Staying the nutrition course: yearlong nutrition. As the finish line nears, here's your lean and mean eating plan

Does the English language contain a more banal word than maintenance? Its three syllables simply reek of dental checkups, oil changes and prostate exams. With a few notable exceptions--airplanes come to mind--it somehow seems more in keeping with a consumer culture to let things break down and then replace them rather than go to the bother of actually doing maintenance.

Unfortunately, your body can't be replaced, so you best keep it in tip-top shape. After all, you worked damn hard in Phase One of Body Odyssey to add size to your frame, and you probably worked harder still in Phase Two to strip away unwanted fat. In Phase Three, the goal is to maintain and moderately, increase your muscle without adding fat. Like the second unit of an NBA team taking the floor after the starters have opened a lead, your job over the next four months is basically not to blow what you just accomplished.

Easier said than done. Because this phase doesn't have a specific objective underpinning it, the danger of backsliding is ever-present. Avoiding that fate will determine whether you go the distance with Body Odyssey or fall short. To help ensure the former, try adhering to the 80-percent rule.

"Keep your plate in order four out of the five days of the week," says Susan Kundrat, M.S., R.D., a sports nutritionist and the owner of Nutrition on the Move in Champaign, Ill. "Splurging is normal, but when you string together several of those days in a row, you're on the road to potential disaster."

STRATEGIC PLANNING

To further bulletproof the progress you've made to date, Kundrat recommends three other strategies:

Keep your fridge well-stocked. If you're surrounded by healthy foods, instead of junk, you're more likely to eat well. Go to the grocery store at least once a week.

Choose restaurants wisely. Frequent those that offer fresh fruits and vegetables as side dishes, dressings on the side, lean meats, and whole-grain breads for sandwiches. Avoid those where the maitre d' looks like Pat Harrington.

Watch what you drink. A 32-ounce soda or lemonade can take its toll in both sugar and calories. A fruit punch of the same size boasts almost 500 extra calories. And while you shouldn't have to be a teetotaler during a maintenance phase, be wary of letting calorie-laden alcohol thwart your progress. "Go for the `every other drink' plan," says Kundrat. "Order one, but drink a 16-ounce glass of water before ordering the next."

If you read Phases One and Two, you understand that the most important nutritional variable in the yearlong program is not protein, carbs or fat, but rather calories. By the end of Phase Two, your net increase in calories per day relative to the start of the program was approximately 300 (you added 700 during Phase One and cut back 400 in Phase Two). At the beginning of Phase Three, assess your situation and adjust your calorie intake accordingly. The average guy who weighs a buck eighty-five should be taking in 3,100 to 3,300 calories on a daily basis. Since the cardio portion of the Phase Three workout is fairly rigorous, you should consider bumping that up by about 200 calories.

"A lot of guys make the mistake of eating too little during a maintenance phase to maintain their muscle gains, so be careful not to shortchange yourself on calories," says Kundrat.

THE MACRO PICTURE

Keep your protein intake at roughly 0.8 grams per pound of body weight per day (18 percent to 20 percent of your total calories), which would amount to 145 to 150 grams for the aforementioned 185-pounder. Feel free to loosen the reins on your fat intake a bit, but don't allow it to constitute more than 25 percent of your daily calories.

"Focus on `good' fats such as natural peanut, soy and almond butters; soy nuts; sunflower seeds or walnuts, which are great for salads; and fatty fish like salmon and mackerel," says Kundrat. "Avoid artery-clogging saturated fats like whole-milk products, megabowls of ice cream, cheese-smothered entrees and fatty meats."

To fuel your weight training and cardio adequately, derive 55 percent to 60 percent of your calories from carbs. Not all carbs are created equal, though, so be sure to reduce consumption of refined products in favor of whole-grain options such as brown rice, whole-grain pastas, wheat berries and whole oats. Kundrat also recommends consuming at least four servings of fruits and vegetables per day. One serving equals a medium-sized piece of fruit, a six-ounce glass of juice, half a cup of most vegetables or one cup of salad.

One final piece of advice: Although you're in a maintenance phase, avoid the tendency to go through the motions. To that end, make sure your body is fueled satisfactorily before you ever set foot in the gym. Don't skip meals, a practice that will backfire once you start training. What's more, consume a high-energy snack or meal two or three hours before you work out. And don't hesitate to get an added boost from a meal-replacement shake or a formulated energy drink an hour or so out, says Kundrat. "At that point, you should also drink 16 ounces of water. Keep your water bottle handy during the entire workout, drinking at least six ounces for every 15 minutes you train."