Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Ok...I know this may sound like a dumb question but I've noticed that many say that between cardio, weights and diet, that a clean diet is the most imortant factor in building muscle and maintaining a good physique. (Correct me if I got this wrong). What I'm asking though is, isn't a calorie just a calorie? If you don't consume more than what you need, you won't gain weight so what does it matter where the calories come from? Does this make sense or am I totally out in left field?
Why is diet the most important thing?
- Thread starter alexsmom
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diamonddiceclay
New member
what you weigh is less important than how you look-if you want to have no muscle, you can eat low calories and get away with it-otherwise, you must eat clean and 6-8 times a day
I think you are way over-simplifying things here. So if a calorie is just a calorie then one could eat say a jumbo bag of M&M's everyday instead of 3 balanced meals including meat, veggies, fruit, grains etc. The most obvious problem here is the lack of nutrients involved when one is eating junk food. You have just erased all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function as a healthy living organism. The second problem is, when you are eating junk food which includes processed foods you are taking in a lot of chemicals and preservatives into your body that do more harm than good.
A second issue is the Glycemic index which is an indicator of how your blood sugar responds to different types of carbohydrate foods you consume. IF you eat foods containing sugars or simple carbohydrates your blood sugar levels are dramatically rising and falling throughout the day. Over time this can result in the development of diabetes and will usually result in an increase in bodyfat accumulation.
Please do a search on the glycemic Index or GI and i am sure you will find lots of useful information on this subject.
A second issue is the Glycemic index which is an indicator of how your blood sugar responds to different types of carbohydrate foods you consume. IF you eat foods containing sugars or simple carbohydrates your blood sugar levels are dramatically rising and falling throughout the day. Over time this can result in the development of diabetes and will usually result in an increase in bodyfat accumulation.
Please do a search on the glycemic Index or GI and i am sure you will find lots of useful information on this subject.
Damn bro....that's exactly what I was thinking (about the M&M's). good thing you said something first....I couldn't have explained it better myslef. Bodybuilding is about 70%diet, 20% recovery, and 10% training (or so I'm told). Remember that expression "you are what you eat"? Well.....that's another way of thinking about it. I'm in definate agreement with what the shit said about eating processed foods. Good Job bro!!!!
here's a little karma for you!!!
here's a little karma for you!!!
Gee Proxy...I'm sooo sorry to waste someone's time who must have known everything about BB and nutrition from the beginning...like you of course.
I thought beginners were allowed here also.
Anyhow, for all of those who were nice enough to give me some good advice...thank you. I know of course that M & M's are not going to get you where you want to go...I dont' eat candy anyway, but what i was mainly questioning and my "calorie just a calorie" comment, was regarding how your body processes carbs/fats/proteins. For example, if you eat some wheat bread vs. brown rice (calories being equal)....isn't your body going to process it the same? But I notice that wheat breat is usually left out of a "clean" diet. I do know about the glycemic index, but doesn't that principle change when the carbohyrdate is eaten with a fat or protein?
I thought beginners were allowed here also.
Anyhow, for all of those who were nice enough to give me some good advice...thank you. I know of course that M & M's are not going to get you where you want to go...I dont' eat candy anyway, but what i was mainly questioning and my "calorie just a calorie" comment, was regarding how your body processes carbs/fats/proteins. For example, if you eat some wheat bread vs. brown rice (calories being equal)....isn't your body going to process it the same? But I notice that wheat breat is usually left out of a "clean" diet. I do know about the glycemic index, but doesn't that principle change when the carbohyrdate is eaten with a fat or protein?
You need to go buy a good book on bodybuilding nutrition, found at any bookstore and some libraries and read, read, read! this is what i did in the begining. its like anything else, you have to gain the knowledge and apply it. We could write for hours and still not answer this question. Go study.
gymtime
New member
I think that when you read that "diet is the most important thing," it doesn't mean that if you have to chose between the three (diet, lifting, or cardio), that diet is the "best."
A statement like that sort of assumes that the reader is already into weightlifting. I know that seems like a big assumption, but when I read stuff like that, that's how I take it.
What it means is that your diet pretty much dictates what kind of results you get from weightlifting. In other words, all the claims that people make about the wonders of weightlifting are almost meaningless if not done in conjunction with a strict diet.
A statement like that sort of assumes that the reader is already into weightlifting. I know that seems like a big assumption, but when I read stuff like that, that's how I take it.
What it means is that your diet pretty much dictates what kind of results you get from weightlifting. In other words, all the claims that people make about the wonders of weightlifting are almost meaningless if not done in conjunction with a strict diet.
