# off season/between shows



## kaykyg (Dec 15, 2011)

has a toned figure girl competitor i diet for approx 10-12 weeks before my shows, however then off season i do find it hard not to keep to keep to the same kind of food structure eg eating every 3hrs and keeping protein high and carbs low, also i generally need to put on at least a stone in weight before i then start dieting again!!!

just wondered if everyone else feels like this and do you feel slightly guilty when you then start re introducing foods especially bread, chocolate!!! has i don't want to put that extra weight on in fat but increase muscle too!!!

i do believe bodybuilding plays with your mind as much has anything else especially with regards to food!! has when you are getting ready for a show your diet is the most important aspect!!!


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

i did used to think like this but this last 12 months i have maintained a diet using prep foods just more of them Monday through saturday then having sunday off this has helped me reach my highest off seasonweight and maintain half decent condition....i start my prep in 2 weeks and the only thing that will change is the amount i eat in the week and extra cardio......this has been the best for me....


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## freddee (Mar 2, 2009)

All is I know is on friday I had a wedding and on saturday I had an all dayer in Liverpool and now I'm feelling guilty and a bit down and my diet went totally to sh1t for the last couple of days though I dont keep a tight diety in winter lol

What shows are you all aiming at?


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## missuniverse (Dec 14, 2011)

PScarb said:


> i did used to think like this but this last 12 months i have maintained a diet using prep foods just more of them Monday through saturday then having sunday off this has helped me reach my highest off seasonweight and maintain half decent condition....i start my prep in 2 weeks and the only thing that will change is the amount i eat in the week and extra cardio......this has been the best for me....


with the people you help paul do you see a difference in attitude to men and women in the off season?


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## missuniverse (Dec 14, 2011)

when i first started competing and having off and on seasons, because all my experiance and knowledge was of men competing my 1st few off seasons i ate and trained like a fella trying to gain as much muscle as poss not caring about any excess weight and it did work in those years i gained a considerable amount of muscle however when it did come to dieting i normally had around 3 stone to drop which wasnt ideal. butnow if i ever did decide to gain some muscle back i would have a very similar attitude you have to have that excess of cals to gain the muscle xx


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

missuniverse said:


> with the people you help paul do you see a difference in attitude to men and women in the off season?


yes men are more easily steered to the "you have to eat to grow" way of thinking, the women i have prepped (Venetia was an exception) try to keep to close to the show look unfortunatly over time this can be a real strain and many fail and go the complete opposite direction than what was intended.....i can understand the mental way of thinking and why most women do think like this but i agree with your post above you need cals to grow......


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## Guns &amp; Buns (Dec 30, 2011)

Kay I am the same as you, I still eat every 2-3 hours daily but I have as much carbs- (mainly oats or rice ) & nuts as I want with every meal to bulk it out so I dont snack. I try and have sweet fruit like pineapple or apples as well to stop me wanting something sweet- one of the reasons why I got into competing was to change how I ate and even off season Id much rather eat a big bowl of oats or rice than a chocolate bar and feel rubbish from it! I do have weekends off - However if its the weekend I wont think twice about having a chocolate cake to myself ha.

Rach when you say you have to have more calories to gain the muscle do you mean just eating more in general? Would you say it is better to eat varied meals off season that wouldnt be like what you would eat when your dietin for a show, so your diet works better or would that not be the case? would eating fairly clean mon-fri with lots of treats at the weekends be ok? When you were off season how did you adjust to eating more 'normal ' losing your contest shape and accepting to be happy (so to speak!) with the extra weight you were putting on- was it because you knew all the extra food and weight you were putting on off season was going to be worth it when you dieted the following year?


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## EXTREME (Aug 5, 2005)

I used to have to nurse the ego of an IFBB Pro Figure competitor who loved her food and drink offseason but got depressed because of how much she'd put on so I explained it as she has a body she lives in and enjoys and a body she competes in.

Enjoy the day to day body 8 months a year and work hard on the competition on for 4 months. It's not how I'd do it were I able to do it again but it helped her get her head round it.


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## missuniverse (Dec 14, 2011)

Guns & Buns said:


> Rach when you say you have to have more calories to gain the muscle do you mean just eating more in general? Would you say it is better to eat varied meals off season that wouldnt be like what you would eat when your dietin for a show, so your diet works better or would that not be the case? would eating fairly clean mon-fri with lots of treats at the weekends be ok? When you were off season how did you adjust to eating more 'normal ' losing your contest shape and accepting to be happy (so to speak!) with the extra weight you were putting on- was it because you knew all the extra food and weight you were putting on off season was going to be worth it when you dieted the following year?


in hin sight i would appoach an off season diet in a totally different way i would try and eat clean but yes very varied and different to dieting but with structure, then treats on weekends. i do believe you need a clear distinction between dieting an off season for your mind and body, ive seen many times people try and hold there contest ready body and diet for too long and then just crash this then results in you mentally still been tired and unmotivated to start dieting and your body not benifitting from the rebound you could have got.

off season was so hard for me to cope with seeing your body go from wow to oh no, but you have got to be realistic and like dougie says if your reduction in condition is because you are making the most of your life when you are dieting how can you complain?


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