Carb Depletion and Loading

[littlekiwi]

So what do you guys and girls do for the above?

In the past I have tried 4 days depletion (wound up in prison I depleted so hard...LONG story!!!) followed by 3 days of hard-out carb loading. Plus 7 days depletion and 2 days load etc , etc.

Best I ever looked was when I didn't deplete but gradually (50gms/day) increased carbs from Monday through to Friday(comp on Saturday), stopped all fluids 36 hours before hand and took Mark Stewarts long advertised trick of eating a whole pizza the night before comp...came in full and dry. Also believe 2 to 3 glasses of alcohol (wine, or spirits...NOT BEER) evening and morning of comp (feel like a real alcoholic drinking wine at 6am in morming...I generally put the bottle in a brown bag and sit with the other bums in the park on these mornings to "get into the right state-of-mind"!!!) works well to bring out vascularity.


Biggest mistakes I see amateurs (sorry Chyna) like us all making is:

1) depleting too long and then being too scared to carb load hard out for fear of getting fat or bloating hernce coming in flat

2) not getting lean enough before comp and taking heaps of diuretics thinking it is water...no bud...IT'S FAT!!!

3) not resting AT LEAST 3 days before comp to allow body to carb-up with glycogen...NO YOU WON'T GET FAT or SHRINK in 3 DAYS,so REST!!!!!!!

[beckie]

quite simply I don't! I have a problem with fluid retention which means if I stick too much starch of any kind in,I blow up like a balloon.Joe just keeps me slightly depleted the whole week before a comp then gives me a double portion of oats the morning of a show.
Personally I think most women don't need a long deplete as they generally don't have as much muscle and I don't think it works for figure girls who are little and scrawny-if you don't have the muscle to start with,it won't make you look much bigger! I didn't really cut salt but Joe gave me extra potassium to draw the sodium out,that worked much better than cutting the salt out completely!

[chyna]

It's different for each individual. We all react differently to diet, this is why any one diet doesn't suit all.

Some people need that little bit of carbs each day, some don't have or need any but reload once or twice a week for the glycogen stores. Some people do well on a high protein and fats with zero carbs and have that one cheat a week. Some people use a timed carb diet. The type of carbs does make alot of difference. Complex carbs are slow burners, simple carbs are for the quick hit but can leave you feeling burnt out and tired an hour later.

I stay away from carbs derived from any wheat as they contain gluten and gluten can turn to estrogens which can increase bodyfat or at least slow down the burning off of bodyfat. I also stay away from any processed carbs. In the last week I increase my sodium and water, then drop my sodium out 2 days and cut my water 24 - 30 hours out from comp.

I start slowly bringing the carbs back in 3 days out from comp, then the night before it's pizza and cheese cake night. What I can't finish eating for dinner is put aside for that snack before bed and breakfast is a great slap up high calorie feast as well.

Any lollies and or alcohol is left until an hour before going on stage and is consumed during the pump up. From a past experience I don't advice being too liberal with the port or wine. With the added sugars from the lollies/chocolate and still not fully out of depletion you can end up pissed on stage, sure you're having a great time, but nothing stands out more than a wobbly boot on stage.

Whether it's mens bodybuilding, womens bodybuilding, figure or fitness, we are all different in what we have to do to get that look right on the day. I've seen the tiniest figure girls practically eat continuously 2 days out and what they put away was amazing and they looked amazing on stage. By the same token I've seen guys eat not that much and smooth out virtually over night. It all gets back to what you eat and how much depending on your metabolic make up. It's all trial and error once the basics are worked out.