The competition may be over, but the hard work is not. Recovering from a bikini competition (or any other extreme weight loss effort) takes just as much focus and effort as the prep. If you want to prevent future problems with your health and metabolism—you’re going to need to set some goals.

Your Post-Comp Strategy

Whether that was your first and last show or you’re a serial competitor, chances are you’re eager to get back to your “normal life.” You’re looking forward to cheat meals and less time on the treadmill. This well-deserved reprieve is possible, but only with a healthy approach. It’s important to maintain the leanness you achieved, while transitioning to a more reasonable diet and exercise plan.

All those hormonal and metabolic changes that occurred during your bikini competition prep, as discussed in part two of this blog series, must be restored. But how can you undo the metabolic adaptation that is likely in full swing? How can you reset your thyroid, sex hormones, stress response, and digestion, and pull yourself out over-exercising and starvation mode? Here’s how.

Set a post-competition strategy to recover in a healthy way.

Set a recovery timeframe

For most people, roughly half of your full prep time should be dedicated to recovery. If your prep was more on the more intense side with killer cardio, or extreme calorie or carb depletion, your recovery should match your prep time. For example:

Reasonable Competition Preparation:  12-week contest prep = 6-week recovery
Intense Competition Preparation:  12-week contest prep = 12-week recovery

Reverse your diet

Take your diet from 0 – 60 overnight, and you’ll balloon up fast. Make changes slowly over time, and your body will thank you. The goal post-competition is to have a diet that’s easy to follow, keeps you lean, and is as high in calories as your body can tolerate. Reverse dieting is the best approach for all competitors, creating a reasonable/sustainable diet that helps metabolism and prevents weight gain. Where you do you start? Slowly increase your calories and carbs each week until you reach a comfortable, sustainable diet. We suggest a 50 calorie increase from carbohydrates each week until you achieve the ideal “off-season” diet. And yes, that means cheat meals are back on the plate!

Reverse your exercise

Just like your diet strategy, slow and steady will take you far with exercising. Bring your workouts back down to a level that’s less intense and more enjoyable. We suggest a decrease of 1 min/day or approximately 5 min/day per week. Easing into the decrease is the easiest way to prevent weight gain.

Take supplements

Look … supplements aren’t some sort of magic pills, but in many cases, they can assist the body in healing hormone systems faster and easier, and replace deficiencies that can occur with restrictive eating. To ensure you’re not missing essential nutrients needed for recovery, consider the following. (But as always, check with your doctor for safety and medication interactions.)

• Magnesium. Arguably the body’s most deficient mineral, magnesium plummets with the strain of aggressive training. Build it back up with magnesium glycinate at a dosage of 600 mg/day, which has great absorption.  Check out our favorite brand.
• Fish oil.  As you introduce more food through reverse dieting, inflammation can rise. Combat this with a 2,000-4,000 mg/day dose of fish oil supplementation. But keep in mind, this is a long-term commitment. Fish oil works slowly over time by incorporating the fat from the oil into your body’s cellular membrane, preventing inflammation and potentially increasing overall hormone function.
• B-complex. After the strain of all that intense exercise, your body needs B vitamins to produce stress hormones and other metabolic processes. A general B complex supplement can help.  See our recommendation here.
• Digestive enzymes. Struggling with bloating or food intolerance post-competition? Digestive enzymes with proteases, lipases, and amylase will help your body break down protein, fat, and carbs more efficiently. Here’s one of our favorites.

Know when to ask for help

If you feel like you’re losing control of your body, metabolism testing could help.

Some post-competition problems are easier to overcome than others. If your weight won’t respond to your workouts, or worse, your weight gain is spiraling out of control, you may have a larger metabolism issue. The stress of competition prep can cause your metabolism and hormone systems to break down, triggering significant changes in your weight, energy levels, and digestion. If you feel like you’re losing control of your body, it’s time to seek the help of a professional.

“Don’t throw your health away because you competed for a plastic trophy one day.”

I say this to every one of my bikini competitor clients. If you don’t approach recovery in a proactive way, you can be doomed to serious health damage down the road. Metabolic testing can help you evaluate your hormones and fat-burning ability, giving you a concrete recovery strategy designed specifically for your needs post-competition. If you’d like to pinpoint and address the issues you’re experiencing, Twin Cities Metabolism is here to help. Request a consultation to learn more about testing options, pricing, and what we can do for you.

Ready to take charge of your health? We have the tests and customized nutrition programs you need. Get in touch.