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- Aug 3, 2010
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When most people think of the word “diet” they think of a set number of weeks to lose a few pounds or get in shape. They rarely think of a diet as something constant to maintain a lean physique 365/24/7. As with most things taken to an extreme, there are downfalls to doing this for extended periods of time. I'm not talking about a 12 week diet here, I'm talking about eating very strict for months and years. The first downfall to this is your body gets used to diet foods, it doesn't process and handle these foods the same way it did in the beginning.
The second downside is if your nutrient ratios are off from a typical balanced diet (to put it simply, the food pyramid) for too long then your body will stop processing foods at the same rate, or faster, or slower.
Your metabolism can slow down or in rare cases it will actually speed up too much, to the point it doesn't process foods to its full potential. In some extreme cases you can develop what's called “the dumping syndrome” where everything you put in just gets wasted and digested out, the intestines no longer absorb the foods. This is more common after bypass surgery, but it can potentially happen with people who have over-dieted for long periods of time. If you're going to the bathroom constantly and you're taking in little calories, it's time to start getting concerned. “Starving” for some people is under 1000 cals/day, for other people it's less than 3,000/day.
Just remember...bodybuilders WILL NEVER operate on a normal person's diet nor caloric requirements. You can forget about going back to “a normal life” because it's just not going to happen. Years and years in the gym and eating causes a physiologic change in your body. It's almost like a gene mutation or something, and operating like your average person is just not going to physically happen for you.
So yes, in many cases even 2-3,000 calories a day is starving you. It can screw you up if done for too long, not to mention leaving you constantly tired, irritable, and basically a walking zombie. So sometimes the answer is getting off the strict diet, letting your body get back to recovery and in a state it can function better in. As a bodybuilder you are constantly fighting fatigue, always trying to recover and regenerate.
Just remember to always listen to your body, keep a detailed journal, and don't be afraid to shake things up once in a while!
GD
The second downside is if your nutrient ratios are off from a typical balanced diet (to put it simply, the food pyramid) for too long then your body will stop processing foods at the same rate, or faster, or slower.
Your metabolism can slow down or in rare cases it will actually speed up too much, to the point it doesn't process foods to its full potential. In some extreme cases you can develop what's called “the dumping syndrome” where everything you put in just gets wasted and digested out, the intestines no longer absorb the foods. This is more common after bypass surgery, but it can potentially happen with people who have over-dieted for long periods of time. If you're going to the bathroom constantly and you're taking in little calories, it's time to start getting concerned. “Starving” for some people is under 1000 cals/day, for other people it's less than 3,000/day.
Just remember...bodybuilders WILL NEVER operate on a normal person's diet nor caloric requirements. You can forget about going back to “a normal life” because it's just not going to happen. Years and years in the gym and eating causes a physiologic change in your body. It's almost like a gene mutation or something, and operating like your average person is just not going to physically happen for you.
So yes, in many cases even 2-3,000 calories a day is starving you. It can screw you up if done for too long, not to mention leaving you constantly tired, irritable, and basically a walking zombie. So sometimes the answer is getting off the strict diet, letting your body get back to recovery and in a state it can function better in. As a bodybuilder you are constantly fighting fatigue, always trying to recover and regenerate.
Just remember to always listen to your body, keep a detailed journal, and don't be afraid to shake things up once in a while!
GD
