Need help with water depletion, carb depletion loading, and my final week.

[ACEthetics]

Show day for my Men's Physique show is friday (prejudging 6pm) and saturday (finals 10am).

6'5 205lbs. Recently my diet has been like ~300g of protein, ~120-150g carbs, and 30-50g of fat or so. I'm getting like 22-2300 calories per day. Foods I'm eating currently: tilapia, chicken breasts, salmon, swai, rice (before and after a workout), occasionally a banana in the morning, asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, and I just got some green peas and green beans. Oh and then Gold Standard Whey, Noxipro preworkout, CTD Labs Multi Vitamin, Epidrol 40mg Every Day (prohormone),LiverShield, and Sulfasalazine (medication for Crohns Disease).

One of my friends who's done one show before is doing this show with me. Here's what he told me to do for the final week:

- No carbs except for green vegetables until thursday night
- Monday 1gal of water, Tuesday 3/4gal, Wendesday 1/2gal, Thursday and friday just sip on water as needed
- up fat to 60g per day
- keep protein around like 300g per day
- after sunday no more supplements (no preworkouts or whey protein or quest bars)
- do less cardio (I've been doing 20 minutes per day for the past week or two on a stationary bike at high intensity (2 minutes @ 100rpm, 1 minute as fast as possible, repeat) Machine says I'm burning like 350 calories each session
- wednesday is the last day to lift weights
- Starting a diuretic tomorrow

I've never done a show before so I need people who have to help me out here with this final week prep. I'm worried I'll go flat if the only carbs I have are carbs from broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, and spinach. Also what about Green beans and grean peas?

Mainly I need help with this last week to figure out carb and water depleting. I don't know if what my friend is saying to do is correct. It's a physique contest so I don't want to be flat from cutting out water or not doing the carb loading/depletion correctly. I look pretty decent as of now and it's a physique contest. I don't want to look good right now and then look like **** on stage. I'm getting really stressed out over this which will only make things worse. So please help!

I don't know what to do as far as water. I have been drinking a normal amount of water every day, which is probably somewhere between 1-2 gallons. I don't know if I need to load up on water and then cut it out (and if so, when?) or if I just need to start cutting it out now. Or if I shouldn't cut it at all. Also I don't know when to start carbing back up or how to carb up or anything.

edit - current pic:

[endodamonkey]

How do you look now? If you look good why try vodoo and mess it up? Layne Norton has a sticky up there about how to not **** up your peak week. I would say keep it cool, keep your water the same make sure you ARE getting salt and then before you get on stage get a good pump and eat whatever normally makes you vascular and gets you going. For one of my clients I had him eating pizza and cookies at 7am before and shoot and his veins do their dance and boom. Good to go no magic and not miserable

[ACEthetics]

How do you look now? If you look good why try vodoo and mess it up? Layne Norton has a sticky up there about how to not **** up your peak week. I would say keep it cool, keep your water the same make sure you ARE getting salt and then before you get on stage get a good pump and eat whatever normally makes you vascular and gets you going. For one of my clients I had him eating pizza and cookies at 7am before and shoot and his veins do their dance and boom. Good to go no magic and not miserable

So I should just keep doing what I'm doing, don't do any water manipulation at all, then carb up thursday night, and friday... and saturday? As I said prejudging is friday at 6pm and the finals are saturday at 10am. I don't know exactly what would make my vascular. Maybe some wine?

[endodamonkey]

You look good so I would say dont even worry about carb loading at this point. If you are feeling flat now then I would add in a tiny bit more of carbs now. Better to walk in with no vodoo knowing exactly how you are going to look then chance it and blow months of work. Also less mental stress. Where are you on sodium?

Wine will make most people vascular also sugar. If you were a few weeks out I would say you could really play with it and see but I would eat a cookie tonight, yes for real your not going to die and get fat as long as you stay away from the entire bag, around 6pm after all of your regular meals since this is the time for prejudging and see what happens. For most people it will get their veins going, for a short period of time. Plus all the other competiors will be drooling. So you would want to eat this about 10 mins before you step on stage.

[ACEthetics]

You look good so I would say dont even worry about carb loading at this point. If you are feeling flat now then I would add in a tiny bit more of carbs now. Better to walk in with no vodoo knowing exactly how you are going to look then chance it and blow months of work. Also less mental stress. Where are you on sodium?

Wine will make most people vascular also sugar. If you were a few weeks out I would say you could really play with it and see but I would eat a cookie tonight, yes for real your not going to die and get fat as long as you stay away from the entire bag, around 6pm after all of your regular meals since this is the time for prejudging and see what happens. For most people it will get their veins going, for a short period of time. Plus all the other competiors will be drooling. So you would want to eat this about 10 mins before you step on stage.

I've been around 1500-2000mg of sodium daily recently, according to MyFitnessPal. My carbs have been around 120-160g per day and this is definitely a lot lower than usual. The majority of my carbs have been from green veggies. I was having rice but I tapered off that.

[endodamonkey]

I've been around 1500-2000mg of sodium daily recently, according to MyFitnessPal. My carbs have been around 120-160g per day and this is definitely a lot lower than usual. The majority of my carbs have been from green veggies. I was having rice but I tapered off that.

Ok keep it at that but like I said if you are feeling a bit flat add the rice back. Nothing special, besides maybe some fiber, from getting all your carbs from veggies instead of rice.....(insert someone commenting on GI here). I would just add 25 grams of carbs back in maybe tonight at dinner then try the cookie and report back tomorrow with results.

If you really want to follow what your friend does thats cool but what people do is not always optimal. There is no need to stress about not doing what everyone else is doing.

[simpleguy4]

Getting lean and genetics make you vascular.....

[SkinnyPhysique]

So I should just keep doing what I'm doing, don't do any water manipulation at all, then carb up thursday night, and friday... and saturday? As I said prejudging is friday at 6pm and the finals are saturday at 10am. I don't know exactly what would make my vascular. Maybe some wine?

Vascularity isn't a big deal for Men's Physique brother! They actually mark you down if you are extremely veiny, its just not the right look.
Most people worry about trying to do these little tricks to make themselves look show ready but the main problem is that they aren't in show ready condition for their comp, in this case there really isn't much they can do...

BUT

This is not the case for you!

You're right when you say you look decent right now, I wouldn't be making so many major changes so quickly.

Make minor changes, nothing to crazy. Don't manipulate your salt as it is too easy to mess it up. Your water manipulation looks good but I wouldn't take I diuretic, cutting your water Thursday/Friday should be good enough. Taking the diuretic will increase the chance of you looking very flat and not being able to get a pump.

Some other things I would recommend is I wouldn't pump up your traps as they already look quite big and that can sometimes get marked down.
Also when you go on stage for the first time you're going to be extremely nervous and probably tense up. Try and relax and make sure to smile and enjoy it, you've been prepping for months for this show and you're going to be on that stage for 2-3mins.

Let us know how you do!

[endodamonkey]

You're right when you say you look decent right now, I wouldn't be making so many major changes so quickly.

Make minor changes, nothing to crazy. Don't manipulate your salt as it is too easy to mess it up. Your water manipulation looks good but I wouldn't take I diuretic, cutting your water Thursday/Friday should be good enough. Taking the diuretic will increase the chance of you looking very flat and not being able to get a pump.

Let us know how you do!

I agree on the salt comment but I would even say dont mess with the water as that too is easy to mess up. Once you start restricting water your body will actually want to hold on to it. The body is very fast to adapt to water and it's just not going to do that much for you except pull the water out of the muscle, where you want it, so that it can use it where needed.

And I do agree that your conditioning is spot on you should do quiet well.

[ACEthetics]

Thanks guys. I'm not messing with sodium at all. I've been drinking like 1 gal or a little more per day. Prejudging is 6pm friday and the finals are 10am saturday. I need to start carb loading some time tomorrow (either morning, afternoon, or night). Not really sure how to carb load. I've kept carbs lower than usual for 2-3 weeks now and this week they've been really low (30g or so per day of carbs that are not from green veggies, today I've had 0 carbs (okay maybe like 10 or from an avocado and some almonds) that were not from green veggies, but including carbs from green veggies (fibrous carbs) I've had 46g (from green veggies).

So when exactly tomorrow should I start carb loading, how exactly do I carb load, and how many carbs do I have? Also I'm assuming I should cut out water and just sip on it once I start carb loading, correct?

[endodamonkey]

Thanks guys. I'm not messing with sodium at all. I've been drinking like 1 gal or a little more per day. Prejudging is 6pm friday and the finals are 10am saturday. I need to start carb loading some time tomorrow (either morning, afternoon, or night). Not really sure how to carb load. I've kept carbs lower than usual for 2-3 weeks now and this week they've been really low (30g or so per day of carbs that are not from green veggies, today I've had 0 carbs (okay maybe like 10 or from an avocado and some almonds) that were not from green veggies, but including carbs from green veggies (fibrous carbs) I've had 46g (from green veggies).

So when exactly tomorrow should I start carb loading, how exactly do I carb load, and how many carbs do I have? Also I'm assuming I should cut out water and just sip on it once I start carb loading, correct?

Too easy to **** up on the loading.... Thats why I recommened not to do it espically if you dont have a clue where to start and what your body is going to do. Also you are still all about cutting water... dont know why. Once again something too easy to mess up and you dont have the first clue where to start.

Sorry I dont have a better answer. Good Luck.

[ACEthetics]

Too easy to **** up on the loading.... Thats why I recommened not to do it espically if you dont have a clue where to start and what your body is going to do. Also you are still all about cutting water... dont know why. Once again something too easy to mess up and you dont have the first clue where to start.

Sorry I dont have a better answer. Good Luck.

Well I'm carb depleted right now so I need carbs. I've read that you're supposed to cut out water once you start carbing up so that your muscles suck up the carbs and not the water

[endodamonkey]

Well I'm carb depleted right now so I need carbs. I've read that you're supposed to cut out water once you start carbing up so that your muscles suck up the carbs and not the water

There are some good peak week articles on here if you use the search, although all will vary you can choose the one to your liking. They will all talk about carbing up and water. I'm a fan of Layne Norton but thats just me.

You asked if you should follow what your friend was doing, you got several opnions, you choose to do what you wanted anyway.... Why can't your friend help you with this now? You followed him down this road now you have to see it though. I'm not trying to be a bitch and told you do what you want, and you did, great, its not a right or wrong choice. Now that you made your choice you need to fully research it and test it out.

If you ever decide to do another show, which you have a great look for, you can either choose to do the same bro science you are now or keep it simple and dial in and walk on stage without preshow tricks.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[SkinnyPhysique]

Well I'm carb depleted right now so I need carbs. I've read that you're supposed to cut out water once you start carbing up so that your muscles suck up the carbs and not the water

The best way I have had success loading is lowering the my fats/proteins and increasing my carbs so that I am consuming around 500calories more then my daily maintenance.
I usually drop the protein down to around 1g per pound bodyweight, drop the fat down around 5 grams and then fill the rest in with carbs.

Should be anywhere from 350-450 carbs depending on your weight and maintenance.

[simpleguy4]

Well I'm carb depleted right now so I need carbs. I've read that you're supposed to cut out water once you start carbing up so that your muscles suck up the carbs and not the water

Carbs need water to fill out the muscle.....2.7g+/- water is stored with each gram of carbs.

[endomonkey]

How did it go?