Has anyone done this other than one time hard?
I did something like this for about 12 weeks. It was a 16 week diet for my very first natty comp. I did EVERYTHING wrong. I starved myself eating nothing but white fish, chicken breast which I cut the fat off of, canned tuna, and greens (asparagus and broccoli mostly). I had no cheat meals, no carb days, no fats other than fish oils. It was 12 weeks of brutal hell. I went from 190 to 155 at weigh-ins. I ate 8 times a day and weighed out my fish/chicken to 100g per meal (20g protein per meal).
Come show day, I was flat, I didn't carb up before hitting the stage, I was stringy and I got last place in the novice.
I got bloodwork (hormone panel) done and my testosterone came back at the level of a 12 year old girl. No fats = no test. I gained all the weight back I dieted off, and then some. I looked like a bloated mess. Many many mistakes during that diet.
What I found works for me after a couple diets:
First 6 weeks do protein and veg only, but keep protein high, 50g per meal 6 - 8 times a day with leafy greens. After 6 weeks are done, have my first cheat meal, which is usually all you can eat sushi.
Then continue depletion type diet 6 days, and 7th day (ALL DAY) eat whatever I want. I was able to stay lean using this method for the past 2 summers. This summer I didn't diet down and decided to bulk up a bit since my weight wasn't really changing year to year. Hoping next year I'll be around 180-185lbs and just as lean as last summer (when I fluctuated between 175 and 180lbs).