The Diet in the “Terminator’s” Era

Obsession of Fit body and tight clothes

Back in time, people did not like obese body statures. Though they never had an idea about the benefits of proteins and their use in the diet for body building. They somehow knew that meat is important and necessary for bulking their body up. So they used to have a lot of milk, meat, beef and chicken in their diet. With the benefits of proteins, fats are also included unknowingly. The time then wasn’t like today. Bodybuilders have to work hard, and they somehow got rid of the excess fat that they are taking in their diets during their regular workout regime.

It was not like today’s scenario where the life of a bodybuilder is more of a media oriented with sedentary habits and lifestyle. Sugary drinks weren’t available, so the chances of consuming unwanted and unnecessary carbohydrates were also not possible. But later in 1980’s a low calorie or the ‘diet’ drinks were made available that contained saccharin as a sweetening agent. They used these chemical based drinks to keep the body hydrated and pack a little bit of calorie producing food in their diet.

There was almost no contamination from the plastic or Teflon coatings from utensils and packaging materials. The utensils were made from iron and other metals that not only releases their ions in the food while something is being cooked. But still, their need for essential vitamins and minerals was never satisfied. Nobody knew about amino acids and leucine or sodium and chloride requirements. The diet was simple.

Low carb, non-ketogenic diet

Everything was based on a trial and error method where these bodybuilders tend to try certain combinations of diets over a longer period and made them into their daily routine. The diet contained a very less carbohydrate containing food combined with very fewer fats. The major source of carbohydrate was of rice, honey, fruits and potatoes maintaining the low glycemic index of the body. A total of approximately 100 grams of carbohydrate were taken in the diet daily. Food stuff like bread, pastries and cakes were avoided by bodybuilders.

Snacking?

Munching and snacking was totally avoided by Arnold and his fellow bodybuilders. Instead, whole meals were preferred with ample amounts of meat. The late afternoon lunch and the dinner have a predominance of meat and chicken. I always wonder, how many chickens Arnold did consume till today. Dinner was usually kept light where fresh vegetables with fibrous foods are added to the menu. And supper was not taken just before the person goes to sleep.

Occasionally Arnold took a glass of milk so that the protein can get to the body after he sleeps during the overnight fast.

We all must thank Arnold for setting up such great standards in both the diet and bodybuilding segment for the younger generations.

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