Thread: Battling between ways of eating

does anyone ever battle between a competition prep style diet and a 'normal' diet?

I am in the process of slowly losing the weight i gained after my competition 2 YEARS AGO! lol. I've lost 20 pounds so far.

But, I always battle in my head as to which diet is better.
Competition prep style - which is like no dairy or fruit, etc.. And then a normal, diet with bread and fruit and yogurt. I should be able to enjoy these foods as long as i keep a calorie deficit, correct?

Somdays i tell myself "okay today you are going to be strict and eat your vegetables and proteins and supplements" And then other days i think "why should i cut out fats and fruits?? why cant i eat this and still lose weight??"

I guess i've just engraved into my mind that fruit, fats and dairy are bad for weight loss! Why should i deprive myself of these foods? Why do so many coaches and fitness professionals think that these foods will de-rail progress???

The reason people perpetuate no dairy/bread is because most junk/"cheat" meals revolve around dairy and grains (ie pizza, ice cream etc). It's easy for the disordered or uninformed mind to eliminate entire food groups irrationally rather than just budget it into their daily life. The fruit thing, well, I don't know who started that but they should be shot for their blatant slander against innocent apples.

You need to change your thinking. I think Layne Norton is quite well-known as a contest prep coach (and his clients have fantastic results), yet dairy/fruit/bread is in most of his client's contest diets (and if it's not it's personal preference by the client, not him). Kim Oddo (ie Nicole Wilkins trainer) is one who perpetuates diet myths. I think you might just be looking at the wrong trainers Get your inspiration elsewhere.

Someone once said to me... *coughKimcough*... "cut it out with the all-or-nothing approach" or something along those lines It worked!

I did the all or nothing approach for my first show (which will be my last, thanks to the awful experience) And i ended up gaining all the weight i lost back plus 20 lbs due to my never-ending eating post show.

I have posted on here previously about this issue, and I am getting over my body-image issues finally this year and feeling better - but still obviously battling with my eating habits!

I have to get out of the mindset that i can't get lean eating fruits and dairy - it's ridiculous!

I think you've got two scenarios here:

1. Silly, limiting pre-comp diet - you will lose weight but feel deprived and probably, once you reach your weight goal, go back to overeating and gaining all back - not sustainable long term plan.

2. You count your calories and macros, eat healthy foods and treat yourself with foods that you crave - you will lose weight, will not feel deprived and can follow long term with healthy steady fat loss - win!

As you know - it's not about dairy, sugar, fruits, etc, etc - it's about calories in/out.
As long as you meet your macro requirements, enjoy the foods you love and you will be much happier for this.

Originally Posted by coconuttree2009

I think you've got two scenarios here:

1. Silly, limiting pre-comp diet - you will lose weight but feel deprived and probably, once you reach your weight goal, go back to overeating and gaining all back - not sustainable long term plan.

2. You count your calories and macros, eat healthy foods and treat yourself with foods that you crave - you will lose weight, will not feel deprived and can follow long term with healthy steady fat loss - win!

As you know - it's not about dairy, sugar, fruits, etc, etc - it's about calories in/out.
As long as you meet your macro requirements, enjoy the foods you love and you will be much happier for this.

You mean... i can eat fruit and dairy and BREAD *Gasp!!* as long as it fits into my daily numbers?! BEST NEWS EVER! hehe
I am a happy girl today - I feel as a weight has been lifted on my shoulders! ahhhh

Originally Posted by ALianne

I did the all or nothing approach for my first show (which will be my last, thanks to the awful experience)

Off topic but how come your first show was an awful experience?

Originally Posted by ALianne

You mean... i can eat fruit and dairy and BREAD *Gasp!!* as long as it fits into my daily numbers?! BEST NEWS EVER! hehe
I am a happy girl today - I feel as a weight has been lifted on my shoulders! ahhhh

Yes and why wouldn't you if you do not have any food alergies?
Fat loss comes down to eating less calories than you burn.
The main reason pre-comp diets stay away from sugar and what some class as 'dirty/bad food' is that plain foods like chicken, green vegetables, etc are more filling when calories get restricted drastically.

Originally Posted by KFlynn13

Off topic but how come your first show was an awful experience?

Maybe the lifestyle just isn't for me. I was miserable and hungry and tired for 3 months - cardio 2 x a day - ALWAYS HUNGRY. Then afterwards I gained a ton of weight FAST because i couldn't stop eating!

Originally Posted by AUTiger13

Exactly... I am two weeks out from a show and loving my FULL FAT CHEESE, greek yogurt, and fruit

Eating yumy foods AND looking great!!! What's better than that?!!

Originally Posted by ALianne

Maybe the lifestyle just isn't for me. I was miserable and hungry and tired for 3 months - cardio 2 x a day - ALWAYS HUNGRY. Then afterwards I gained a ton of weight FAST because i couldn't stop eating!

I'm sorry but your contest prep was completely brotastic.
Also slow changes are the key.
I'm eating things that I like and stay at 19-20 body fat when bulking and go down to approx 16 on a cut. No suffering at all.

Originally Posted by AUTiger13

There is no need for double cardio. Not that you SHOULD do it again but just know that there is a better/healthier way to get there. I have never done that and would never ask a client who is prepping to do a double cardio. To me if you are doing that--your diet is off. Sounds like you set yourself up for major rebound!

Noel, just asking, do you do online prep?

Originally Posted by juliacheh

I remember your transformation story.
The biggest mistake is that you did not give yourself enough time to diet.
Your coach put you on a low calorie diet + a lot of cardio. This alone is a recipe for disaster. Also, you did not have a lot of lean muscle which really helps when trying to cut to lower body fat.
As people already said, no fruit, dairy and bread is the biggest myth of bodybuilding.

Yup - my thoughts exactly. I didn't have a base - i had only been lifting for a year prior to dieting - and when all was said and done, i looked skinny fat on stage. I still had body fat. I won second place for bikini model and felt great about myself - But afterwards was a disaster and I am still picking up the pieces.

Originally Posted by AUTiger13

There is no need for double cardio. Not that you SHOULD do it again but just know that there is a better/healthier way to get there. I have never done that and would never ask a client who is prepping to do a double cardio. To me if you are doing that--your diet is off. Sounds like you set yourself up for major rebound!

And major rebound is what happened! My body went through some weird things man... LOL.

I did love the competition experience though - It was a rush!

I am happy to say that for the past 2 years since my show, I have been eating and lifting heavy non stop and trying to not think about my extra body fat so much - and just enjoying it.