Cheese is one of the best foods out there, hands down.
It goes great in pasta, on burgers, or even if you just want to eat it plain. But, when it comes to our goals in the gym- is cheese good for bodybuilding?
Yes, cheese is very good for bodybuilding! Cheese has SUPER high protein, medium fat, and medium-low carbs. It tastes good, adds easy protein to your diet, and gives you crucial minerals and vitamins like calcium that are essential in bodybuilding.
There’s a lot to understand about cheese. In fact, certain types of cheeses have specific proteins that help boost muscle growth even more. So, let’s cover this more in-depth.
Nutrition of Cheese
There are many types of different cheeses out there. All with varying levels of protein, carbs, fats, et cetera.
However, for the MOST PART- cheese nutrition is very similar. So you aren’t really going to find cheese that has no protein and a ton of carbs, or vice versa. They are all kind of similar. They all generally have high protein, medium fat, and medium-low carbs.
For this article, we will be using string cheese as our reference. We’ve all had string cheese, and string cheese is pretty good. But, no matter what type of cheese you have, the nutrition will be somewhat similar to this reference point.
| Serving Size: | 1 String Cheese |
| Calories: | 70 |
| Protein: | 5g |
| Fat: | 5g |
| Carbs: | 1g |
As we can see, that is a very good protein to calorie ratio. That’s nearly 1 gram of protein per 10 calories. And if you’ve been bodybuilding for a while you’ll know how hard it is to find protein.
(And if you’re new to bodybuilding, check out my Top 20 Tips for Bodybuilding Beginners!)
Cheese Has a TON Of Protein
Cheese has a ton of protein, in fact- cheese is one of the best sources of protein out there in general.
If you remember, cheese comes from milk. And milk is very good for bodybuilding, in fact- some bodybuilders drink a gallon of milk a day. If you’ve ever heard of the “GOMAD” diet, that’s exactly what it is.
Because cheese is well, aged milk- to simplify things- it’s going to have those same benefits milk has.
Milk is one of the best foods out there for protein, there’s no arguing that.
Now, here’s the thing. While cheese comes from milk, it isn’t exactly milk. This is a whole complicated process but basically the aging of milk and the bacteria that change it kind of ‘remake’ the food if you will. This means that we get quite a few benefits from cheese that milk cannot give us.
For instance, in the process of making cheese, many carbs and sugar are lost, but the protein remains. This means you get lower calories, lower carbs, lower sugar, but a higher concentration of protein.
This means cheese is an excellent choice for a bodybuilder regardless of whether you’re trying to gain weight or lose weight.
Cheese Makes You Feel Full
Let’s be honest- it’s annoying being hungry.
Well, on a bulk- that isn’t always a bad thing, But, when you’re trying to lose weight, hunger is the last thing you want.
Cheese makes you feel full. Cheese is high in protein, high in fat, and big in volume. Plus, it’s harder to chew.
All of these ‘trick’ your stomach into thinking you have eaten more than you really have, and you’ll have less hunger because of it.
Physiologically, high protein and fat food take longer to digest in your body compared to something with carbs. In fact, some foods with protein can take literal hours to digest.
That’s why you feel much fuller after eating a steak compared to eating a bowl of cereal of the same size.
That’s another reason cheese is good for bodybuilding. As we bodybuilders know, we need to lose more weight than really anybody to win those competitions – and those hunger pangs make it hard.
Cheese Tastes Good
Let’s be honest, so many protein powders taste awful. In fact, a ton of foods we usually eat for bodybuilding taste awful.
So, why not spice it up with cheese? Cheese tastes good, that’s just a fact. I’ve yet to meet someone that doesn’t like cheese.
Cheese is a high protein food that you can add to kind of anything to help grow your muscles, get some calories in, and make the food edible.
Cheese is Casein Protein – Which Is Better For Your Muscles
There are two different types of proteins- whey protein and casein proteins.
Whey protein is the ‘fast-absorbing protein that your body quickly absorbs, meanwhile casein protein is the ‘slow-absorbing protein that your body slowly absorbs over time.
Why is this better for you? Well, as we remember- muscle growth is 24/7. So, if you eat a ton of whey protein and it gets absorbed right away, you won’t have any protein for your muscles until you eat again.
Meanwhile, that casein protein that cheese is will slowly absorb in your body resulting in your muscles being grown for hours straight. This means it is a good idea to have casein protein before you sleep, so you can have protein all through the night.
(And likewise, it’s a good idea to have a whey protein shake after a workout)
Cheese Has Calcium (Super Important in Bodybuilding)
Since cheese is derived from milk, it still has that high amount of calcium.
Calcium is super important in bodybuilding, even if people don’t really talk about it.
When you got to the gym and work out, you aren’t just working out your muscles- you are working out your bones too.
Your bones become stronger, way stronger as a matter of fact. This is why, generally speaking, when athletes fall they usually don’t break a bone compared to someone who doesn’t exercise.
Think about it, you wouldn’t be able to bench press if the bones in your arm didn’t get stronger. They would just snap in half basically.
Aside from the whole idea of you not breaking a bone now, having strong bones is super good for your health- especially as you age.
These days older people are being diagnosed with weak bones every day at alarming rates. Having weak bones isn’t good because means when you fall or something falls on you- the chance of breaking a bone and having a severe injury is incredibly high.
I’ve had many elderly patients in the hospital that have fallen and have had no injuries because their bones are so strong. And I’ve also had people just in their 30s having severe leg fractures that stop them from walking for months because they wouldn’t take care of their health.
That calcium is super important for you- gym-wise and health-wise.
Conclusion of Is Cheese Good For Bodybuilding?
So, yes. Cheese is very good for bodybuilding.
- It has high protein.
- Low calories.
- Keeps you full.
- Keeps your bones strong.
- Tastes great!
- Has slow-digesting protein to promote muscle growth over time (especially when you’re sleeping!)
Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and I will respond as soon as possible.
