Thought I would throw out there how I diet for a comp. Now this is constantly evolving and being tweaked so I will just touch on the basics about what I do. Since I'm in the middle of one I thought this would be a good time.
Timing is very important for your comp diet. First you must asses how much time you will need. If you are already pretty lean and know how your body responds you may not need as much time. On the other side of the coin if you are fat you may need more time. 12 weeks is the standard time frame many people use if they are in average offseason shape maybe 12-14% BF and that is about right IMO.
For my prep I will use a low carb diet, some people like to cycle carbs or use 0 carbs even, me I like to keep them at a fairly steady low level. For me that is about 80-100 grams of carbs per day, some days I may go as low as 60 grams. I like to keep the carbs the same for the whole diet and I will usually use just 2, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. I will also have about 5 pieces of asparagus with dinner most nights, asparagus is a natural diuretic and I like it. I just throw it in a pan and saute it in a little olive oil and may throw a little Mrs Dash in there. Those are my carbs.
Protein is from chicken, red meat and salmon. I grill or broil all the meats and will season with a lower sodium seasoning on one side of the meat and good old Mrs Dash on the other. For this prep I'm going to be running the sodium a little closer to the date than I have in the past, to help keep me fuller. Will admit it is a little scary to do so cause the salt has you holding water and it is a little tricky to gauge your progress. I will start pulling the salt out about 2 weeks before the comp. and have it all out 3 days before. The red meats I eat are fillet, NY strip, flank steak and some lean hamburger. I will also consume 2-3 very low sugar whey protein shakes mixed with water of course every day.
Fats: I eat a lot of avocados while I diet along with natural peanut butter, raw almonds and some olive oil. I also take a essential fatty acids (EFA's) everyday (ED) The fats make up a big part of this diet and they keep my energy levels jacked up and allow me to train with good intensity.
As far a supplements I will take the EFA's mentioned, a multivitamin extra E and C
I will drink about 2-3 gallons of fluids, water, Crystal Lite and a bunch of coffee in the morning with Equal everyday. I use Equal all the way up to the show and have never had any issues with it, such as water retention, I put in my oatmeal also. I find when the carbs and sodium are so low that it is very hard to stay hydrated, so I will pound the fluids at the end, its hard to drink enough fluids at that time.
For work I will make my food in advance and pack it up in a cooler for the day. Here is a typical days eating in prep mode.
6:30 am: Coffee, 3/4 cup oats with water, 2-3 table spoons PB, whey shake. Will take my fat burner here I like clenbuterol for this, which I split into 2 doses for the day.
9:30 am: 12oz chicken (this meal could also be red meat or salmon), 1/4 small sweet potato, 1/4 avocado
12 ish: Same as above
3:30: Pre work out 2-3 tables spoons PB (or maybe 1/2 cup almonds here), whey shake. Fat burner here also.
6:30 ish: Same as 9:30 meal with some asparagus.
10 pm 2-3 table spoons PB, whey shake.
Thats about it. This pic I have put up before but this is me 10 days out from last show, about 2 hours after eating 2 NY strip steaks, asparagus, a 1/4 sweet potato and almost a gallon of Crystal Lite
