I am 2 days away from my first show of this year, 2009 NGA California. I am using this show as a practice run leading up to the Capital City on July 18 to make sure I can correct any mistakes I may have in my posing, tanning, diet, etc.  It has been 24 weeks and I have gone from an out of shape bodybuilder who ate anything and everything to an athlete again. It feels good to be back in shape. No matter the outcome I am happy to be where I am now compared to then. I weighed in today at 164 lbs but I did drink roughly 2 1/2 gallons of water yesterday and I drank one of those gallons past 6:00 p.m. last night so I know I am probably a little lighter than 164 lbs. Everything is going as planned. I started on Monday with 2 gallons of water and today I will probably get in 2 gallons. I will probably drink 1/2 -1 gallon tomorrow but I will evaluate my condition as I go. Starting on Wednesday I lowered my salt intake as well to help dry me out. It has seemed to be working because each day I am getting drier. I switched from Optimum Nutrition whey protein to Bioplex because Bioplex has a lot lower sodium content. I did this starting on Wednesday and I have definitely noticed the difference in my conditioning but it sure does not taste as good as Optimum! Monday and Tuesday I ate my normal diet which was an average of 185 grams of protein, 260 grams carbs, and 22 grams fat. Starting Wednesday I added a 7th meal in, so it increased to 211 grams protein, 305 grams carbs, 29 grams fat. Today I will eat 7 meals again and keep the same numbers as Wednesday. Friday I will eat roughly 400-600 grams of carbs maybe more depending on my conditioning. I am not scared to eat if I have to fill out. In the past I would be scared to take in food fearing I would spill over and be waterlogged. I would look flat. This time I have had some high carb days(up to 800 grams) in my contest prep and every time the day after I looked fuller and more cut. How many times has a bodybuilder gone out to eat after a show and ate a ton of pizza, then look way better the next morning? That has happened to me a few times! So I will definitely make sure I eat enough this time around. I typically eat oatmeal, shredded wheat, and brown rice as my carb sources. On Friday I usually eat just oatmeal and shredded wheat as my carb sources. 

I will post the outcome of this show probably Sunday evening with hopefully some good pics! Here is a picture from today Thursday 2 days out. This pic is without a pump and with roughly 1 1/2 gallons of water that I already drank today. Keep training hard and naturally!