If Thomas Lyman is honest, he did not grow up wanting to be a bodybuilder. He really just wanted to grow a little taller. So much so that by high school, he had asked a trainer at the local gym if hanging from a pull-up bar could help him stretch out. “He simply looked at me and replied, ‘No, that’s silly. “Why would you even think that?” But that trainer established a new mindset in Lyman. “He asked me why I wanted to be taller. “You’re ideal for bodybuilding. And, while you may not be trying to gain as much muscle as our friend Tom, who better to teach us all the secrets to making our bodies look their best for days at the beach, the Coachella Sahara tent, nights in a stranger’s bed, and so on? It turns out chocolate cake is involved.

There is always some form of nasty meal that you would consume. Some folks might prepare bagels and muffins. Some folks prepare candy bars.

I’m starting to realize how little I know about training for a bodybuilding competition. I believe my entire concept of what it comprises was shaped by a 10-year-old episode of MTV’s True Life in which this guy was simply eating heads of lettuce prior to a competition.

I saw that one.

And the dude begged his father to shave his buttocks. Those are my two impressions of a bodybuilding competition: hair removal and losing enormous amounts of weight by eating just lettuce.

I kept quite close to my competing weight throughout the year, which worked out well. I am a welterweight, weighing between 154 and 165 pounds. If I had been 10 or 20 pounds heavier, I would have probably eaten more vegetables and fewer carbohydrates earlier in my diet.

Well, let’s take a step back because I’m thinking your diet varies based on how far you are from the competition. What do you eat during the majority of your training?

My diet prior to a competition remained very consistent until this year. I began working with a new coach this year. Previously, every meal consisted of chicken and rice or beef and rice, with eight meals every day. And while you become used to it, you quickly grow tired of it. This year, my new coach had me complete the entire pyramid. You know, potatoes first, then cream of wheat with fish and eggs. My protein intake was still high—between 200 and 350 grams per day—but everything felt so much better. I felt more alive all of the time.

And when you get closer to the competition, do you start changing your diet?

Exactly. So, in February, I began training for my last tournament, which took place in November. By August, we had begun the pre-contest preparation. So the food began to leave, and the carbs were reduced slightly, but I continued to receive a wide variety. And as we got closer, the beef would evaporate, leaving more fish. Then there were just low-calorie foods. Instead of a cup and a half of rice, consider using half a cup of rice and half a cup of broccoli.

Essentially, you’re making these changes to slim down before the competition?

Yeah. So, instead of using your food as energy to exercise and operate today, you’re getting energy from your meal while simultaneously tapping into the energies stored in your body.

So, when you start the week and days before, is that the biggest change in our diet? I believe there is a significant cut-off at some point.

My fluids had drastically changed. Up until approximately a week before the tournament, I was drinking a gallon of fluids every day. Perhaps even a gallon and a half. And then, approximately four days later, I’d consume at least two gallons. The next day, I cut back to 32 ounces of fluids. So the concept behind it is that you ingest all of those fluids, and your body is like, “What is this? “I need to get rid of this.” So, when you reduce your fluid intake to only 32 ounces, your body takes some time to adjust, so it continues to push out water, believing that more water is coming in when it isn’t. This is how you can pull some of the water weight.