Phase I (Raise Metabolism)
Before the contest, I raised my metabolism from 2200 calories per day to 3600 calories per day. I did this by cleaning up my diet (shift from highly processed food to minimally processed, fresh or frozen food, no simple sugars - sucrose or fructose, no salt, no alchohol, no saturated fats and no red meat), lifting weights (to gain muscle), eating six small meals a day (to keep nutrients evenly flowing), drinking loads of water, and increasing my caloric input (yes, INCREASING - you have to feed your growing muscles). Muscles consume 50 cals./lb./day where as fat only consumes 2 cals./lb./day. Growing muscle is one of the best ways of increase metabolism. Thus during this phase, weight lifting is nearly daily and aerobics are kept at 3 times a week.
My diet consisted of 60% of the following carbohydrates: potatoes, brown and white rice, oatmeal, pasta, sweet potatoes and pinto beans; 25% of the following protein sources: fish, chicken, turkey, egg whites, tuna and whey protein (Max Muscle MaxPro); and 15% from fat which mostly comes from the foods themselves. Sometimes I had to supplement my fat intake with a bit of flax seed oil. My water intake was from 1 gallon to 1 1/2 gallon per day.
During this period from May to July, I at first lost 6lbs while steadily increasing my calorie intake by 200 calories per day. At the very end of this phase I regained the six pounds in a short week. This was the signal where my body told me that I hit the maximum number of calories my body could effectively process. I started this phase at 29.7% body fat at 245 lbs. and ended at 29.3% body fat at 245 lbs.
Phase II (Leaning Phase)
I started the fat loss phase of my diet one week before starting the contest on August 1. I weighed in on August 1, 2000 at 239.5 lbs. and 29.3% body fat. The weight loss phase of this diet involved a lowered fat intake of 6% of total calories consumed, keeping the protein intake constant at 255g, (2.2g/kg - 3.1g/kg) which was my protein intake at the end of phase I. Protein is kept constant for the rest of the duration of the diet. Carbohydrates are cycled on calorie intake in a sequence of four days to make up the rest of the calories. For example, Monday 2800, Tuesday 3000, Wednesday 3200, Thursday 3400, Friday 2800 and so on. Fat loss occurs on the low calorie input days and then before the metabolism slows down due to the reduced calories, the calorie intake is increased again. Besides forcing you to count calories closely, these rotations induce a nearly constant 2 lbs per week fat loss without dropping the calorie intake too quickly. Varying the calorie intake effectively tricks your body into giving up fat stores without dropping the metabolism.
Eventually, your body catches on and drops the metabolism. As a result, you don't make your weight loss milestone. When this happens, decrease your calorie intake by 200 calories per day or increase aerobics by another two 30-45 minute workout. Thus a 2800-3000-3200-3400 rotation changes into a 2600-2800-3000-3200 rotation. If you stick closely to the diet, the rotations last for several months. I ended Phase II on an 1800-2000-2200-2400 rotation. I took MaxLean 2 caps in the morning and 2 caps at lunch to help maintain a high metabolism through my leaning phase. I have lost over 50lbs taking in more calories on average than I took in before the diet. Near the end of Phase II, I did have to go below my original average calorie intake of 2300 calories. I lost 58 lbs in Phase II of which 51.3 lbs were fat and only 6.7 lbs were muscle.
I often feel hunger pangs in the morning before breakfast, just a few minutes after working out, and before meals. With six evenly spaced meals, I don't feel hungry for long.
Next, is Phase III
