Leaning Out/Contest Prep Thread

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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Thank you very much!

  1. See Stu’s post. :slight_smile:

  2. We don’t count veggies into it. However, I do not binge on them at all. I have pretty much a set portion at breakfast for my egg-egg white scrambles (two eggs, four whites), for which I use onions (always onions because I love them with eggs) and another one or two veggies, such as mushrooms, tomato, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, or peppers, pretty much what I want with it or what’s chopped up or cooked already. It likely is a cup to cup and a half of raw veggies before being pan fried with cooking spray (no straight oil or butter) for the scramble.

At lunch I have one of those veggies, likely a cup to cup and a half, if I had to measure.

At dinner I have a large salad with mostly lettuce and cucumbers and then some tomatoes (small amounts), peppers, onions (again, not in gargantuan amounts). A serving of lettuce or spinach is like three cups for 10 to 25 calories, depending not he type of lettuce (mostly fiber), so the salads look enormous.

I only use red wine or apple cider vinegar on salads, no oil.

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People are also hugely ignorant–seemingly semi-retarded–when it comes to understanding losing weight. Though I thank everyone who has noticed my transformation or wants to tune into what I’m doing, I have heard lines for which it is hard to hold sarcasm and snide remarks back, which I always do, as I’m not a bad-mannered person.

I’ve heard, “do you just eat salads?” What I feel like replying: “Yes, I just ate salads for four months and I’m still living.”

“Do you just not eat?” What I want to reply: “Yes, I went for four months without eating and I’m still living.”

“Do you eat special foods?” “Right, I eat special foods that you cant find in a grocery store.”

“So it’s all protein, right?” This one… I don’t know where the hell people got this protein obsession from, as if to lose weight, you must eat nothing but protein. This really says something, this one. As an RD, I’d love to find the route of the protein and anti-carb obsessions!

“So no rice, no potatoes, no bread…” See above.

“Dairy is bad for cutting.” This one does not bother me so much, because, who the heck knows? Maybe people do not tolerate it well. However, to think diary contains calories with magical properties, that can’t be burned off or macronutrients that are somehow unused, is odd.

“Fruit is not good for cutting.” I’ve had fruit and dairy EVERYDAY while losing 27 pounds. On high carb days, I’ve had up to FOUR servings of fruit.

I’ve heard all the rest of the myths thrown at me also. Corn is bad. Beans are bad. Wheat is bad. I’ve had grits (corn) or whole corn so many times on this diet, as well as beans (IIFYM the smart way) as well as sprouted bread with wheat on nearly every damn day on this diet (Ezekiel and Alvarado breads are amazing).

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Some food prep motivation photos for my IG page and indications of the veggies and amounts I consume.

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Food prep photo.

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I feel your pain/amusement/frustration with those bystanders. Although the milk/dairy one I think has some basis to it because of some intolerance issues and bloating/water retention affecting the appearance of some.

I also think some people may react to it as similar to peanuts and peanut butter. I can’t offer any peer reviewed evidence of this but I have had more than one person simply STOP losing weight with peanut butter in their diet. These are people that I know and interact with closely, and who have prize money riding on the outcome, and I can verify that they were not cheating meals or missing workouts, but once the change was made to substitute it there was an immediate drop of several pounds. Weirdest thing I ever saw.

By the way, do you work in a university setting, with athletes, or in a clinical setting?

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I work in a god awfully boring clinical setting. Truthfully speaking, I no longer expect much on the way of stimulation from a job. Hence after this prep I will be applying full effort to promoting myself for nutrition counseling, writing diets, social media, and the like. I will discuss my outlook on jobs more soon.

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Would this level of bf be easy for you to maintain or is it too much in the way of diet/ training.

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The upper and lower chest are really beginning to separate now. I really look forward to seeing what happens when the tan goes on and you hit your water cut.

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Thank you!

My upper chest has improved, I believe. It’s amazing what a body part split with properly sequenced and chosen exercises can do, after all! :slight_smile:

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it is unsustainable. There’s a reason why a contest prep leads into what’s called a peak. :slight_smile: However, I do not want to get above 200 pounds ever again.

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Ahh, the realization every former “big guy” comes to after that first serious cut, and the huge reality check that most of their “size” was fluff… *** Not directly negatively at Brad by any means!!, but I know he agrees with me in that so many “big dudes” who never lean out are quick to speak down to anyone under 2 bills no matter how lean those people are.

S

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The two I’m doing. Signed on for ANBF. Gotta register for the NPC show.

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I will be going up against assisted men in he NPC but as a TRT patient I must compete in Feds that will allow me.

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People have no clue what big is for an unassisted person. Even John Schlecht (elite genes) on here stated that a 5’10 shredded physique in the 170s at single digit body fat is nothing to sneeze at and damn hard! That’s going for men with moderate frames, and actually, from what I see, most BBers, even the very best, have moderate frames. Look at Frank Zane and his moderate frame. He competed at 185 (!), assisted, and with great genes! He was also of average height. One of my closest friends showed his friends my social media pics. One thought I’m on roids and the other “corrected” him by saying I’m not big, just lean now. I am by no means a self aggrandizing person but to say a 5’10", 180 pound guy with visible veins on his abs and legs and a Christmas tree is not extremely muscled (though perhaps not to be considered hee-yooooj) is a distorted perception! People don’t have a clue what is extremely muscled and what’s possible with damn hard work.

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Actually I think I shouldn’t get over 195, especially to compete again.

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Yup, I stay around the 190-195 range nowadays. I remember the good old days when you’d get told to shut up and eat more burgers if you were under 200…

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Don’t tempt me to go down gossip lane about the burger defector. I just mustn’t get dragged in! Lmao! :joy:

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Glad to hear it! I am sorry your work is so incredibly boring. Truthfully, that’s why I went to biochemistry. I saw the nutrition field at the time and went “every nutrition major/GA I know is an idiot about actual performance nutrition” and “I don’t want to work with critically ill people or obese people the rest of my life”. No knock on the guys and gals who are passionate about it or the many who ARE knowledgeable about performance nutrition. I just took one look and thought that it would be infuriating. Seeing the things people in your clinical setting, who are supposed to know at least something, spout off about basic 101 nutrition (‘so its all protein right? beans are bad’ etc etc) I would pull my hair out.

You’ll do well at the independent dietician!