Fitness Photo Shoot Prep

I am now 9 days away from the end of the Adonis Index Transformation contest. This was a 12 week contest that is meant to showcase the hard work and dedication of those that decided to participate. I am one of those people. The 12 weeks has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were days I didn't eat (fasting), days I ate on target, days I ate a bit higher than maintenance, and days I don't ever want to think about again. I took carb loading to a new level a few times. I really need to do a better job on avoiding those days.

My weight has fluctuated almost daily and I finally got to the point where I stopped weighing myself. My clothes continued to loosen and I do notice a difference when looking in the mirror. At last check, I have lost an inch off of my waist and added an inch to my shoulders.  This morning my weight is 176lbs which is about where I have been sitting for the last 12 weeks.

Now that I am a mere 9 days away from taking pictures and sending them in for all to see, I figured I needed to get really serious. So I did some more research on cutting water weight and now I am drinking roughly 2 gallons of water a day. No easy task mind you!

I am also cutting my carb intake down to 30 grams a day. This will deplete my glycogen reserves and help me to get even leaner and meaner. It's a bit of the Carb Nite Protocol that I attempted here. As you can read in that post, that attempt at cutting saw a 9lb weight loss. I was heavier then and didnt see much difference in body composition though. I am hoping this time will be better. I now have clearly defined upper abs and hopefully this cut will help to show the lower half.

I am still contemplating a spray tan.  I know that getting one will help to show off the definition that I have but I don't know if I want to go through the hassle of getting one and everyone knowing that I got one. It would be different if I was doing an actual fitness competition on stage but most people don't understand the whole 12 week transformation contest.

Below is a simple calendar that I came up with to track what I should be drinking and eating as I prepare for the photo shoot.