I am not starving or eating zero carbs. I am eating a lot of food and I am drinking a lot of fluids and I am not taking any diuretics. I literally have lost size and I am fighting dehydration because I have been sick. I am getting up half a dozen times a night I have had diarrhea flare up for 2 weeks straight. That is why I changed diet but it hasnt helped have just lost more weight as less crap means less calories and more water means less salt and more dehydration. Going back to pizza and gatorade after this considering cooking a pizza now.
I have no clue about anyone else here but I always ate four meals and two shakes when prepping......far from starving.....just not eating a ton of garbage....it`s called eating clean....all great bodybuilders do it, not that I`m great, but it`s a common practice to eat similar to what I did below with variations for different people of course.
I would eliminate shakes as a rule at about a week out and depending on how I looked I would lower carbs or go to zero carbs at times, but only for a short time.
You lowered carbs and junk food so you lost water which in turn flattens you out making you look smaller.......BUT....onc
e you carb up you should fill out.
Here`s an example of how I ate during a prep....far from starving.....just eating for definition/condition.....I trained very early in the AM after a couple of cups of coffee:
Meal ♯ - 1:
Pre-Workout shake =1 scoop of whey in water
Meal ♯ - 2:
Post-Workout shake .... 1 scoop of whey in water and a plain baked potato or a cup of rice....carried the food in my gym bag and ate it about 15 minutes after I trained
Meal ♯ -3:
10 eggwhites and 1 whole egg scrambled in non-fat cooking spray
1 cup of oatmeal...no milk and I personally used Splenda and some cinnamon .....optional of course
12 oz. water
Meal ♯ -4:
Lean ground beef patty about the size of the palm of my hand
1 medium baked potato with fake butter spray
large salad with vinegar and 1 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
12 oz. water
Meal ♯ -5:
6 oz. skinless/boneless chicken breast
1 cup of rice
2 cups green beans
12 oz. water
Meal ♯ -6:
6 oz. skinless/boneless chicken breast
2 cups green beans
2 chocolate chip rice cakes with natty peanut butter
12 oz. water
I would also do carb cycling in the early stages of my prep and would drink as much water as I could throughout the day.....always had water with me wherever I went and no, not in a gallon container.
If I got really hungry to avoid cheating I would have a few more rice cakes with thinly spread natty PB, or some air-popped popcorn......lots of it with lots of water....creates a false sense of satiety.
It all depended on how far out I was and how much weight I had to lose, and I would never deviate from this except for higher clean carbs on high carb days {carb-cycling}.
Cardio 6 days a week just walking on an inclined treadmill immediately after I trained....I would vary the speed and height of the incline throughout for about a half hour..... at times I would do 45 minutes and at other times instead of this I would use the eliptical machine doing intervals....fast and slow....repeating for 20 minutes.....would also eat even lighter at times calling a can of water packed tuna and some water a meal.
You can laugh and say this is why I was tiny, or say you`d lose size but in reality if you keep protein intake up and train hard for an hour, you should only lose fat.....it`s not like eating at a picnic and I will say that I dieted old school but it was what I was taught to do......and I started out weighing considerably more than my onstage weight but generally I never got fat and sloppy at any time.....just stayed in what I call "good training shape.
This always got me into good shape except for the two times that I did waaaay too many contests in a row.
You just needed more time and you could use my diet above as a template adjusting macros and cals for your own needs...............YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE YOU ARE AT A SMORGASBORD.....NOBODY SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE EASY.
Good luck dude.
