This can certainly happen, especially if you’re holding a lot of water it’ll appear pretty smooth/puffy. If I remember correctly you got down to 215/216, and were 219 today? So, 3-4 pounds of water will definitely mask some things, but like you said, as you get leaner things will continue moving along proportionally, so even the “puffy” days will still look better. Some people also hold onto fat in certain areas more than others, so for example if you’re leaning out noticeable everywhere except the handles, it might temporarily make you look fatter, despite actually being leaner. The fun starts when you lose weight but look bigger because of the muscle definition coming through! You are definitely leaning out! Keep killing it!
Here’s a quick little image I made up, I’m sure we’ve all seen this “road to success” image before. Contest prep/dieting is pretty much reversed!
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Had a few bites of the Cookies and cream today, that didn’t suck. Haven’t found the Cookie Dough yet, looking for it though.
Thanks! Now, if I can just get my hams to grow, lol. That side pic makes my legs look pathetic.
Interesting side note, two people have commented on my complexion in the last two days, that my skin looked better, and I had noticed it too. Pretty sure it’s from being on keto diet for the last two weeks. I googled it and a lot of other people have noticed a similar thing. Probably not enough of a reason for others to try it, but it’s a nice, if unexpected, side effect.
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Happy High Day Friday! Woke up to a new low of 146.8 today, 2lbs down this week, and a new low for prepping, even from last year. Anything past this is new torritory, very exciting.
Yesterday’s HIIT session was the best and worst one of the prep; after the first interval I felt like I could do 20 more, and by the time the last few rolled around they were no doubt the toughest of the prep. At that point with the HIIT training, it’s all mental, much like most aspects of prepping/competing. Pain is temporary, and the only way to keep progressing is knowing without a doubt that I am doing everything I can.
BAGEL TIME! 
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Legs today, great pump in the gym, but it’s the first time I felt a decrease in strength in my squat since the prep started. I went with it and lowered weights a little, focusing on performance and good connection with the quads.
255x10, 275x10, 295x10, 315x10
My squat has been increasing over the past couple months pretty significantly, I’m attributing the decrease in strength to being in a diet for a long time, cardio 5 days a week for about 3 months, and scale weight and body fat are at an all time low.
I used to keep a training journal, I don’t anymore. I think it’s a very useful tool at times and I kept one last year, but this year I’m not. I know my exercises, weights, I can remember if I hit a PR or what I did the previous session. A big part of the prep, and being a successful body builder in general, is listening to your body and being able to work around any potential issues. During a long period of dieting and cardio, it is inevitable that there will be times when strength is down. Of course the goal is always to bring max intensity and kill the training session, but it’s also important to know realistically if you have to lower the weights slightly to be able to do that. Sometimes trying to push through a problem leads to an injury, and it only takes one to ruin everything. Sometimes having a log and staring at the numbers makes me want to try to at least meet them, if not exceed them. Not keeping a journal, I can focus more on my feeling my warm up sets, remembering what weights I started my first set with th previous week, but knowing if I feel good enough to go higher, or if I need to back off.
Loving the high day today, had a new second meal I really enjoyed. Nothing fancy, but I took cooked rolled oats, a couple servings of sprouted chocolate/vanilla granola, and topped it with cinnamon and walden farms 0 cal maple syrup. Good stuff!
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1st, in to steal all the infos I can 
In your last progress photos on Feb 2nd what would you guesstimate your BF% at?
Carbs or???
This will probably be my biggest hurdle.
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@BOTSLAYER awesome man, thank you very much for following along bro!
Hard to say as I don’t really take measurements, maybe I should just to see what the calipers say. I’d guess ~10%, but it is definitely lower now, maybe around 8-9% currently. I lost another pound since then and am definitely tightening up, I’ll post some updated pics later today or tomorrow.
Lol yeah, about 350-375g today compared to the usual 150g-190g depending on the day. I also don’t do cardio on Friday or Saturday, a welcome break and good recharge to get back to the grind on Sunday. I still smash my legs on Friday and arms/calves on Saturday, in addition to long posing practice sessions in the studio at the gym.
Yeah, I hear ya. It was for me too at first. Although on a prep it’s easier to get over, the priorities are to look good on stage and avoid injury. I’ve become much better at viewing the weights in my hands as a tool to get the job done. Sometimes you might go into a job expecting to use a certain wrench, but if you show up and realize you could still use the wrench you planned but it might not be optimal, but there’s another wrench you could use that would definitely get the job done better, you’d use the one best suited for the job. If I view the weights that way, I can better avoid injury and still get the job done, ultimately progress further and faster.
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Headturner.
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Love your log/thread!
Is the dieting causing any problems with being creative as a composer?
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@<150lb BW after losing strength?
Maybe I need to start adopting a more BB style program!
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But what do those silly bodybuilders know about actually developing a muscular physique? -lol
S
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Haha I know right? All you guys do is ‘chase the pump’…weak 
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@darkcop - Thank you very much, and thanks for reading!
@julenissen - Thank you for following along! Interesting question about the creativity and composing. It wasn’t affected earlier on when I started dieting and cardio October/November, but it is starting to affect me more, specifically if I’m not well rested, which happens more and more as the prep continues. Especially as a composer of primarily original music, lack of creativity/mental energy is a serious problem. It was an extreme challenge last year while prepping and also teaching full time, waking up at 4:45 every morning for cardio before work. Fortunately this year, now that I’m home writing full time, I have the ability to counteract that with naps as needed, and lately I’ve been “sleeping in.” I typically wake up with my wife at 6am to do the morning routine, she goes to work and I head upstairs. She’s a morning person, I’m not, my body hates waking up at that hour, no matter what. This past week I slept until 8am, and felt much better mentally and was able to crank out a lot of music. So, I’ll probably wind up waking up later more consistently to be able to stay as creative and energized as possible. I consider it a huge advantage in my prep to have gotten to the point that I can run my business from home full time, relax and not have to “go to work” and put on a happy face if I’m not feeling it, and can take a short nap if I really need to.
@littlesleeper[quote=“littlesleeper, post:130, topic:224871”]
@<150lb BW after loosing strength?
Maybe I need to start adopting a more BB style program!
[/quote]
Lol, I think so! Your pressing and overall strength applied to a BB style program would be scary.
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Sounds like you have the tools to cope with it. Thank you for that detailed response!
Maybe you’ll be complementing that home-office with a home-gym 
writing a few bars between sets…
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New low of 146.6 today, tightening up more overall, especially in the lower body.
Yesterday was surprisingly rough in the gym, I’m guessing that my low cal/low carb day Sunday with lots of LISS and a long posing practice session wiped me out. I felt fine most of the day yesterday and then completely tanked shortly before eating my pre-workout meal, couldn’t really recover. Sometimes it’s body aches that knock you out, especially when the legs are in a constant state of feeling heavy and sluggish from cardio. Yesterday was mental/overall energy that took a nose dive, when those times come up it’s important to just keep grinding and get it done.
Chest, hamstrings and LISS yesterday. I start with incline DB presses and usually ramp up, ending with a couple of sets with 105’s or 110’s for 5-8. Yesterday that wasn’t going to happen, I went with 90’s and 95’s for four sets of 12, slow and controlled with longer negatives than usual. Rest periods between sets were a little longer throughout the entire workout. After dinner I felt a little better, definitely better today. I’ve been having better sleep after upping my Z12 dose from 2 to 3 pills, going to stick to that and hope it keeps working.
Feeling very good about our current progress and I’m glad to be doing my “warm up” show in five and a half weeks. Definitely in the grind right now, but not suffering yet, and once we hit peak week protocol in four and half weeks it’ll be a good break and reboot to stop cardio/HIIT, get some food in me and recharge for the next haul.
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Damn man, you’re going to look incredible at this “warm up” show.
It’s just going to be a little teaser for us to see what package you’re going to bring to Hercules!
You’ve clearly added some significant mass and you keep hitting new lows in weight, keep it up, very inspiring.
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It’s funny to step back and listen to the conversations Rob and I have about not “accidentally” turning pro at a show that wouldn’t mean as much. I know that sounds horribly egotistical, but I think most competitors would understand, knowing how some shows are typically more competitive than others. You’ll find plenty of “pros” online who will happily add “abcd Pro” after their social media name, but never show you who they beat to win their card. Then, you’ll find others who happily throw up their line ups, humbly admitting that they narrowly squeaked out a win, and that most of the other top 5 all turned pro that year at other contests.
This is what happens when you have a zillion different contests and federations. The average person won’t know or care, but the knowledgeable competitor (Rob) will, and it will make a big difference to them. 
S
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@littlesleeper thank you so much bro I really appreciate that!
Having my usual pre-workout coffee, getting ready for back, biceps and 30min LISS. Feeling a little more alert and energetic today. Typically on Tuesday nights I’ve been subbing my evening shake for some Halo Top, looking forward to that tonight after a killer workout.
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Just a quick story about how prepping definitely cannot be “balanced” with normal life. I just turned down a gig with a band, again, for the third time since the prep started. While I make my living writing, I still gig fairly frequently and really enjoy it. But, here are my first and immediate thoughts when I get a call with, “Can you play this date at this time at this place?”
-What day of the week is it, what am I training, how long will my cardio take.
-What time would I need to go to the gym and be home by.
-What time should I start my meals.
-Will this affect my meal order. I train after my third meal so I get some good carbs stored up before the gym, all my carbs are in my first 3 meals (except blueberries in my evening shake every night.) Eating after meal 2 means less gas in the tank, no bueno.
-Will this affect my meal timing? Typically always yes with a gig.
-What time will I get home? I eat 5 meals a day, if it’s a late gig and I’m getting home at 1am, I’m going to be starving.
How far out of a show am I - The closer I am to a show, the less I’ll want to do it.
So, I typically turn down these things in a prep unless it’s early on. When we get invited to a family event these are also the first thoughts, but obviously adjustments are made for family stuff and things that can’t be missed. Otherwise, you really become dependent on your routine.
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