How Do Bodybuilders Lose Weight?

1. 

   In Cycles

   • On the day of a bodybuilding competition, bodybuilders look their best. They've trained and dieted to "peak" on this particular day. In other words, bodybuilders aim to peak at certain times, and this means that their training and dieting is cyclical. Bodybuilders call this seasonal nutrition and training, since it is designed to allowed the bodybuilder to take it easy, relatively speaking, at regular intervals. The latter are called maintenance or growth phases. This isn't to say that bodybuilders fall out of shape, then get back in, then fall out, and so on. They simply go from good shape to fantastic shape and back to good shape. In this way, they can peak during a competition, but never fall out of shape between competitions.
     

   By Dieting

   • Several months before competition time, bodybuilders typically go on a special, lose-lots-of-fat diet. They totally eliminate junk food, avoid pizza and burgers, soda, desserts and fried foods. They eat salad without croutons, without cheese, and without high-calorie dressings. Bodybuilders monitor their carbohydrate intake, too, careful not to eat too much. A typical set of meals for a bodybuilder might include egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast, tuna salad for a mid-morning snack, vegetables, rice, and a lean steak for lunch, some kind of whey protein drink in the mid-afternoon, a sizable salad and perhaps a chicken breast for dinner, and more vegetables or some cottage cheese just before bed.
     

   By Exercising

   • In the off-season, bodybuilders maintain a great physique and desirable body fat level by weightlifting three to five times per week. In addition to the weightlifting, bodybuilders generally perform between four and five cardio workouts each week, at least 30 minutes each. This can come in the form of brisk walking, running, biking or any other cardio workout. Doing the cardio workout around 4 hours before weightlifting sessions keeps energy up. Running right before weightlifting can leave you devoid of energy.