Fat Loss - Advice from Successful Lifters

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Brandon Fokken

M&S Talks To Physique Superman Brandan Fokken | Muscle & Strength

I think the most common mistake is diet. People don’t eat what they should be eating. They may eat too little or too much or just not stick to a plan altogether. If you don’t know what to eat then odds are the rest of your plan will fail.

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John Lee

M&S Talks To Jacked Physique Competitor John Lee | Muscle & Strength

Train and eat like you are going to compete, just don’t step on stage.

I’ve used carb-cycling as a means to get ready for contests most of the time. I think it’s one of the most effective methods to cut down on fat while retaining muscle. Do I think it’s crucial? No. But I like it, I can live with it, and I’ve used it with a lot of success. It’s just another method of dieting down. To me, the only crucial thing in a diet regimen is finding out what works for YOUR body.

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Maik Weidenbach

M&S Talks To Fitness Author And Olympic Level Swimmer Maik Wiedenbach | Muscle & Strength

Natural bodybuilders should avoid such long periods of dieting, since it simply costs too much muscle mass. Instead, try “culking”. Bulk sensibly for 2 weeks, lower your calories for 2 weeks, repeat. As a result, you will pack on mass slower but you will stay leaner year-round. I personally like being leaner, it makes me train harder which probably leads to better gains.

Overdieting (and overdoing cardio) was another huge mistake. It cost me many pounds of muscle and made me smaller as opposed to leaner. I was following the herd advice and was training with high reps and low weights to burn the fat off. Being natural, you have to keep training heavy, rather reduce the number of sets than the training weight.

As for cardio, you have to find out what works for you, but I do not recommend doing more than 30 minutes per day.

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Philip Ricardo Jr

Philip Ricardo Jr. Athlete Profile With Workouts & Pictures | Muscle & Strength

I changed my preparation from a mere 4-6 weeks of dieting and cardio to 8-12 weeks and that made a major difference in my physique. The extra prep time allowed me to slowly get used to dieting (no longer eating cheeseburgers and pizza is very tough for me), and to hold on to as much muscle as possible, optimally losing no more than a pound or two a week. Any more weight loss per week will risk you stepping on stage or for a photo shoot looking smaller and flat from excessive muscle wasting. If you give your body the right amount of nutrients and calories to lose that one to two pounds per week, you will find yourself looking bigger and better naked (which is what counts our line of business) than you normally look in the off-season, even though your clothes will be a bit baggy on you by the end of your diet.

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Daniel Grissom Athlete Profile With Workouts & Pictures | Muscle & Strength

Daniel Grissom

My contest prep diet I try to match my protein to my body weight, so it may start a little high around 210 grams per day, and then gradually decrease as I drop weight - but never going under around 190 grams per day. I pretty much stick to having whey protein shakes, grilled chicken and tilapia fish.

As for my carbs, those start around 185 grams per day, and gradually drop as well as I come down in weight. I eat grits, salad, and carbs from shakes.

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Layne Norton

Layne Norton Athlete Profile With Workouts & Pictures | Muscle & Strength

It changes every contest season depending upon how my body responds and typically I will have to change my macronutrient intake as I get further into the prep. A ‘normal’ prep intake for me would be anywhere from 250-300g protein, 150-250g carbohydrates, and 45-60g fat per day. I also have 2 days per week where I will moderately increase carbs to 300-350g while simultaneously lowering fat and protein by about 10%.

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Rich Knapp

Rich Knapp Athlete Profile With Workouts & Pictures | Muscle & Strength

It is nothing for me to spend 2-3 hours setting up my next day's meal plan to hit my macros dead on. There isn't a day in the weeks of show prep that I don't hit my macros dead on. Not over or under even a gram. I weight everything, even my supplements. (Capsules or tablets I don't weigh LOL) I have all my supplements logged in my ProTrack 2008 when I do my meal plan. Many don't count the macros from their supplements. I do. Every one of my supplements are in there with their macro counts.

I believe in using a variety of macro sources. It helps keep the urges to cheat away. I eat chicken early in the day and turkey midday. Then end of day tuna. I workout in the mornings so I eat 40% of my carbs in morning, 40% post-workout, and as the day progresses the last 20% tapering them off and rising the fat level in the meals. I use oatmeal, red potatoes, Pringles (yes Pringles), dark chocolate with almonds (again yes, also fills fats), whole grain crackers and veggies for carbs. Fats are almonds, omega-3, pistachios and peanut butter.