Tame the Post- Contest Rebound beast FOR GOOD!

Nothing can prepare a newbie for a post contest rebound, nothing. In fact, being a seasoned competitor myself, I still get nervous about the post contest bloat. Seems to me thats when the REAL battle begins. I've seen competitors go from veins and abs and sucked in faces, to swollen hands and toes, stomachs porking out over pant lines, and cheeks that look like they're holding back mouthfuls of nuts....all within a day or so.

So how to avoid the dreaded rebound? The first steps to avoiding a drastic rebound are to understand possible causes;

1) REBOUND from drug use- Steroids, thyroid hormone and many other bodybuilding drugs all have the potential to cause bloat when administered or discontinued. I am not knowledgeable about specific effects of various drugs or how to deal with it; I have only seen the aftermath. In time, water bloat will subside; however, Growth Hormone bloat of the abdomen is pretty much irreversible. If you choose to take body building drugs, which I am not suggesting or advocating, you should ensure that you are medically supervised and that you are prepared to come off them as well. Make sure that your liver-specific enzymes and blood lipids are within acceptable ranges

2) REBOUND from water retention (due to drastically reducing it for a show)- When you cut your water intake dramatically, your body releases a hormone called ADH or Anti Diuretic Hormone. This hormone works to hold onto every little drop of fluid in your body. When you are not drinking anything, it may not make you over bloated BUT when you reach for your trusty gallon jug after the contest, your body will hoard all of this fluid; the situation is further complicated if you have screwed up your sodium balance in extracellular fluids.

3) REBOUND from sodium, since you are no longer eating squeaky clean- Processed “junk” foods, avoided in the months before contest, are generally loaded with sodium. Therefore, whether you use sodium condiments or not, your body typically becomes accustomed to a low-sodium diet, simply because of your dietary restrictions. In the cases of severe sodium depletion, as many people feel compelled to do before a contest, your body releases a number of hormones which work together to retain sodium. Blood sodium levels are very tightly controlled; therefore, the body will not excrete any when the intake is very low. If you have sodium loaded and depleted, while loading and then cutting water, then you will pee out massive amounts of sodium and water, but the concentration of sodium in your blood will stay the same, which results in dramatically reduced blood volume.

Now you have absolutely no prayer of getting a pump and additionally, the combined sodium and water retention after a contest is a recipe for bloat.

- You may try watching your salt intake after the contest, in combination with drinking a lot of fluid. The cleaner you eat, the less water you will hold on a regular day. Specifically, limit most condiments, sauces, high-salt dairy (cheese) and high-salt meats (cold-cuts), while eating mostly fruit, vegetables, whole grains and non-preserved lean. Maintaining a great physique in the off-season requires that you eat in a contest-prep like manner most of the time! While there is more flexibility, the primary difference in your diet should be simply eating more food and maybe adding in some whole, natural dairy and fruit which most typically do not eat on a contest diet.

4) REBOUND from carbs- Over-eating carbohydrates in particular has varying affects on different individuals; however, if your body is used to only 150g/day and you increase it to 500g the next day after a few hearty meals, you will be bloated! Most competitors I know have either been low carbing it the entire diet (think ketogenic diet) or have certainly been low carbing it for a few weeks before the show- some as low as 12 and 24g a day.

You cannot thrive and rebuild in a continuous state of near-ketosis, so an increase in daily carbs is warranted. But be careful after the contest, I’ve found that 2-3 diet-free days will destroy my look for several weeks. If you plan to compete again soon or want to do photo shoots, mind your diet after the contest too. Period. Add additional carbohydrates in slowly, and have the additional calories in the morning and before and after your workouts, when the extra energy will work toward muscle building and muscle sustaining goals!

5) REBOUND in your mind- simply put you're gaining weight and not used to seeing yourself like this- You will need to gain some fat to improve; however, you should still look like a highly fit person if the weight is added appropriately. Bear in mind that while it's not healthy to maintain a contest state of lean-ness year round, it's ALSO not healthy to have a 30+lb weight fluctuation. Numerous hormones, like over 20, influence the hypothalamus, the main feeding center of the brain. Appetite and eating is influenced by a variety of factors including hormones, environment and the rate at which you lost the weight. For instance, after a contest, the primary motivating factor for your diet is instantly gone, which can bring on a binge. Also, the post-contest gorging is often ritualized; however, it is never good for your body to do so. You are not enhancing your future contest efforts by doing over-consuming- and in the meantime you're putting a huge stress on your mental, physical and emotional state.

Appetite Hormones Include:

- Leptin: Secreted in proportion to fat mass. Leptin signals to the brain that you have enough fat mass and don’t need to eat more, therefore it works as an appetite suppressant. As you diet, leptin levels go down a whole lot, so you do not feel satiated.

- Ghrelin: Works opposite of Leptin– is an appetite-stimulating hormone that is increased as you diet

- Adiponectin: Appetite suppressant that acts like and is complimentary to Leptin

- TNF-alpha, CCK, cortisol and countless others, discovered and undiscovered, influence your appetite.

So what’s my point? It is not purely a matter of will power to eat in a reasonable fashion post-contest! There must be a plan set in place to eat an appropriate and beneficial diet post-contest! Personally, I continue to record my foods in my MemoryFinder journal and give myself a range of acceptable calorie levels and a macronutrient % target. In fact I usually have a post contest eating plan already laid out before my show is even over so I have no room for error or guessing. By keeping myself accountable, I can eat more in a controlled fashion and optimize my weight gain for the next contest! It’s a lot of work, but it is what it takes to compete seriously!

So what tips can I offer?

1. Drink plenty of water post contest

2. Watch sodium intake and limit foods high in sodium

3. Have a plan in effect for after your show so you know what to eat and how much. Your foods should still be similar to those on a contest diet, clean, healthy, whole, natural foods geared towards your goals!

4. Do not eliminate cardio- simply cut it back.

5. Take a few days off of lifting to allow your body to regroup

6. Increase your calories slowly- do not do it all at once. I recommend upping calories by 10% a week until you reach your desired maintenance calories or macro %'s.

So enjoy that initial post contest cheat- but don't allow a cheat to turn into a binge, which turns into a week long or month long gluttony. Trust me- your mind, body, AND soul will thank you! And when your next contest comes around, you'll be that much closer to your goal!