For 20 weeks leading up to the combined national and state bodybuilding championships dedicated Orange competitor Lyle Davis has lived on a diet few people would contemplate.

“High protein intake, moderate fat and low carbs,” is how Davis describes his meagre amounts of meat, nuts, egg, rice and 5 litres of water a day.

And that’s combined with hours of training, weightlifting and posing daily.

He was rewarded with finishing third for NSW in October but deserves a medal for his dedication.

“You eat a fair bit less than what your body is burning. I’ve been in deficit for 20 weeks before the competition.

“You are trying to decrease your body weight to the lowest possible level you can to make you lean, crisp and dry for the competition.

“You lose the fat to show the package,” he said.

“You do what needs to be done. It can be tough at times. It puts stress on things. Because of the food thing you can’t take the missus out for dinner before a big event.

“You know what you want to achieve and you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.”

He said he hungrily eyed off mates and family eating big dinners of spaghetti bolognese as the stress built up.

“There were a couple of times that it was quite tempting but you’ve got to stick to it.”

He said his girlfriend Karthiha Kailasanathan, a fitness trainer, helped him through the worst of it.

“She is an absolute rock. I couldn’t do it without her.”

And so how did he reward himself after the event?

“After the event me and my partner went out for a big dinner.

“I had an ice cream for the first time in God knows when.”

The sport and immense pressure on his body is so extreme he will not compete again for another year – maybe longer.

Now, he says he has to begin putting on heaps of mass to rebuild his body levels to a level where he can shred it off in the countdown to competition.

But, pizzas and chips are not on the menu.

“You put on mass, eat more than my body’s burning.

“To put on muscle I will eat a lot of rice, loads of oats and potatoes.”