Didn't you also say that you're doing 2-3 HOURS of cardio a day somewhere? You don't think that with doing that much you will be in shape? That is what I'd call getting too far out of shape offseason!
I totally agree with Aceto & McJeff on the below 8% body fat deal. Some people start off doing 3hrs of cardio....where are you supposed to go from there? Do 4hrs of cardio and eat 1k calories? Shit I think even a concentration camp guy would look better onstage if that's the case.
I am doing 2 hours of low intensity cardio a day.
I started fucking fat, at about 18% bf

yeah that was stupid.
anyway, I dieted for 2 months before adding the cardio
not I am not fat, a few lbs away from contest shape but it seems like the fat loss stopped
I just started doing protein only days today, we will see how it goes
the worst that can happen is that I won't do the show, I don't really care I was just dieting for the beach in the first place