How many weeks to diet? 16 14 or 12

[latimus]

k guys. last couple shows here is what I did

first one I dieted from 257lbs to 197lbs in 14 weeks. won my class but still had another 6-7lbs of fat to lose.
last show dieted from 250 to about 201 completly shredded cut water and stopped eating to make 198 then ate couple meals and was over 200 on stage. this was 16 weeks of prep. if I would have carb loaded I would have probably been 205 but I didnt want to get my ass beat in heavies. I won my class again. (posted pics in october from the show)

now fastforward to this yr. I havent weighed myself at all, this way I wont go crazy and stuff my face to gain weight. its working like a charm. I have stayed really lean proabably 7-8% and have blown up. probably the best gains I have ever made. I am doing collegiate nationals mid july. my guess is that I will probably be around 240 when I start dieting and will be at least 210 at weigh in? (weight is irrelavant to me, I just care about conditioning) either way I look at it I will be a heavyweight so I just go by the mirror and measurements and reactions of the people around me.

heres the thing If I am pretty lean say 9-10% would it be better to take the extra month and keep gaining lean mass and only diet 12 weeks?
or would it be better to just take a couple weeks extra to bulk so 14 weeks to diet.

or would it be even better to take the whole 16 and maybe the fist 4 weeks not try and lose much weight just let the body adjust into the diet.
I am basiclaly just eating the same things I dieted on last year just larger amounts so adjusting to the diet shouldnt be a problem at all.

 

[Designbuilt]

k guys. last couple shows here is what I did

first one I dieted from 257lbs to 197lbs in 14 weeks. won my class but still had another 6-7lbs of fat to lose.
last show dieted from 250 to about 201 completly shredded cut water and stopped eating to make 198 then ate couple meals and was over 200 on stage. this was 16 weeks of prep. if I would have carb loaded I would have probably been 205 but I didnt want to get my ass beat in heavies. I won my class again. (posted pics in october from the show)

now fastforward to this yr. I havent weighed myself at all, this way I wont go crazy and stuff my face to gain weight. its working like a charm. I have stayed really lean proabably 7-8% and have blown up. probably the best gains I have ever made. I am doing collegiate nationals mid july. my guess is that I will probably be around 240 when I start dieting and will be at least 210 at weigh in? (weight is irrelavant to me, I just care about conditioning) either way I look at it I will be a heavyweight so I just go by the mirror and measurements and reactions of the people around me.

heres the thing If I am pretty lean say 9-10% would it be better to take the extra month and keep gaining lean mass and only diet 12 weeks?
or would it be better to just take a couple weeks extra to bulk so 14 weeks to diet.

or would it be even better to take the whole 16 and maybe the fist 4 weeks not try and lose much weight just let the body adjust into the diet.
I am basiclaly just eating the same things I dieted on last year just larger amounts so adjusting to the diet shouldnt be a problem at all.

Two things, first off, it seems like an aweful lot of weight to lose in such a short period for a show.

Second, how much more mass do you think you can gain in an extra 2 weeks? Besides, it's better to be in shape two weeks out, then to have to panic and feel that you're too smooth two weeks out. Just my opinion, but what do you think?

Furthermore, if you flaten out too much, you could always fill out for a week, if you're a little ahead of schedule.

Good Luck either way.

 

[latimus]

Two things, first off, it seems like an aweful lot of weight to lose in such a short period for a show.

Second, how much more mass do you think you can gain in an extra 2 weeks? Besides, it's better to be in shape two weeks out, then to have to panic and feel that you're too smooth two weeks out. Just my opinion, but what do you think?

Furthermore, if you flaten out too much, you could always fill out for a week, if you're a little ahead of schedule.

Good Luck either way.

yah I drop weight easy! even without cardio. LOL

its just a tough cookie to crumble. because I may be able to put on another lb of muscle and gain maybe a lb of fat in an extra month. and losing bodyfat is easy for me.

if I only hae 25lbs to lose some of which would be water would it be worth it to diet 16 weeks when I could do eat easy in 12. yah I know what you are saying though being ready a couple weeks out it the best. I was ready 2 weeks out for my last show and I did 16 week prep.

 

[Tawab]

needed 20 weeks, started around 220 finished at 190
and would have needed more to have the skin looking better...it has to shrink again
anyway it was really tuff mentally...
so if u can maintain good quality all yr long, below 10% bf then it's easy to reach ur goal
the answer to this thread is easy: from where do u start? a clean bulking or dirty junk food bulking??.....

 

[latimus]

i think only a qualified contest prep trainer could make that estimate ONLY IF they have been working with you.
in general i find it is ALWAYS best to diet a long and steady time. be early by 2 weeks if possible. if you eat right and exercise accordingly you might be gaining lean mass even while dieting so don't worry about bulking for too long.
just my 2 cents. and holy crap can you drop some weight fast! those examples you gave were crazy -STEELE

yah I did work with someone my last prep. I just like to get as many insights as I can before I start my dieting. trust me I eat right and excersise accordinly when I diet. I just dont put on any size or lean mass when I diet. I seem to lose alot of size and muscle because in the past I had so much weight to lose and had to so fast. so maybe if I do take 16 weeks and ease into it this time I may put on size. last couple diets I was losing 2 1/2lbs a week. this time I plan to only lose a lb a week if that. do you guys actually put on size in your dieting process when you are dropping around a lb a week?

 

[oldfella]

It is very hard to actuallty gain some lean mass while trying to strip fat. It can be done but your diet will need to be so clean and so spot on for a lot longer than 12 weeks. To drop the weight you mentioned above in that time frame means you lost a fair bit of muscle or you simply had that much fat to lose. I would look at a much longer diet time frame and eat to lose fat slowly. this will generally preserve as much lean mass as possible. If you need to make adjustments along the way then you still have time up your sleeve to do so. Instead of panicing in the last two weeks and fucking up what could have otherwise been excellent conditioning with just a little more time.

 

[buselmo]

It is very hard to actuallty gain some lean mass while trying to strip fat. It can be done but your diet will need to be so clean and so spot on for a lot longer than 12 weeks.

I used to believe that... for the longest time... and that's what has caused me to look like shit every time... i agree with you in the "longer than 12 weeks" part... but clean food? i stopped believing that when i saw that it was not neccessary and it was actually detremental.

This is, ofcourse, my personal opinion. and i have changed my way of thinking from "get ready for a contest" to "compete when you are ready"... if that means 30 weeks of prep... so be it... i'd rather step on stage after 30 weeks of having fun, eating pizza and ice cream whenever i feel like it, gaining strength and seeing my weight go up and muscle mass going up and fat melting off week by week, than eating like a somalian refugee for 8-12 weeks, feeling and looking miserable, and doing some retarded shit 4-7 days out of contest that will cause serious health damage just to look 2% better than the train wreck i was.

As far as latimus is concerned... keep on doing what you're doing... if you are coming in leaner and heavier year after year... keep on doing what you're doing... UNLESS you are suffering "life" wise.

again... personal opinion... didn't mean to offend anyone but i'm sick of this "clean diet" crap.

 

[machola]

i'd rather step on stage after 30 weeks of having fun, eating pizza and ice cream whenever i feel like it, gaining strength and seeing my weight go up and muscle mass going up and fat melting off week by week

...what is your secret? i know people that eat pizza and icecream all the time and they're not losing fat

 

[ojs]

k guys. last couple shows here is what I did

first one I dieted from 257lbs to 197lbs in 14 weeks. won my class but still had another 6-7lbs of fat to lose.
last show dieted from 250 to about 201 completly shredded cut water and stopped eating to make 198 then ate couple meals and was over 200 on stage. this was 16 weeks of prep. if I would have carb loaded I would have probably been 205 but I didnt want to get my ass beat in heavies. I won my class again. (posted pics in october from the show)

now fastforward to this yr. I havent weighed myself at all, this way I wont go crazy and stuff my face to gain weight. its working like a charm. I have stayed really lean proabably 7-8% and have blown up. probably the best gains I have ever made. I am doing collegiate nationals mid july. my guess is that I will probably be around 240 when I start dieting and will be at least 210 at weigh in? (weight is irrelavant to me, I just care about conditioning) either way I look at it I will be a heavyweight so I just go by the mirror and measurements and reactions of the people around me.

heres the thing If I am pretty lean say 9-10% would it be better to take the extra month and keep gaining lean mass and only diet 12 weeks?
or would it be better to just take a couple weeks extra to bulk so 14 weeks to diet.

or would it be even better to take the whole 16 and maybe the fist 4 weeks not try and lose much weight just let the body adjust into the diet.
I am basiclaly just eating the same things I dieted on last year just larger amounts so adjusting to the diet shouldnt be a problem at all.

Unless you hire someone, any of our answers are shots in the dark. But generally, here is what I think...

I would diet down just like you did last year. You can slow it down after 8 weeks in. And then rethink what you need to do to hit the stage. This should be your best year. You'll have time to diet down below your stage weight and then diet up to your skin stretching fullest look yet.

 

[buselmo]

...what is your secret? i know people that eat pizza and icecream all the time and they're not losing fat

not a secret at all... I don't feel like eating pizza and ice cream everyday... sometimes i get sick of food... on days i don't feel like eating, i just follow a low cal diet with mostly protein and fat... 2 or 3 days later when i'm starving, i'd just eat whatever the hell i wanted. I've grown sick of chicken and fish and about 80% of my protein is from whey and the rest is from lean beef (i make a burger... white bread bun and all) or a couple of boiled eggs.
I never ever thought shit like this would work... but this year, i said "fuck it" and just decided to do shit in moderation. don't eat junk all the time... and don't follow a diet all week long.
i've been doing this for 12 weeks now... weight is up from 189 lbs to 195 lbs this morning, strength is way up, my waist is down by 2 inches, and my arms are up by 3/4 of an inch... still got 10 weeks left til my contest and i don't think i'll need to change a thing cuz fat loss and muscle gain and is consistant.
I actually have pictures of what i looked like 12 weeks ago and i can take pictures tomorrow morning if you like ... but i'll have to shave this built on sweater if that's needed

 

[machola]

sounds good

not a secret at all... I don't feel like eating pizza and ice cream everyday... sometimes i get sick of food... on days i don't feel like eating, i just follow a low cal diet with mostly protein and fat... 2 or 3 days later when i'm starving, i'd just eat whatever the hell i wanted. I've grown sick of chicken and fish and about 80% of my protein is from whey and the rest is from lean beef (i make a burger... white bread bun and all) or a couple of boiled eggs.
I never ever thought shit like this would work... but this year, i said "fuck it" and just decided to do shit in moderation. don't eat junk all the time... and don't follow a diet all week long.
i've been doing this for 12 weeks now... weight is up from 189 lbs to 195 lbs this morning, strength is way up, my waist is down by 2 inches, and my arms are up by 3/4 of an inch... still got 10 weeks left til my contest and i don't think i'll need to change a thing cuz fat loss and muscle gain and is consistant.
I actually have pictures of what i looked like 12 weeks ago and i can take pictures tomorrow morning if you like ... but i'll have to shave this built on sweater if that's needed

i wouldn't think it would work either but it sounds like its working for you. best of luck with the show!

 

[buselmo]

i wouldn't think it would work either but it sounds like its working for you. best of luck with the show!

thanks bro
will post pictures when i'm done... still a long way to go

 

[latimus]

not a secret at all... I don't feel like eating pizza and ice cream everyday... sometimes i get sick of food... on days i don't feel like eating, i just follow a low cal diet with mostly protein and fat... 2 or 3 days later when i'm starving, i'd just eat whatever the hell i wanted. I've grown sick of chicken and fish and about 80% of my protein is from whey and the rest is from lean beef (i make a burger... white bread bun and all) or a couple of boiled eggs.
I never ever thought shit like this would work... but this year, i said "fuck it" and just decided to do shit in moderation. don't eat junk all the time... and don't follow a diet all week long.
i've been doing this for 12 weeks now... weight is up from 189 lbs to 195 lbs this morning, strength is way up, my waist is down by 2 inches, and my arms are up by 3/4 of an inch... still got 10 weeks left til my contest and i don't think i'll need to change a thing cuz fat loss and muscle gain and is consistant.
I actually have pictures of what i looked like 12 weeks ago and i can take pictures tomorrow morning if you like ... but i'll have to shave this built on sweater if that's needed

u lacky bastard. I have a workout buddy just like you. except he doesnt compete in bodybuilding. he is a powerlifter and holds a few records and is just like that eats a ton of shit and stays lean as fuck ( i keep trying to get him to compete he could do real well). I still dont even understand it, he gives me shit for doing walking cardio after workouts and says I am getting myslef fatter by losing muscle when doing cardio. LOL
he just got his bf checked the other day and was a mid 5% i couldnt belive it because a week before I witnessed him eat like 40pieces of candy, 1/2lb of this peppermint bark candy shit, 8 diet pops, 3 tacos, 1 huge plate of carna asada with a bag of chips salsa and cheese. then he had crepes at sharis and ate a ton of pistachio nuts. its madness.


thanks for everyone who responded in the thread. I will probably do what I did for my last show just tweak it because I wont have to lose nearly as much weight this time. should definelty be my best yr yet.

 

[buselmo]

u lacky bastard. I have a workout buddy just like you. except he doesnt compete in bodybuilding. he is a powerlifter and holds a few records and is just like that eats a ton of shit and stays lean as fuck ( i keep trying to get him to compete he could do real well). I still dont even understand it, he gives me shit for doing walking cardio after workouts and says I am getting myslef fatter by losing muscle when doing cardio. LOL
he just got his bf checked the other day and was a mid 5% i couldnt belive it because a week before I witnessed him eat like 40pieces of candy, 1/2lb of this peppermint bark candy shit, 8 diet pops, 3 tacos, 1 huge plate of carna asada with a bag of chips salsa and cheese. then he had crepes at sharis and ate a ton of pistachio nuts. its madness.


thanks for everyone who responded in the thread. I will probably do what I did for my last show just tweak it because I wont have to lose nearly as much weight this time. should definelty be my best yr yet.

Bro, trust me, i'm not even remotely as lucky as your friend. i have shit genetics when it comes to anything ... I have a slightly higher than normal metabolism, BUT i burn muscle really fast and fat doesn't seem to move. If i ate like your friend, i'd be a fat ass in no time! In all my years in bodybuilding i've always eaten clean. I either used cardio to get rid of the fat, or didn't do cardio and decreased calories... in any way i tried to do it, it's always slow fat loss and a ton of muscle loss no matter what! I've tried every diet combination there is (palumbo, Phil's different ratios, carb cycling... etc) eating clean just made me look flat and become weak.
but right now... hell... it's as easy as hell to diet , if you can call it dieting.

Anyway, judging from your last contest photos, you were ripped to fucking shreds! If you compete with more muscle this year, and at the same level of bodyfat as last time... just keep doing what you're doing cuz results never lie.

good luck bro, and i can't wait to see you kick some ass!