Probably a little late to mention "what not to do's" but here are a few I'd say look out for.
1) Dont cut carbs out too soon. Too soon IMO, is anything longer than 30 days out. The risk is losing significant lean mass.
2) Dont wait til last second to "carb back up". It takes several days for the body to carb back up properly from a Keto diet. You can't do it in 4 hours, so don't try. You come on stage either too flat or too watery, but you wont look hard and dry. Dont be like me and listen to typical broscience. Give yourself 3-5 days to carb back up properly.
3) Dont bother with prescription dieuretics. Wait til you've got your natural water manipulation down to a science before adding those.
4) High intensity cardio at the right times (early morning and post weight training) such as sprints and fast cycling are best at retaining muscle mass while cutting up. They actually build up mass in the process. Dont over do it though, 15-20 minute sessions are plenty. LISS is ok to mix in but not as a sole solution to fat burning. Drink plenty of BCAA's throughout the day in before weight training to help preserve lean tissue.
5) MCT oils whenever and however you can handle them. There is a study that indicates a 10-fold increase in serum GH when a significant amount of MCT's is ingested. i recommend between 3-8 TBSP, split evenly throughout the day for max effect. Its a clean energy source for those few weeks of carbless dieting.
60-31 days out = low to moderate carbs, high protein and low to moderate fats. MCT's supplemented to meet near maintenance level calories.
30-5 days out = only fibrous carbs (leafy green carbs), NO STARCHES, low to moderate fat diet, very high protein & MCT's to meet 500kcals below maintenance.
4 days to contest = gradually carb back up. Start with 50g first day. Second day alittle more. Third & fourth day you make adjustments as necessary. Keep a sauna close by to sweat out and stay relatively dry as you go.
For water manipulation, I'd recommend a natural dieuretic like dandelion root starting 3-4 weeks out all the way to the last week of contest. I'd reduce my sodium drastically at the same time while sweating as much as possible completely depleting and drying myself out @ about 8-10 days out. At this point, I'l be flat, hungry and tired. Then the week of, start eating more starches again, with no preservatives and no simple sugars. Only eat complex carbs while carbing up to do this very gradually so you can make adjustments as you go. Come morning of make necessary adustments and before the night show, carb up for real with all sorts of carbs.
One other note on water manipulation. It would do you great service to consider any supplement that helps shuttle water to the cells quickly. Such are: fast-acting creatines & potassium (possible nitrate version too) & sodium. At this point, you'll need to bring sodium back into the diet around 2 days out to help bring the muscle to max fullness. Remember, the average human can hold anywhere from 400-600g of glycogen in the muscles & liver so don't be afraid to eat. If you do it right, you'll be thick, hard, vascular (from glycogen and sodium uptake) and full of energy (unlike 95% of the competition).
Another thought is to consider Superdrol about 12-14 days out, as SD usually hits hard around the 2 week mark when it comes to a sudden swoosh of glycogen load. For me, this happens as early as day 4-5 on SD. Again, just a thought.
I've learned the hard way that a less conditioned body that is full and thick will look better on stage than a more conditioned body that comes out flat or holding water in the wrong places. Aim for full and thick before you consider the risk of landing on flat "but ripped". Thing is, you want round muscle bellies on stage because round muscles create shadows better than flat ones. To get round muscles you have to eat plenty before hand but it must be done slowly so as to not over or underdue the glycogen load.
