Week 12 details.
Day of pictures: Saturday

Philosophy

Nothing you do the last week can make up for 11 weeks of not being totally dedicated. But, these tips may give you a little bit of an edge for your pictures.

Shaving

Shave your body hair. When I did this (I'm not very hairy) I went through 4 Mach3 razors and a can of shaving cream, so make sure you have plenty of each. Also, it itches a little afterwards, so put some lotion on. Also, it took me about 30 -45 minutes per leg (and that was with me and my girlfriend each working at the same time!!)

Tanning

Get tan. I tanned a few times in the tanning bed before discovering a product called Pro Tan. I would just use this, which is a self tanner. It just sprays on and you are instantly tan. It looks pretty damn good too. I bought it at a tanning salon, but it was tough to find. You can also get it at www.essentialfitness.com

Some words of advice though: put some towels on the floor or apply it outside. I did it in my bathroom, and while it's pretty easy to do, you're still going to get some on the floor. (I'm renting a steam cleaner tonight to get it out of my carpet.)

Photo shoot

I'd recommend doing some test shots two weeks prior so that you can see what poses work and which ones you like. I took 2 rolls at that time. Then the day of the shoot, I took a couple rolls in the morning and a couple in the afternoon. I also would recommend a product called Body Butter which you can get at The Body Shop. This is a moisturizer which will make you shine and make your muscle definition really come out (provided you followed the first 11 weeks).

If you live in the Denver area and need someone to take your pictures, send me an email. The good friend who took mine is an aspiring professional photographer and does an excellent job. She will usually volunteer her incredible skills for only the cost of the film and getting the shots developed. In other words, CHEAP!!

Water

3 gallons a day on previous Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed
2 gallons on Thursday
1 gallon on Friday
Sip what you need on Saturday

Sodium

Sodium will make you retain water
Cut out all sodium on Thursday, Friday, Saturday (but not until then otherwise your body will know its coming)

Potassium

Potassium will help you counteract the sodium and helps you to lose water
1 99 mg tablet every waking hour on Wednesday
2 99 mg tablets every waking hour on Thursday
3 99 mg tablets every waking hour on Friday

Workouts

Previous Saturday: Cardio and light resistance workout
Monday: Cardio and light resistance workout
Tuesday - Friday: off
Final Saturday: light twenty minute upper body workout.
NOTE: do not do legs the entire week. And I wouldn't even do much of anything so that you give your muscles a chance to recover and fully grow.

Nutrition

Carb deplete on Saturday through Wednesday (see plan below)
Carb load day 1 on Thursday (see plan below)
Carb load day 2 on Friday (see plan below)

NOTE: Below is the diet I used for my two carb loading days. Since then, I've been told by Hank Johnson that I probably should have doubled my calories. The ratios are correct, but if you want to double up, just eat two of everything I have listed for those two days and you should be ok.

Looking back, I did feel a little flat, and would have to agree with Hank that I could have benefitted from more calories during the carb load phase. Always more to learn, I love it!

Carb load day 1 (Protein 15%, Carbs 70%, Fat 15%)
Meal	Descr	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
1	6 eggs / 1 yolk	175	27	2	4
	1/2C quick quaker oats	150	5	27	3
	1 TBS Flax seed oil	130	0	0	14
2	Dannon Lite Yogurt	120	8	21	0
	Phoshagen HP	140	0	34	0
3	Dannon Lite Yogurt	120	8	21	0
	Pasta	210	7	42	1
4	Phoshagen HP	140	0	34	0
5	1/2C brown rice	190	4	42	1.5
	1/2C quick quaker oats	150	5	27	3
6	Phoshagen HP	140	0	34	0
Total		1665	64	284	26.5
% of calories			15	68	14

Carb load day 2 (Protein 25%, Carbs 60%, Fat 15%)
Meal	Descr	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
1	6 eggs / 1 yolk	175	27	2	4
	1/2C quick quaker oats	150	5	27	3
2	Designer Protein	90	17.5	3	1
	1 TBS Flax seed oil	130	0	0	14
	Phoshagen HP	140	0	34	0
3	Dannon Lite Yogurt	120	8	21	0
	Pasta	210	7	42	1
4	Designer Protein	90	17.5	3	1
5	1/2C brown rice	190	4	42	1.5
	1/2C quick quaker oats	150	5	27	3
6	Phoshagen HP	140	0	34	0
Total		1585	91	235	28.5
% of calories			23	59	16