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Eating Out with a True Bodybuilder

Author: Carol Drebin
Date Posted: January 25, 2007

No stopping for pizza when you're at the mall? Grabbing lunch from a drive-thru window is out of the question? Uh-Oh! You're eating out with a true bodybuilder.

A true bodybuilder plans his days around food, thinking about what there is available to eat, and looking forward to the next time he can eat again.

Grabbing a quick bite for lunch is not so simple. Having the right kind of food to eat at work or at school takes planning and prep time. Going out with friends or having a dinner date means being flexible on location.

The bodybuilder in your life isn't trying to be difficult and doesn't really want to stick out from the crowd (maybe when showing off his physique, but not about what he's eating.) Rather than be a recluse, the true bodybuilder plans ahead to accommodate his food needs while he is away from home. Most of the time, his friends "get it." New people are usually in awe of the self-discipline it takes to pack and eat special food, rather than eating whatever happens to be around.

Whether he's trying to lose bodyfat or gain lean mass, you will see a bodybuilder eating frequently throughout the day. Disposable plastic containers and resealable food bags holding everything from boiled eggs, to protein bread, and skinless, boneless chicken breast may appear every few hours.

Food needs to travel well, and often must be consumed at room temperature, so you may even see a cooler in the trunk, next to the ever-present gym bag. That cooler might even get carried into a fast food restaurant, if the rest of the group is having cheeseburgers and shakes. The bodybuilder wants to be part of the fun, just not part of the "fat."

The bodybuilder needs to feed on an average of every two to three hours, which doesn't always jive with normal "lunch break" schedules while working or taking classes. So the guy in the back row may be munching one of a dozen turkey burgers he cooked up on his outdoor grill yesterday. A co-worker might be microwaving an egg-white omelet he made at home that morning, when everyone else is reaching for donuts and coffee. And at three o'clock, when you're finishing chips and a soda, he might be snacking on unsalted roasted almonds and low-sodium tomato juice.

You may witness interesting food combinations at other times, and might come to enjoy them, too. Try a smidge of sugar-free jelly on an egg-white omelet, to add flavor without extra calories. Order your salad without dressing - or try it with barbecue sauce on the side. Why barbecue sauce on salad? Because a tablespoon of typical salad dressing is about 100 calories of mostly fat. But a tablespoon of regular barbecue sauce is around 45 calories and fat-free. Try barbecue sauce on fat-free cottage cheese, too!

Albacore tuna packed in water is a huge favorite with bodybuilders, but tough on classmates and co-workers, due to the smell. So in consideration, it usually stays at home. However, if that's the only thing the bodybuilder has available that day, he might duck out into a hallway to eat it, instead of missing a meal. (Eating "out" in more ways than one!) Try mixing tuna with low-sodium peach salsa instead of the usual, fat-laden mayo. Or try adding a dab of pickle relish to plain tuna for tasty, low-calorie, low-fat eating.

What happens when it's time to have dinner out at a nice restaurant? We know the bodybuilder wants to avoid fats, sugars, and calorie-rich sauces, which mostly rules out Mexican and Chinese food. He'll probably be the first to suggest going out for sushi! But mostly he'll go along with the group and get cooperation from the server to figure out what he CAN eat. Even in a Mexican restaurant, it's possible to get a skinless chicken breast without butter or salt, and sauce on the side. Some black pinto beans and a little rice, and the plate looks nearly like everyone else's at the table.

The nice thing about having understanding friends and family to eat out with is that they are open to suggestions and will consider what the bodybuilder can eat when they choose a restaurant. Even for special occasions like birthdays and holidays, the bodybuilder may not indulge in a special treat because of an upcoming competition or special event, but he doesn't need to be stuck at home.

So tell the waiter to leave the dessert tray in the kitchen, and put that tempting bread basket on the other side of the table. You're helping someone get lean and muscular, by making smart food choices when eating out.

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of Nutrition articles.

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