Vince Gironda On Bodybuilding Diet: Feed Your Body’s Food Cravings
One of the most important things I ever learned about the bodybuilding diet came from Vince Gironda, and was about the importance of listening to your body and not denying it the food it craves…
Denying your body the food it craves, and ignoring what your body is trying to tell you will only ever have negative results on your muscle growth and health in general…
Some people have a preference for vegetables, and others meat, and may fill their plates more heavily with either. Others may only stick to meat, and others, only vegetables.
The simply truth is: we are neither 100% vegetarians, nor 100% carnivores – and we benefit and function at our best when we are willing to consume both…
Everyone is different. And, the body (and our own needs) are forever changing and requiring change. It’s the task of the trainee – as the only person who can do this – to recognise what their own bodies are telling them, and diet accordingly.
Just because a diet once worked well, doesn’t mean it’ll always work well – when it stops working, you need to change it…
Take this, for instance. Eggs are known to be the best source of protein, and, eating a huge amount of eggs a day can benefit a trainee immensely in their gains. But… after a while, you may well stop responding to it. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed that you will.
In bodybuilding, dietary extremes are often necessary – for short periods only – to accomplish a specific need. Once the body shows signs of non-responding the only thing to do is change what you are doing. It may be that you need to go in the opposite direction for a while… from huge amounts of protein to much lower protein and plenty of vegetables to help the nerves regenerate and cleans yourself of the phosphorous and toxin build up. Or, going from a lot of vegetables to huge amounts of quality protein for a short while may provide some of the best gains of your life – for a while.
The bottom line is this: Don’t stick to one thing forevermore. You are not a car which simply runs on unleaded. You are a human being who requires a variety of fuel to function and repair, and, whose needs change regularly.
