Veteran bodybuilder and 3X Mr. Olympia winner Frank Zane has achieved some of the greatest feats in bodybuilding, courtesy of his insane workout routine and good diet plan. One of the pioneers of shifting focus on shape and symmetry, Zane has always advocated a healthy lifestyle to build muscles. With a vast experience that spans more than five decades, Frank Zane knows a thing or two about the appropriate food intake required for a bodybuilder. Now an 80-year-old man, Zane is sharing some of his deeper insights about the number of carbohydrates required to live a healthy and agile life.

On his website, Frank Zane wrote a blog explaining the number of carbs required to lead a healthy lifestyle. The blog covers every detail and has sufficient information to help anybody in need.

Frank Zane highlights the importance of consuming enough carbohydrates

“How much carbs?” writes Frank Zane on his blog frankzane.com. This seemingly normal question is often the biggest query that people ask, who seek to live a good lifestyle. Zane starts his blog by writing, “The amount of carbohydrates you eat daily has everything to do with how you look and how you feel. Want to lose body fat? Eat less carbs. What to feel better? Eat more carbs. What to do?” He was addressing the most common question himself to further intrigue his readers.

Zane defines a balanced diet as composed of an equal amount of calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fats. However, the intake varies proportionally with the amount of exercise one does on a regular basis. As per his balanced diet definition, a man with 170 pounds bodyweight would require 170 grams of protein, 170 grams of carbohydrates, and 75 grams of fat.

He further wrote in his blog, “It’s important to eat enough carbs to make yourself feel good with enough energy for training and thinking straight. Strenuous carb-cutting should only be done only when it’s necessary to shed body fat”. In an interesting cycle, he shared how there should always be a steady intake of carbs on a daily basis. Otherwise, the body converts some of its protein supply into carbs to be used as energy.

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Therefore, healthy consumption of carbohydrates is of utmost importance, contrary to what some fitness freaks might believe. It is what boosts protein uptake.

The importance of carbohydrates in pre and post-workout, as per Zane

Zane continued, “Not eating enough carbs means you are not getting enough dietary fiber, and this can lead to constipation when combined with a high protein (especially meat) diet”. He also mentioned how carbohydrate intake becomes of utmost importance just before any workout session. Post-workout, it is again imperative to consume an equal quantity of carbs. However, one must not rush into it. Instead, relax, let the stomach settle, and then proceed for a meal.

All in all, Zane believes that protein, carbs, and fats are all equally important for growth, energy, and repair. Eliminating one or decreasing its quantity of consumption will only make the body compensate for it with the others. Therefore, to maintain a well-balanced and healthy physique, a steady intake of all three is required.

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Zane, who used to consume up to 30 amino acid tablets in his prime, has come a long way in learning and sharing the true benefits of a healthy lifestyle.