comeptition prep...HELP

[fitnessgirl12]

Hi guys... this is pretty much my last resort. i have no idea where else to turn... I know this is a very long post but please bare with me

I've been training for an upcoming figure competition in October since May 26th. I'm just about to hit 7 weeks out from my competition. When i began training I was at 135lbs and about 22% body fat. I got myself a trainer and he gave my a diet and workout plan to begin following.

Meal 1: 1 egg, 1/2 cup of egg whites, salsa (i cant stand the eggs without it) 1/2 grapefruit and green tea
Meal 2: same thing
Meal 3: 1/2 sweet potato, 1/2 large can of tuna (with mustard) and veggies
Meal 4: same thing
Meal 5: healthy protein. the size of my 2 palms, green veggies and 10 almonds
Meal 6: same thing
If i was still hungry i would add a meal including a protein shake and almonds and cucumber.
Post workout: protein shake and 1/2 banana.

This worked very well for me along with the training program which was different every week or every two weeks. and i would only workout 3 times a week. We did 8 weeks of mass. so trying to put on some muscle. my weight went from 135 to 128 within 6 weeks. July 2nd i was 128 lbs.

At first i was allowed a cheat day every 2 weeks.. then once a week. My weight would obviously fluctuate but i would go back down to normal within a day or two.

I started my cutting phase july 22nd. adding 10 minutes of light cardio before breakfast and 20-30 minutes of light cardio in the evenings along with a new training program. I began taking ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin combination 30 minutes before breakfast and 30 minutes before lunch. as well as CLA with meals. everything was fine up until my last big cheat meal which was on August 3rd. my weight had gone from 130 lbs to 134.8 lbs within a few days.

I didn't weight myself for a week thinking it was muscle that i had put on and that i would be working off the fat eventually.

On August 7th I began to cycle my carbs. so very low or no carbs for 5 days. then every 6th day I can have a high carb day with oatmeal in the morning and sweet potatoes in the afternoon. I did one week of carb cycling. when i started it my weight was at 138 lbs... then on the 5th day it was at 135 lbs. i did my high carb day and the next morning my weight was the same... yesterday my weight was at 136lbs and this morning it was at 138 lbs...

I don't know whats going on. my trainer says something is wrong and that i should be leaning out. I've been following the exact diet an workout plans so his only explanation is that i have too much stress in my life.. i haven't felt stressed or anything until he told me thats why I'm retaining fat. ..

Does anyone have any ideas why I'm constantly gaining weight and not leaning out? this is my first competition. i have 7 weeks left and I'm really starting to freak out... Ive decided to take out my evening cardio because i might be overtraining. and Im only going to be doing my workouts every second day anyways...

Did i start carb cycling too quickly? should i not be taking ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin? should i be taking something else? please if anyone has any ideas i would really appreciate your help. the last thing i want to do is get up on stage looking like an idiot... or not getting up on stage at all.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

[Cara0915]

You've been dieting too long. During your "mass" stage you said you went from 135-128lbs. That's not building muscle, that's cutting. You GAIN weight during a bulk, not lose. As far as diet goes, it's extremely boring, no need to eat like that. What were your calories and macros during your "mass" stage? And what are they set at now?

[megdaig]

Do you have any recent pics?

As you dip into the lower teens of body fat progress will get slower and will be harder, but you shouldn't be gaining if you are in a proper deficit.

[fitnessgirl12]

In my "mass" stage my calories were set at 2,012 a day .. with a daily deficit of -432 calories. Now I'm not sure... all i know is that we took out the sweet potato and I'm only eating the grapefruit in the morning for carbs. on my high carb days i add 3/4 cup of oatmeal and a sweet potato.

I know I'm supposed to gain weight during a bulk and lose during a cut... so i don't understand wth is going on lol

[fitnessgirl12]

could i be over training?

[WC12]

In my "mass" stage my calories were set at 2,012 a day .. with a daily deficit of -432 calories. Now I'm not sure... all i know is that we took out the sweet potato and I'm only eating the grapefruit in the morning for carbs. on my high carb days i add 3/4 cup of oatmeal and a sweet potato.

I know I'm supposed to gain weight during a bulk and lose during a cut... so i don't understand wth is going on lol

Why would you eat at a deficit if you're trying to gain mass?

[fitnessgirl12]

good point... i just followed what my trainer told me to do.

any way that i could go back to losing weight?

[linaka]

This all sound so wrong. It’s wrong from the beginning. You started this diet on May 26th, let’s call it June 1. It’s mid-Aug already, so that puts you 2.5 months. You mentioned you were in the bulking stage, but looking at your diet, you are not eating enough to even consider bulking stage. I also believe bulking stage should occur when someone who is not in their on-season contest prep. Bulking should happen during your off-season so you can afford to lose muscle when you’re cutting during your on-season prep.

With 7 weeks left to go and you’re sitting at 136 lbs. You’re obviously moving in the wrong direction. At 12-16 weeks out, you should have lost 1 lb per week. I don’t believe in “Cheat meal”, it works if you’ve been on-point. The question is have you been truthfully been on-point? Why is your trainer ask you to have cheat meals? Is this something he read somewhere or is he asking you to have a cheat meal because your body is looking flat? Are you adding a little extra here and there because all the little things do add up.

As far as your cardio, when you say “light” cardio. Are you even sweating? What exactly are you doing in terms of cardio?

It sounds like your trainer doesn’t know why. Does your trainer have any experience with prepping someone for a contest before? Or are you his first client?

I feel that, your diet is off. Your cardio is not enough and you should not have any cheat meals anymore.

Have you committed yourself with the Oct’s show? Have you paid for the registration fees?

Listen, no need to stress out. You can still do it in 7 weeks as long as you have a GREAT foundation to continue to push forward.

[fitnessgirl12]

This all sound so wrong. It’s wrong from the beginning. You started this diet on May 26th, let’s call it June 1. It’s mid-Aug already, so that puts you 2.5 months. You mentioned you were in the bulking stage, but looking at your diet, you are not eating enough to even consider bulking stage. I also believe bulking stage should occur when someone who is not in their on-season contest prep. Bulking should happen during your off-season so you can afford to lose muscle when you’re cutting during your on-season prep.

With 7 weeks left to go and you’re sitting at 136 lbs. You’re obviously moving in the wrong direction. At 12-16 weeks out, you should have lost 1 lb per week. I don’t believe in “Cheat meal”, it works if you’ve been on-point. The question is have you been truthfully been on-point? Why is your trainer ask you to have cheat meals? Is this something he read somewhere or is he asking you to have a cheat meal because your body is looking flat? Are you adding a little extra here and there because all the little things do add up.

As far as your cardio, when you say “light” cardio. Are you even sweating? What exactly are you doing in terms of cardio?

It sounds like your trainer doesn’t know why. Does your trainer have any experience with prepping someone for a contest before? Or are you his first client?

I feel that, your diet is off. Your cardio is not enough and you should not have any cheat meals anymore.

Have you committed yourself with the Oct’s show? Have you paid for the registration fees?

Listen, no need to stress out. You can still do it in 7 weeks as long as you have a GREAT foundation to continue to push forward.

Wow... ya my trainer is a fitness specialist, he's done fitness competitions himself and has clients who have become fitness models and stuff. i don't know why he told me to have cheat meals... he says its so we don't shock my body with the constant dieting. i no longer have cheat meals, just high carb days with oatmeal and sweet potatoes.

in terms of light cardio, before no i wasn't sweating.. he made me change it to interval sprints.. but because of my diet i don't really have the energy.. i get tired and sore really fast.

i have committed myself to the show.. its october 5th. I've payed for registration and everything. i have the shoes, bikini, and tanning stuff. i want to do this but i don't know how to get myself back in the right direction

[linaka]

OP,

Since you are committed, you can't stress out about it now.

You still have 7 weeks and there is still time for you to change everything going forward. It's hard to really give advices when I can't see what your body condition is like. So all I can do right now is to tell you, you can do this and everything will be okay. You being tired is just a temporary thing, you need to dig deep and find it in you to push through those roadbloacks. It's what makes us one bad ass chick! =)

Please keep me and everyone else posted.

[fitnessgirl12]

thanks for the support, ill let you know how it goes

[megdaig]

Tally up all your current calories and go back to you coach and ask him these questions and have him adjust. If he doesn't think you're going the right direction or making progress as expected then he should be adjusting. If he's just sitting back and not analyzing what's going on then he sucks as a coach and you should dump 'em. Jut my point of view on that subject.

[fitnessgirl12]

would any of you ladies be ready to help me if i personal message you pics and info? we could work something out. those of you with pictures seem to have quite a bit of experience with this stuff. i am a trainer myself but i just don't want to try different things and then screw up everything before the show.

[megdaig]

You really don't need to try different things if eating at a deficit gives you results. There are a lot of coaches (LBC, Layne Norton) that don't believe in all the sodium loading/water cutting peak week voodoo...if you come in lean enough is all you need to worry about.

At this point, do you know how many calories you are consuming?

[fitnessgirl12]

You really don't need to try different things if eating at a deficit gives you results. There are a lot of coaches (LBC, Layne Norton) that don't believe in all the sodium loading/water cutting peak week voodoo...if you come in lean enough is all you need to worry about.

At this point, do you know how many calories you are consuming?

between 1500-1800 a day

[megdaig]

between 1500-1800 a day

Yup, if that's what it is taking you to lose. I found that I leaned out nicely doing mostly low cals with a refeed day or two on my two heaviest days. Refeeds we're still just a touch below maintenance.

[fitnessgirl12]

Yup, if that's what it is taking you to lose. I found that I leaned out nicely doing mostly low cals with a refeed day or two on my two heaviest days. Refeeds we're still just a touch below maintenance.

but why would I be retaining more fat now than I was before?