So most people wonder what bodybuilders do all day and how they could possibly need all day just to work out and eat. Until you reach a level where eating is more important than breathing you wouldn't really understand. I have tried all different types of things: Cooking all my food at the beginning of the week, cooking my meals for a few days at a time, cooking weeks worth and vacuum sealing and the best one, cooking each meal hot and fresh.
Yes I am one of those guys – I need my food fresh. I can't eat tupperware chicken or cold fish unless I absolutely have to and even then I make sure I wash it down with so much water it might as well be blended. Sorry for the nasty visual. I do cook some things ahead of time like potatoes (boiled) or chicken (baked) but even that’s only for a few days and when I have to eat it I actually cook it again in a frying pan to heat it up instead of microwaving it. Have you ever had boiled potato cut up into cubes and fried up in some pam? It is damn good when you are dieting!
More important than cooking the food either ahead of time or on the spot is actually having the food on hand. More times than not I have had clients that tell me they missed such and such a meal or had to sub this meal or that because they ran out of fish, steak or chicken. One thing I always make sure of is I have tons of food in my house. I stock up; Costco is my home away from home, well actually the gym is but the people at Costco know me now so they would say it’s a close second. My freezer is stocked with bags of tilapia and Costco’s chicken breast is the freshest (where I live anyway). I go to the butcher (Mr. Meat) for my steak and usually have two different cuts: One for offseason (bottom sirloin) and one cut for precontest (round steak). He grinds it all up for me so it’s easier for cooking and eating and it doesn't do a number on my teeth when I'm eating 5lbs a day. He also packs it up for me in 12oz portions which is perfect so I don't have to waste my time measuring!
Anyway, back to my original point. All of this takes time. In a day I have to get up and go to the gym for cardio, stretching, abs. Eat, then chiro, then grocery shopping, then tanning. I rest a little then back to the gym to train. I head back home to eat, cook and prepare more food. Do some more home therapy (foam roller, ect.), check fan emails, write this blog, and get some sleep. I love it and I wouldn't have it any other way but anyone who says its easy and we are lazy bodybuilders has no idea what this lifestyle really takes at this level.
I am blessed to be able to train fulltime and I know if I wasn't I wouldn't be where I am today. I am thankful because I know the ride could end at anytime but that’s the excitement of life! Going for all of it and seeing where you land. Why play it safe when there is so much more you could be doing…. Sacrifice Without Regret, Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad
