So you’re hitting the gym regularly and eating lots of protein to make sure your muscles grow, perhaps you’re taking a protein shake to help the process along too. Still though, if you’re going to be truly successful you also need to know about the other food groups and what they can do for your training.

While many people who are trying to get into shape will almost completely cut out their intake of carbohydrates, this is actually a mistake. While too much carbohydrate will indeed be stored as fat, if you don’t have enough you won’t have the energy you need to perform in the gym. Worse, your body might start cannibalising your muscles to get the energy!

Your muscles extract energy from the Glycogen in carbohydrates by breaking the bonds in its ATP (Andenosine Triphosphate) which is known as the ‘Glycogen System’. Carbohydrates will only be stored as fat if you don’t ‘burn’ them during a workout, and even then a large amount of energy will be used to convert them into fat meaning only minimal damage is done.

For these reasons, a diet containing a fair amount of complex carbohyrdrates (complex being sources such as bread, rice and pasta rather than sugar or sweets) are actually recommended for those trying to add muscle.

When you’re eating fat however you’re eating carbohyrdrates that have already been converted to fat cells by another animal. This means minimal energy is expended in storing them and so they’ll be added as fat tissue much faster. Additionally, your body won’t use the fat for energy until it’s used up its supply of carbohyrdrates.

However, this still doesn’t mean you should iron fat completely out of your diet. Essential fatty acids have many roles in maintaining your body and a deficiency can lead to slow healing wouds, hair loss and flaking skin. Crucially, they’re also involved in protein absorption. It is paramount then that you don’t try to eradicate fat from your diet, but just seek to limit it to that found in your protein.

At the same time you also need to make sure you consume vitamins and minerals to fight colds and strengthen your bones among other things. Coming down with a nasty virus will substantially slow down your progress. It’s also important to remember that when you train you lose vitamins in your sweat, so you should endeavour to include fruit and vegetables in your diet.

Although some fad diets and fanatical bodybuilding ‘gurus’ will come up with various extreme nutrition plans, eventually they tend to go full circle. The only advice you need to follow is that your diet should be high in protein and low in fat and simple carbs. Everything we eat, we eat for a reason, and if you completely remove an element of your diet your body will quickly feel the consequences.

Mack LeMouse

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