Post Show Binging and gaining too much weight

[balashka666]

Hello all, I am newbie on this page and so happy i came across this site!!!! I was doing a research on cjc1295 DAC and when i was through with the post i kept reading all the good topics and couldnt resist to join. Now that I know i will be communicating with like minded people, I feel like a little kid in the candy shop

So, last year was my debut competing in bikini division. I am 30, 5'5 was competing at 109-114LB. I took away trophies from each show I did, and placed 1st in major shows like Jay Cutler and etc... Anyways, I was coached by a wrong team and they adviced me to do more shows my body could handled. A little intro here is in order. I decided to compete in Jan 2010 with 131 LB. My first show was on April 16h 2010 and I came in at 112LB. I picked at Jay Cutler on May 2, and peak continued till end of May. My coach kept me on the almost contest one week out diet while i was still working out twice a day (cardio & lift split). In June I started to lose too much lean mass, and compited in June 16th at 106lb and looked to skinny. Since then i did one more show.... I was very committed to the diet and paid the price later in the summer. I started binging. The result was clinically diagnosed adreno fatigue. I binged for 2.5 month almost every day and gained 30lb. Does anyone else experienced that? I feel like my hormones are experiencing a roller coster and I cannot seem to lose any weight gained. Or controlling binges.

After taking a month off in Dec, I followed 8 week program to build legs and booty with no cardio. Last week I started my new training working to lose fat and get into competition ready body. I still binge on occasions (ones per week) and need help on evaluating my program and supplementation protocol... Any feedback / recommendation would be appriciated - thank you all for your support!!!!

I tried taking ENPULSE by reval-us to boost testesterone. After one week i've noticed i am growing too quickly and losing sleep. I stopped taking it this weekened. I also stopped taking BCAA (xtend) cause i think i retain water from it and whey protein post workout. I still take the following: multi by Charles Poliquin, pre-work out: gerasium mix from true protein website, post workout: vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin C. Before bed zinc and magnesium.

I drink 16-20 glasses of pure water a day and few cups or tea / coffee mixed with little almond milk.

My diet is as follows (6 meals):
meal 1: 3 oz protein, 1/4 cup dry oats, blueberries, 1/8 cup pineapple, 1/8 cup papaya
Meal 2: whey protein
meal 3: 3 oz turkey breast roasted, 2 cups of green salad, 2 oz sweet potato, 1/2 spoon olive oil
Meal 4: same as 3
Meal 5: post workout 3 oz meat (used to be 2 scoops of whey by rivalus)
meal 6: 3-4 oz turkey, 3 cups of mixed greens and green veggies (peas, edemame, pepper), 1/2 spoon olive or flax oil

I train 6 days per week each session i increase weight or intensity. breakdown of the 4 week split is in the reply post.

 

[balashka666]

Here is the training split:
Monday:
for abs I do SB ball hip raises, SB mountain Climber, SB crunch
Shoulders:
-Standing Overhead DB press 4x8
-Arnold press 4x8
- T-bar row 3x10
- seated 1A cable press 3x10
-lat side raise 4x10
- sword 1a 3x10
cardio: 30 min HR above 140 steady
Tue:
abs - on tuesdays i do 3 superset of hanging leg raises, rope 3 way crunches, 3 way floor mountain climb
Arms: lots of supersets
seated calves 3 drop sets
inclined french press / incline hummer curls 2x10 and 1x failure
v-bar press down / BB curls 2x10 and 1x failure
close grip Bench Press / DB curls 2x10 and 1x failure
hyperextensions 3x12
cardio: 1 fast mile (1 min i run at 6.5 mph 1 mile sprint over 8.5 mph)

Wend:
abs: lots of medicine ball 3 set 10 rep: russian twist, SB crunch with MB, lying leg raise
Back:
wide grip pull up - 4x8
reverse grip bb row / reverse grip lat pull down 3x10
tbar row 2x10, 1xfailure
1a pull down machine / 1a db row
cardio: 30 min HR above 140 steady

Thu:
Abs: 3 sets 10 reps each: hanging side raises, crunches no weights
Chest
incline DB press 3x6
incline DB fly / flat bench press 3x10
weighted dips / cable cross over 3x10
one hand pushups 3x6
cardio: 1 fast mile (1 min i run at 6.5 mph 1 mile sprint over 8.5 mph)

Fri:
1st round:
walking lunge size of a big hall - 20 each leg
leg press 3 way 10 each way
step up with a kick 15 each leg
abductions 20
5 min cardio

2nd round:
leg extentions 20
side lunge - 15 each
hop jumps 20 each side
still leg deadlift 15
5 min cardio

3rd round:
walking lunge with weights
box hop jumps 15
seated curls 20
plie DB squat 20
5 min on step master on the toes

4th round:
leg press 3 way x 30
step up with a kick
split leg hops 15 each leg
25 min cardio

Sunday: 45 min steady cardio HR above 140

 

[Roxy722]

Welcome to EF!

I'm attaching a couple of links here for you to read and give you some food for thought. While I'm not necessarily a Scott Abel fan (and keep in mind he's selling his program) I do think a lot of what he writes about post contest diet, binging etc fits, at least with what I experienced after my first show. Binging after a show is very common and it's the silent, darker side of competing. There is so much more tied into it then just competing and moving on to the off season.

The worst thing you can do is to keep binging and jump right back on a diet. It's a vicious cycle. You'll diet for awhile, binge, diet and it takes a toll on your body and your mind. If you are really struggling, I would take a step back and focus on being healthy and " in balance". Don't restrict yourself too much and keep your training to a reasonable level, at least until such a time that you are able to get back on the horse and keep your sanity. You need to give your body time to even out. Hormones can take 3-6 months to even out, especially after the extreme contest dieting. I would stay away from the test boosters for now, as well.

The other thing I'd suggest is to remember that stage ready bodies, for most of us, are not realistic or healthy. It's very hard to accept that and I'm definitely guilty of it too but it's something to keep in mind when trying to lean out. 10-15 lbs within stage weight...more reasonable. I went from binging to dieting for the next show and I couldn't do it. The weight wouldn't come off and it just made the binge eating that much worse. It took me over a year to straighten myself out and get to the point where I could have some consistency.

Anyway...whatever you do, good luck!! I hope things go well for you.

Scott Abel - The Blog: Metabolic Damage

Scott Abel - The Blog: Food and Diet Issues: Your Problem is NOT Metabolic

 

[balashka666]

Roxy

thank you so much. Huge eye opener for me to read your response. Many of my FB competitor "peers" say suck it up you did it once you can do it again just focus. It is so hard to focus even when over-achieving is your characteristic, not after you discovered (love how you put it) dark side of coming off competitions. Thank you for recommending these books to read, will definatelly read it.

so no test booster.... good to know. I guess better to stay away from cjc also? I got recently sponsored by a sup company and have a lil pressure to do a photo shoot for them at the end of May. That is a driver to leaning out.

I totally agree with trying to diet and reverting back to binging when not ready... .I thought i'm just becaming weak minded.... maybe four month is just not enough to rest

Thank you once again for your support and help,

 

[Roxy722]

Roxy

thank you so much. Huge eye opener for me to read your response. Many of my FB competitor "peers" say suck it up you did it once you can do it again just focus. It is so hard to focus even when over-achieving is your characteristic, not after you discovered (love how you put it) dark side of coming off competitions. Thank you for recommending these books to read, will definatelly read it.

so no test booster.... good to know. I guess better to stay away from cjc also? I got recently sponsored by a sup company and have a lil pressure to do a photo shoot for them at the end of May. That is a driver to leaning out.

I totally agree with trying to diet and reverting back to binging when not ready... .I thought i'm just becaming weak minded.... maybe four month is just not enough to rest

Thank you once again for your support and help,

The links are just a couple articles on a blog but he has other stuff too. I've done a lot of reading on this subject. It was a huge eye opener for me and I can definitely relate to being an overachiever!! All or nothing right? lol Women in the industry can be bad for saying that type of thing...suck it up, weak minded etc...we aren't always very nice to each other.

This is just my opinion...if you are feeling good about things, then go for it. Just pay attention to yourself and if you start feeling "sick" or become too obsessed with it or the weight just isn't coming off, I'd really take a step back. It's not worth the time it will take to repair it all, physically and emotionally. 4 months of rest is good...if you are exercising regularly and eating around maintenance. The binging did some damage so I wouldn't count the 4 months completely (if that makes sense).

I don't know enough about the peptides and just said that about the test booster, more with the thought of evening out hormones. It would probably help for muscle gain for sure.

All that being said, your diet looks good and your split is decent. Do you count calories? use a site like fitday.com or another ...just to keep track?

 

[balashka666]

Welcome to EF!


The worst thing you can do is to keep binging and jump right back on a diet. It's a vicious cycle. You'll diet for awhile, binge, diet and it takes a toll on your body and your mind. If you are really struggling, I would take a step back and focus on being healthy and " in balance". Don't restrict yourself too much and keep your training to a reasonable level, at least until such a time that you are able to get back on the horse and keep your sanity. You need to give your body time to even out. Hormones can take 3-6 months to even out, especially after the extreme contest dieting

Roxy - how long did it take you to recover and what did you do? I am reading the blog you recommending. Ironically I was diagnosed just like Scott writes it. I went to specialized endocrinologyst and was diagnosed with adreno fatigue and PCOS without cycts too funny.... Wow eye-opener.,.... Again I cant thank you enough for recommending these blogs

 

[balashka666]

.

All that being said, your diet looks good and your split is decent. Do you count calories? use a site like fitday.com or another ...just to keep track?

Thank you so much once again. I used to use loseit application on my iPhone for years and especially when competing, but when started binging it added extra stress to record, see that i overate, etc.... I became obsessed and stopped.

On one hand it is aweful, on the other one I am glad there are others like me who are going through the same rollercoaster. There are cookie cutter plan coaches who should not be coaches if you know what i am saying. Girl thank you - thank you and thank you

 

[Roxy722]

I am pretty much the walking example of what not to do!! I competed in Oct 2009...I did a 23 week prep and dropped almost 50 lbs in that timeframe. I had a plan for post contest, had great coaches who had prepared me and I made it all of about 3 weeks and then went nuts! Did a whole lot of eating! I jumped back into prep in January, with the thought of competing in June, and just never made it. I couldn't stand the thought of dieting again so didn't get more then 3 days together of dieting, until I'd have to have a treat, which usually turned in to a lot of treats. My hormones went nuts and I felt depressed, physically and mentally. It SUCKED gaining weight that I had worked sooo hard to get rid of. To top it off, I decided to do a cycle and put on some more weight! It was muscle but still...messed with my head.

I wasn't ready for June because I couldn't get the weight off and then started prep for October but about 20 weeks out, I really started doing a lot of reading and research and talking to other women who had competed. Turns out a lot of them had the same issues. So...I backed out of the contest and tried to focus on getting my head back on straight. It's honestly been a real battle. It hasn't been until I joined the EF transformation contest, which started in January, that I've been able to have any sort of consistent eating/ exercise program. Even then, the first few weeks of the contest were a hugely emotionally charged experience for me.

I had to take competing on stage right off the table for me to be able to get my head back in the game. So I guess, overall, it took me a year and a few months. I'm feeling better and stronger now. I have really tried to pay attention to my body. Mistakes will happen but I'm trying to maintain a bit more of a balance. The weight is still a lot harder to get off though! Darn it!

 

[Roxy722]

Thank you so much once again. I used to use loseit application on my iPhone for years and especially when competing, but when started binging it added extra stress to record, see that i overate, etc.... I became obsessed and stopped.

On one hand it is aweful, on the other one I am glad there are others like me who are going through the same rollercoaster. There are cookie cutter plan coaches who should not be coaches if you know what i am saying. Girl thank you - thank you and thank you

Anytime!! And..there are a lot of great women here so they can comment too on the diet, supplements etc...lots of wonderful support!

 

[balashka666]

Anytime!! And..there are a lot of great women here so they can comment too on the diet, supplements etc...lots of wonderful support!

thank you - Based on the eye-opener I experienced today - this site is full of very good information & education.