals as it is recommended to eat small amounts frequently.
Also, fruits even that are not on the example below, should always be included on your bodybuilding meal plan, because they contain only healthy proteins, amino acids, and other recommended compositions.
It is also recommended to drink high-quality protein shakes. They should always be on your diet plan.
Along with fruits and protein shakes, you should drink water as much water as you can. Your body should be hydrated all the time.
The given information will help you to better understand the role of protein, fat etc. on your body and will give you the ability to know which bodybuilding meal plan is the right one.
How long should I Diet For Bodybuilding?
Everyone like to get results as fast as possible and one of the main questions they ask is: ‘How long should I diet bodybuilding?’. The answer is that there is not a specific period of time to diet bodybuilding. There are bodybuilders who have their entire life building muscles while there are others who just diet for about 6 months and are satisfied with their body. So, it depends on your goals. If you like to build a standard bodybuilding body, then If you follow the diet plans and muscle building plans carefully, 6 months is enough. But, if you skip the gym, eat unhealthy foods then probably the results will never come and you will end diet bodybuilding for a long time.
Follow your diet, It is recommended to take protein shakes daily. Maintain your sugar levels by eating frequently and on specific time intervals and always do your muscle building exercises.
10 Best Supplements for Building Muscle Mass