Uncensored

QUESTION: I’ve been bodybuilding clean for about a year now and weigh 195 pounds at 10% body fat, and I’m trying to get ripped
up for a show this fall. A pro who's a big name around here offered to create a pre-contest diet for 500 bucks. I paid him, and he gave me the diet I’ve sent you. It seems hard to follow and the food choices don't make much sense. What do you think of it?

ANSWER: Sorry Mike, but you've been scammed by this guy! There are so many issues wrong with this diet, I don’t know where to start: No calorie info, no nutrient breakdown, no cooking or measuring instructions - even the fact that it’s for just one day. What about the rest of the week, such as training days vs. rest days? We actually passed this diet around our office, and it looks like the pro you got it from just copied the diet of another very famous bodybuilder that ran in a magazine many years back. After calculating the total caloric intake in the diet, I can tell you that you’re eating close to 3,000 calories a day! (Editor’s Note: You can calculate the calories in any diet by logging onto www.usda.gov). Mike, you’re not a pro, you’re also drug free, and, thus, you can’t be following diets or training programs that the best in the business follow. These guys have incredible genetics on their side and maybe juiced to the gills. This allows them to eat whatever they want and still look totally awesome. You need a diet that’s tailored for a natural bodybuilder, not one that’s “enhanced,” and a diet that takes into consideration a wide variety of personal information, including gender, age, goal, lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, current workout program, food preferences, compliance issues (e.g., conflicting work schedule or life style), somatotype, resting blood glucose tolerance, and any medical history (food allergies, diabetes, etc.). That being said, if you’re paying someone your hard earned cash to develop a diet plan for you, then make sure they take this info into account. Anyone who develops a diet plan should have a sound rationale for everything he prescribes and be able to walk you through the diet. So don’t be afraid to ask questions: Challenge them if you can. Hopefully, you’ll learn something in return. If not, fire their ass!