Getting there...

With under two weeks to go I am starting to make sure everything is in order. For my water/sodium/carbs, when should I start manipulating these? I am currently at:

-181 lbs.
-1.5 gallons water
-Over 4,000 mg salt (salting all meals)

In your podcast you mention eating Detour bars, should I pick some up? Sugar-free or regular? Can't wait... they are delicious!!! Anything else I should make sure I have packed besides:

Posing trunks, bronzer, towels, 2x CDs of music

2 Weeks Out

Weight: 182 lbs.

So tomorrow marks 2 weeks out, should I stick with my split and same exercises?

For some reason my weight doesn't seem to have changed in the past week, not sure why!

3/29
Sat - Shoulders + Biceps +HIC(med)
Sun - Quads + Calves +LIC(high)
Mon - HIC (low)
Tue - Chest + Triceps +LIC(med)
Wed - HIC (low)
Thu - Back + Hams +LIC(high)
Fri - Shoulders + Biceps +LIC(med)

4/5
Sat - Quads + Calves +LIC(high)
Sun - Off
Mon - ???
Tue - ???
Wed - ???
Thu - ???
Fri - ???

4/12
Sat - Game Day

Diet Tweeks

So at 3 weeks out I am making some small changes to my diet.

Carbs:
90 Low Days: 45 morning, 35 pre-cardio, 10g post-cardio (maltodextrin)
120 Medium: 45 morning, 50 pre-wo, 25 post-wo (10g malto)
190 High: 60 morning, 60 pre-wo, 40 post-wo (10g malto), 30 2nd meal

3 weeks out

Weight: 182 lbs.

23 Days Out

So Saturday marks 3 weeks out, I will post pics then. Should I be making any adjustments in my diet then? Currently I am eating:

macros
180g protein
40-50g fats
carbs: 110g low, 160 med, 190 high

-light to medium salting, most foods

1.5 gallons of water/day

Posing suit

Suit came in, here are some shots. It's a medium, size smaller than i'm used to - but I have lost 18 lbs! Not sure how it should look but if it's not good I can return it.

Fiber/Veggies

So I don't think I have been getting enough fiber in my diet. I was thinking of adding some Benefiber to my cottage cheese at night (and I hear it slows digestion so that would be good).

Also, I plan on substituting a brocolli/bell-pepper mix (net 15g carbs) for 15g of my morning-carbs by throwing it into my egg-whites.

Oh and on another note I got my posing trunks yesterday. Not sure if they fit perfect, I will post a pic. If not they are returnable so no worries.

Contest Weight

Yesterday I weighed myself in at 183 lbs. I planned on competing in the heavy lightweight (174.5-194 lbs) division. But how probable would it be to shoot for the middleweight division (-174.5).

I am salting most foods throughout the day. I am a little under 4 weeks to go, losing an average of 2 lbs/week. So it wouldn't be a stretch for me to make weight the morning of the show. I just don't know how weight fluctuates with carb/salt manipulation the day of the show - and if this is something I should shoot for.

Fats

So I have been thinking of what else I can do in order to lose as much fat as possible with the month I have left (without overdoing anything and losing muscle of course). And I realized that I am probably taking in more fats than I thought. I was reading on the forums how some people eliminate PB a couple weeks out and had good results, think I should do the same?

My daily fat intake is AT LEAST 40g, probably upwards of 60g though. Here is a breakdown:

Tbsp PB (x3) = 22.5g
2.5g Fish Oil (x2) = 5g
2-5g of fat in each meal (x6) = 12-30g

Daily: 40-58g

And/or I was thinking about throwing in some very low-intensity cardio 1-2 times a week, bad or good idea?

Time to get serious

Weight: 186 lbs.

Well it looks like my earlier feeling of tiredness was a fluke, I felt great after a meal, and had a good workout.

But I did realize something today - I am behind in terms of fat loss. I know my show is only 4 weeks away, but I want to do everything in my power to get as LEAN as possible. If I can't out muscle the other guys on stage, I want to have better conditioning. And even if I don't, I want to know I gave it my BEST effort.

I am starting my Dialene 4 tomorrow, had one today and felt great after.

Tired

Before the new more-restrictive diet I am on now I would feel really tired around this time, but its much worse now.

At the moment I am feeling really tired (not sleepy though), and feel a bit like fainting or vomiting. It is a chore to stand up. I did some intense sprints outside in the cold yesterday, maybe it has something to do with that. But I just hope I feel better and my energy picks up.

Placed an order

Ordered Dialene 4, pro-tan and DT, and a posing suit from cherry bombs.

The lady recommended, since I have bigger glutes, for a slimmer rear. The cut doesn't have much fabric (1/4" sides), hope I can pull it off!

http://www.cherrybombs.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=70.

New Diet

I will be eating the following macros for the next two weeks:

Protein: 180g
Fats: 30-50g
Carbohydrate: Low (115g), Med (160g), High (190g)

I will eat 27g protein with each meal, 7 times a day.

For carbs I am thinking of lowering the carbs post-workout since it is usually my 2nd to last meal of the day and don't want to sleep on them. Also, its a lot easier to measure. If that's not a good idea, let me know Joe!

Low:
45g breakfast,
45g pre-cardo,
25g post-cardio (10g malto + brown rice cake)

Med:
60g breakfast,
60g pre-workout,
40g post-workout (10g malto + 2x brown rice cake)

High:
60g breakfast,
60g pre-workout,
40g post-workout (10g malto +2x brown rice cake),
30g meal 7

Diet/Supplement Changes?

Okay so since I am almost 4 weeks out, I was wondering if I should make any changes to my diet, based on the pics I posted. Or if I should start taking a different thermogenic or anything to add to the Syntrax Fyre I am on now. My daily macros are:

Protein: 210g
Fats: 30-50g
Carbohydrate: Low (135g), Med (180g), High (210g)

I am still supplementing 5g creatine/day with 10g maltodextrin - should I keep that up through contest day?

And I know my fats are + - 20g, but I am just not sure how much I am consuming with meats. I know I get 5g from fish oil, and 22g from peanut butter (so atleast ~30g).

New Pics

Current weight: 187 lbs. Just under 5 weeks out.

5 Weeks out

So today marks 5 weeks out, and I started my new schedule. I will take pics and video tomorrow to post.

Weight: 187 lbs.

I will be following the same rotation, but started new exercises today. The sumo squat was a bit awkward, but everything else went smooth.

Week 5 out (3/8)
Sat - Quads + Calves + HIC (high)
Sun - Chest + Triceps (med)
Mon - HIC (low)
Tue - Back + Hams (high)
Wed - HIC (low)
Thu - Shoulders + Biceps (med)
Fri - Quads + Calves (high)

Week 4 out (3/15)
Sat - Chest + Triceps +HIC (med)
Sun - Back + Hams + LIC (high)
Mon - HIC (low)
Tue - Shoulders + Biceps +LIC (med)
Wed - HIC (low)
Thu - Quads + Calves +LIC (high)
Fri - Chest + Triceps +LIC (med)

Week 3 out (3/22)
Sat - Back + Hams + HIC (high)
Sun - Shoulders + Biceps +LIC(med)
Mon - HIC (low)
Tue - Quads + Calves +LIC (high)
Wed - HIC (low)
Thu - Chest + Triceps +LIC (med)
Fri - Back + Hams +LIC (high)

2nd Show

Weighed in this morning at 187 lbs. I will weigh in again tomorrow and saturday to make sure that is my weight (or hopefully a lb less). I really pushed myself on bike cardio yesterday - almost booted at the end of it. I think that was because I went fake-baking right before though, I'll make sure not to do that again.

I am thinking about doing a second show two or three weeks later. After I make my plane and hotel reservations for the first one, I will start looking - hopefully I can find something local.

cheat WEEKEND!

Well, I am back on track as of this morning; but friday-sunday were not pretty. I didn't get in a single workout (unless you count tons of walking and standing a workout, which WAS pretty tiring) and my diet was poor.

I modeled for three days at the American Beauty Show, a huge expo for American Crew. It was a lot of fun, I made some needed money, and met a lot of cool people - one of which happens to be a natural bodybuilder that agreed to help me with poses and get me motivated in the off-season. He made me realize I really gotta work on my back!

But the schedule was really grueling and we would have to stand backstage for hours at a time with nothing to eat or drink. I didn't get much sleep either, but I am not going to beat myself up about it because there is nothing I can do now but really train hard and diet strictly. Who knows, maybe the variety of food and cardio helped.