Achieving a winning physique for a figure competition requires a strategic approach that combines rigorous training with a meticulously planned diet. The right nutrition fuels your workouts, enhances recovery, and ultimately helps you attain peak condition for the stage. This article delves into the key elements of a figure competition diet plan, drawing upon expert insights and practical advice to guide you through each phase of your preparation.
The Importance of Diet in Figure Competition
While dedicated training in the gym is essential, dietary choices play an equally crucial role in shaping a competitor's physique. A well-structured diet provides the necessary energy for intense workouts, supports muscle growth and repair, and facilitates fat loss to reveal a sculpted physique. Moreover, adopting healthy eating habits during contest preparation can lead to long-term benefits that extend beyond the competition.
Three-Phase Diet Prep Plan
Designed by IFBB pro and nutritionist Gennifer Strobo, the diet prep plan is divided into three distinct segments, each with specific goals and strategies:
Phase 1: Establishing a Healthy, Balanced Diet
The initial phase focuses on building a solid foundation of healthy eating habits. This involves eliminating processed foods, sugary items, and other unhealthy choices, while incorporating nutrient-rich options like fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources.
Key components of Phase 1 include:
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
- Lean Proteins: Choose from a variety of protein sources, such as meat, eggs, dairy, and protein powder, while paying attention to portion sizes.
- Fresh Fruits: Incorporate sweet, delicious, and nutritious fruits to ensure adequate intake of vitamins and other essential nutrients.
- Greens and Other Veggies: Aim for at least one cup of vegetables per meal, varying your choices to maintain interest and broaden your nutrient intake.
- Balanced Carbs: Include carbohydrates in your diet to provide energy for workouts and maintain stable blood sugar levels.
- Healthy Fats: Consume healthy fats to keep your body energized, support heart health, and promote muscle fullness.
During this phase, it's crucial to establish a consistent eating pattern, consuming five to six meals per day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two to three snacks, depending on individual needs. This helps speed up metabolism and prevent blood sugar crashes. Each main meal should include a protein, veggie, fat, and carb option, along with approximately two servings of fruit, either as part of a snack or in meals. Emphasize whole foods and eliminate sugars, unnecessary nibbles, or meal-replacement bars.
Phase 2: Cutting Body Fat and Boosting Metabolism
The second phase intensifies the focus on fat loss by incorporating lower-carb days to boost metabolism. By now, your meals should be fairly standard, with a balanced mix of nutrients and regular timing. Keep weighing and measuring your portions to ensure accuracy.
The primary goal in this phase is to continue leaning out by accelerating metabolism while maintaining a slight calorie deficit. The number of lower-carb days may increase depending on individual progress and body type, often including three low-carb days five to eight weeks from the show date and four low-carb days two to four weeks from the show.
Phase 3: Peak Performance and Final Touches
The final diet phase, lasting only two weeks, requires strict adherence and unwavering determination. With the competition drawing near, it's essential to maintain a disciplined diet to ensure peak performance.
Meals during this phase are basic, excluding spices, sauces, or sweeteners. It's advisable to consult with a coach regarding the number of low-carb or very low-carb days to follow, potentially reaching five or more at this point. If further leaning is necessary, increase the number of low-carb options, while ensuring that calorie intake doesn't drop below 1,300.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
In the final two weeks, consider strategies to reduce water retention and achieve that final "tightness" on stage. Adding a little dandelion root to your water one week before the show can help, along with monitoring fluid intake and decreasing water consumption to approximately half a gallon the day before the show. Supplement companies offer products containing ingredients like vitamin B6, Uva Ursi, and green tea, which can also aid in shedding water.
Macronutrient Balance for Bodybuilding
A bodybuilding meal plan should provide a balance of macronutrients, including fats, proteins, and carbs. The composition and calorie intake will depend on the individual and their goals and may change over time.
Macronutrient Distribution
An older 2014 review suggests the following distribution of macros:
- 2.3-3.1 grams per kilogram of lean body mass per day of protein
- 15-30% of calories from fat
- Remaining calories should come from carbohydrates
Food Choices for Each Macronutrient
When preparing their meal plan for the week, bodybuilders can choose from many different foods. They should focus on foods that provide adequate calories and nutrients.
- Proteins: Lean proteins should make up a portion of a bodybuilding diet. Sources should include lean proteins, including eggs, lean red meats, skinless poultry such as chicken and turkey breasts, fish, beans and legumes, yogurt and low-fat dairy products such as cottage, protein shakes, soy products such as tofu, tempeh, and edamame.
- Carbs: A person who is bodybuilding needs carbohydrates to provide energy during workouts. They can include the following as examples: whole grains, such as oatmeal, quinoa, rice, cereals, and popcorn, starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn, and peas, fruits, such as oranges, apples, and bananas.
- Fats: Fats are the third macronutrient people need to focus on in their diet. Health-promoting fats include: nuts and seeds, healthful oils, such as olive oil, high fat fruits, such as avocado.
A person should note that many foods provide more than one macronutrient. For example, nuts can provide both fat and protein, eggs and cheese provide protein and fat, and beans and legumes provide protein and carbohydrates.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP
Bulking vs. Cutting
During the cutting phase, it is desirable for a bodybuilder to feel fuller on a given amount of calories. However, they may have issues with the opposite problem during the bulking phase. This is because they may need to continue eating to hit high calorie intake goals despite possibly feeling full.
Foods that can help a person feel full include high volume, high fiber, and high water content foods, such as: legumes such as lentils and beans, fruits such as apples and strawberries, vegetables such as broccoli and cucumber.
Foods that can help a person get in a lot of calories without feeling overly full include: nuts and seeds, peanut and almond butter, cheese, avocado.
Sample 7-Day Meal Plan for Bodybuilding
Below is a sample 7-day meal plan for bodybuilding. These foods provide the balance of macronutrients that a person needs to maintain health while following a body-building exercise program. The quantity of each food will vary based on the person’s gender, size, age, and, most importantly, whether they are in the bulk phase of building muscle or the cutting phase of losing body fat while preserving muscle.
Day 1
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs, stir-fried veggies, and oatmeal
- Snack: whey protein shake
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast, mixed greens, and baked sweet potato
- Snack: hard-boiled egg(s), carrot sticks, and whole grain crackers
- Dinner: broiled fish, green beans with brown rice
Day 2
- Breakfast: protein pancakes with fresh berries
- Snack: apple slices and almonds
- Lunch: lean ground beef burger on lettuce with tomato, onion, and green beans and a side of roasted potatoes
- Snack: protein shake
- Dinner: shrimp stir-fried with bell pepper and brown rice over spinach
Day 3
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt, almonds or walnuts, whole grain granola, and fresh berries
- Snack: protein shake
- Lunch: grilled fish with a spinach salad, quinoa and broccoli
- Snack: egg white omelet with bell peppers and mushrooms, and an English muffin
- Dinner: chicken breast topped with fresh salsa with a sweet potato and a side salad
Day 4
- Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and scrambled eggs
- Snack: turkey breast with carrots and celery and a baked potato
- Lunch: sirloin steak with broccoli and mushrooms
- Snack: apples with natural nut butter and a turkey in a whole wheat pita with hummus
- Dinner: broiled fish, brown rice, and a mixed green salad
Day 5
- Breakfast: protein shake with oatmeal
- Snack: hard-boiled egg whites with sliced peppers, hummus, cucumbers, and whole grain crackers
- Lunch: grilled chicken with white bean, quinoa and tomato salad
- Snack: Greek yogurt with berries and nuts
- Dinner: grilled fish with quinoa and green beans
Day 6
- Breakfast: scrambled egg whites with cheese, peppers, herbs, and whole grain bread
- Snack: protein shake
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast with bell peppers, black beans, corn and onions over romaine lettuce
- Snack: apple and almonds
- Dinner: sirloin steak with sweet potato and asparagus
Day 7
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt with whole grain granola and berries
- Snack: turkey breast with carrots and celery sticks
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast over spinach with quinoa, sliced strawberries and almonds
- Snack: protein shake and carrots with hummus
- Dinner: shrimp stir-fried with peppers, onions, and broccoli over brown rice
The Role of Supplements
Supplements can play an important role in providing nutrients to a bodybuilder. According to a recent review that examines the cautions of taking supplements, specific ones that may help a bodybuilder include: creatine monohydrate, beta-alanine, omega-3 supplements. There is some debate about whether protein shakes are necessary for bodybuilding. Protein shakes can help people who cannot get all the protein they need from their daily diet. A person may want to avoid shakes with excessive added sugar unless it is consistent with their nutritional needs.
When choosing any supplement, a person should note that the regulation of the supplement industry by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not as strict as for pharmaceuticals. People should look for supplements that verify their products using a third party. They should also seek advice from their doctor or nutritionist when choosing a supplement or shake. Examples of third-party testing agencies include: Consumer labs, NSF, USP.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
The Dangers of Overtraining
One risk is overtraining, which could lead to injury or even illness.
Body Image and Eating Disorders
Another risk of bodybuilding is that some participants may have body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. A 2021 study found a correlation between eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, and body dysmorphic disorders in female bodybuilders. The researchers indicate a need for more research and prevention strategies to help those affected.
Additional Tips for Success
- Eat Every 3 Hours: Eating every 3 hours increases your metabolic rate.
- Don't Store Fat: Two, 30 minute sessions is good. Also eating every 3 hours tricks your body into thinking YOU ARE NOT DIETING (constant blood sugar level) so it does not store fat (go into famine mode).
- Prioritize Your Diet: Fat is stored as fat.
- Don't Drastically Cut Calories: Eat more vegetables and protein.
- Rev Up a Slow Metabolism: If your bowel movements slow down from once a day to once every third day or something..it's a sure sign your BMR is slowing down.
- Carb Timing: First thing in the morning is good. you do not burn muscle.
- Adjust Carb Sources: like potato's and rice and yams to more vegetables.
- Avoid Extremes: tan bag of bones does not win a Figure Contest.
- Mindset Matters: Read books like "RIPPED 2"; by Clarence Bass or listen to taps and TV shows that reinforce your dieting and training goals.
The Final Week: Super Clean, Super Low Fat
- Water: Some people do not need to limit or reduce water. Limiting water flattens them out, makes them feel weak and sick.
- Eat Less: Eat less the Thursday and Friday before the show. Reduce your volume of food and eat "light" (half portions). This helps shrink the abs the last 48 hours. This is called a "food taper".
- Pose the Last Days: Pose hard the Thursday and Friday before the show for at last 30 minutes. Squeeze those abs and legs. Make it hurt.
- Early to Sweat: Get up early on Saturday and ride a bike or walk for 30 minutes and flush out a good sweat. Eat something that will give you energy but not change how you look. A potato or small (I mean small) piece of fruit. Like 1/2 a ban nana or 1/2 of an orange.
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