Shawn Ray is known by many to have one of the best bodies on the face of the eearth. His body is synonymous with bodybuilding and has one of the best physiques this sport has ever seen. Ray has been a Mr. Olympia runner up and knows a thing or two about getting his body shredded and ready for competition.

Ray, like any other bodybuilder, is a firm believer that nutrition will provide you with a great physique. Training stimulates the muscles, but without the proper nutrients, your body cannot recover properly to grow. Furthermore, if you consume too many macronutrients, your muscles will be covered in a platoon of flab, causing your muscles to never show during the light of day. However, Ray believes that the majority of changes in your physique are a result of training. Training will ultiamtely determine "the quality of your separation, hardness, and detail". However, he firmly believes that nutrition is the answer to getting competition-ready.

Most bodybuilders do a drastic series, where they look to gain as much muscle as possible during the offseason and do a drastic, life-threatening weight cut weeks before a competition (removing their body of fat and water). Ray takes a different approach. He believes in instinctual dieting, where he doesn't calculate his meals, but rather looks toward the mirror to see how his body reacts to what he provides it with. Shawn Ray would diet for 12 weeks before a competition, making sure to stay within 15-20 pounds of his ultiamte goal. He would then diet safely and lose a healthy 1-2 pounds a week. Not only is this much safer, but it is more effective at bruning fat whilst holding onto precious muscle.

Ray doesn't quantify every morsel of food. Instead, he says that his "body is a more reliable source of truth. As you compete more, you learn to listen to your body's subtle messages about what you can and cannot eat.

Ray makes sure he takes in fibrous carbs, especially from leafy green vegetables. He drinks plenty of water throughout the entire diet. Furthermore, Ray is few of the bodybuilders to master carb cycling. He didn't go long periods on a low-carb diet. Instead, he made sure that he gave his body the appropriate amount of carbs when necessary. He looked at the mirror on a daily basis.

Ray cut out all junk food and sauce toppings and ate 7 smaller meals opposed to his traditional 5 a day.

Ray also makes sure his training is spot on furing this phase. He does plenty of cardio to cut the weight (2x a day, 30 min sessions each) and he changes his regimen up quite a bit. Ray usually does a 4 on/1 off split. Instead, he switches to a 3 on/1 off split but with two workouts a day.

The final transformation begins 6-8 weeks out, where he cuts back on carbs and red meat. During the final week before comeptition, he cuts his carbs drastically Monday through Wednesday, while he increases his protein; and Thursday through Saturday, he loads up on carbs and decreases his protein.

During his interview with Flex Magazine, Ray said this: "When all is said and done, the principle of Instinctive Dieting is that there are no dramatic changes at any point along the way to shock the body and derail it from its steady improvement. Never did I try to coerce my body to comply with my wishes by force-feeding it; instead, I listened, as it told me what it needed to be its best. That made me my best".