Old School Eating

[CoopDawg]

Originally Posted by Kyle Aaron

Reg Park: "My favorite food is steak, which I sometimes eat twice a day. I also like salads, orange juice and wine."

Earle Liederman once wrote in "Iron Man" about the gastronomical indulgences of bodybuilding starts, "Reg Park of England wins a good second to Mac Batchelor with his speed. Once, when dining with Reg, he gargled three large plates of vegetable soup, then gulped chucks from his extra large and thick steak without his teeth sinking into the meat once, apparently, next stuffed many side dishes of vegetables into his ever open mouth and these include an extra large pair of baked potatoes, a huge bowl of salad, three glasses of milk and the last, the piece de resistance, a big dish of ice cream with cake. And all this, mind you, in about ten minutes. Gee! I've seen hungry bloodhounds gobble down food, but Reg Park wins a can of fried grasshoppers as second place for amount, and first place for speed."

Here has lots about the old time guys' training and diets.

"Goerner is firmly convinced that a mixed diet is the best for a strong man, with emphasis laid on eating good meals with the accent on meat! He is particularly partial to pork and beef and also wurst -German sausage meat. Vegetables also, together with potatoes, but not overdoing the latter. He is very fond of nuts -particularly walnuts -and all fruits: apples especially, which he thinks every strong man should eat, as well as oranges and other citrus fruits. Cheese and eggs also figure in his diet, but he does not care for rich pastries nor does he drink milk in any quantity. As regards drinking, he drinks beer, but only moderately -- seldom touches spirits..."

Arthur Saxon"Milk is a perfect food, and a splendid drink after practising, is an egg beaten up in milk, or a glass of hot milk. As a rule, the claims of patent or concentrated foods for the would-be strong should be taken cum grano salis ... Oatmeal and milk, too, is splendid for building up the muscular system, as well as cheese, beans and peas of all kinds, which contain the necessary elements for renewing tissue. I am not a vegetarian, and therefore advise the use of beef, mutton, etc., etc. ... With regard to alcoholic liquors ... I am aware of the dangers of drinking to excess, and would strongly urge on everyone the importance of moderation in drinking. Spirits I have proved to be disadvantageous to the would-be athlete, and my favourite drink is lager beer..."

Hackenschmidtt: "My experience has taught me, that foodstuffs are of secondary importance. There are very strong people who are strict vegetarians, whilst others eat a good deal of meat. A fare which consists of three-quarters of vegetable food and one-quarter meat would appear to be the most satisfactory..."

rep + for this

[JBIGS]

Check this out...it's a website that someone suggested I check out and the Food section is full of good stuff:

Food FAQ

[.D.]

With the online research I've done, I'm understanding that there wasn't any strict diet plans for Golden Era Bodybuilders. They all differed from individual to individual.

I like to follow a Steve Reeves type diet - fruits, veg, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish & lots of water. Whereas I read that Reg Park would eat sausage, bacon, fried eggs & lots of bread for breakfast.

It sounds to me that they eat home cooked meals, with no refined sugar or white flour. They would eat foods that they grew up with that works for them.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by .D.

It sounds to me that they eat home cooked meals, with no refined sugar or white flour. They would eat foods that they grew up with that works for them.

This is about it. Each book I read on old school lifters, from Reeves to Hepburn, reveals nothing too shocking. They ate as clean as they could, relied on fruits, proteins and starches (some more than others).

Hepburn ate bananas like crazy, and drank milk intra-workout - if I remember correctly.

[Kyle Aaron]

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors is a good book about bodybuilding nutrition over the years, though it's a bloody big chunk of writing to get through. My favourite is the guy who drank a gallon of cider during his workout, doesn't mention if it was alcoholic cider or not

[ehubbard]

Hamsteak
Grits
Oatmeal made with cream and butter
Potatoes

[Trevor Ross]

Liver.