Diet Tips to Prep for Your Figure Contest
If you’ve been scanning the Internet or fitness magazines lately and need tips to prep for your figure contest, you’ve come to the right place. It’s true, figure competitions are extremely popular these days and entries have become record breaking!
Just attending a physique contest as a spectator can jack-you-up and have you pumped and ready to start your diet and training Monday morning to take the stage at the next local show. If this sounds like you and you need the insider tips to prep for your figure contest, here they are…
Lock-In A Sound Diet (Clean and Balanced is the Key)
To prep for your figure contest you need to lock-in a solid diet. This is a no-brainer. A good clean diet, free of processed foods, is one of the best fat-loss methods you put into action immediately. In every respect to health, wellness and body transformation, your nutritional intake each day will determine your success.
Another little interesting tip about a figure diet is that it’s more effective if you can get on an eating schedule. Studies show that those who eat 5-7 small and balanced meals like clockwork get the best fat loss results.
A typical figure diet can last anywhere from 12-16 weeks more or less. Your dieting time really depends on your starting body fat percentage. The more body fat you have to lose, the more time you should allot yourself to diet down. Also, by having a few extra weeks it allows you time to adapt to the new eating format and allows you room to wean out the junk food.
Cheat On Your Diet (Oxymoron?)
What if I told you that to prep for your figure contest you should cheat on your diet? Yep, you heard me. You actually CAN cheat on your figure diet, to a certain extent of course. Your body can quickly adapt to your dieting plan. That’s not to say that your diet isn’t working, but when you follow the same caloric and macro-nutrient breakdown every day, your body will soon adjust to it, making fat loss a bit slower.
But, you can off-set this effect simply by cheating. The trick to taking a cheat day is in scheduling it, and following that schedule strictly. A good example is to have a cheat meal once a week, the same day each day.
If you choose to have your cheat meal on Sunday, then have it every Sunday. Don’t make the mistake and skip around having it Friday one week, Sunday the next week, and Saturday the following week. You don’t want to confuse your body with the cheat meals, you want to control it.
By having controlled and scheduled cheats you will be able to have the foods that are not on your diet, it gives you something to look forward to, and it also prevents binges during the week, which can wreck havoc on your overall progress. But let’s not forget the best benefit of cheating on your diet, it boosts your overall metabolic rate and gets the fat burning in process once again.
Stay On Track (No Matter What)
Let’s face it. To prep for your figure contest you have to stay on track. While you can take a scheduled cheat day, you must keep this cheat limited to that one day. This means, if you have to attend an event, gathering, or party on a non-cheat day where unprescribed foods will be available, it is crucial that you pack an ice chest and bring your own food.
This is the part a lot of figure competitors struggle with because attending functions and socializing can present some food and drink options that are not on your diet plan. This is where you need to zone-in on your goal, focus on what you want, and stay strong girl.
By staying on your plan and avoiding the temptations, it just separates you from the rest of the crowd. Keep the image of what you want to look like on stage. Visualize any of the unprescribed foods putting 10 pounds of fat on you! Then, visualize your prescribed figure diet melting body fat off and adding lean, sexy muscle.
Supplement Wisely (Quality, Not Quantity)
To prep for your figure contest, it’s a good idea to supplement your diet and training. A good solid figure plan, even if it is balanced, can take a toll on you because it will slowly decrease in calories and carbs as your cardio increases. This can tax all the cells in your body.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to supplement with a high-quality multi-vitamin. This will also ensure that you receive all the nutrients you need during stressful times. It’s also a good idea to supplement with creatine, glutamine, amino acids, and protein drinks to retain as much lean muscle mass as possible during your prepping phase.
These supplements are to shield your body and immune system from metabolic breakdown during stressful dieting and training times. Think of them as insurance and protection.
Plan, Plan, and Plan Ahead! (Secret to Success)
To prep for your figure contest you have to plan. Ask any successful figure competitor or IFBB Figure Pro what their secret to success is and they will tell you planning. Planning your meals ahead will prevent total disaster. Planning your meals ahead of time will prevent you from cheating and it will decrease stress. Also, planning will just keep you ahead of the game in general.
Pre-cook your meals, pre-package them and have food set away in storage contains or plastic bags ready to grab and eat. This way you know you have healthy food ready that will burn fat and build muscle no matter what life throws your way.
Create a Balanced Off-Season Diet (This is a Must!)
Lastly, to prep for your figure contest, you need to make your off-season training count. A highly neglected part of figure dieting and training is the off-season part. You can hear them screaming on forums and facebook that there’s no such thing as off-season. Hogwash! Off-season simply means you are not prepping for a show. Your off-season should be designed to build muscle so you will have a more dense physique for your next competition.
Structure your off-season diet to allow enough protein for muscle building, carbs for energy, and fats for hormonal balance and tweak those figures when you begin to diet down to lose body fat. As you diet down and you change your macronutrient percentages, you will eventually lower carbs. When you lower carbs, be sure to increase essential fats to provide energy.
These few simple things are all you need to do to prep for your figure contest.
