Whether you are currently a weightlifter or you are hoping to be more active in the future, there are some fundamental differences between your ideal diet and an inactive person’s diet. This is simply a fact, and it’s based on what happens in your body when you exercise frequently compared to what happens in those who don’t.

When it comes to the proper diet for a bodybuilder or weightlifter, there are two factors at work: one is doing what is healthy and will allow you to sustain heavy lifting for an extended period of time, while the other is maximizing the effects of your workouts to have the biggest muscles you can. You probably know that you are going to have to have a unique diet to support your weight lifting routine, but what happens if you decide to stick with an average-calorie diet, as opposed to a higher-calorie diet?

Well, at best, you would be holding yourself back from experiencing all the benefits of frequent workouts. At worst, you would be actively damaging your body without fully repairing it, because you just don’t have enough calories or nutrients to keep up with your level of activity. In this case, you are also more prone to injury, because your body isn’t at its best when it isn’t getting what it needs.

Defining "Enough" Calories

You should understand that frequent exercise is going to use up more calories. While you might feel like you should lower your calories to lose weight, this is not necessarily a good idea if your calories are already hovering around an average quantity for your body type. You need enough calories to support the activity you’re doing.

Skipping out on food or having too-small meals is going to come back to bite you later on. Your body will naturally be more equipped to lose weight as you put on muscle, so if one of your main motivations to become a weightlifter is for the weight loss, keep this in mind.

What Does the Diet of a Bodybuilder or Weightlifter Look Like?

What specifically should the diet of a bodybuilder or weightlifter contain? There are three types of macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. What you want are the healthiest types of each, and in the proper ratio to each other.

Generally, you want to keep the caloric intake of protein and carbohydrates even, and have about half the calories of those in good fats. If you don’t get enough of each, you won’t maximize the results of your workouts, and you might even be harming yourself. Since one presumed goal of exercise is to get healthier, this is the last thing you want to do.

Another important feature of a bodybuilding diet is frequent meals interspersed throughout the day. Instead of two or three large meals, you should have four to six smaller meals. The major reason for this is that you need a lot of energy, but you need it throughout the day, not all at once. If you were to eat a lot of food all at once, you would actually feel less energetic, as your body would be using more energy for digestion than for activity. Keeping meals light and healthy will give you the energy you need for lifting and living.

Vitamins and Supplements

Finally, consider the importance of vitamins and supplements in maximizing your workouts. You should take Vitamin C for its antioxidant properties, green tea extract pills to reach thermogenesis, a creatine like Bronx Wild Bull for better overall recovery and performance, a source of essential fatty acid sources like Optimum Nutrition Flaxseed Oil for overall health, chromium supplements for a better metabolism, etc.

You might also try a protein powder to maximize the bulking potential before a workout, such as Dymatize Elite. And for convenience’s sake, consider an all-in-one supplement like the popular Universal Nutrition Animal Pak. Through a strong diet and a range of helpful supplements, you will achieve the kind of success you desire out of weight lifting and bodybuilding.