How long til you can eat normal again?

**gYmgIrL** · October 30th, 2009, 09:15 PM

I know cutting mucks up your thyroid and your metabolism, but does that mean that if you compete you can no longer eat normally and stay thin?

I've gone back to eating 'reasonable' (ie not cutting but good!) and I'm still just gaining weight a mile a minute. I'm now up to 55 kilos which is 8 kilos above my competition weight. I look terrible! its not muscle I never weighed this much before, even when I was eating billions of calories to try and gain muscle. This is rediculous.

I dont understand, will I have to be 'cutting' forever in order to maintain a healthy body fat now? and always have to do hours of cardio? That doesnt seem right. But I guess I will do it if I have to. If this is the case though, women should not compete.

**tooncesthecat** · October 30th, 2009, 11:19 PM

GG, what's your workout routine like? you really shouldn't have a rebound effect like what you're reporting.

**gYmgIrL** · October 31st, 2009, 02:32 AM

hi toonces! yeah maybe i mucked something up somewhere inside hey? hehe

well I'm back to 45 min workouts, lifting 6-8 reps, 1 min rest between sets, 5 days a week

eating like this:

varying breakfast about 200 cals simple and complex carbs
gym
sip on a protein shake between 8-12
half a serving of something for lunch (like half a wrap or half a sushi thing)
either protein or veggies to graze on until 5:30
half of one of those 'lean' microwave meals

maybe i should go get the thyroid checked in case i did it some damage.

Hopefully once I get back into the poling it might help too.

**raijin1** · October 31st, 2009, 03:52 AM

As I mentioned once before, the dietary stuff isn't my forte so I will leave that advice to others more qualified than myself.

I do see a problem with your workout though. Lifting 6-8 reps (at I assume a fairly heavy weight) with 60 sec rest between sets is still more of a mass building/bodybuilder approach. Are you still doing cardio or intervals? Judging by what you said, you may be maintaining/increasing your muscle mass while fat mass slowly creeps back up. I recommend using lighter weight for your workouts, and going around 15 or maybe even 20 reps. And less rest between sets... move from one exercise to the next quickly. Since you dont have a comp coming up, there is no reason for you to be lifting like you are now.

Why not shoot for a more full body/compound exercise approach now?

**tooncesthecat** · October 31st, 2009, 08:51 AM

I agree about the lower reps. Maybe you're adding MUSCLE! Anyhow, play around with your reps, rest bet sets, weight, exercises....change it up every few weeks.

**IMFREAKZILLA** · October 31st, 2009, 11:39 AM

If you are on a diet to cut or eating for mass.I don't believe you can ever be normal
its a big difference between a woman who wants to compete and a woman who
simply wants to look GOOD,Things will come around for you,you're driven.keep up
THE GOOD WORK.

**pliny_2001** · October 31st, 2009, 12:08 PM

I've only been on a strict diet to get super-lean once before, so I don't have a ton of personal experience with it, but when I finished I had the worst food cravings imaginable - it probably took six months before my diet and physique were on track again.

**A1food4U** · October 31st, 2009, 12:31 PM

The fact that your aware of the change is a plus. I have never competed and fattening people is my career choice so take this with a grain of salt. The body reacts to stressfull situations with a number of subconcious strategies. You have just put your body thru a "Famine" type situation, your body was under tremendous stress as you cut. Now food is plentiful, your body may be reacting by saying to itself "hey, i gotta store some of this for the next famine" when you body realizes that your intake is regular it may drop the weight of its own accord. Sounds fishy I know. but look at nature, there are many correlations. Squirrels, bears, rabbits all possess this type of body mechanism. . .

Keep your diet as clean as you comfortably can, keep up the cardio and work-outs and above all don't get discouraged. You just accomplished a tremendous goal, don't let this ruin what you have achieved in self confidence and pride!!!!

**lizzyb** · November 1st, 2009, 03:26 PM

I'm no expert either, but A! definitely has the physiology on the subject down......your body has gone through a huge stress....you have starved (under controlled environments, but still)....you cut cals and macros gradually to get super lean, and after the party is over you would need to reintroduce cals and macros very gradually too......you trained crazy amounts of cardio to get down, and you would most likely need to slowly reduce amount of training....to allow your metabolism to reset without it going into shock....or what is commoonly known as the rebound effect.
I've heard of sooooo many ladies who go through this, and it always appears to be the new competitors.....I think it's really sad that people do not prepare these new ladies for the after comp as much as the competition it's self.
Geeg, I'd suggest getting as much info as you can on the subject and see what you can do for yourself......things will settle in time.....hopefully Linda will be able to help you out too.
but I hear ya on that.....it could deter me from ever trying.

**gYmgIrL** · November 2nd, 2009, 07:43 PM

thanks guys!

Yeah Raijin, I'm doing the low reps to gain some beef. It was the plan the whole time cause your bod thinks you should only be eating 800 cals or whatever so lifting heavy afterwards is supposed to make you have insta beef gains! But I seem to be plumping it up a massive.

I have an email for you too!! I'll send it through soon

Thank you IFZ! Well I'd class this as normal for me, my new aim is just to maintain a nice amount of body fat! Which is where I was at before I competed. I just dont want it to be more difficult then it was before I competed!

pliny you're probably right too. Maybe those little 'allowances' I'm giving myself are actually adding up to a lot worse than how I used to eat. I should start a food diary. But still, if it takes 6 months it takes 6 months. I just miss taking the sexy pics

Thanks so much A1, and you're so right. I'm sorry for being so negative recently! Thanks for always being there for me

I shouldnt let it make me resent competing, that would be the worst thing ever!

Thanks so much LIzzy! I did a lot of reading of the 'post competition blues' as I was cutting and I thought I understood, but it is a lot harder to handle than I thought! I guess because for me being Ammageddon really meant a lot, and now I cant take pics and when I see people on TV or old pics of me I go *sigh* I used to have a body like that. It's silly cause it was only 4 weeks ago! It cant be that far out of reach to get back right?

hehehe

well I've reinstalled my pole and I'm getting back into that! That should help me get back the abs and back I lost as well as giving me some confidence and burning some cals. I'll allow myself to not be in comp shape for a little while and just enjoy life and forgive myself when it gets me down! (well, I'll try

)

**Italianangel** · November 11th, 2009, 07:58 PM

its easier once you can be comfy with your body on and off season with the realization that you cannot really stay that lean all year unless you are paid to do so for work and even then need time when you are holding a bit more body fat just for the nature of it.