5 Weeks out from first show - Rate my Diet Plan

[GirlyMan Member Find all posts View Profile Close GirlyMan]

Title says it all. I'm 5 weeks out from my first bodybuilding show. It's an all natural show and I?m not on any gear and have never used gear. Pictures from a photoshoot I did are posted (shoot was last week). My concern is that I?m creating too much of a calorie deficiency and that I?m going to start losing muscle. I started my contest diet 8 weeks out and weighed in at 201 pounds. (So lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks). The last week (week 6) I only dropped 3 pounds.

My Stats
Age: 28
Height: 5'11
Weight: 182 pounds
BF%: 7-8%

Breakfast:
1/2 cup of oatmeal, 8 egg whites
Meal #2:
8 oz Tilapia, 3 oz Yam (Sweet Potato)
Meal #3:
8 oz Tilapia, 2 cups broccoli, 1 tablespoon MCT Oil
Meal #4:
8 oz Tilapia, 2 cups Broccoli, 1 tablespoon MCT Oil
Meal #5:
8 oz tilapia, large bowl of romaine lettuce, no dressing

Macros are roughly:
220g Protein, 47g Carbs, 40g Fats (30g from the oil)

Total about 1400 Calories.

I'm also drinking a minimum of 2 gallons of water with 4 scoops of Xtend BCAAs per gallon.

I weight train 4 days a week. My workouts are heavy, the same as I would do during bulking. 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, and 4 of core groups. Abs are worked 3 days a week

I am doing 2 cardio sessions a day of 30 mins each (one medium intensity, one HIIT style), 6 days a week.

[Liquid Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Liquid]

Lookin good, bro. Naturals definitely need to be on point more with diet to not lose muscle mass or come in flat. But it takes more than your first show to get that down. Just trial and error. Do the best you can.

Good luck bro!

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

awesome bro.. I have been trying to bulk so much that

Macros are roughly:
220g Protein, 47g Carbs, 40g Fats (30g from the oil)

I would be starving.. What did your bulking macro's look like?

[little one Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close little one]

Diet looks good, let's see your legs though, that's what'll make or break ya.

[GirlyMan Member Find all posts View Profile Close GirlyMan]

Bulking would be roughly 300, 250, 60

[cumkin Member Find all posts View Profile Close cumkin]

Errrrr ok its probably me but don't the total calories seem a little low?
Isn't there a chance of hitting into the deficit blackhole?

[GirlyMan Member Find all posts View Profile Close GirlyMan]

Errrrr ok its probably me but don't the total calories seem a little low?
Isn't there a chance of hitting into the deficit blackhole?

That's what my concern is. This is my first attempt at getting below 5% BF, so i'm unsure of what it will take to get my body there. I do feel that the calories are low, but the Macros are spot on (IMO).

Anyone who has done contest prep have some suggestions?

[Guest Close Guest]

good luck man.. first show thats exciting

[DMB Member Find all posts View Profile Close DMB]

Bulking would be roughly 300, 250, 60

hmm.. I got ya.. looking good bro..

[F.I.S.T. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close F.I.S.T.]

I found a good article on contest prep brother.This is for the last week prior to competition.It has worked well for me in the past..Hope it helps.....




The process creates a temporary illusion. It's a "quick fix" that allows a bodybuilder to appear a lot harder by virtue of fuller-looking muscles combined with less water retention.

Whether you're a bodybuilder who wants a quick fix to sharpen your physique for a contest or just for a trip to the beach, these are the steps to deplete and then supercharge your body with carb loading. You may be shocked by how much better and bigger you'll look in just one week.

Step No.1
Preprogram:
Increase sodium intake
- In the week prior to starting your carb-cutting program, boost your intake of sodium - plain table salt. The simplest way to do this is to sprinkle salt on all of your meals. Elevating sodium increases water retention in the body and decrease the water - retention hormone aldosterone. Remain with the higher than usual sodium intake until one day before carbing up during the program (In step 7). When you suddenly reduce your sodium intake at that time, and while aldosterone levels readjust, your body will excrete even more water - most of it directly from beneath the skin. This will lead to greater definition.

Step No. 2
Preprogram: Increase water intake:
When you increase sodium. It's important to take in roughly 50% more water than usual. That is, every time you would normally have a cup of water, make it a cup and a half, so that by the end of the day, you've boosted your fluid intake by 50%. Greater water intake sets up the body for greater definition at the end of the process. Maintain this intake until you reach step 10.




Step No. 3
Day 1-2: drop carbs 50%
Here's when the carb cutting program really begins. Drop your carb consumption by 50%. This first drop will help prevent the shock of taking your carb count too low too quickly. If you were previously eating approximately 1500 calories from carbs per day ( about normal for a 200 pounds bodybuilder who consumes 3000 calories a day for bodyweight maintenance), then cut your total carb intake to 200 grams per day, focusing mostly on complex carbs, early in the day. Still, for these two days, maintain your pre- and post-workout nutrition simple carbs at approximately 50 grams, divided between those two meals.

Step No. 4
Days 1-5; mildly increase protein
Some people go wrong at this step. When carbs drop, you must increase protein consumption to prevent muscle breakdown. However, if you increase your protein intake too much, a lot of that extra protein is burned as fuel, sparing the body from emptying its glycogen stores. Therefore, to experience the muscle-saving effect of extra protein without inhibiting the depletion of glycogen stores, elevate your protein intake only by about 50 grams daily on each lower carb day. A 200 pound bodybuilder who normally eats a gram of protein per pounds of bodyweight should consume about 250 grams of protein during this phase.

Step No. 5
Days 1-5: train with high reps
When depleting carbs for five days, you should train with higher reps 12 to 20 per set and performs 50% more steps than normal. For example, if you perform 10 sets for biceps go to 15 sets (50% more volume work) and aim for 12 - 20 reps per set. Of course you have to decrease the weight in order to hit that volume. However, the goal here is to lower carb reserves, and volume work is tremendously effective in doing so. It all goes back to super-compensation. The more carbs you can deplete, the greater amount you can store during the carb up process, leading to bigger and tighter- looking muscles.

Step No. 6
Days 3-5: further deplete carbs
On these days, drop your carbohydrate intake to 100-150 per day, emphasizing complex carbs sources, such as yams, oatmeal and brown rice. Take three in early in the day and target about .7 g of carbs per pound of bodyweight (a 200 pound bodybuilder should take in about 140 grams of carbs daily). When carbs drop, reserves of glycogen begin to decline. As glycogen decreases, the body begins to pump up its production of glycogen storing enzymes. When you later pack in greater quantities of carbs, those carb storing enzymes will help pack away these additional carbs as new glycogen, yielding fuller looking muscles.

Step No.7 Days 5-7: reduce Sodium
The day before adding carbs back, drop the additional salt you've been putting on your food. When sodium levels decline, you'll experience changes in aldosterone that favor water excretion and a tighter look. You needn't zero out your sodium intake. Cutting all the extra sodium should be enough of drop.

Step No.8
Days 6-7: carb up
Now the fun begins, after five days of depleting carbs, along with performing volume work, your muscle will be tremendously low in fuel, screaming to be replenished. When you switch to a high carb intake, much of what you consume will be directly stored in your muscles. I suggest eating 3 grams of carbs per pounds of bodyweight daily, minimum, and up to 5 grams per pounds for those with a faster metabolism or those who weigh more than 220 pounds. Avoid using fruits and sucrose (table sugar) or high fructose corn syrup. Starchy complex carb sources are ideal, and good choices include potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, pasta, white rice and brown rice.

Step No. 9
Days 6-7: Reduce protein consumption
When you're carbing up, you can drop the added protein of step 4. This follows the simple edict that carbs and protein work like a sea-saw. When carbs drop, you have to eat more protein; when carbs dramatically increase, you don't need the added protein. Take in just a gram of protein per pounds of bodyweight on each of these days.

Step No. 10
Days: 6-7: Reduce water intake
In step 2, you increased water intake. Now, reduce it to 50% what you would normally have on any given day prior to step 2. If, for example, you would usually drink a gallon of water, reduce that to half a gallon. Since carbohydrates require water to make new muscle glycogen, many people assume that they have to drink like a thirsty camel to make glycogen. Not so, because in the face of restricted water and increased carbs, muscles make up for the water shortfall by dragging some from under the skin into the muscles. The results is less subcutaneous water retention and harder looking physique.

Step No. 11:
Days 6-7: take it easy and don't train
As a rule of thumb, when carbing up, it's best not to train, as that siphons off some of the incoming carbohydrates, preventing an optimal carb - up and fuller muscles. This might be why many bodybuilders appear fuller a few days after a competition. The days off allow for optimal compensation of carbohydrates. In fact, avoid energy expenditure as much as possible to allow your muscles to fill up.

Step No. 12
Day 7: pump up and take pictures
Pump up your muscles a bit right before you step onstage, do a photo shoot or strip off your shirt to impress people. Use light weights (or isometric movements) and go through a full range of motion, feeling the stretch, contraction and pump. Keep reps low - you don't want to burn up carbs.
On this day, you maybe in the best condition of your life. Have some one take pictures of you to capture the moment and to use as a record of comparison for the next time you carb deplete and carb load. Photographically documenting your condition and muscle mass is a great way to determine that you are continuing to progress as a bodybuilder.

[GirlyMan Member Find all posts View Profile Close GirlyMan]

@F.I.S.T - Awesome post, thanks!

Update:
I've posted a leg picture. Lighting is horrible, i'm still working legs so they are somewhat full, and i'm not tan enough yet, but hopefully everyone can get an idea. I have good genetics with my legs, so overall size i'm not worried about. Definition is my concern (as always).

Per the articles i've been reading here and the advice from some members and my trainer/coach, i've increased my Fat to 56g a day and changed the source from MCT Oil to Olive Oil. so 4 tablespoons a day. Also, since i've been running low carbs (<50g) for over 13 weeks now, i'm going to do a moderate carb load for the next 3 days starting today. I'm going to increase to carbs to about 100g (9oz of Yam, split between Meal #2 and Meal #3). There are two outcomes I'm hoping for: 1) I shock my body and reactivate my fat burning ultra metabolism which may have gotten used to the diet and stopped. 2) The carb load fills my muscles and i'm basically doing a "test run" to see how my body reacts. As F.I.S.T's article above explains, Carbing up days before the show is what will make me look full and hard. Well since this is my first show, I don' tknow how many carbs to "Carb up" on. Too much and I might bloat, too less and I wont fill up. So this will be a test run to see how my body does.

I'll keep everyone posted on how the carb load went and i'll get some pictures.

[F.I.S.T. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close F.I.S.T.]

[QUOTE=GirlyMan;24133]@F.I.S.T - Awesome post, thanks!

Update:
I've posted a leg picture. Lighting is horrible, i'm still working legs so they are somewhat full, and i'm not tan enough yet, but hopefully everyone can get an idea. I have good genetics with my legs, so overall size i'm not worried about. Definition is my concern (as always).

Per the articles i've been reading here and the advice from some members and my trainer/coach, i've increased my Fat to 56g a day and changed the source from MCT Oil to Olive Oil. so 4 tablespoons a day. Also, since i've been running low carbs (<50g) for over 13 weeks now, i'm going to do a moderate carb load for the next 3 days starting today. I'm going to increase to carbs to about 100g (9oz of Yam, split between Meal #2 and Meal #3). There are two outcomes I'm hoping for: 1) I shock my body and reactivate my fat burning ultra metabolism which may have gotten used to the diet and stopped. 2) The carb load fills my muscles and i'm basically doing a "test run" to see how my body reacts. As F.I.S.T's article above explains, Carbing up days before the show is what will make me look full and hard. Well since this is my first show, I don' tknow how many carbs to "Carb up" on. Too much and I might bloat, too less and I wont fill up. So this will be a test run to see how my body does.

I'll keep everyone posted on how the carb load went and i'll get some pictures.




When carbing up,its best to go with 3-5g of carbs per lb of body wt depending on how fast you metabolism is.This is basically a trial and error stage for you brother.Everyone is different,so you can adjust your intake based on your results.

[GirlyMan Member Find all posts View Profile Close GirlyMan]

Day 1 of carb loading down. I'm noticeably more vascular and energy levels are high. Also was able to down 2.5 gallons of water and was still thirsty. I normally consume 1.5-2.

Training at 4pm today and will have all carb meals in me before then. I'm excited to see the effects it will have on my workout and pump.

28 days out - weight = 180 pounds. Lowest yet.