Can Bodybuilders Eat Pizza Occasionally?
Table of Contents
Introduction
In this article I will be answering the question “can bodybuilders eat pizza occasionally?”. I will examine this topic in detail and you will gain some useful insights into it.
Pizza is not the healthiest food and it is not typically seen as conducive to achieving a lean and muscular physique.
Pizza is not the healthiest food and it is not typically seen as conducive to achieving a lean and muscular physique.
Can Bodybuilders Eat Pizza Occasionally?
The answer is yes, bodybuilders can eat pizza occasionally. It is best reserved for the off season as a cheat meal. It is not easy to get in a lot of calories with completely clean food.
Pizza can be a good way of boosting calories and helping you to gain size and strength when you are not competing. When you are preparing for a competition and trying to get as lean as possible, it is not a good choice.
This is because there is too much fat and carbohydrates in pizza. To get as lean as possible it is best to increase your protein intake and cut your carb intake.
You Should Avoid Pizza When Preparing For Competition
Pizza is best avoided when you are getting ready for a bodybuilding competition. It will not help you when you are trying to get as lean as possible whilst retaining as much muscle as you can.
Pizza is delicious and very tempting, but you must exercise great self discipline in the lead up to a bodybuilding show. Everything has to be tracked and you have to ensure that you are fuelling your body with the right nutrition.
Immediately after a bodybuilding competition, it is typical for competitors to eat fast food to replenish their glycogen stores. This is where you can indulge and treat yourself to an extra large pizza!
Pizza is delicious and very tempting, but you must exercise great self discipline in the lead up to a bodybuilding show. Everything has to be tracked and you have to ensure that you are fuelling your body with the right nutrition.
Immediately after a bodybuilding competition, it is typical for competitors to eat fast food to replenish their glycogen stores. This is where you can indulge and treat yourself to an extra large pizza!
Can Include As A Cheat Meal
When you are not getting ready for any competitions, it is fine to include pizza in your diet as a cheat meal. It can actually help you to control your cravings.
If you stick to eating pizza just once a week, it will be easier to fend off other temptations and stray from your diet. It is quite common for some bodybuilders to eat healthy all week and then binge on the weekend.
This will not be good for your muscle gains and you will not make optimal progress.
Hard To Gain Strength Eating Completely Clean
Whilst bodybuilders don’t train with the same goals as powerlifters, it is still important to be striving to make progress strength wise on basic compound exercises.
There is some correlation between strength and size. If you get a lot stronger on the squat and deadlift, then you will also gain muscle all over in the process.
When it comes to gaining lots of strength, it is difficult to do so eating completely clean. Eating food like pizza once in a while can be a good way to boost calories and help your gym performance.
This is particularly true when it comes to natural drug free lifters. Pete Rubish talks about this point below. I concur with the points that he raises. As a bodybuilder, you just have to ensure that you get the balance right.
Your priority should be to be good enough but good enough consistently. Eating clean the majority of the time will serve you well and allow you to make very good progress.
There is some correlation between strength and size. If you get a lot stronger on the squat and deadlift, then you will also gain muscle all over in the process.
When it comes to gaining lots of strength, it is difficult to do so eating completely clean. Eating food like pizza once in a while can be a good way to boost calories and help your gym performance.
This is particularly true when it comes to natural drug free lifters. Pete Rubish talks about this point below. I concur with the points that he raises. As a bodybuilder, you just have to ensure that you get the balance right.
Your priority should be to be good enough but good enough consistently. Eating clean the majority of the time will serve you well and allow you to make very good progress.
Are You Natural Or Enhanced?
Following on from eating for strength, whether you are natural or enhanced makes a big difference. If you are on PEDs you can afford to include more food like pizza.
However, if you are a natural lifter you should moderate your consumption of pizza. Don’t eat pizza every day, just include it into your diet as a treat. Be sure to track your macros as well.
Whether you compete in bodybuilding or not also makes a difference. If you train with a bodybuilding approach but don’t compete in bodybuilding, you can afford to include pizza into your diet as a cheat meal.
You don’t have to be as strict with your diet as a bodybuilder that actually competes in shows regularly. For optimal results though, you should pay attention to your diet and ensure that it is a good as possible.
However, if you are a natural lifter you should moderate your consumption of pizza. Don’t eat pizza every day, just include it into your diet as a treat. Be sure to track your macros as well.
Whether you compete in bodybuilding or not also makes a difference. If you train with a bodybuilding approach but don’t compete in bodybuilding, you can afford to include pizza into your diet as a cheat meal.
You don’t have to be as strict with your diet as a bodybuilder that actually competes in shows regularly. For optimal results though, you should pay attention to your diet and ensure that it is a good as possible.
Greg Doucette Healthy Pizza Recipe
Fresh pizza is the healthiest for you. Greg Doucette has a very good high protein pizza recipe which I will share.
He uses high protein flatbreads for the pizza as well as higher protein cheese. This pizza will have 55g of protein which is very high protein for a pizza. The meat that Greg uses is ground bison meat.
Bison meat is delicious and lower in fat and calories. This recipe shows how you can incorporate a healthy pizza into your diet more often for bodybuilding purposes.
It is possible to satisfy your cravings with healthier alternatives.
He uses high protein flatbreads for the pizza as well as higher protein cheese. This pizza will have 55g of protein which is very high protein for a pizza. The meat that Greg uses is ground bison meat.
Bison meat is delicious and lower in fat and calories. This recipe shows how you can incorporate a healthy pizza into your diet more often for bodybuilding purposes.
It is possible to satisfy your cravings with healthier alternatives.
Final Thoughts
Can bodybuilders eat pizza occasionally? The answer is yes, if you make a higher protein pizza from scratch like Greg Doucette then you can eat it more often.
If you are preparing for a bodybuilding show then you should avoid unhealthier frozen pizzas. You can eat frozen pizzas as a cheat meal in the off season to add more calories and increase your strength.
Just be sure to pay attention to your overall macros and track everything. A planned cheat meal is perfectly fine once in a while as it can help you to avoid binging on unhealthy foods more often.
If you have any comments on this topic, please leave them below. As always, stay safe and enjoy your training!
>> Is Salmon Good For Cutting?
If you are preparing for a bodybuilding show then you should avoid unhealthier frozen pizzas. You can eat frozen pizzas as a cheat meal in the off season to add more calories and increase your strength.
Just be sure to pay attention to your overall macros and track everything. A planned cheat meal is perfectly fine once in a while as it can help you to avoid binging on unhealthy foods more often.
If you have any comments on this topic, please leave them below. As always, stay safe and enjoy your training!
>> Is Salmon Good For Cutting?
