Contest Dieting is easily the NEMESIS of any bodybuilder and I am no different.

However, over the years, I have learned not only what works for me, but also ways to encorporate dieting into my life. Because unlike many competitive professional bodybuilders, my "other career" for a long time was in a completely different arena than that of the gym.

I have worked 40+ hours per week caring for elderly psychiatric patients in a hospital and don't have the luxury of my kitchen nearby!

I found that I am most successful in following a 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fat) ratio. I use this ratio both in the off-season to maintain a reasonably lean physique year-round, to feel healthy and to have enough energy to both train hard and recover.

I also use various supplements such as Glutamine, Glucosamine sulfate, Whey protein and multi-minerals.

For contest dieting I use the same ratio as a "baseline" for my diet, making alterations as I get closer to the show to get leaner and "trick" my metabolism.   I use an effective rotation of moderate (the baseline) and low carb days during the last 6 weeks of dieting - low days can look something like this: 60/15/25 or 50/30/20 or 70/10/20.