"Carbing up" for vacation?

[MarvinEderFan]

weeks now.

[jmt1]

Been dieting for some weeks now. I am not anything near contest shape, but my BF has definitely gotten acceptable and my back, arms and delts are showing decent definition.

Anyways, I am doing low-carb, high protein medium fats for dieting. Strength is retained pretty well.

In 11 days or so I am going on a beach vacation to the Mediterranean and would, if possible, like to avoid looking "flat" which I feel I do from the low carb intake.

So, how do I avoid looking flat? Say I am leaving on a sunday, do I just boost carbs on friday and saturday? If so, what amount/type?

Thanks in advance. Remember, it's not about contest prep..just about avoiding looking flat (and bloated). Any other tips are welcome.

its hard to really give a straight answer without knowing exactly what youve been doing and seeing your level of conditioning.  in general i would say start carbing up about 48 hours before.  since your not in contest type shape i would stick to complex carbs.  baked potato or yams would be good choices.  every few hours, if that is not filling you out you could always add some simple carbs later.  you should also remember if youve been cutting sodium intake that would also cause you to look flat.

[Markoni]

try with WMS
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Where do you go on vacation , country  ?

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[jmt1]

Thank you for helping me.

Yes, I have been cutting sodium intake, lactose, etc. But my water intake is quite high.

I'll stick with complex carbs then. Currently I'm on about 100g carbs daily (I narrowed it down slowly and safely from my earlier high intake), and I know it's hard to give concrete answers, but are we talking 500 grams for filling out the muscles?
I'll also want to avoid bloat, which sodium can cause - would you advise to take in SOME sodium to help fill out the muscles?

I've never read up on anything about "contest prep" (I assume the basic principles also apply here) so I am quite a newbie about this.

true too much sodium can give you a bloated look.  the key with sodium intake is timing.  just keep your intake normal and even go a little bit higher for a few days before you carb up.  then on those last 2 carb days go zero sodium.  you have been drinking alot of water so when you drastically cut your sodium those last 48 hrs it will give your body a natural diuretic effect.

as far as the carb intake, i dont know how big you are, but 500gs would be a minimum. you can start out in that range and incease it or add in some simple carbs later on if needed.

[jmt1]

If 500g carbs is a minimum I'll definitely shoot for >600 and like you advise add in simple carbs if needed. By simple carbs are we even talking sugar candy?

Makes sense. However, do I boost sodium again at some point, and do I restrict water intake some leading up to the day of leaving?

you can use a some dextrose or some waixy maize as the post above said.

yes you would want to bring the sodium back up to normal after the 48 hours.  with water intake i would keep it high and even water load for a couple days right before you cut your sodium. you can restrict water at the end while you are carbing up.  try drinking about 8 ounces between each carb meal.  you could also cut the water at the very end if you like but i wouldnt do that for any longer than 10 hours.

[Markoni]

Anyone who's reading this:

1. What would you estimate my BF% to be?
2. how many more weeks of dieting would I need to hit 6 pack shape? (4 pack right now )

It can't be done over the picks

[Purge_WTF]

  Marv, ever try NO products? Might help give you some fullness and vascularity. Nice job, by the way.