what do you look like before you start dieting for a show

im just kinda curious what everyone looks like before they start dieting for shows... when i started i had lower back defintion and all my abs..i have a show coming up in may and it will be my first..i started dieting 16 wks out...eating 6 meals a day and trying to hit a certain number of carbs and protien...im not eating very strict...but i keep getting more and more cut...starting to get very vascular in arms and legs...well heres my delima...i dont know when i should start dieting very strict...i havent yet because im affraid that if i cut that many caloires i would have to much muscle loss and that is the last thing i need...any ideas?

I have never done a show. Do u use AS when u cut?

Do you have any idea what your body fat percentage is?

pete...ive quit trying to even guess my bodyfat %...i see people with one ab on boards get told that they are 10%..and im like WTF!!...i always thought at 10% you would at least have a 6 pack...but anyways just guesss i would say 7-8%...just to give you an idea...i have my top 2 intercoastals and im still a little bloated from deca and dbol

Well bro...I have a nice one pack and I know that realistically I'm closer to 18%. I think if you're between 7-10% now, you can SLLOOOWWLLYYY and gradually lose weight from now until may. You will probably want to compete at around 4-5% if possible so you don't really have far to go. Keep eating your 6 meals, doing some cardio and monitor your weight loss (not too fast). If for some reason, it slows or stops...adjust your caloric intake and/or ratios slightly. You have a good amount of time to prepare, so keep us posted on a weekly basis. There are a lot o fpeople here who know much more than I and are willing to help as well (LI Ape, Primodonna, bufchic, eye_candy, Project X, Mike XXL, Kid Shred and Berry)

thanks alot man...i dont know i guess im just freakin out...i see so many people dieting so strict...and i start thinking i should be doing the same..i have a great guy helping me get ready for this show...ive just been freaking out the past couple of days

Hey buffarkie, i get to about 15% in off season i would guess, so it isn't very appealing, but I have a hard time gaining weight so I really need to up my calories to get any growth happening. I was up to about 205 lbs, that was 7 weeks ago, I have lost 20 lbs so far (I know some of that is water from reduction of carbs), my arms are vascular and I am seeing a six pack I know I have about 10 more pounds to go right now but I have 6 weeks to go, so no sweat. If you show is in May, mine is in April 20th, that means you have at least 8 or even possibly 12 weeks left, it seems to me that you have no problem loosing the body fat and are already pretty lean (how much do you weight), so as Pete235 said you have plenty of time to loose the last little bit, I wouldn’t reduce you calories to much right now, monitor your body ask people at the gym for opinions, not you friends, you want honest opinions, and work with that, if you are like 4-6 weeks out and feel there is still a bit more to loose, reduce you calories slightly or increase your cardio. If I reduce my calories much below 2,000 cal. I just melt away, so I got to stay right around 2,000 and I just add a bit of cardio to what I am already doing. If you are at7-8% right now and lets say you weight 180 lbs, to get down to 3-4% all you have to loose is 7.2 pounds to be there as you can see that ain’t much, I would say 4-5 weeks work at nice slow pace. I hope some of this helps you out Bro, if you have any more questions just PM me…..MIKE_XXL

MIKE..man thank you very much!!...this is the kind of information im looking for...thats why i have started posting on this board..knowledgeable people that can help me out...believe me i have a great guy working with me now...and you have basiclly told me the same thing he did...but its nice to hear other opinions to...thanks bro

IMO losing more than two lbs a week is detrimental to your muscle mass. After all the goal we are tyring to accomplish during dieting is maintain as much muscle and lose as much b/f as we can. many people say stay away from the scale, but as a BB it is an essential tool, as well as the calipers, mirror and non bias friends (who dont see you every day, preferably another bodybuilder). Buffarkie I would not cut your calories to drastically if you are losing a 1 1/2 lbs a week your probably right on depending what your bf is now. I monitor my problem area's low back and lower abs by taking skinfold measurements every week or so. if they are decreasing then bam the diets working, if they are not then you need to go back to the drawing board, reduce your calories slightly and so on. If this is your first time competing then its all about learning what works and what doesn't. good luck and hang in there dont freak out on us. Don't fall into I'm not lean enough mode, and diet off all the muscle you worked so hard for during the year. I know exactly how your feeling, been there and done that. DDD :lift:

I was 15.5% before diet, you can see the before pics in pic area in member section, some ppl look very lean at 10% i still don't look very good until about 8% or so.

I start my diet about 7 weeks out from contest time. my philopshy is diffrent from any one else. I start at a lower rate and diet in to the show. I like to get down to around 6% bf about 8 weeks out and I make adjustments from there. Principe is this bite the bullet in the beginning and then you can eat your way to show time. I would rather over diet and start eating to grow into contest time. right now I'm a 225-230 but my compositon of my body is changing on a daily basiswith each passing week. I keep my caloires higher and do no more then 45 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. if changes don;t occur after this it is time to drop caloires no more then 250 a week. Bascailly make one change at a time so you know what is working. need help pm me

PX you sound like an exception to the rule, If you are 235 and 6% your a big mofo, congrats. I have only met one person who can actually put on muscle while trianing for a show, and I married her. She's a genetic freak, which it sounds like you've got the Big gentics on your side. good luck on any up coming shows.... DDD