Hardening up before Competition Diet

[Fit Freak]

OK...I'm looking to lose about 10lbs or so over the next couple of months before I begin my competition diet. My BW is at 180lbs which I think is a bit high for me. My goal is a solid 168-170lbs by Christmas when I plan to begin my 14-16 week competition diet.

So...here goes!

Monday, September 30

5:30am Wake up...heading to work...the GYM
6:30am 15 minutes Eliptical followed by Quads and Hmas workout; finished it off with another 15 minutes of cardio on the Eliptical
8am Meso Tech with 5g Creatine
9:30am 150g Lean Round Steak
11:30am 175g Lean Round Steak , 1 Cup Green Beans, 1 small Tomato (100g), 175ml Rice Cooked

That's it so far......I'm doing this to make sure I stay motivated!

Wish me luck.....and make sure I stay away from late night PB

 

[Fit Freak]

I forgot to mention I'm 5'6" and around 13% BF

 

[lina]

Hi FF!

Will be interested to watch your progress.....eh....Hardening Up? Well, looking good already!

Oooh, me bad! First post in your journal...

Ok, how was the PB hurdle? Yep, my fav too....I see you have everything in grams... I guess that's the Canadian/European difference here...How many grams in 1 oz?

Been to Nova Scotia few years back, Halifax! Lots of fun and very beautiful... Took hours to get there though from the ferry then the drive!

 

[Fit Freak]

Hey Lina...Being a Cdn...I use grams...there are 28 grams in 1oz.

I'll post the rest of yesterday's info soon...I'm just finishing up here at work.

I'm trying hard to stay away from the PB...3 days and going strong. I wish I never would have started eating it from the jar...I swear it's sooo addictive! Guess it's the downfall of competition diets high in protein/fats and low in carbs.

My nutritional goals in the next couple of months are to reduce my carbs...say to around 200grams or so....this will be quite a bit less than I've been eating over the last 3 months (400-450/day). I'm keeping my protein around 275grams (1.5grams/lb of BW) and fat low...say 60 grams.

I won't dramatically limit carbs and increase fat until Xmas when I begin my actual comp diet.

 

[Fit Freak]

6:30 AM Eliptical (15) / Quads/Hams / Eliptical (15)
8:00 AM Meso Tech / 5g Creatine
9:20 AM 150g Ham
11:30 AM 175g Round Steak / 175ml Rice Cooked / 100g Tomato / 250ml Green Beans
2:30 PM 150g Round Steak / 175ml Rice Cooked / 100g Tomato / 250ml Green Beans
5:30 PM 1.5 Scoops Whey / 2T Flax Meal
7:30 PM 150g Pork Loin / Small Apple
10:00 PM 8 Whites / 1 FF Cheese Slice / 1 Cup Oatmeal
Bed 1 Cup 1% Cottage Cheese
MACRO TOTALS 293P 204C 45.5F

OK...this was day 1...I know I need to change some things but I'm trying to slowly ease myself into it!

The late-night carbs and cottage cheese need to go and be substituted with a high carb, moderate fat meal.

I'll work on this tomorrow.

Energy was great today and very strong during leg workout.

 

[Fit Freak]

BTW Lina...I went to university in Halifax and worked there after graduation for a couple of years. Now I live about 1.5 hours outside the city...Halifax is a wonderful place to visit or live!

 

[Fit Freak]

Oops I meant to say high protein, moderate fat...not high carbs...guess I'm missing them already

 

[Adidas]

Hi FF

Good Luck!

Great job for getting through the first few days without PB. PB is a WEAKNESS of mine too. I could sit and eat it straight from the jar

Looking good so far ..can't wait to see pics of your progress.

 

[Fit Freak]

Hey Adidas

I'll post a couple pics in a few weeks....go easy on me though

 

[Fit Freak]

I'm going to try to gradually add some PB into the diet, but only 1 Tbsp for my last meal....around 10:30pm (1 Cup Cottage Cheese blended with 1 Tbsp PB)....I find this helps eliminate night-time hunger.

I'm just hoping I can stay away from the PB the rest of the time. If I have in anywhere else in my food journal pease...I mean please get after me

 

[Adidas]

Originally posted by Fit Freak

I'm just hoping I can stay away from the PB the rest of the time. If I have in anywhere else in my food journal pease...I mean please get after me

We will get after you. We are good for that around here

 

[Leslie]

PB is PURE evil! LOL Better off just going cold turkey with out it! Trust me

 

[Fit Freak]

I'm going to try and keep just 1 Tbsp with the cottage cheese before bed......if I end up hunting for it in the middle of the night it's going straigth in the trash...I swear!

 

[Fit Freak]

OK...here is my days food and training.......

6:20 AM 1.5 Scoops Whey Protein / 1/2 Tbsp Flax Oil
7:20 AM Back / Abs / 25 minutes Eliptical
9:00 AM 1.5 Scoops Whey Protein / 1/2 Tbsp Flax Oil / 5g Creatine & Glutamine
11:30 AM 180g Round Steak / 375ml Mixed Vegies / 250ml Green Beans
2:30 PM 275g (10oz) Round Steak / 375ml Wax Cut Beans
5:00 PM 1 Scoop Whey Protein / 100g Banana / 4 Strawberries
6:45 PM Arms / Calves
7:45 PM 1.5 Scoops Whey Protein / 5 g Creatine & Glutamine
9:00 PM 8 Egg Whites / 1 Slice FF Cheese / 175ml Plain Low Fat Yogurt / 1 Cup Mixed Berries / 1 Cup All Bran Cereal

I know...there are better carb sources than All Bran but it mixes well with the yogurt and fruit...and since it's post=workout I think it should be OK for now...remember I'm just hardening up so I don't have to shed too much this winter for the competition!

Also...I normally don't train twice with weights but I felt great so I went for it

 

[Fit Freak]

I should also add that I had 2 Cups 1% Cottage Cheese with 1Tbsp PB a little after midnight....I couldn't help it...I was starving

This could be a sign that I have decreased my calories too quickly but I'll see how tomorrow goes...I also trained twice today so that could also have something to ddo with the late-night hunger pains

 

[Fit Freak]

This morning I did a pretty intense 45 minutes on the Eliptical Trainier....feeling pretty good so far.....hoping that today I can avoid a late-night meal and situation like last night!

 

[lina]

hmmm....is it Nova Scotia or Nova Scoatia....? I never liked Strawberries until we went to NS and were driving by the countryside and they were selling fresh strawberries by the road... OMG! Talk about sweet and delicious! Haven't had strawberries like that since.... so maybe worth it just to go back for that plus the amazing mussels marinara in Halifax

Hope you do better tonight! Your fats are kinda low so that may also help to tie you over and feel full...

 

[Fit Freak]

I agree...need to increase fats and maybe decrease the carbs and protein a bit...ie yesterday I had about 325grams of protein...a bit much for me.

The strawberries here in Nova Scotia are AMAZING...there are several U-Picks within 30 minutes of my house...during the summer I usually pick like 48-60 boxes and freeze most of them so I have them all winter! They are soooo much better than the imported ones. I lived in Toronto a couple of years ago and the SBs there weren't even comparable to the ones out here.

 

[Twin Peak]

What type of comp are you training for?

 

[Fit Freak]

I'm entering the annual provincial bodybuilding championships on April 7th of 2003 (Nova Scotia). Since last year's comp I've put on a lot of size...some good...some not so good. Early this week my weight was at 180lbs but the thing is I don't want to have to lose that much weight during the 14 weeks leading up to the competition (I'll be competing as a LW at 154.5lbs).

So, my thoughts are to harden up a bit...to about 170-172lbs between now and Christmas that way I won't have to make as many drastic changes...i.e. tonnes of cardio...or dramatically lower carbs....to be ready for the show.

My experience in the past has ead me to believe that anything over a lb a week usually means muscle loss...this is not what I want.

What do ya think...should I just keep bulking or start to tighten things up like a started to this week? Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated...I'm not easily offended....

 

[Twin Peak]

Honestly, I'd have to see pictures to give better advice on that, but I am by no means an expert on competing having done so only twice before. I hope to compete again in June or so.

13% sounds pretty low, if that is accurate. I am bulking up now and am at around 15%. Don't forget you should lose around 6-8 pounds of water weight the last week, if you manipulate your water and sodium properly.

Doing the math, if you are 13% at 180 you are carrying 23 pounds of fat. If you assume that you will compete with roughly 7 or 8 pounds (4 or 5%) then you need to lose 14 or 15 pounds or so, right? And you should be cometing at around 164, not 154, so something is wrong somewhere....

 

[Fit Freak]

I was thining of doing welterweight around 160lbs but I find that my upper body gets overpowered by some of the competitiors in that class...that is why I'm considering LW....my legs are pretty big but I feel my upper body (chest and shoulders) needs work to be a competitive welterweight.

In the past it meant losing LBM to makw weight....not a good thing.

Haven't had my BF% done in a while so I could be 15%...I can see all 6 abs...not that well...sort of smooth but I can see them....that's why I was thinking 13%

I'll getting a digital camera soon...when I do I'll post a couple pics.

 

[Twin Peak]

But if you ARE 13% and you go below 164 or so it will be a lose of muscle.

 

[Fit Freak]

I know...that's what bites...I guess I should just go where I look my best and not worry about the competitors...that way I won't have to spend the next year gaining back the muscle I lost to drop a weight class...then I can focus on improving.

I know this is what I should do but it's not always that easy...my province (Nova Scotia) is pretty small and Iusually know all the competitors...guess I shouldn't worry about anyone other than myself.

 

[Twin Peak]

Unless this is a career, just go in as the best you can be.

 

[Fit Freak]

Definately not a career...advice taken...thx

 

[Fit Freak]

OK...I seem to have found a new addition already....Cottage Cheese with unsweetened cocoa...nutritionally a good addition but I have a tendency to avoid variety...this is what worries me....suggestions anyone?????

 

[Twin Peak]

Sounds gross....choc cottage cheese?

 

[Fit Freak]

OK,,,I just came across on old photo of me getting ready for a show a while back...looking especially TINY...but I've changed that...so I hope...anyway here goes...

OK this is sad but how do I post a pic???

 

[Fit Freak]

Here is today's diet and training onfo...felt pretty good about it although I need to eat a greater variety of food sources...nevertheless here it is


6:45 AM 45 minutes Eliptical
7:45 AM 1/2 Protein with 5g Glutamine / 150g Center Loin Pork
9:00 AM Tuna / Apple
11:20 AM 2 Cups Cottage Cheese / 1 Tbsp PB / 1.5 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
3:00 PM 1 Cup 1% Cottage Cheese / 1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
5:00 PM 1 Cup 1% Cottage Cheese / 1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
6:45 PM Shoulders / Traps - GREAT W/O
7:45 PM 1.5 Scoops Whey Protein / 1/2 Tbsp Flax Oil / 5g Creatine & Glutamine
8:15 PM 2 Cups 1% Cottage Cheese / 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
Bed 2 Eggs with 8 Whites