Pictures do not lie.
This transformation weight started at 210 down to 189.5 pounds. I lost about 15 pounds of fat and 3 pounds of muscle. I had to cut 2.5 pounds of water weight to make my class. No complicated eating schemes were followed. The human body is a machine of habit.
I just ate two cans of tuna in olive oil almost everyday. Barbecue brisket and chicken were eaten on Saturday and Sunday until 3 weeks before the competition. So, I consumed only 700 calories a day for 21 days. I noticed the biggest changes after cutting out cheese(dairy). I cut out dairy 5 weeks out. The 20/4 intermittent fasting regimen was applied for the 5 weeks.
During the week, I drank a lot of topo chico, as well as, water with apple cider vinegar and lemon. I took: a one-a-day vitamin; potassium; lecithin; vitamin's C and D; fish oil; zinc and a lot of black coffee with pepper. I was able to sleep at night by taking a benadryl.
I would force myself to do a 15 to 20 minute HIT workout before eating my first can of tuna. I weight trained for 45 minutes with an additional 30 minutes of low intensity cardio at night. I had to force my body to continue to burn calories with the HIT workouts and evening weight training/cardio sessions. My strength and energy levels decreased as expected.
I was able to follow this to the end. I did not have a peak week. I weighed in and sipped on water until the competition was over!
I placed 6th amateur light heavyweight and 7th masters. I was still too fat for the level of competition at this year's WNBF/INBF World Natural Bodybuilding Championships in Islip, New York. I would have been a finalist with 10 more pounds of fat off my body.
Next time, I will do the same regimen for 6 weeks instead of 5 weeks. I will also be leaner when I start this extreme regimen.
I am not encouraging this to anyone. This is what it took for me to transform my body. It took a lot of will power and perseverance.
The body likes habit. My body has suffered always trying to follow what everyone else is doing.
The peak week with all the salt/water and carb loading has always thrown my body off kilter. Keep doing what works for your body.
It may take several competitions before you will find it.
Again, this applies to natural bodybuilding. If you are taking gorilla hormones with diuretics- it doesn't matter what you do.