Pre-contest Diet: Stages Two and Three

It's finally time to update everyone about the changes made during my pre-contest diet over the past few weeks. As readers of my first blog entry on the topic know, my pre-contest diet is divided into four progressively stricter stages.  My daily food intake during Stage One is divided into seven daily meals (each with a title in an effort to reduce confusion) eaten every 2-3 hours, each of which I delved into great detail about previously.  Below is a slightly briefer explanation of each (please keep in mind that the actual order in which the meals are eaten is subject to change on each day):

Meal One: "The Usual"

~3/4-cup egg white omelet with asparagus, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and salsa.

~28 grams of Cheerios/21-23 grams of whey protein mixed with five ounces of water.

Meal Two: "Carb Meal" 

~4 ounces or 110-180 calories of any lean protein (usually chicken, but can be turkey, fish, lean steak, etc.).

~Any carbohydrate (rice cakes, sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats, Cheerios, white potatoes, etc.) serving equivalent to approximately 100 calories and 20 grams of carbs.
~As many non-starchy vegetables as I choose (asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, etc.).

Meal Three: "300"

~Any combination of protein/carb/vegetable sources that total up to 335 calories, but no more than 12-15 grams of non-veggie carbohydrates (throughout my diet, non-starch veggies are treated more or less as "free foods").  

Meal Four: "Carb Meal" 

~As described above.

Meal Five: "300"
~As described above.

Meal Six: "Snack"

~Any combination of protein/carb/vegetable sources that totals between 180-200 calories, with a roughly equal distribution of protein and carbs.

Meal Seven: "Finale"

~3/4-cup egg white omelet with asparagus, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and salsa
~21-23 grams of whey protein mixed with five ounces of water

I stuck to the above plan for the entire first six weeks of my pre-contest diet.  At the beginning of week seven, I switched to Stage Two of my diet.  This second stage was marked by two minor changes, detailed below.

Stage Two Changes:
1) The starchy, non-vegetable carb sources (i.e. brown rice, potatoes, or rice cakes) of both of my "Carb Meals" were reduced by 50% (in most instances, this amounted to eating one rice cake at each of these meals instead of two).
2) I kept my "Snack" between 180-200 calories, but changed its composition to primarily protein.  Examples of this revised snack include 43 grams of whey protein mixed with water, or 6.5 ounces of chicken with some green veggies.  Former snacks such as a Pure Protein Bar, or two rice cakes with 21-23 grams of whey protein, were no longer admissible.

And that, my friends, was it for changes!  I stuck to Stage Two for all of week seven before switching to Stage Three at the beginning of week eight.  Stage Three alterations (detailed below) were a little less minor, but nothing radical by any means.

Stage Three Changes:
1)  The starchy, non-vegetable carb sources (i.e. brown rice, potatoes, or rice cakes) of both of my "Carb Meals" were eliminated completely (rendering the name of these two daily meals quite ironic, when you think about it), and my usual four-ounce serving of chicken or other protein source was replaced with a five-ounce serving of chicken (red meat is no longer "allowed").  As in Stages One and Two, this protein source is complemented with as many non-starchy vegetables as I choose.
2) One of my daily "300" meals was replaced by a simpler meal of 7 grams of chicken, 14 grams of plain cheerios, and a small serving of chopped onions and mushrooms (bringing the total caloric value of the meal to just under 250).  The other "300" meal remains unchanged.

As week eight of my preparation winds to a close, I am still in Stage Three.  Whether I continue with this stage into week nine or make changes depends largely on my weigh-in Friday (tomorrow, as I write this), as well as how my physique looks in the mirror.  If my weight drops significantly and my physique is looking much more defined, I'm likely to stick with Stage Three.  If I find myself looking depleted, I'm likely to either return to Stage Two, or at least schedule a "re-feed" day.  If there is little noticeable improvement or change, it's conceivable I'll move on to Stage Four, at least for a little while.  It's important not to accelerate the process too quickly, as my physique is responding well, and I still have a full four weeks to work with until I find myself flexing underneath the house lights!

Before wrapping up, as promised to a couple of my Facebook friends, I am happy to present the recipe to my super-delicious (at least in my very humble opinion) protein pancakes, which I occasionally use in place of my "Usual" breakfast.  Here we go.

Here's what I need:
~Approximately five eggs
~20-25 grams (90 calories worth) of whey protein power (thus far my favorites for this recipe have been any flavor of Nitro-Tech Hardcore)
~30 grams of Hodgson Mill Insta-Bake whole-wheat pancake mix
~Two spoonfuls of Splenda or similar generic-brand sugar substitute

Here's what I do:
1) Separate the egg whites from the yolks into a large measuring cup until I've got 3/4-cup of egg whites.  For whatever reason, egg whites cook up so much better when I separate them on my own as opposed to using those that come from a carton.
2) Discard the egg yolks, and allow my dog Tek to eat any that I might have accidentally dropped on the kitchen floor.
3) Start heating my largest non-stick frying pan over medium heat on the stove.
4) Dump the whey protein and sugar substitute into the measuring cup, and feverishly mix them with the egg whites with a spoon until no chunks of whey remain, and the concoction is fully "blended".  Though it's quicker and easier to blend this using, say, my Ninja mixer, this is a lot more convenient as less of the mixture winds up wasted by remaining on mixing blades, etc.
5) Adjust the heat to "high" until the pan is really hot and some smoke starts rising from it.  As soon as that happens, I turn the heat down just slightly, but not so much that the pan significantly cools.  Unlike regular pancakes, I don't like these to be totally "light and fluffy" in the middle.  Rather, I like them to be pretty moist in the middle, which requires a hot pan and a short cooking time!
6) Cover the frying pan with a thin layer of cooking spray (I do this between every pancake, as my pan is quite old) before pouring enough of the mixture to make a five or six-inch pancake.  I don't let it cook very long (maybe ten seconds; I'm really not sure) before flipping the pancake and allowing the other side to cook for only half as long.  This gives me the consistency that I really like.
7) Cook up as many pancakes as I can in this fashion, obsessively scraping remnants of the mixture from the measuring cup in an effort to make sure as little of it goes to waste as possible.
8) Eat the stack of 4-6 pancakes INCREDIBLY quickly, as it's damn tasty, and breakfast is awesome.

A stack of protein pancakes prepared using "cookies n' cream" flavored Nitro-Tech Hardcore.

That's all for now, folks.  Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  By all means, let me know!  In my next installment: My workouts performed during week seven, as well as an updated bodyweight.  Cheers!