Precontest Dieting

[jscan1]

So I have been on a 40,40,20 split and have dropped about 73lbs since April. I have shifted into "precontest" mode and plan on doing first contest in May.

I have pretty much been eating a large variety of foods spread out over the day and hitting my Macros on about 2200 cals. After talking with Prep Coach thought it would be in my best interest to "simplify" the diet, in other words less food choices and eat on more of a regimented schedule so that when going gets tough it will be easier to make tweaks.

What do you do "precontest" as opposed to "regular" diet do you hit macros and eat variety or do you keep it simple?

[NATURAL-1987]

I keep it dead on all year around. What is on my piece of paper on the fridge door is what goes into my body. No "options" for food. Same food,same time,every day. Why do this even in the off-season? Because if your eating all different types of food you may not be able to see what works best and what doesn't. For example. I have usually 75grams of carbs for breakfast offseason. I will have 1 cup oatmeal and 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce for a couple months. Then I will switch to 2 scoops waxy maize for 2 months. See what works best and then know what to do pre-contest. Problem is that no matter what you do your body changes and reacts differently to foods all the time. The joys of this crazy hobby!

[sassy69]

The general difference between a regular diet & a contest diet is that you are working to optimize your fuel sources. In a maintenance diet, a variety of foods and a variety of colorful foods (e.g. colorful fruits & veggies) provide a balance diet but with some additional sugars from things like high GI fruits & veggies (hi water & higher sugar content) , but which also contain enzymes to help shuttle out by-products of daily metabolic processes. So they have a purpose, but are not the most optimal things to put in a diet where your primary goal is a specific date on which to be completely dialed in. A "competition diet" is not necessarily one intended to be used forever. It is normally a very restricted diet that doesn't include things like veggies & fruits to provide those enzymes. High protein diets can also increase stress on the liver. So to that end, ideally, your long-term approach to dieting would be to schedule a restrictive prep diet, and then cycle off to a more varied & higher cal "maintenance diet", and then back & forth as your goals dictate, but always accommodating enough time on either for the desired goal (i.e. competition, recovery, maintenance).

When your coach says to simplify your diet, he/she probably means to strip out the higher sugar veggies & fruits in favor of leafy greens such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus. Also dump all your higher GI foods, and all processed foods - i.e. if it comes in a box or is already prepared - get rid of it. You want "clean" sources where you know exactly what's in it - chicken breast, turkey, lean steak (top round, flank, filet mignon if you can afford it), lean white fish (e.g. orange roughy, talapia) eggs / egg whites, yams, greem leafy veggies, old-fashion oats (or better, steel-cut), robust grains like barley or lentils, appropriate amount of fiber, good fat sources such as extra-virgin olive oil or flax seed oil, EFAs, etc. Maybe dairy as a fat source - but most people dump all dairy more for the sugar than the fat, and sometimes a restricted diet can result in dairy intolerance - so again - you want to cut out all the things that introduce extra wasted calories and anythign that irritates your system (many people have gluten sensitivity & dairy intolerance and didn't know it).

Generally minimal reliance on protein mix & such - lean towards the real food, lots of water, no booze, cut out sugared sodas or juices.

One of the big challenges of going into a contest prep diet is the limited variety. As you've discovered, a successful diet is one that fits your lifestyle. We all often consider food a 'comfort', so if we get a taste for something or just want to enjoy a particular flavor we like, we want to be able to indulge that, even in moderation - i.e. the FREEDOM to eat a variety of things is nice to have. This is NOT part of a competition prep. Comp diets are all about fueling your body so you'll look a certain way at a certain time on show day. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. At those moments say 8 weeks out when you're just sorta sick of the same food , maybe have a social event coming up and just want to relax a little. Unless you have a scheduled carbup or have a scheduled meal that can sorta accommodate this, you're shit out of luck. Some people really struggle w/ the idea that even one small meal can F up their progress. And it can. You can actually agonize over it, which is weird, but you can if you aren't in the right frame of mind - its very hard to give up the idea that you should be able to eat what you want or in response to a mood at the moment. Competition prep is all about slow change, controlled and optimized fueling where it matters what you eat, when you eat and the quality of what you're eating. That's just something each person needs to come to terms w/ when doing competition prep. Over the years I've tried finding "free" cheat foods (you'd think somethign like a scoop of fat free, sugar-free Cool Whip wouldn't be harmful...) WRONG... you either do it or don't bother. Ain't nothing for free. You need to set aside all of those things about convenience & comfort and stick to the program where you are FUELING and not eating, enjoying eating, relaxing, acommodating a craving, eating to be social or any of that. You've decided to prepare for a show, so this is a commitment to a 24/7 prep where it matters what you eat, when you eat, how much sleep you get, the amount of stress in your day, getting in your training -- all while you make it to your regular job, meet your daily obligations, don't skimp on good quality family time, etc. And keep doing it for 4-6 months w/ no breaks until its over. (Then BTW you should have a 'dismount' program to ease out of the comp diet back to a maintenance diet - rememebr you spent 16 weeks dialing into ultra low bodyfat for a day.. you need to give a reasonable amount of time for your body to ease back out to "maintenance' w/o massive rebound.

[jscan1]

The general difference between a regular diet & a contest diet is that you are working to optimize your fuel sources. In a maintenance diet, a variety of foods and a variety of colorful foods (e.g. colorful fruits & veggies) provide a balance diet but with some additional sugars from things like high GI fruits & veggies (hi water & higher sugar content) , but which also contain enzymes to help shuttle out by-products of daily metabolic processes. So they have a purpose, but are not the most optimal things to put in a diet where your primary goal is a specific date on which to be completely dialed in. A "competition diet" is not necessarily one intended to be used forever. It is normally a very restricted diet that doesn't include things like veggies & fruits to provide those enzymes. High protein diets can also increase stress on the liver. So to that end, ideally, your long-term approach to dieting would be to schedule a restrictive prep diet, and then cycle off to a more varied & higher cal "maintenance diet", and then back & forth as your goals dictate, but always accommodating enough time on either for the desired goal (i.e. competition, recovery, maintenance).

When your coach says to simplify your diet, he/she probably means to strip out the higher sugar veggies & fruits in favor of leafy greens such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus. Also dump all your higher GI foods, and all processed foods - i.e. if it comes in a box or is already prepared - get rid of it. You want "clean" sources where you know exactly what's in it - chicken breast, turkey, lean steak (top round, flank, filet mignon if you can afford it), lean white fish (e.g. orange roughy, talapia) eggs / egg whites, yams, greem leafy veggies, old-fashion oats (or better, steel-cut), robust grains like barley or lentils, appropriate amount of fiber, good fat sources such as extra-virgin olive oil or flax seed oil, EFAs, etc. Maybe dairy as a fat source - but most people dump all dairy more for the sugar than the fat, and sometimes a restricted diet can result in dairy intolerance - so again - you want to cut out all the things that introduce extra wasted calories and anythign that irritates your system (many people have gluten sensitivity & dairy intolerance and didn't know it).

Generally minimal reliance on protein mix & such - lean towards the real food, lots of water, no booze, cut out sugared sodas or juices.

One of the big challenges of going into a contest prep diet is the limited variety. As you've discovered, a successful diet is one that fits your lifestyle. We all often consider food a 'comfort', so if we get a taste for something or just want to enjoy a particular flavor we like, we want to be able to indulge that, even in moderation - i.e. the FREEDOM to eat a variety of things is nice to have. This is NOT part of a competition prep. Comp diets are all about fueling your body so you'll look a certain way at a certain time on show day. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. At those moments say 8 weeks out when you're just sorta sick of the same food , maybe have a social event coming up and just want to relax a little. Unless you have a scheduled carbup or have a scheduled meal that can sorta accommodate this, you're shit out of luck. Some people really struggle w/ the idea that even one small meal can F up their progress. And it can. You can actually agonize over it, which is weird, but you can if you aren't in the right frame of mind - its very hard to give up the idea that you should be able to eat what you want or in response to a mood at the moment. Competition prep is all about slow change, controlled and optimized fueling where it matters what you eat, when you eat and the quality of what you're eating. That's just something each person needs to come to terms w/ when doing competition prep. Over the years I've tried finding "free" cheat foods (you'd think somethign like a scoop of fat free, sugar-free Cool Whip wouldn't be harmful...) WRONG... you either do it or don't bother. Ain't nothing for free. You need to set aside all of those things about convenience & comfort and stick to the program where you are FUELING and not eating, enjoying eating, relaxing, acommodating a craving, eating to be social or any of that. You've decided to prepare for a show, so this is a commitment to a 24/7 prep where it matters what you eat, when you eat, how much sleep you get, the amount of stress in your day, getting in your training -- all while you make it to your regular job, meet your daily obligations, don't skimp on good quality family time, etc. And keep doing it for 4-6 months w/ no breaks until its over. (Then BTW you should have a 'dismount' program to ease out of the comp diet back to a maintenance diet - rememebr you spent 16 weeks dialing into ultra low bodyfat for a day.. you need to give a reasonable amount of time for your body to ease back out to "maintenance' w/o massive rebound.

Thanks....THis pretty much goes hand in hand with the conversation. I have hired him to be more of a second set of eyes vs. actually doing my "Full on Diet" I have been losing steadily on the "for lack of better term the ongoing diet" and at still 16 weeks out am wondering if I should take the "if it ain't broke don't fix it stance" and just keep doing what I am doing until I hit a plateau, or if I should say f' it and do the clean up now. My primary goal is to make sure I come in conditioned so I think the answer is to spend the next 16 weeks on the clean diet

[JRob]

Without going to deep into it things and to give you some food for thought (no pun intended). If you say "f it and do the clean up now", what will there be to resort to later on?

I dont know specifics about you, but I would continue doing what your doing if it continues to work. Your still 16weeks out which is quite some time. You dont want to start dropping to soon and leave your body with no option later on and end up having to eat crumbs for meals ;) (my 2 sense)