One of the questions that I get asked very often concerning nutritional planning for powerlifters is, what are the main mistakes that will decrease the powerlifters performance the most. Now this is a very complex question. It's not like I can just say eat your vegetables and take your vitamins and everything will be ok. One thing that a lot of powerlifters don't realize is how complex sports nutrition is for the strength athlete.

The main thing that I try to do with my column here at Bodybuilding.com is take advanced scientific nutritional knowledge and put it into layman's terms that not only can be understood by everyone, but also in a manner that will have the most benefit for the powerlifter. I could sit here all day quoting this study or that study but not only will you find it extremely boring; you won't be able to apply it to your nutritional program. With this in mind I am going to go over the main nutritional mistakes that powerlifters should avoid in their nutritional program. This is the first part in a 4 part series to help educate you on what you should not do if you want to have optimal performance in the gym and on the platform.

Eating Too Much At One Meal

Now I can just see the look on all the faces of the guilty as they ready this. "Oh I don't eat too much at each meal. I just have to unbutton my jeans after dinner because I had a long hard day at work and I am trying to relax." Sure… and those five pieces of pizza along with the two loaves of garlic bread that you just inhaled wasn't the cause of your massive stomach bloat and abdominal distension. This is a major problem that I see with powerlifters. Now don't get me wrong, I can enjoy a good buffet at times, but the way powerlifters do this on a daily basis is actually a problem. Continually eating too much at each meal will cause a slew of problems for you.

If you suffer from indigestion or acid reflux problems look to the total food volume that you are taking in at any one time. This is a major cause of this condition and can be fixed by reducing the amount of food you consume. Another problem with eating too much at one serving is that your body has a hard time to properly digest the meal. It will cause stomach bloating and something your wife won't appreciate- excessive gas!

If this is you, and your wife and children have threatened to leave you on several occasions then take a hint and eat less at each meal. And you wondered where all the romance went. Your stomach won't be so bloated and maybe your kids and wife will start to like you again.

Another problem associated with overeating at one meal is that is will cause you to increase your body fat stores. This is a promise. If you eat too much at each of your meals you will store more body fat then someone who eats the same amount of food but divides it into several meals. So instead of intoxicating yourself into a Roman style gorging feast, eat more meals spaced out through the day. So look at the benefits, you will lose body fat, will have less bloating, will feel healthier and your dog won't run out of the house trying to bury himself from the foul stench that has been your trademark.

Don't Skip Meals

Now you must be looking at this and may be wondering why these two mistakes are together. The reason is for those individuals that do skip meals; it leads them to usually over eat at their next meal. If you don't skip meals, you are less likely to gorge yourself into an oblivion like "Mr. Stinky Pants" mentioned above. Now if you don't know the physiological effects of skipping meals then I will let you in on what it does to your body.

First off skipping meals will cause you to get low blood sugar which is also known as hypoglycemia. This will shoot your performance right out the window along with your hopes of hitting a personal record. Next it will cause your metabolism to slow down. With a lowered metabolic rate you can enjoy the wonderful life of eating less food but you will continually get fatter and fatter. Now this sounds sweet doesn't it?

To make this deal even sweeter, skipping meals will also cause your body to go in catabolic state leading to that hard earned valuable muscle tissue to be broken down and used as an energy source. So all that hard work in the gym to build up your lean tissue so that you look as strong as you are, will be slowly taken away from you. What you will be left with is a fat, flabby body void of any real muscle tissue. You can have all this even while not eating a lot of food. I think you get the point. Don't skip meals!