What are the 10 Common Nutritional Mistakes Bodybuilders Make? Have you wondered why you haven’t put on the amount of mass you hoped for with your bodybuilding diet? What about getting ripped? Have you experienced problems with your diet there? The reason for this is nutritional mistakes many bodybuilders tend to make. One major cause for this is believing some of the never-say-die myths that circulate both the gym and the web. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most common nutritional mistakes made by bodybuilders – updated 8/26/2025!
Nutritional Mistake # 1 – Believing That Bodybuilders Stick To Their Diets All Year
It’s common to think that the typical bodybuilder stays on his or her diet all year long. When it comes to competitive bodybuilders, that’s not the case. Many of them eat loosely after a competition, unless they have another one lined up right away. If you are in a fat loss phase, go ahead and have a cheat meal or even cheat day.
At my leanest, I would eat strictly 5 days a week, and eat loosely 2 days. My metabolism always reacted by burning more calories, and I’d actually lose a little bit of fat. On the other hand, if you’re bulking, sticking with a diet will be much easier. The only caveat is to stick with lean, clean foods and avoid junk food – the mistake some lifters make while on a bulking diet.
Nutritional Mistake # 2 – Impatient Dieting
There are a lot of bodybuilders that hop from one diet to another, much like they do with training routines. By doing this, they never give the first diet (or training program) a chance to work. It takes about 3 weeks for your body to adjust to nutritional changes (all changes, not just nutritional). In other words, you can expect to see noticeable changes after about 21 days. Do you plan to start a high protein, low carb, and moderate fat diet with fewer calories? It’ll take 21 days to begin to see results.
Nutritional Mistake # 3 – You’re Not Eating Enough
For many of us, the goal is to pack on more mass. If you aren’t eating enough quality food (especially protein), what exactly are you planning to pack on? That means you need to eat more than your maintenance caloric level if you want to gain more muscle. Typically, most bodybuilders begin with 500 calories above maintenance per day, and gradually work up from there as needed, and while keeping an eye on fat gain.
Nutritional Mistake # 4 – You’re Eating Too Much
Piggybacking off Mistake # 3, if you overeat, those excess calories are stored as body fat, especially if you eat too many carbs and/or fat. An important point to be made here is that of the three macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat), protein is least likely to be stored as fat. Of course, too many calories from any source spells trouble. Building muscle is the number one goal for most bodybuilders, so in their quest for size, it’s easy to see how many bodybuilders can over eat, and end up gaining both muscle and fat.
Be mindful of your waistline when you’re eating for mass. As mentioned above, it’s common to add calories in 500 calorie per day increments. So, for your first week of following a mass gaining diet, you will add 500 calories. These should mainly come from protein. Follow this approach for 2 weeks. If you haven’t gained, add 500 more calories. Follow this approach, while monitoring your waistline, until you begin to gain.
What if you see unwanted changes in your waistline? Cut back by 500 calories and add some cardio to burn off any potential fat. Then try adding just 250 calories. Your goal is to find the caloric level that lets you gain muscle with no to minimal fat gain.
Nutritional Mistake # 5 – You Do Not Eat 5-6 Small Meals Per Day
Again we’ll piggyback off the last couple mistakes. Taking the mass gain example from above, one of the best ways to consume more calories is to eat frequent small meals. If you’re eating, say, 4,000 calories a day, which is easier: to eat 2-3 big meals, or 5-6 small ones? The answer is both simple and obvious – eat several smaller meals. This can include protein shakes and bars as desired. Shakes and bars are convenient, easy to make and allow you to get in some protein and calories quickly. This approach works well if you lead a busy lifestyle.
Nutritional Mistake # 6 – Late-Night Snacking
Doesn’t junk food seem to taste better right before going to bed? Not to mention, it’s also more likely to stick with us when we eat late at night. It is believed that not eating three hours before you go to bed helps lower fat storage during the night. Stop eating for the day around 7 p.m. If you typically go to bed by 10 p.m. You’ll appreciate the results.
However, it’s a good idea to drink a casein protein shake (mixed with water) within 30 minutes of bedtime. This offsets the catabolic nature of sleeping – if you stop eating at 7, by the time you wake up, your body will be in a catabolic state. Don’t let that happen, drink a shake around bedtime.
Nutritional Mistake # 7 – Going By The Scale
If they’re following a successful fat loss program, bodybuilders on a diet might be surprised when they see how much they’re losing. Just be sure you’re losing fat and not muscle. As noted, the opposite is true when trying to gain mass. If you gain 3 pounds of muscle, that’s great. But if it’s 2.8 pounds of fat and 0.2 pounds of muscle, that’s not so great. Keep in mind: use a mirror, and a caliper, not the scale!
Nutritional Mistake # 8 – Not Setting Realistic Goals
One critical mistake a lot of bodybuilders make is beginning a fat loss program without really thinking it through. Having a well-thought out plan is key to your success.Often, bodybuilders go a little overboard and think they can get in Mr.Olympia shape in 6 weeks. Guess what? That isn’t going to happen. With that in mind, it is important to set realistic goals for yourself.
For example, to think you can get ripped and gain 20 pounds of muscle all in a short time is completely unrealistic. On the other hand, to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week over maybe 16 weeks while maintaining most if not all of your mass makes a lot more sense. Plan it out, then live it.
The same is true of building mass. You aren’t going to pack on 30 pounds of muscle in a few weeks, even using aggressive “supplements”. Think long term, lay a solid nutritional and training foundation, and you will get there.
Nutritional Mistake # 9 – Not Eating Enough Protein
Perhaps the biggest mistake bodybuilders make is to buy into the handful of “experts” who claim you don’t need extra protein. So you eat less, and since you have to fill some or all of those calories with something, you load up on carbs.
Here’s the problem. Unlike protein which is not stored in the body, once you meet your body’s needs for carbohydrates (in the form of glucose and glycogen), the body turns the excess into fat. On the other hand, protein is literally used for thousands of daily functions, and must be consistently replenished. Doesn’t it make sense to limit carbs and eat a little more protein?
Nutritional Mistake # 10 – Not Understanding The Importance Of Protein
Piggy backing off Mistake # 9, the problems presented reveal a disturbing lack of understanding how important protein really is. Just from what I described in the last Mistake, its importance should be clear. Add to that the fact that protein is a major component of your body, and it should be even more clear. With that in mind, and the fact that the body doesn’t store the protein you eat, I and many authorities suggest 1 gram per pound of bodyweight daily, and that’s a minimum suggestion.
Summary
So we’ve seen the 10 Common Nutritional Mistakes Bodybuilders Make, updated for 2025. Don’t be one of the lifters that falls into this category. Take my tips and put them to good use. Hit the gym and relentlessly chase your goals, and don’t forget to stop by illpumpyouup.com for your supplement needs!