Emerald Cup: < 2 Weeks Out

Ok, it's CRAZY TIME!! Everyone else thinks I look "Amazing!". Great. They are NORMAL. Meanwhile I am pinching the fat on my ass every hour waiting for it to get smaller. I am wondering whether I should even be on that stage AT ALL! Oh, damn.....what's that in the mirror? Whoa....my shoulders look great! Awesome improvement!! A chest line finally!!!! LOTS of HARD work! I turn around..nope...no glute/hamstring line. Nothing there. :( ugh. It's an emotional roller-coaster that I just can't explain. The level of leanness and definition I need to achieve is something most people just can't relate to. And if I complain to people, they just look at me like I'm crazy.

 

I go to the store which seems pointless with aisles of food I can't have, people eating all these things, munching away 'whenever they feel like it'. How unstructured!! (I realize I am the outlier, they are 'normal'). I wonder if I can ever eat normal again. BALANCED I mean. Last time I went nuts and had to lose this 30lbs! I'd rather not even let myself do it. I do like my food, I mean I've really learned how to cook! :)
 
SO, what to do? Well I started carb cycling last week. That means I have different servings of carbs depending on my day. More for the day I teach 3 classes and lift, medium for the other days, and low for the days I am not teaching or am resting. Big changes, but I need more and don't want to risk it. So I will do my high day tomorrow(Monday when I teach all those) but then I will do a full carb depletion cycle. With no carbs my body will be forced to burn fat (although slower, and less efficiently) and I will also drop water. REMINDER: What I am doing is NOT for most people! There is a whole series of things I have done up until this point for this to happen, it's not just something you do, it doesn't work for everyone it's NOT a 'healthy option' and I don't recommend it. I am doing it to look SCARY LEAN ON STAGE. They I will have a carb-up day and see where I'm at. I am thrown off a little having a Competition on Friday where it's normally on Saturday. So I will have to start my Peak Week a day earlier, on Saturday. So I can only do one cycle before I do my Peak Week Depletion Cycle.

 
What would a cheat do??
- I get asked this a LOT. "How big a deal is it, really??" A HUGE DEAL right now! I have been training and dieting for MONTHS. I am dropping every ounce of fat I can while preserving each tiny bit of muscle I have worked SO HARD to gain. I am playing with my carbs to trick my body into losing more fat and water retention. If I were to splurge right now, with sugar or carbs...it would all go back into my muscles and do so carrying 3x its weight in water. I'd be back at square one almost. I'd fill up, I'd puff up. My definition would be gone, and I'd look 'soft'. So NOTHING is worth that right now. Not when I am THISCLOSE! ;)