Bodybuilders eat a ton of food- to say the least.
I mean, in all the ads and everything you always see these gigantic guys eating everything in sight but seemingly not putting on any fat.
So, how do bodybuilders eat so much and stay lean?
Well, bodybuilders eat so much and stay lean because their exercise programs often burn tons of calories a day- which helps keep fat off. Not to mention, the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism is! And on top of all of this, most of the food they eat turns into muscle, so they just keep growing in the good way!
And did I mention bodybuilders eat junk food ALL the time?
But, let’s cover this more in-depth.
Bodybuilders Workouts Can Burn Hundreds to Thousands of Calories
Bodybuilders are often doing tough workout programs- and it’s no surprise, getting muscle isn’t easy.
For instance, a tough program like Arnold’s Blueprint to Mass and a combination of 60 minutes of cardio can burn nearly an extra 1,000 calories a day!
Most people burn around 2,000 calories a day on average. Now, imagine adding another thousand calories to that- most people would be very glad about the amount of weight they would lose!
For reference, that’s a whole ‘nother large ice cream blizzard from Dairy Queen or Culver’s- without you putting on any fat.
So when you look at how many calories these guys actually burn every day, it makes more sense why these bodybuilders eat so much and stay lean!
Some bodybuilders even do cardio while bulking, meaning that they can eat nearly double what a normal person eats everyday- and put on virtually zero fat and all muscle.
More Muscle = Higher Metabolism
The more muscle you have, the higher metabolism you have. So basically, the more muscle you grow, the more calories your body burns every day without you having to do anything.
Muscle is a tough nutrient to fuel and requires a lot of energy from your body to keep.
When you think of even amateur bodybuilders having nearly 40-50 lbs of muscle on their body, it starts to add up.
It’s estimated that for each pound of muscle, you will burn an extra 10 calories per day.
So, when you think of people with 50-70 lbs of muscle, they are burning an extra 500-700 calories a day just by existing!
Do the math, and suddenly these bodybuilders just have to eat less than 3,000 calories just to lose weight! I know many people that would love to eat that much and still lose weight. That’s basically a dirty bulk!
Here’s a list of all the delicious foods you could eat and still lose weight with.
Most of That Food Turns Into Muscle
This is still a somewhat confusing misconception. People are told that eating more only puts on fat to your body- but if you workout, most of it actually turns into muscle.
So, even though these guys are eating a ton of food, most of that is turning straight into muscle and not fat at all.
This means they can eat so much and literally be putting on virtually no fat at all, but still grow a ton of muscle that keeps making them look lean and shredded!
I think the most shredded bodybuilder of all time was Zyzz. (And I think most of us who loved the bodybuilding idol can agree!)
So, That’s How Bodybuilders Eat So Much and Stay Lean
So, that’s the truth.
Bodybuilders eat so much and stay lean because:
- They burn so many calories everyday in their workouts.
- They have a much higher metabolism even when they don’t workout due to their muscle.
- And most of that food turns into muscle!
If you’re interested in becoming a bodybuilder, check out my free guide!
