Diets for Figure Competitions
- Eating the right mix of foods can help you look your best for a figure competition.female bodybuilder image by Steve Lovegrove from Fotolia.com
The months before a figure competition are extremely difficult and require plenty of discipline, patience and perseverance. However, eating the correct foods in the correct proportions can help you look your absolute best. The total calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat you eat when preparing for a figure competition can make a substantial difference and help you get into contest shape. - Three months before your figure competition, you should start keeping track of calories and other macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein) you eat on a daily basis. You should also eliminate all junk foods at this point. As a general rule, you should eat about 16 times your body weight in total calories. For example, if your goal is to weigh 120 pounds at the time of the competition, you would aim to eat 1,920 calories each day.
- Eating the correct amount of protein is very important to helping you build and maintain a muscular physique, since proteins are the building blocks of muscle in your body. You should aim to eat around 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight each day. This means that if you want to weigh 120 pounds at the time of your figure competition, you should eat 120 grams of protein each day. Equally as important to how much protein you eat are the types of foods you are eating to get this protein. You should stick to mostly low-fat, whole-food sources of protein, such as egg whites, lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish and milk. Consuming one to two protein shakes each day will also help you eat the right amount of protein.
- Fifty to sixty percent of your daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates until about three months before your figure competition. At this point, you should lower your carbohydrate intake to 20 to 30 percent. Eat the right types of carbs, and you'll notice a difference in your physique. Whole-grain carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta and quinoa digest slowly in your body. These types of carbs also contain more nutrients like fiber than refined grains do. When you are three months out from the competition, you should be getting most of your carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits.
- Low-fat diets are largely a thing of the past, but it's still important to cut down your fat intake when preparing for a figure competition. You can eat up to 30 percent of your calories from fat until the three-month mark, when you should cut your fat intake to 10 to 20 percent. Eat foods that contain healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). Examples of these types of foods include olive and canola oils, nuts and fish such as salmon. Avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats, such as fatty cuts of beef and cheeses, butter, cream, desserts, fast food, and processed and packaged foods.
- Water is one of the most important parts of a pre-figure competition diet. You should drink at least a gallon of water every day leading up to the competition. Certain supplements can help you look your best when preparing for a figure competition as well. Consider taking supplements such as a multivitamin, calcium, glutamine and glucosamine.
