Dieting For Cycles

There are a few simple rules I follow when dieting whether I'm on cycle or off. The first rule is to eat every few hours and make sure I get an ample amount of protein in each of those meals. The second is to eat as little fat as possible. Unsaturated fat isn't so much of a big deal as saturated fat is. But if you keep your overall fat intake as low as possible, your saturated intake will be low as well. Third is to moderate my carb intake and eat the majority of my carbs for breakfast and pre-workout. I once saw an interview with Ronnie Coleman. He was 6 weeks out from the Olympia and was only consuming about 200 grams of carbs per day! You don't need to go to that extreme, but it just goes to show that you don't need to eat some of these insane amounts I hear people say to eat pre-workout and what not.

Some of the basic foods to keep in mind while trying to build lean mass and drop fat weight at the same time are, fish and chicken. They contain a good amount of protein, have little to no carbs and little to no fat.

I don't necessarily keep a super strict diet unless I'm prepping for a show, but a lean mass diet for me would consist of baked chicken and fish, goulash, spaghetti with meat and sauce, chicken and pasta, Tuna Helper, lasagna, cottage cheese, enchilada's, chicken and dumplings, Mac and cheese w/ tuna and long grain wild rice. I won't eat anything that's fried or anything with a lot of cheese on it. I eat little to no sweets or deserts and won't drink any pop or fruit juices. These are just some examples showing that you can eat "normal" foods while on a cycle and cutting fat at the same time your are building lean mass.

If you were to be running Insulin, you would obviously need to make some adjustments as to when you are eating certain foods while the slin is active in your body, but I will still eat the items listed above while including slin in my cycle.

One major change that needs to occur when on a mass cycle is an increase in daily caloric intake. For example, when I'm off cycle I will usually eat about 2300 cal's a day. Of which, most of that is protein followed closely by carbs and then a very small amount of fat. When I am on a bulking cycle, I am usually consuming around 5000 cal's a day. Again this is high in protein, moderate in carbs and almost no fat. It's not an easy thing to do physically, because there are times when I feel full, yet I know I need to get in another meal. So it takes a lot of dedication and will power to keep pushing through the tough times. I think that's the difference between those of us who compete, and those just trying to improve their appearance. We who compete, view it as our lifestyle and a mission and will do whatever we need to do to be the best.

Lastly is weight gainer and protein shakes. These two items have their place in a diet, but shouldn't comprise the majority of the protein or calories taken in on the diet. I try to get as much of my protein and cal's though actual food. I do, always, include these two things in my diet in one way or another though.