Thread: How healthy is the "bodybuilding" diet?

This is a good question. I often wonder that as well. I try and limit my red meat, while it is a great muscle builder it isnt all that well for the heart.

if ur worreid about ut heart, take soem co enzyme q-10. it is one of the best anti oxidants for men and their <3's

[QUOTE=zl214;1507906]many believe that weightlifting/bodybuilding is a "healthy obsession". While the benefit of being active is undeniable. The diet many lifters are on do not seem to measure up. The question arises:

many young lifters eat in the name of macro and replace wholesome meals with protein shakes. Professional bodybuilders seem to usually on a low carb diet if they are prepare for a show ( i dont know waht they eat off-seasons). I also read somewhere that intentionally keeping the bodyfat excessively low is not good good for general health. So is it fair to say being a bodybuilder, even a natural one, does not equate being healthy?[/QUOTE]

I don't think anyone would try to convince you that injesting growth hormones or starving to reduce bodyfat to minimal levels - then gaining bulk rapidy is equatable to an interest in health. It has potentially disastrous consequences on longevity. This is why bobybuilders "cycle" the the use of illegal substances and other supplements - to help minimize the negative effects by attempting to restore the body's normal metabolism.

As for the "casual natural bodybuilder" such as myself, while maintaining a healthy amount of bodyfat, I'm still injesting substances in amounts not obtainable by my well-balanced diet.

I don't think a bodybuilders' first concern, in general, is health... though to some it's a high priority.

To answer your question, in my humble opinion, and by the strictest sense of your wording, you are right.

Pro bbers don't attain those extremely low bf all the time.

Professional Bodybuilding has nothing to do with being healthy.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

Professional Bodybuilding has nothing to do with being healthy.

That is an understatement!

[quote=JimSnow;1508135]

Originally Posted by zl214

many believe that weightlifting/bodybuilding is a "healthy obsession". While the benefit of being active is undeniable. The diet many lifters are on do not seem to measure up. The question arises:

many young lifters eat in the name of macro and replace wholesome meals with protein shakes. Professional bodybuilders seem to usually on a low carb diet if they are prepare for a show ( i dont know waht they eat off-seasons). I also read somewhere that intentionally keeping the bodyfat excessively low is not good good for general health. So is it fair to say being a bodybuilder, even a natural one, does not equate being healthy?[/QUOTE]

I don't think anyone would try to convince you that injesting growth hormones or starving to reduce bodyfat to minimal levels - then gaining bulk rapidy is equatable to an interest in health. It has potentially disastrous consequences on longevity. This is why bobybuilders "cycle" the the use of illegal substances and other supplements - to help minimize the negative effects by attempting to restore the body's normal metabolism.

As for the "casual natural bodybuilder" such as myself, while maintaining a healthy amount of bodyfat, I'm still injesting substances in amounts not obtainable by my well-balanced diet.

I don't think a bodybuilders' first concern, in general, is health... though to some it's a high priority.

To answer your question, in my humble opinion, and by the strictest sense of your wording, you are right.

Thanks, if that is so, would you say that the diet many bodybuilders are promoting, i.e. high protein/low carb/low fat, is not healthy either? I mean, do you really need that much protein a day? what's wrong with carbs? i dont want sounds incredibly geeky, but it really contradicts with the scientific definition of healthy diet.

many young lifters including me do follow this diet and think it is healthy. I really think many bbers are acting as bad role models because of their commercial interest trying maintain their sponsors (Not that there is anything wrong with that, they need to make money, too).

The reason i made such a big deal out of this is that I had been taking protein supplements for the last year and didnt make any gains. Then I stopped taking supplement 1 month ago, and I started to gain weight and strength. This has convinced me that protein shakes dont work. So i couldnt help wondering would that be the same for other supplements like vitamins or statin ?

If I take supplements for preventive purposes, how do I know if it is working? Or is it just my paranoia that drives me to take it ?

If you don't think it works, don't take it..simple as that..as for me i take whey protein, multivitamins, fibre supplements and creatine and along with my properly structured diet and training regime im making great gains (i would wager that your diet wasn't up to scratch hence no weight gain) In my opinion anyone with healthy kidneys is in no danger of high protein diets..research has shown that high protein diets has no impact on renal functioning..and for training athletes, sufficient protein intake is required in order to ensure adequate protein synthesis for the repair and growth of muscles..carbs just provide fuel (glycogen) and a more anabolic environment for this to take place..

As for the bit about pro bodybuilders, well pro bodybuilding by nature (nowadays anyway) is dangerous..all that GH, test, deca, dbol, insulin, anadrol and synthol..not good at all

I think that's just it - supplements are made to supplement the diet, not replace the healthy foods that you should be eating.

Most people imo don't stay at the super-low bf consistantly, I would think that would not be healthy for your organs.

[QUOTE=zl214;1508730]

Originally Posted by JimSnow

Thanks, if that is so, would you say that the diet many bodybuilders are promoting, i.e. high protein/low carb/low fat, is not healthy either? I mean, do you really need that much protein a day? what's wrong with carbs? i dont want sounds incredibly geeky, but it really contradicts with the scientific definition of healthy diet.

many young lifters including me do follow this diet and think it is healthy. I really think many bbers are acting as bad role models because of their commercial interest trying maintain their sponsors (Not that there is anything wrong with that, they need to make money, too).

The reason i made such a big deal out of this is that I had been taking protein supplements for the last year and didnt make any gains. Then I stopped taking supplement 1 month ago, and I started to gain weight and strength. This has convinced me that protein shakes dont work. So i couldnt help wondering would that be the same for other supplements like vitamins or statin ?

If I take supplements for preventive purposes, how do I know if it is working? Or is it just my paranoia that drives me to take it ?

I don't mess with counting carbs at all... or much of anything else for that matter. My job, coupled w/ training is so "calorie demanding" - I don't think it overly important to dwell on diet details... except to injest high quality foods that can offer most to my efforts.

It's not paranoia. Sometimes we are looking for magic bullets. Other times we feel our efforts could be better rewarded if we just included this or that to our diets. Part of the learning proccess... if you keep your head screwed on straight.

I do suscribe loosely to the basic belief that you need about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight at about 30-50g per serving. At 205, I'd have to eat 6 high protein meals a day. The protein shake is just an augment to a good diet. I'm not eating meals six times a day - no way.

As a natural, except for a multi-vit/min, C and E... the rest, including creatine, nos, glutamine, etc.... is probably a waste of money.

Of course people are selling stuff here. You just have to keep that in mind and do your own research and experimentation.