Losing Weight and Dieting in 2010

Early on in 2010 I decided to compete in the ABA Natural North American Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Championships and the OCB Midwest States Natural Bodybuilding and Figure Competition and knew I would have to hit the diet and training hard in order to achieve the physical conditioning it takes to compete. Before I even began the contest diet in May I was mentally in the contest prep mode as soon as the new year rolled out. I realized early on in the year that in order to make prep easier I would have to maintain my nutritional program and my weight before I began the contest diet.

Training

Whether or not I planned to do a competition I don't change my weight training program for a bodybuilding event. I train hard year around and incorporate different techniques or new exercises to make the most out of each work out. Although I did not change my weight lifting program I did alter my cardiovascular training to suit the needs of competing. In the off season I decreased the amount of cardio in order to add more muscle but once I began contest prep I had to increase cardio to become lean enough to compete.

Pre-Contest Diet

My pre contest diet was not ultra strict but I did minimize certain foods and drinks. Drinks such as juices and sodas are full of sugar and can add additional weight when it's least expected. Though I never noticed it before I realized soda caused severe bloating so unless I really had a craving for one I definitely stayed away from them. I love pasta's and bread but made the choice to minimize these food items, also. Besides bloating I realized I could not eat proper size proportions and would end up eating three plates of spaghetti and meatballs. No matter how much muscle I planned to gain that was not the route to take.

Contest Diet

My plans for this year's contest diet was based off of the diet from the show in 2009. There were two very different tactics that I planned to take and I found it to be worth it in the end. There is an old-school thought that morning cardio should be done on an empty stomach but I decided against that this year. There are multiple studies and publications that state doing cardio on an empty stomach will burn more muscle tissue than fat and I agree with them.

What I found that did not work for me during contest diet was the exclusion of low glycemic fruits and colored vegetables high in anti-oxidants. Although I did not think this was healthy to begin with I was willing to try it because so many coaches and bodybuilders believe in this method. What I learned was this creates a diet that is extremely stringent and lacking in a multitude of vitamins. Though this works for some athletes I found this was not a viable option for me and I also learned that I could achieve my peak condition with the desired level of leaness with fruits and veggies such as berries, apples, peaches, colored peppers, onions and tomatoes.

Every Day Life

During 2010, regardless of being in a contest diet, I tried my best to eat six or seven small meals a day. I also incorporated a protein and carbohydrate into each meal. Although this sounds so simple there were some moments I just didn't feel like eating foods such as sweet potato or chicken but by keeping my food content simple and clean it helped when it was time to diet down for the bodybuilding events.