Eating Regulation

after the first show i did i went apeshit and ate everything in site. Within 1.5 weeks i gained back all the bodyfat I had lost on the diet... it was very frustrating. Many people do this after contests and you will find many competitors get depressed after shows because of it. The past few shows i have pigged out the night of the show then jumped right back on my diet the next day in order to gain slowly, trying to keep it tight.

-Layne

Layne,
thanks for the reply on this and it informs my reserach in this area. Like you mentioned, the best advice I can give is to compress the 'apeshit' period for as short a time as possible. This takes a lot of mental strength and control. The depression you noted common to many after a show (and the concomittant weight gain back) is a normative post-starvation response. I am considering competing as well in a local bullshit show, but for me, the challenge is to be able to sustain the slice as is humanly possible. The best way to look at it is staying within a range and understanding the process. This appears to help guard against depression. Fascinating reply. Thanks much.

Vv

no problem. One of the reasons i say that you're not a bodybuilder unless you've competed isn't because of the physical aspects & how hard they are... but because the mental and emotional battles are much much much greater for preparing for a show.

Indeed, I think the mental and emotional battles are the more difficult aspects of it. Like you said, there is an abyss associated with this type of dieting with concomittant training. Very few travel into and out of it.

Between the two shows we did together in '04, after the first show I had a box a cookie crisp, 64 oz Evian, a small protein shake and a helluva full stomach. The next day I felt great and was back repeating the final weeek of dieting again and didn't much of a problem at all.

So I'm certainly agreeing with what has been said. In order to stay tight and still replenish those depleted glycogen stores, you need to limit the post-contest binge to just the night of the show. The psychological guilt trip you put on yourself if you go longer isn't worth the extra calories.

- Fletch

as usual... very well said ted

Fletch,
Your dysregulation appeared to be limited to just that one episode as I understand it? Impressive, but as I have pointed out, that is the psychological and physiological key to 'get in and get out' as quick as possible. Quick question, prior to the Cookie-Crisp-Evian gig, what did your pre-contest intake look like. Rather than ask you about the dynamics or macro-breakdown or your pre-load (if you did so) just give me an approximate energetic intake number if you can. Of course, you may not recall. Question sounds ridiculous, but I am trying to build a statistical model here and it would help.

Vv

Layne,
on a related note, how low will you drop Na prior to the show? Do you titrate it down under a certain milligram level, or do you just try and stay aware of large relative differentials in intake?

Vv

it depends on what i am averaging up to the week before the show. For example, if i'm around 6000mg, i'll drop to 4000mg to begin the week, then 3000mg on thursday, 1500-2000mg on the friday (day before the show) and low on saturday until close to the show when i'll have something salty to fill out

Posted by: @vain68

Fletch,
Your dysregulation appeared to be limited to just that one episode as I understand it? Impressive, but as I have pointed out, that is the psychological and physiological key to 'get in and get out' as quick as possible. Quick question, prior to the Cookie-Crisp-Evian gig, what did your pre-contest intake look like. Rather than ask you about the dynamics or macro-breakdown or your pre-load (if you did so) just give me an approximate energetic intake number if you can. Of course, you may not recall. Question sounds ridiculous, but I am trying to build a statistical model here and it would help.

Vv

By 'pre-contest' intake, do you mean what I had the day of the show leading up to the post-contest 'Cookie-Crisp/Evian gig'? Are you referring to the week prior to the contest for caloric intake?

I probably have all the statistics you're looking for. I'm just asking for some clarification on what it is you're wanting.

- Fletch

Fletch,

for now I was just curious as to your intake the day of the CC/Evian Gig prior to the gig itself. In other words, I am looking for a total intake that day, including the post-contest gig.

Vv

PS: How close are you to SouthTown?

Layne,

thanks a bunch, that's very insightful.

Posted by: @vain68

Fletch,

for now I was just curious as to your intake the day of the CC/Evian Gig prior to the gig itself. In other words, I am looking for a total intake that day, including the post-contest gig.

Vv

PS: How close are you to SouthTown?

about 10g protein, 30g CHO every 2 hours starting at 6pm the previous night running til I had a small Pizza Hut pepperoni personal pan pizza. Then continued 10g protein, 30g CHO til I had a peanut butter & jelly ricecake sandwich for the night show.

Afterwards it was a Tri-O-Plex Bar, 3/4 box of cookie crisp, and a protein shake w/ banana before bed.

Total P/C/F for 24 hours was around 190/540/65

- Fletch

mmmm carb up