Post Contest Metabolism

Along this same line, ( which was clearly a popular topic as not ONE person replied).. I will throw it out again, but with more questions!!

 What happens to your metabolism once the shows are over? Having done 3 in a row, I kept dropping weight at each sucessive show to finally hit the stage at 106.5! Joe has me slowing increasing my calories, mainly thru carbs for now and I am going to try to get HUGE! So, workouts have now started using NLP with me just adjusting to lifting till failure again. My joints have definetly decided that they like a little fat... they move a lot better that way!

 But, I was just wondering, what the heck my body is thinking right now? Does it recognize that something is different? How can you metabolic rate change in such a short period of time, when clearly I have not gained or lost any muscle size?

Does it matter how you split up your macros in the off season? I am stacking starch pre and post workout, but with 175 g carbs to fit in... I am finding it hard to get it all from fruits and veg like I had been ( bananas are a waste to me... done to quick...). Normally I am done with starchy carbs by my 4pm meal, but does this really matter in the off season? Is simple vs complex a concern now?

 Thoughts... anyone???

your metabolism is slowed down do to the extensive dieting that accompanies prep. the best thing that i can adivise you on concerning food amounts post contest..is LISTEN to joe! he can slowly increase the food, which it sounds like youre doing. stay on the diet! your weight will go up slightly and your met rate will catch back up... i'm sure you ate what you wanted for a little bit, but jumped back on the diet asap.

as for what you are eating, i wouldn't be to concerned with simple vs complex/starchy/nonstarchy. good job pre and post workout meals. i think the bottom line is mix it up and just EAT! hope that helps..best of luck.

cracks you up??

2-3 months!! Wow.. i didn't realize it took that long. hmm

Graig

Thanks for your reply! I am completely listening to "the boss". I haven't knotched the carbs up much yet, and I am still only .5 lb off where I was on stage May 3rd....so, so far so good! But, I am definetly a LOT hungrier and my training is getting better. Stronger by the day... I aim to hit the stage again NOT at 106.....

If my metabolism is slowed post contest...why am I eating more and not gaining any weight? I am probably the only woman who is waiting for the scale to hit 109!

My guess... Dan exhibited the "eat whatever is in my path" method of post show consumption! Gained a lot, then ooppss, had a lot to drop for next show.. am I close??

I am going slow, but am anxious to see the weight pop up. Like others, I don't anticipate feeling "awesome" about gaining 10-15 lbs in the next months, but i guess I just keep thinking that in order to not get the "Maybe you should think about being a bikini model instead of figure b/c your too small" comment ever again.... BRING ON THE FOOD!!!

The only challenge is not feeling so FULL. Going from 100 carbs to 175 and up is challenging for sure. Oh, I can eat it, but i end up feeling like I swallowed a brick, with all the sweet potatoes, oats and brown rice....

Does anyone have thoughts on splitting up meals entirely different than what they do pre-contest? For example, I did 5 meals with pretty similar macros pre- contest to hit 125/100/30. Now, I am aiming for 125/175/40.... but am thinking that splitting my meals into smaller, more frequent meals so that I can avoid eating 40 g carbs at one sitting. Therefore my pre and post training meals would stay the same, but I would spread the next 3 meals into 4 or 5?? Thoughts??

Also- any idea what an ideal ratio in meal macro combining is? Is it appropriate to only have carbs/fat as one meal if you have had protein within 2 - 3hours prior? I imagine it depends on the amount of protein, but interested in peoples thoughts. Sometimes, it is just easier for me to grab a piece of fruit when I am in meeting vs pulling out the whey or chicken.   BUT.... I will make what ever I need to happen!

Thanks

ironicly dan is the one who started this topic. he definitely went nutts but he actually didn't even wait until the show was done.. he pounded food prior to going on stage. i think sean said it looked like he swallowed a basketball. then he had to pour bleach over the food at his house so he wouldn't eat it. LOL. classic. he still has not graced the stage again, luckily he has a long 2 year offseason. 

if you don't want to have too much food at one sitting, try having 6 instead of 5 meals and spread it out every 2.5 -3 hours. it is ok to have just carbs at a meal, but i think most us prefer a combination of food, so we can fill up more, but it seems like you've got that covered. in the offseason it is more about a constant influx of quality food than about spreading meals out enough so you tap into bodyfat for energy before you eat another meal.  

Hardy har, laugh it up! Yes, I went nuts- I will not appologize. So what if I ate a whole jar of peanut butter, 6 muffins and 1lb of blueberry trailmix before the night show....? I deserved it.

And for your information, I only gained 35 lbs that month. That's hardly more than 1 lb per day....

ah...but how much of that did you gain in the first week?