Contest time for the NSW IFBB Pro League show is creeping up fast with only 11 weeks to go. With Fat continuing to come off at a steady rate it isn’t the time to implement anything drastic just yet. However, as the Contest draws closer most competitors will need to drop calories to insure the get to the required body-fat percentage. This article is about how we decide when to cut Calories ad from which meals do we take them.
STEP 1 CHOOSE AN OPTION During Each contest preparation or a trimming up for summer phase, there are several tools at our disposal to accelerate fat loss
- Reduce Calories
- Increase Cardio
- Add in a Fat burning product
Deciding which one of these is going to be your next step comes down to which one is going to be most ecologic to you. Which one is going to get the job done while depleting your energy reserves the least. Here are some simple points to take into account when choosing
- If you aren’t taking any Fat burners atm then this is a simple way to drop fat faster without tapping into your food levels yet
- If you are time poor then adding extra cardio may not be the best option
- If your calorie levels are still relatively high and you still have some gas in the tank so to speak then dropping calories about 10% will be a good option.
- If your cardio levels are relatively low then adding cardio is my preference over cutting calories just yet.
By answering the questions above it soon becomes apparent which choice is my next option for continued fat loss.
STEP 2 HOW TO DROP CALORIES Having decided we need to trim out some calories, how many calories have to go and from what meals are they going? Here are a few principles to help guide this process
- As a general rule of thumb, a 10% calorie reduction is going to create enough of a deficit without your body thinking it is about to starve.
- Carbs and Fats are usually the best choices. It will all depend on how many you have of each macro to play with.
- Carbs later in the day or night are usually the first ones we drop out.
- Carbs during training usually are the last ones to get cut.
- Add in extra green vegetables if you need to bulk out any meals.
- Leave protein levels the same at this stage
That should be enough to really start seeing changes in the coming days. If your body-fat pinches haven’t changed noticeably in 2 weeks then it’s time to make some more changes.