contest diet help

[arejay]

i have been tracking my diet now for the past few weeks to make sure that when cycle time arrives i am locked on in all my other areas of training. now to start i am 5'9 200 lbs approx 12% bf. i train 6 days a week splittin all bodyparts seperately but arms together. sat are cardio ab forearm days. i also am startin to add cardio in 2-3x every week after my weight. so my daily diet pretty much looks like this.

cal fat sod carb/sug prot

8am 50gprot/milk 2% 500 12 430 21/14 64

10am 6 eggwhite/1 yolk, 12oz chicken breast, cup dry oats 634 13 582 52/0 74

1pm 6oz tilapia 1/2 cup cous cous, beet/horseradish topping 400 5 60 31/1 49

330pm 2sl grain bread 1 can tuna or 12oz chicken breast 2tbsp hummus 490 10.5 800 41/6 59
workout 4:20

7pm 50gprot/H2O banana 610 2 180 38/21 49

830pm 16oz sirloin lg sweet potatoe w/ salsa 1 stalk broccoli 875 25.5 325 41/10 122
10pm handful of mixed raw nuts (almonds, cashews, and walnuts)
will be switching to a casein icecream i make. or add to nuts

my daily intake is 3509 cal 67.5 fat 2377 sodium 234/52 carb/sugar 417 prot(ok i cant add, missed carrying that extra 1)

anyways i was hoping to get some serious critique on my eating as i'm trying to prepare for stage. i know the milk will be eliminated at cycle time and the bread will be removed somewhere along the way... pretty soon. i was wondering about bananas only at postworkout?
SO LETS HEAR IT>>>>>>>

[FireGuy]

If you can repost that diet with macros listed for each meal as well as daily totals it would help with the critique. At first glance the meals look excessively high in protein.

Also, how many weeks out is your show and is this your first one?

[arejay]

im 14 weeks out this is my second and i'll add those macros appreciate the help

[arejay]

its all added. i do see the protein high. i can say that it not always that high just didnt realize i was using a steak night.

[**TOP**]

How does this all correlate with your TDEE? That is really the only thing that will dictate loss,maintenance,or gains....TOP

[arejay]

i'm not 100% sure on TDEE but i figure it being total daily enrgy expended. I am trying to fix what i didn't like about the way i looked last time on stage, felt flat had a hella 8pak, but flat. i dont know TDEE for me but if their a way to do that i would enjoy that info. so i did my own research instead of waiting and my TDEE is 3809, now how do i know what weight i would be trying to reach?

[FireGuy]

Couple things...if you were flat on stage last time that was due to mistakes you made the last 72 hours. Getting rid of fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible should be your focus at this juncture.

I wouldnt worry about a target weight at this time except given your stats I would be shooting for under 176 (middleweight) if it's an NPC show.

I have found the TDEE formulas tend to prescribe a higher caloric intake than is usually needed. It's hard to say without seeing a picture of you but if it were me I would be starting out in the 2800-3000 calorie range and be adding in more cardio.

Also, I see you listed your sodium intake, I wouldnt worry about that at this point either although if it were me I would bump that up a bit.

[**TOP**]

couple things...if you were flat on stage last time that was due to mistakes you made the last 72 hours. Getting rid of fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible should be your focus at this juncture.

I wouldnt worry about a target weight at this time except given your stats i would be shooting for under 176 (middleweight) if it's an npc show.

I have found the tdee formulas tend to prescribe a higher caloric intake than is usually needed. It's hard to say without seeing a picture of you but if it were me i would be starting out in the 2800-3000 calorie range and be adding in more cardio.

Also, i see you listed your sodium intake, i wouldnt worry about that at this point either although if it were me i would bump that up a bit.

+2!!

[arejay]

what is the true deal with sodium? everything i read always talks about low intake on sodium. why would i want to bump it up a bit? and this is a picture from my only show. and what do you think of using casein right before bed so to keep my body from reaching catabolism longer?

[FireGuy]

Do a search on "sodium" in this forum. You will find a ton of info on it.

[FireGuy]

3 biggest reasons people are flat on stage.

Failure to take in enough calories in the carbing up or shitloading phase.
Cutting water too soon.
Excessively low sodium level for too long.