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Competition Nutrition

Every competitor's diet is different. Some girls decide to do a competition that is two months out and have to seriously tighten up their diet, sometimes leaving out whole food groups in order to cut carbs which in turn, quickly tightens up the body.

This isn't the healthiest way to do a competition because once you go for weeks on end without carbs, do endless cardio, and increase your weight workouts, your body gets tired, your muscles get will look depleted, and you get a stringy look on stage. This doesn't include after the competition when you start eating normally again and your body hangs on to every ounce of food you eat and blows up very quickly with fat.

I like to train girls starting at about 16 weeks out. This gives us plenty of time to slowly tighten up the diet and "train" the body to give up a little less food and slowly lose the excess fat in a healthier way.

Typically, I start a leaning out diet with starchy carbs like yams, brown rice, and some fruit about three times a day. The rest of the meals contain fibrous vegetables to help satiate and burn more calories through the thermal process of breaking down the vegetables.

Lean protein like chicken or turkey breast, tuna, fish, and whey protein is included at each and every meal. This is so important to build and maintain muscle, especially while dieting and doing the amount of cardio that is necessary to get as lean as you need to be on stage.

Meals are eaten anywhere from 6 to 8 times a day. Some girls have to eat every 2 hours, while some go every 4 hours. Two and a half hours between meals is optimal to keep the metabolism fire burning. Going over four hours between meals slows down the metabolism and can cause muscle breakdown, something no one, especially the competitor, wants!

Now about the amount of calories needed. Every competitor is different. Some extremists go down as low as 900 calories per day to reach their goal! I will not let a single client of mine do this. Not only is this unneccessary, it's ridiculous and dangerous!

Many girls are doing 2+ hours of cardio a day and burning that amount of calories and MORE off. Yes, the competitor's diet can be extreme, but it doesn't need to be insanely unhealthy.

I know of one competitor that her cutting diet is 2200 calories per day! While this is not the norm, this is what her body needs to maintain her muscle mass and gradually lose the fat. At the most extreme phase of her cutting diet, her calories drop to 1500. This is ideal. She doesn't feel deprived and she comes into a show with her muscle looking full, never emaciated and stringy.

Most girls start out at 1600 calories and slowly cut down to no less than 1200. I even avoid that if at all possible. After the competition health is just as important to me as training for the competition.

A typical competitor's diet at 16 weeks out can include meals like these:

Meal 1: 5 Egg Whites 1/2 cup oatmeal	Meal 2: Tuna Apple
Meal 3: Chicken Brown Rice	Meal 4: Cottage Cheese Cucumber or other fibrous vegetable
Meal 5: Orange Roughy Asparagus	Meal 6: Post-Workout Shake

You see? It's not that bad. Of course, it does tighten up a bit the closer to competition you get. Fruit is cut out, and dairy is also removed, but that is when green vegetables are added and sometimes even starchy carbs are increased.

Hunger should never play a factor in a competition diet. Sure, there will be cravings because all that junk food is absolutely eliminated, but you are nourished and healthy, while leaning down and getting to your best physique ever.