BASIC GUIDELINES ...

 Your eating habits will differ when your are in pre-contest phase as opposed to the off-season time. In some cases, it will only take a few changes in diet; however, if you have had a not so proper diet year round than you will then need to make drastic changes. As a general rule, male bodybuilders will drop their bodyfat percentage from an offseason 10-12% to a low of 2-4%. Females on the other hand go from 14-18% to about 5-7%. Many bodybuilders attempt to stay within 10-20 pounds of their contest shape bodyweight. Anything higher than that is referred to as bulking up or simply getting fat. This is not very recommended since it takes a huge toll on your body to lose 30-50 pounds in precontest dieting.

 The main object of the precontest diet is to get rid of all the excess fat while at the same time losing as minimum amount of muscle tissue as possible. Obviously, there cannot be one single diet which is going to suit the needs of everyone; therefore, we will serve as a guide. The average diet will last from 6-16 weeks. Of course the longer you diet, properly, the harder your muscle will appear.