What to eat post-contest?

[chabbah]

Okay, I'll be competing in a figure show on Saturday and had a question about what to eat after the show. Per my trainer's instruction, I will be fat loading (eating nothing but steak, broccoli, peanut butter, and flax oil) all day for the two days before the show. I'm worried about what could happen to me after the show when I reintroduce carbs, etc. Any advice as to how I should proceed?

My contest diet has consisted of low carbs (not too low, I've been eating fruit) and moderate to high protein, so I"m thinking I could go back to that and then work toward a maintenance program (higher carbs -- maybe a 40/40/20 ratio).

 

[Sassy69]

Chabbah -- wow - steak, peanut butter --- the two days before my first comp I was down to water & boiled chicken w/ flax seed oil on it - OMG

You can pretty much eat anything you want the night of the show (after!) and the next day. After that go back to your regular low carb diet, reintroduce carbs very slowly. Also watch salt intake and you may have developed an intolerance for dairy - use Lactaid if you have anything w/ cheese (e.g. cheese burger).

Just cycle back slowly is all I can say. Just stay away from introducing anything that you haven't had in pre-contest diet, and then slowly bring it back in. And of course lots of water!

 

[chabbah]

Thanx, Sassy

Yeah, I'll be sure to take it easy. I've heard too many horror stories about people gaining 10-20 lbs in the week after a show.

BTW, did the fat loading work for you? And did you feel braindead or spacey from the total lack of carbs?

 

[Sassy69]

Yea - I'm one of the living horror stories - I gained 18 lbs in about 2 weeks -- the good news is that most of it is just water retention from any salt or anything like that. Its really miserable - my legs got so bloated it felt like if I popped them w/ a pin they would explode. So you might get some dandelion extract to help w/ that if you see it happening at all.

As far as being spacey from lack of carbs - well I was spacey from lack of carbs for about 2 months before the show and when I started the carb loading it was like euphoria. I think the secret is definitely adding enough fat to support your energy while reducing the carbs. But make sure you don't come in 'flat" looking. (Your requirements are a little different for a figure contest, but still you'd rather look "full" than "flat" - then you just look like a bag of bones w/ skin that is bagging over it all. ) But again, just take it slow and you should be fine.

We definitely want pix! Good luck!

 

[flex4life]

well said, Sassy
many girls love the feeling of enjoying salt & carb foods again & freak out after shows- without a measure of self control- the results can be a nightmare. My first time- I ate cheat foods for a solid week- just couldn't seem to get a grip- big mistake. Never wanted that miserable feeling again.
Good luck Chabbah- make it your best!

 

[chabbah]

Thanx for all the advice! I had competed in BB two years ago and was very careful not to overindulge for too long after the show. I successfully went back to a clean maintenance diet a few days after my show and was able to keep things in check. I hope I can do the same this time! I'm only planning to cheat on the night of the show and then do a once-a-week cheat meal in maintenance.

 

[Fennec]

Hey Chabbah! Was your show in AZ? If yes, then I got to see you compete! How did you feel about it, were ya happy with how it went? Didja like it? I was screaming my head off for all of you!! Great job!

Fennec

P. S. I went to all of the prejudging, and most of the evening show, but I had to be somewhere else at 9:00, so I did not get to stay at the evening show all the way through.... Do you know if they posted the results anywhere?

 

[chabbah]

Hi Fennec! No, my show was not in AZ. It's this Saturday. I hope I won't be too embarrassed to post pics after I'm done! Thanks for your support.

 

[Fennec]

Whoops, sorry - I missed the date. Thought you had posted prior to this Saturday just past. Good luck this coming Saturday at your comp!!

Fennec

 

[JuicyGirl]

Fennec,

Were you at the show in Phoenix this past weekend? I may have seen you there. I was in the audience with my husband who is 5'9" 290lbs.

Chabbah,

I hope you have more control than I have. I have gained 6 lbs. since the figure competition I did in April. Eating like sh*t sure is fun but not worth it!

Don't forget to smile. And also PLEASE learn how to hold your posture/hand positioning.

BEST OF LUCK!

 

[chabbah]

For JuicyGirl

Hey JuicyGirl!

Thanks for the advice and support. I'm making a vow to myself that I won't slide too much after my show. I did about 3 months of strict dieting last year for a fitness show and rebounded in a major way!!!! I was paying for the increase in weight and BF for a long and painful period, and I don't want to go through that again. Let's just say, I learned that you can't suddenly eat tons of carbs after doing the high-protein, low-carb thing for that long.

Where was your show? And how did you do? I've never done figure, and I've got a lot of questions. What would you say was the average BF of most of the competitors? Mine's in the 12% range, and I was told that should be fine.

 

[JuicyGirl]

It was a show in So Cal. I came in 2nd out of about 20 competitiors. My bodyfat was about 10%. I stepped on stage at 5'7" 133lbs.

Your maintenance of 40/40/20 sounds great. You will still gain some weight but you cannot expect to stay in contest condition year-round.

I personally start feeling fat once I hit about 14%. I am now around 15% at 139 lbs So you can tell I rebounded in a not so good way. My clothes from last summer are snug and its not so fun.

If you can control yourself please do because you'll have to either be fat and happy or work it off later.

Email me if you want more details.

 

[blood_drinker]

a cheesburger.

 

[JuicyGirl]

Hey Chabbah!

Knock em dead today!

It took me a while to get back to you on email because Hushmail has been down. When I went to send you a reply it gave me error messages several times. I hope my email to you arrived.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND DON'T FALL OFF YOUR HIGH HEELS YOU SEXY THING!

Keep us posted

 

[chabbah]

All I can say is, I survived!! I didn't win a thing, but the competition was heavy and hard to beat. I was depressed for a good day following the show, but I'm starting to come out of my funk. Thanks all for the support and advice.

Anyway, now I have to figure out why I look so flat. I mean, yeah, I did the usual post-contest pig out (chicken wings & french fries, wine coolers, and chocolate cake), but I've eaten clean yesterday and today and had lots of water to flush away the cheat foods. Help, anyone? My abs look like crap! I'm going on vacation this weekend and want to look good again.