I am considering entering my first contest which is 16 weeks out. I have tried to contact BI a few times in the last 8 months about a nutrition plan, but have not received a response.
I am 5'11" 215lbs with 18% BF. Can anyone give me a nutritional plan to help me reach my goal or do you think I need more time to lose that much bodyfat. I am a numbers guy who likes to count his calories and micronutrients. I have a good idea on the types of food to eat but I am unsure of how many calories and how much cardio. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Is competing in 16 weeks possible with this much BF?

Hi Chad and welcome to the board. BI is normally very good about follow-up with clients so I would give them a call and/or download the client profile from thier main web site and fax it to them. You should hear back from them within a few days of doing that.

As far as can you be ready in 16 weeks - yes, but it would be a big push. You would want to be under 6% bf for your show to be competitive with others who were prepared and very lean. If you are really at 18% bf/215lbs you neeed to lose 12% which would equate to about 26 lbs of body fat. Divide that by 16 weeks and you get about 1.625 lbs/week. I prefer a plan that allows you to lose weight (body fat) more slowly - something along the lines of .5 to 1 lb/wk., but 1.6lbs a week is possible.

You will have to design a diet plan that has a stepped reduction in total daily k/cals over the 16 weeks. If you know where your base line diet is now and what your macronutrient mix is that will be very helpful to the person who will help you design your diet plan. 16 weeks is a fairly long haul to be on a calorie restricted diet and your body will want to compensate for body fat loss and a calorie deficit along the way. When that happens progress will slow a bit and you will have to make dietary or activity level changes to jump start the fat loss process.

I think that you can do it if you stay focused and get good advice, but another option might be for you to get down to the 10-12% body fat range. Take a few week break from dieting and then aim for a contest. That would break up the long haul a bit and might make it seem more tolerable. Either way - good luck in meeting your goals! There is a lot of info here that you can find by using the search feature. If you have questions after your searches feel free to ask away. There are a lot of helpful and knowledgable folks who are active board members.