Many members here and other BI clients have had success with using the Beef & Grapefruit strategy on the Thursday and Friday before a Saturday show. When this started the trend was just on Friday, but now it seems like most start on Thursday.

I'm going to try it for the first time myself in about 6 weeks so I am looking for more specifics as to how those who have done this successfuly have worked it into their final weeks nutritional plan. Some of you have mentioned that it works best if you lead up to it in a certain way. I'm not clear on what that refers to other than having a low enough bf level - is there more? In particular I'm also interested in how anyone supplemented their carb up with foods beyond the grapefruit, or if not did the grapefruit alone do the trick? Tell us what you feel the result of the strategy was for you?

Oh and one more thing - my contest is going to be a live judged show which means that pre-judging is immediately before the evening show so it starts about 4pm on Saturday - how would this timing affect how you would implement the beef/grapefruit strategy?

Thanks a bunch for sharing your experiences!! Hopefully this discussion will be helpful for everyone who is thinking about trying this approach. (Good idea Ray!)

I am glad you posted this topic VA, I have been wondering the same thing. Hopefully we get some ansewrs. Sorry I wasn't any help.

For my last contest, I did beef and grapefruit Thurs and Fri. Sun-Wed morning were very low carb days with salt added to food. My last 3 meals Wed and all meals thursday had carbs (oats or sweet potato, in addition to the grapefruit). Friday was just beef and grapefruit. It ended up working pretty good, although I felt really FLAT on Friday. You need to carb up HARD Saturday morning (contest day) or you'll come in flat.

Glad someone is bringing this topic up because I have been using BEV diets for about four years and I allways kind of thought the standard was just a friday beef/grapefruit, but I see where many are trying thur./fri. B/GR. I am competing in 2 weeks at probably the biggest show I've done to date and I think I'm gonna try the thur/fri. beef/grap. Maybe spread my carbs wed. and thur. D Candy, when you carbed sat. morning how soon prior, and about how much do you consider hard? I last competed back in april and didn't really hit the carbs hard that morning, just the goo every 20 min. and never really filled me out. I came in extremely dry and hard, but kind of stringy and flat. Thats why I really need to hit it hard sat. morning with the carbs, just allways seem to get scared off from eating so much right before. If you don't mind could you share your carb up meal prior to prejudgeing? Any advice would be appreciated.

BOB, ME TOO. i HAVE A COMTEST 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY AND LAST TIME LIKE YOU i CAME IN HARD AND DRY BUT VERY STRINGY.

Mussy, I am trying to achieve that hard, dry, dense look I had, except be filled out if that makes any sense. The same thing happens to me every time, I don't know if I'll ever get over it. I spend weeks restricting my food, and to bring myself to eat a big carb meal prior to prejudging scares me, even though I it is what I need to do to fill out. Thats why I think this time I'm just going to go for it. I can't tell you how many times the day after the show I'm kicking myself in the butt, saying why couldn't I have looked like this yesterday for the show. Thats after the post show binge. What method are you using this time? By the way you looked great in your pics.

Over the years I've noticed a pattern develop the day after a show: Whether I binged out on plates of Chinese food, bagels + PB, cookies, and pancakes, or if I only had a small protein shake and 1/2 an apple, the next morning I will wake up and look 3x as crazy then I did for the show, regardless. Why? I believe it's due to the fact that the stress of the show is over. Let's face it- we've just subjected ourselves to weeks and months of abnormal physical and mental stress, on top of all the other daily issues we have to deal with. Once the show is over, we're no longer releasing all those stress hormones which is literally eating up muscle tissue. The catabolic floodgates have quite abruptly been slammed shut.
So be careful if you plan on loading up on carbs the day of the show. What is going to make the difference is not what you do on Saturday, but how you depleted, then loaded the 7-9 days prior.

Aram

Bob, thanks. I am not sure what I am doing this time. I am thinking seriously about the beef and grapefruit. Ii scare me too about eating a big carb mea; pre show time and like you I thought i looked way better after the show and some pizza! My Bev. adviser hasn't given me the lasst weeks diet as of yet. Let ya know when I get it.