Dairy!!!

[Thinkbig]

What are your Guys' thoughts on Dairy and the pre-contest diet?

After some research it seems that most advisors say to eliminate dairy products completely, Milk, Cheese, Milk Containing Protein Powders and also cottage cheese.

So my question is what do you guys think about avoiding milk in the Contest diet, I consume MASS quantities of Milk and Dairy products offseason, as I beleive the protein value and content is great.

[Tim Wescott]

TB,I agree with you about the bodybuiulding benefits of dairy products, but I drop them completely during pre-contest prep.

The old saying is that they give you "thick skin".

I don`t know if that`s true or even possible, but they do tend to smooth you out......... in my oinion.

I find that even low or non-fat dairy should be dropped pre-contest.

[Troyster]

I drink gallons of skim milk/week offseason (OK, it's litres in my case) and a lot of protein powder. For a contest diet of, say 18 weeks, I'll cut out ALL dairy (and protein powder, etc.) except 1 cup skim/day for the first nine weeks. Second nine weeks to the show, no dairy at all.

For me, "thick skin" is VERY real. After contest, dairy is the NUMBER ONE "bloater" for me. INSTANTANEOUS gain of poundage. I can easily tell if I've consumed any, even well into offseason.

It's funny but most people don't seem to realize that "lactose" is basically simple sugars (milk is VERY HIGH in it). Yes, there's the low carb stuff, but the carbs aren't the issue... the term I always apply is this: think Olypics in terms of contest prep... not "beach". Every little detail counts in the end.

T

[MikeLifts659]

I don't compete so dairy is very important to me and I consume a large quantity of skim milk each week. I have at least 2 protein shakes a day and I also like the taste of it and drink it with other things.

[joelprince]

hi, im new to the forum. Although lactose is a simple sugar. Skim milk has a very low glycemic index of so it releases glucose into the blood steam slowly. Apples and oranges are also relatively low.

[xenabeachgirl]

Hi, I've been able to keep fat-free yogurt and cottage cheese in my diet all the way up to week of contest (except during zero-carb), and skim milk in small amounts until mid-way. Of course everyone's body reacts differently, so it may not work for a lot of people. You should have enough time to experiment with it during the weeks of your contest prep.

On a side note, before I began doing bodybuilding, I used to be quite lactose intolerant; however, that is no longer the case, I have no problems with even high amounts of dairy (like a milkshake). I'm thinking that could be due to the consumption of so much whey protein powder? Perhaps it's desensitized my gut to it?