It’s that time of year again. The past 3 weeks have been a slight adjustment, as I have informally reduced my sugar, gluten, and dairy intake relative to the amount I was ingesting during the holiday season.
I’m ready to take the next step of 2017 to truly immerse myself in another year of contest preparation, strictly tracking and measuring every macronutrient that I ingest for the next three and a half months. This will be my 3rd consecutive year of competing in a Men’s Physique competition.
From my past physique preparation experience, I learned that drastic change is necessary for me when it comes to the first 2 weeks of dieting; thus, there is no “weening” myself off of certain foods—I go “cold turkey” and completely cut out the sugary pastries, chocolate, chips, and all other processed food available to me in the office.
As far as strategically boosting hormonal levels through a technique called carbohydrate-cycling, this is simply not necessary at such an early stage of dieting. However, I will incorporate a cheat meal or two per week to boost leptin levels when I am ingesting a low amount of carbohydrates daily (less than 125 grams for my body), which is usually when I am approximately 6-8 weeks from stepping on stage.
At such an early stage of my contest preparation, strict compliance to my diet is crucial. I have designed my plan so that 100% compliance for these first two weeks is sustainable. I do not need a leptin-spike as my carbohydrate-intake will already be high for my body type—there is no need to get cute with the carbohydrate-cycling this early in the game.
During the first two weeks of contest preparation, I keep things as simple as possible to build the proper habits, day-in and day-out. This stage is strictly mind over matter from a compliance standpoint. Do I really want to break my dieting habits for that instant, albeit temporary, gratification, or do I have my eyes clearly set on my vision of how I want to look and feel when I step on stage? Every day is a test of whether or not I want it bad enough, and I welcome the challenge.
Hitting the gym is the easy part. These first two weeks, from past experience, are crucial to building the winning habit of consistent meal preparation before work and on the weekends.
103 Days Out From Competition Day
Personal Statistics
- Height – 5’9”
- Weight – 181.2 lbs.
Macronutrient Breakdown for the First Phase Beginning 01.23.2017
- Protein – 235-240 grams/day
- Carbohydrates – 173 grams/day
- Fat – 83-85 grams/day
- Total Calories – Approximately 2,400 calories
The dietary staples for the first phase (between 2-3 weeks, depending on progress) consist of the following:
Food
- Steel Cut Quick Oats
- White Potatoes
- Spinach (This is a “free” food – I do not include the macronutrients from “greens” in my daily allotment)
- Jumbo Eggs
- Liquid Egg Whites
- Whey Protein Isolate Powder
- Natural Peanut Butter
Spices
- Iodized Sea Salt
- Black Ground Pepper
- Cinnamon
Condiments
- Stevia Sweetener
- Louisiana Hot Sauce
Supplements
- Coffee/Tea
- Creatine
- Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
- Glutamine
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