Over the last 20 years I have had the opportunity to diet many times for competition. I have also trained countless individuals for contests and worked with many other great coaches and trainers. Along the way I have learned many things about diet, training and fat loss. However, in my 20+ years of research I have found little helpful information about coming OFF a contest diet!

I feel there are four phases to a successful contest approach. The phases are baseline diet, conditioning phase, peaking and the endgame (coming off the diet). Of all the phases, the most neglected is the endgame.

Diet for 8-20 weeks, get down to a low body fat composition, compete, and then… eat everything in sight! A week later, 20 lbs heavier, mental state in flux and embarrassed to disrobe… sound familiar?

If glutinous right after a contest, there’s a huge rebound in water levels due to increased carb consumption. Water follows glycogen in about a 3:1 ratio. A poor tolerance to carbohydrates due to extended dieting causes most glycogen to be shuttled into fat cells as opposed to muscle cells. Mood swings and lethargy will occur too.

There’s a better way to come off a diet! It’s a three-step process over nine weeks. It allows for a better transition into off-season eating.

If dieting prior to the contest was a cyclogenic style (several low carb days followed by a high carb day), continue the same process but reduce the cycle by one day. In other words, if four low carb days followed by one high carb day was the regimen used, change to three lows carb days followed by the high carb one. A cheat meal can be included in the high carb day, but again, try to limit the damage at first. A few slices of pizza and a serving of ice cream would be acceptable; spending all day at an all-you-can-eat buffet would not. This process can be followed for three weeks before moving on to the next step.

The number of calories consumed can be increased by about 100 at each meal for the next three-week

period. The majority of the added calories should come from clean foods, such as a second scoop of protein in a drink, one whole egg and one egg white, or 4 oz. of lean meat to a protein feeding, or 8 oz. of sweet potato or ½ cup of oats to a carbohydrate feeding. In the case of the cyclogenic diet, the cycle can be shortened by a day again at this time. The same types of foods should be used as during the previous three weeks (lean meats, vegetables, whole oats, sweet potato, egg whites, etc.).

For a final three-week period, another 100 calories can be added to each meal. The macronutrient profile can start to be changed, for example by adding in more carbs to a first meal and post training meal. In the case of the cyclogenic approach, moving to a 1:1 ratio of low to high carb days can be implemented.

At the end of these nine weeks metabolism should be readjusted and the body will be better prepared to follow a more balanced off-season diet. If coming off the cyclogenic routine, daily carbs and caloric intake can be balanced out at this time if desired.

The tapering off of supplements should take place as calories are being gradually increased during this post-contest process. Fat burning supplements can be reduced by 1/3 for the first three weeks, reduced by another 1/3 for the following three weeks, and finally the last 1/3 can be cut out for the final three weeks.

If high doses of BCAAs were used pre-contest, they should be dropped by ½ for the 9 weeks. If creatine was being used, it can be dropped without being tapered off.

Normal health supplements such as multi-vitamins and essential fatty acids should continued to be taken.

Cardio shouldn’t be stopped cold turkey. Intensity and duration can be reduced by 1/3 the first three weeks, then by another 1/3 the following three weeks. After that, adjust it to your liking.

A decent baseline diet would be established after following this nine week period. Adjusting to cater to specific goals would be fairly simple from there. For example, if weight gain is the goal, 500 calories could be added to a day’s caloric intake.

A nine-week adjustment period after a competition can help you avoid resembling the Goodyear blimp two weeks after a show and puts the final phase -- the endgame -- in place for a proper transition into off season.