hey everybody....in two weeks i have a show...in the past iv'e always used the traditional rice/white potato to carb up with...what are your thoughts or ideas about using low GI carbs like sweetpotato or oatmeal instead?...has anyone ever tried this?...it make sense to me to ingest these type of carbs to keep insulin levels stabilized throughout the day...but does it effect your glycogen stores differently?.....maybe somebody can clarify this for me..i'm somewhat carbfused! (bad joke )...kat

Actually, I have used those foods several times and you'll find many people at your contest eating them also. The general idea on this board seems to push toward not eating the fibrous carbs the last 2-3 days. Repost with a breakdown of your entire last week and let everyone take a stab at it. I did and I learned alot. Later, Pup

hey pump...thanks for the feedback...my "peak week" diet may differ from alot of people that follow the bev diet, although i take all bev supps with mine....this year i'm going to try a different approach with the h20 manipulation...i will consume x2 gallons (double my norm) from sun-fri no h20 after 5pm on fri..i will sip h20 until i get on stage sat morn...as for my carbs...starting on sun. only 20 grams of farina in the am. none after that..no fibrous carbs either, 4oz of chick or steak every two hours ( 8am-10pm), mon-tues only 10grams of farina in the am - protein the same. wed no carbs, protein only - start loading on thurs with 20grams of oatmeal or sweetpotato evey two hours until 10pm -my protein will be less (6 portions instead of 8 )...if i'm not filling out by fri- i will try to switch over to rice. fri night i'm going to have a t-bone steak with a sweetpotato, salad and a glass of wine. sat morning 2 pancakes with syrup...and i'm going to try muscle goo for the first time while i'm waiting to get on stage. what do ya think?...ideas?...thoughts..changes! let me know....thanks..kat

Lots of issues here, and there is no one best way, so take my comments accordingly. I'd wait a little longer before dropping water on Friday. Most folks will be able to discharge all excess water within 8-10 hrs or sooner, so you can safely keep water in until at least 7 or 8 pm. You can test this theory by watching how your body dry's out the few nights prior to your show. When you go to sleep you essentially stop water intake. Sometime during the night you should notice an improvement in your appearance due to the water excretion. If that happens at 3am for example, and you went to bed at ten you have a good idea that for you it only takes about 5 hours for your body to have the desired effect.

Most folks will stay away from the low glycemic carbs for carbing up as they act slowly, or more slowly than high glycemic carbs, in their transformation into glycogen and absorbtion into your system. I don't consider a yam as low glycemic so I'm a little confused by your post. Of course it's lower than dextrose or other very sugary stuff, but it is closer to white rice and apple sauce than it is to broccoli and lettuce. Anyway - carbing up seems to be very much an individual thing. If this has worked for you in the past do it - if it is a new method you might want to give it a trial run if you have time. I'm not sure that low glycemic carbs to stablize your insulin level is that important as part of your carb up routine. As long as you would keep injesting the faster carbs on some sort of schedule that should pretty much keep your insulin levels high. It is probably more important to keep your insulin levels steady before during and after heavy training. Spiked insulin levels always throw me off, usually brought on by eating junk food when I'm hungry, but that is another topic. FYI - Last eyar I used a different carb up scheme that had me eating nothing but high fat, high glycemic carbs on Friday night and a ton of them. I did not notice any issues with my insulin levels being goofed up. I think that they shot up after I started eating and then just stayed high.

Take a look at the way Anthony Bussacco carbed up for his two contests last year. (Old NNN or the BI main site) He made some changes for his second show that he liked better and he incorporated the beef/grapfruit routine also. You may find his methods interesting. Good luck!

thanks va!....i was contemplating on what time to drop my h20..i wasn't to sure on that one...but you clarified it for me...what i meant about the sweetpotato being actually a moderate low GI as opposed to white rice...but like the old saying goes (" if it ain't broke don't fix it! )...i used white rice/pot scheme to carb up last year and it help me win three overalls so i think i'll just stick with that...i just wanted to experiment this year...you been very helpful, and i appreciate it immensely!...i got to check out the beef/grapefruit scheme that has peaked my interest!...i'll keep ya posted on things...11 days out...AHHH!...talk at ya lata...kat

Three over-alls - wow - when are you going to start teling us your secrets? We'll cut you some slack until after your upcoming shows. Best of luck and keep us posted.

hey VA....those overalls where only regional shows in FL. level 3-5A...the show i'm doing in the up and coming weeks is a national qualifer (Southern States) is a pretty big show in FL...lots of people show up and the competion is tough....i am drug free and i'll be up against some bigtime juicers...just getting the contest jitters...i've been preparing for this show for a year...i really don't want to go there and not even place!....last year i had the help from a trainer, i followed everything he told me to the T,( i was a puppet on a string! )...he would never answer any of my questions of WHY?...he just said do as i say...so i did..this year i'm on my own...trying to be "tuned in" to my body instead of relying on somebody else...still learning alot....i thank you for taking the time to listen and respond.....kat

Awsome challange - as long as you come in at your best you will be a winner regardless of your placing. The true competition is you against you - have you improved? Did you look your best? If so you win, and along the way you might just also look better than everyone else who shows up.

I like to win as much as the next person, and would always like to do better, but I really have tried to change my focus to one of an internal competitive mindset. If you do that it greatly reduces stress and anxiety and as a result I think that you do better.

I hear what you are saying about trainers and coaches that don't like to explain the why behind the how. Personally I like to understand the science and rationale behind the strategy, if it does not make sense to me I am unlikely to try it. I'm not sure if those people who won't explain are just on an ego trip, are poor communicators or if perhaps they simply don't understand the why themselves so they really can't explain it. I really liked the one and only official coach that I ever paid a modest fee to. He did not mind explaining and he never forced his views upon me. He made suggestions and explained why but left the decisions up to me.

The Southern States is always very competitive so you will undoubtedly run up against some other peole who have also done their homework. That's ok - doing well in a contest where the competition was poor is not nearly as satisfying as standing tall against others who showed up ready.

Do you have any pics out there from your past shows? Do you compete in BBing or in fitness/figure?

Hey VA....that was very profound and thoughtful..thanks for the uplift!....i compete in womens bb (open light wt )...if ya familiar with Southern Muscle...just go to the website and look under the archives search (plug in the Tampa Bay classic 2003) for my pic...any pics of you in cyber space?...talk to ya soon...kat

hey VA...i stumbled across some of your bb pics on this forum...wow!....wonder why you give great bb advice...it shows in your pics!...i love the look of bb who is drugfree, cut to the bone...and sharp..very nice!...talk at ya soon..kat

I don't know about profound... but I do try to be thoughtful. I'll check out your victory pics when I have a chance.

katwmn - Your photo from the Tampa Bay Classsic is outstanding. You look better than the more famous katwmn! I am always impressed by any female BBer (or Fitness/Figure) who gets into good enough contest condition to have a great set of abs and detail in their legs. (And quite a few of those impressive folks hang around right here on this board!) You surely accomplished that. You are going to give the competition a run for their money at the Southern States!

thanks for the compliment maddog...the nickname "kat women" was given to me when i was in high school..because i acted "catty" towards the snobby girls...it always stuck..now people just call me kat for short the "cattines" went away!...i am 9 days away from my warm-up show (before i do southernstates )...i was dreaming about eating corndogs, chicken strips, and french fries last night OMG...how pathetic!...i wouldn't even eat those foods if i wasn't on a diet!...how weird...although i could go for some cheesecake right about now!..back to my chicken and green beans...talk to ya lata..kat

I think that you have struck upon a new method of diet control - just dream about the foods that you want but can't have and your craving will be satisfied - what a deal! So if that works - you need to dream about that first place trophey and before you know it it will be in the back seat! As they say - visualization helps you get to your goal. Best of luck with your prep.