12 weeks out, please help

[terp200]

Hey guys,

I've been following a contest prep diet, very clean, for the last month, though I am concerned I am basing it off a person that is not my size. I am now 12 weeks out, 186 lbs, pretty lean but not extremely lean (see picture, I can add more if needed). Obviously I know very little about what I am doing, but from what I have read a re-feed, low carbs for 5 days and high carb for 1 day, looks like a good option for at least the six weeks. Please let me know what you think about the following diet.

Low Carb Days-

Meal 1
4 egg whites
2 eggs
8 oz V8 vegetable juice
(32 g protein, 14 g fat, 12 g carbs)


Meal 2- post workout
2 scoops whey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp peanut butter
(50 g protein, 22 g fat, 9.5 g carbs)

Meal 3
4.5 oz chicken breast
.75 oz almonds
1 cup green beans
(45 g protein, 14 g fat, 8 g carbs)

Meal 4
4 oz lean ground beef
.75 oz almonds
1 cup green beans
(34 g protein, 22 g fat, 6 g carbs)

Meal 5
4 oz top round steak
.75 oz almonds
8 oz V8 vegetable juice
(46 g protein, 18 g fat, 13 g carbs)

Meal 6
1.5 scoops casein protein
(36 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 4.5 g carbs)

Day Total:
243 g protein, 92 g fat, 53 g carbs - total calories 2104

High Carb Day

Meal 1
4 egg whites
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 banana
(24.5 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 67 g carbs)

Meal 2 (post workout)
2 scoops whey
1 banana
(49 g protein, 2 g fat, 33 g carbs)

Meal 3
4 oz chicken breast
1 cup brown rice
8 oz V8 vegetable juice
(43 g protein, 2 g fat, 56 g carbs)

Meal 4
4 oz top round steak
.75 cup brown rice
1 cup green beans
(44 g protein, 10 g fat, 38 g carbs)

Meal 5
4 oz lean ground beef
.75 oz almonds
1 cup green beans
(33 g protein, 22 g fat, 9 g carbs)

Meal 6
1.5 scoop casein protein
(36 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 4.5 g carbs)

Total for the Day
230 g protein, 42 g fat, 207 g carbs- Total calories of 2168.

PLEASE give me some feedback guys and let me know if you think I am over or under eating, I really wanna do everything right for this contest. I am doing this prep during the first half of my last semester of college so I would hate to give up the drinking for nothing because of a poor diet plan. If it helps, I am doing 2 a day workout splits, usually cardio once a day in the evening, once every 5 days no lifting double cardio.

THANKS SO MUCH!

[bwelch1985]

lol, it is tough to give up the drinking while in college, but if you get shredded and do well in your show it will be MORE than worth it.

I don't know much about low carb diets like this one but I'm sure it's the same general idea as any other pre-contest diet....lose fat slowly, spare muscle mass...

how much weight are you losing per week w/ this diet? you should aim for about 1-3lbs per week...obviously the leaner you get, the lower this will be...but the key is to keep making progress week in and week out. if you don't lose any weight one week, then you should drop a few hundred calories and see how you do the next...

do you feel good w/ such low carbs? i guess your body is in ketosis so you probably don't feel like absolute sh*t, but i bet you a million doll hairs you'd feel better by replacing about 50 grams of fats (450kcals) w/ 110 grams of carbohydrates....

edit: and based on your avi i think 12 weeks will be pushing it....you can do it...but it's gonna take a huge effort to get SHREDDED in that amount of time....my advice: stick to your guns, drop the weight slowly and steadily and compete once you're ready...there's always another show to do.

[terp200]

lol, it is tough to give up the drinking while in college, but if you get shredded and do well in your show it will be MORE than worth it.

I don't know much about low carb diets like this one but I'm sure it's the same general idea as any other pre-contest diet....lose fat slowly, spare muscle mass...

how much weight are you losing per week w/ this diet? you should aim for about 1-3lbs per week...obviously the leaner you get, the lower this will be...but the key is to keep making progress week in and week out. if you don't lose any weight one week, then you should drop a few hundred calories and see how you do the next...

do you feel good w/ such low carbs? i guess your body is in ketosis so you probably don't feel like absolute sh*t, but i bet you a million doll hairs you'd feel better by replacing about 50 grams of fats (450kcals) w/ 110 grams of carbohydrates....

edit: and based on your avi i think 12 weeks will be pushing it....you can do it...but it's gonna take a huge effort to get SHREDDED in that amount of time....my advice: stick to your guns, drop the weight slowly and steadily and compete once you're ready...there's always another show to do.

Thanks! I really appreciate the insight. I took the time and read the article Layne wrote at the top of the prep section, and it sounds like you and him are saying the same thing regarding switching some of that fat out for more carbohydrates. I think thats a much better idea, after a couple weeks of doing this already I was definitely beginning to feel the effects. In the two weeks I have been following this I would say I've lost roughly 3 lbs per week, so I am thinking of upping the calories to around 2200 with a more equal spread of maybe 950 cal from protein, 450 from fat, and the remaining 800 from carbs. Hopefully that will keep me losing weight, but at a slower, more steady rate so I can keep as much muscle as possible. I'm thinking I will follow this for about six weeks, adjusting every week obviously so I can keep dropping that 1-2 lbs per week, and see where I am at and THEN pick a contest based on that. Is this a better strategy? Thanks again for the help.

[I.B.M]

You look to be about 16% bodyfat at the moment. If you want to get shredded you are going to need more than 12 weeks regardless of your macronutrient protocol.

To directly answer your question: keep carbs and calories as high as you possibly can and aim for a pound a week. It may - it probably will - take several months for you to get lean enough, but you won't lose nearly as much muscle.

Low carb diet + 3 pounds weight loss per week = massive muscle loss.

[jquest1968]

I wouldn't mess around with carb loading. You need to find out what day you look good and mimic that diet for here on. Depleting your carbs and then loading is not the way to go if you're not cut up. I would look into your sodium/potassium levels and see if you're retaining. Increase water intake, cut starchy carbs to maybe only lunch time and the rest would be fiberous.
12 weeks out, pretty much forget about adding mass. You're looking into now cutting up so you're going to lose a bit of muscle size. If this is your first show well try not to get too discouraged if you lose some size. This is how you learn and add on more for the off season.

[terp200]

thanks man, I think you guys all are dead on. I think I'm gonna move out to a competition thats 14 weeks out instead, so I have a little more time. I set up a much more reasonable diet that should let me lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, hopefully getting me where I need to be by then. It has a lot more carbs, mostly oats and dextrose, but some fruit for after the workout. that being said, what are some thoughts on the best lifting scheme to follow. I've heard a lot of discussion between keeping it 6-10 reps all prep and switching to higher reps and supersets with a couple weeks left. What kind of set-up is everyone using in terms of breaking up the body each week? I mean, if I wanna do HIIT cardio 3x a week should I try to do like 3 days of lifting 1 day off 3 days of lifting, etc. and just suck it up and do the HIIT with on 2 lifting days most weeks?

[Flex500]

thanks man, I think you guys all are dead on. I think I'm gonna move out to a competition thats 14 weeks out instead, so I have a little more time. I set up a much more reasonable diet that should let me lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, hopefully getting me where I need to be by then. It has a lot more carbs, mostly oats and dextrose, but some fruit for after the workout. that being said, what are some thoughts on the best lifting scheme to follow. I've heard a lot of discussion between keeping it 6-10 reps all prep and switching to higher reps and supersets with a couple weeks left. What kind of set-up is everyone using in terms of breaking up the body each week? I mean, if I wanna do HIIT cardio 3x a week should I try to do like 3 days of lifting 1 day off 3 days of lifting, etc. and just suck it up and do the HIIT with on 2 lifting days most weeks?

I would do the show 12 weeks out and the show 14 weeks out. It is not that much difference and you just need to stand firm on your show and do it. I am 16 weeks out and doing a show that is in 10 weeks...so a show when I am 16 weeks out.

Getting practice onstage is worth it and it's not like you'll look like a slob and then in two weeks like a shredded freak.

YOU CAN MAKE 12 WEEKS! Just press on brother and keep working hard.

[Flex500]

thanks man, I think you guys all are dead on. I think I'm gonna move out to a competition thats 14 weeks out instead, so I have a little more time. I set up a much more reasonable diet that should let me lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, hopefully getting me where I need to be by then. It has a lot more carbs, mostly oats and dextrose, but some fruit for after the workout. that being said, what are some thoughts on the best lifting scheme to follow. I've heard a lot of discussion between keeping it 6-10 reps all prep and switching to higher reps and supersets with a couple weeks left. What kind of set-up is everyone using in terms of breaking up the body each week? I mean, if I wanna do HIIT cardio 3x a week should I try to do like 3 days of lifting 1 day off 3 days of lifting, etc. and just suck it up and do the HIIT with on 2 lifting days most weeks?

I would do a bit of both...but if you are natural I would really REALLY suggest keeping it like your offseason...heavy...protocol. A typical workout for me all year wheather precontest of offseason is something like...

back

deadlifts....heavy 4-6 reps
barbell rows....15, 12, 8, 6-10
pullups....as many as I can do for 3 sets
close lat pulldowns....12-15 reps


I don't do that every time but just an example. You don't have to follow a strict rule for your entire training. But I would recommend keeping it heavy all the way through.

[terp200]

I would do a bit of both...but if you are natural I would really REALLY suggest keeping it like your offseason...heavy...protocol. A typical workout for me all year wheather precontest of offseason is something like...

back

deadlifts....heavy 4-6 reps
barbell rows....15, 12, 8, 6-10
pullups....as many as I can do for 3 sets
close lat pulldowns....12-15 reps


I don't do that every time but just an example. You don't have to follow a strict rule for your entire training. But I would recommend keeping it heavy all the way through.

Thanks Flex. Not a bad idea at all, I reckon I'll just keep on pushing and see if I can't get myself in the right form by 12 weeks. I think my picture is a little misleading, its from about 2 months ago, and I think I have definitely gone down in the BF department since then. Thanks for the motivation!

[harrison20]

i agree with flex always keep the weights heavy brotha you 'll do fine just put your head down and bust your ass it will all be worhth it on stage