Bodybuilding is a long-term sport that demands years of training to get the desired results, albeit with no guarantee. Elites have always talked about how it is crucial to be consistent and get the basics right. That’s why when Jay Cutler recalled his training days during his prime, he remembered his first significant lesson in bodybuilding prep.
Some of the founding pillars of the sport include setting an appropriate training plan and curating a well-thought-out diet. The latter was what Cutler focused on in his recent YouTube podcast episode, where he revealed his journey with his ideal diet.
According to the four-time Mr. Olympia, people often tended to overlook diets over the kind of exercises they wanted to perform and the supplements they wanted to consume. Fellow athlete and bodybuilding elite Chris Aceto had helped chart a meal plan for him during his prime, which he was grateful for. However, not everyone had that kind of access to resources, and Cutler wanted to make sure that fellow fitness enthusiasts had strong foundations.
Back then, at Gold’s Gym, Cutler remembered asking people about their daily meals and what they consumed to get gains. Shockingly, all Cutler heard was high-fat and high-carb foods like pasta and peanut butter that also offered some amount of protein.
“I think that was the hardest thing because you asked people in the gym ‘what do you eat?’, and everyone would eat like…pasta and peanut butter… you’re just gonna get fat…if you’re not training hard enough for your metabolism.”
Maintaining a low-fat diet worked for Cutler since he could still have some amounts of it while amping up his protein consumption. However, he set the ground rule for beginners who were just starting their fitness journey, saying,
“Try to get 5-6 meals in a day, get enough protein, and BE CONSISTENT!”
Cutler was known for his extreme diets during his prime, from an outrageous number of eggs and egg whites to avoiding all junk food prevalent at the time. But what did his diet primarily contain that ultimately made him one of the iconic bodybuilders of all time?
Jay Cutler promotes a ‘rigid diet’ for the best gains
A bodybuilder needs to get accustomed to a diet that aids muscle growth and sheds excess fat. For this purpose, Cutler recommended resorting to a rigid diet that contained several low-fat sources.
He firmly believed that of the 5-6 meals throughout the day, one needed to be especially consistent about the first meal of the day, the pre-workout meal, and the post-workout meal. He recommended opting for fish, egg whites, turkey breast, lean chicken, and other rich sources of protein, instead of high-carb items.
