The RIGHT Way to Approach Contest Prep Dieting
by John Gorman
John is the owner of Team Gorman, 1st Phorm and Strong Gym Spokesman.
Over the last few months I have noticed a trend with not only some of my Team Gorman clients, but other competitors as well either doing their own diets or working with another prep coach. I’ve bit my tongue except for my clients as I have corrected those accordingly who have been wrong and made adjustments and fixed them. But I am noticing an all too common theme with NOT doing the right things on a prep diet. This article may offend some people, they may get upset because I am saying this, but remember, this isn’t a judgemental thing, it’s TRUTH. It’s blunt, its real. It’s just like when you place lower in a class and the judges tell you “you aren’t lean enough” because it’s just TRUE. So is this article.
Look, I know people say “Bodybuilding is a lifestyle” and it IS. But I am talking about your prep for a show, that to me is not a lifestyle like dieting is for my regular clients who just want to be healthier and drop some body fat. It’s not even like the lifestyle we live in the off season, contest prep and dieting is very anal, very detailed, and yes it’s not normal. For those of you that disagree with me that’s fine, but most of the time it’s the ones who cannot be 100% strict that are the ones who show up looking like they still have 10 lbs to lose to be competitive. My goal for my clients is to 1. get them better conditioning than their prior show or all time best conditioning if they haven’t competed before and 2. show them a very precise method of dieting and instructions to take them beyond normal.
This is what I am noticing from competitors more often than I care to admit. Some are eyeballing their foods. If they should be having 6 ounces of meat to hit their protein numbers for example, they say “I know what 6 ounces of meat look like!” but they are off time and time again. You think 5.5 ounces then 5 ounces then 8 ounces wont throw everything off? You need to give your body a set amount so you can “know” what you are having day in and day out, and adjust from there. Eyeballing is the worst thing you can do.
What about this- to hit protein and and fat numbers at a meal someone is using 96% lean burger, yet they will substitute in filet mignon, or sirloin tips, etc etc. If the numbers are correct with 96% burger, EAT 96% BURGER. I dont have to explain that eating something with 10 more grams of fat in it (and that’s for 4 ounces of meat!) is way different than something with 4 grams of fat per 4 ounces. Just because it is red meat doesnt make it the same, and the higher you go in amounts the more it will add up in the end.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people prepping for a show will go out to eat, and eyeball food or worse just have chicken and steamed veggies and say “I stayed healthy and didn’t eat any carbs!” but it’s still not the amount set they are supposed to be eating. Rule of thumb, if you want to eat out, do it off season and not while in prep. The ones who are showing up looking amazing, they are eating out of tuppeware each and every day. Day in, day out, measured to the gram or ounce and on point.
What about athletes that walk around the house and just have a “lil handful” of something, like almonds or a small bite of junk food. Yes I am seeing and hearing this as well, people cannot control their cravings to say no. This sport is the hardest sport in the world I don’t care what anyone says, and saying no is so hard. But, if you cannot say no, find another sport OR be happy with mediocre results. It’s that simple for most of us.
I know I sound like the negative guy here, but at the end of the day bodybuilding is a BRUTAL sport, you get on stage judges don’t care if you have 3 kids and a day job, all they see if your physique. They don’t care if you were perfect on diet or cheated. They just place you where you look and that’s that and that comes from how you approach your diet. Its up to each one of you to stay the course, suck it up, yes suffer a bit because if you want to look amazing, shredded, and WIN, you will do what it takes. If you cannot do that, you will have to live with mediocre results, at best.
To sum it up I think it’s quite simple, if you want to look amazing and win or place high, you need to do the following with no question what-so-ever:
- Take food everywhere with you, in tuppeware. Don’t try and find food on the run.
- Do not eat out, if you do have salad and Walden Farms dressing so you can be sociable.
- Measure all your food to the ounce or gram, do it the same every single time. Never eye-ball food.
- Use the right foods and hit your macros, if you need to use 96% burger, dont use rib eye, use the burger since they are way different in protein and fats.
- Expect to suffer a bit, and expect it to be rough because if it were easy……you know the saying.
- Expect family to be upset with you, but remember- YOU chose to compete, you have to be able to sacrifice and lose out on precious things like Chinese food, Ihop, etc etc. Yes eat dinner with your family, just eat your food.
Being prepared and taking your food with you at all times is key
One final thing I think will help everyone- utilize flexible dieting and IIFYM (if it fits your macros) principles. If you need to have some low fat ice cream, use the correct amount to hit your carbs for that meal and have some. If you need some baked chips, fit them into your plan. We have a FREE Macro Calculator with about 140 different foods on our website that calculates the exact pro/carbs/fats for each food and will let you adjust it accordingly to fit your numbers. You can find it on my website www.team-gorman.net
If any of the above are not possible, or you have problems with that, then this isn’t the sport for you. Plain and simple. I’d rather see a person not compete than do it wrong and find other “reasons” why they didn’t get lean enough than the true reason of not following a plan correctly.