Hectic schedule = fatloss fail??? Help ;(

[vongi]

oh, and since I'm still in 'noob' mode, should I worry about counting calories now or just get into the swing of it?

[teamfatboy]

oh, and since I'm still in 'noob' mode, should I worry about counting calories now or just get into the swing of it?

My 2c worth.... start now! It's not hard to learn how to do it, and the worst thing that can happen is your contest prep next year gets easier! Plus, you'll be the envy of all your mates when they start seeing the real Vongi turn up ! :nod:

Having been at this for a while, I think it's the same for everyone: there will be setbacks along the way, so the sooner you commit to learning about the diet side, and putting it into practice, the better off you'll be - you'll be far equipped with knowledge, experience and above all time-to-spare.

From talking to both male and female bodybuilders, every single body responds differently, and it takes time to learn the finer points of what works for you. Right now, you've got that time - it'll be so much easier than getting to the twelve-week point and then trying to work out how to shed bf without killing muscle in the process.

[Pseudonym]

I'm at the environment gym up in auckland

Say hi to Lynne and Tony for me! :wave:

[VampireChick]

From talking to both male and female bodybuilders, every single body responds differently, and it takes time to learn the finer points of what works for you. Right now, you've got that time - it'll be so much easier than getting to the twelve-week point and then trying to work out how to shed bf without killing muscle in the process.

So true. I decided last year that I wanted to complete and went straight onto a programme. As TFB says, different things work for different bodies and unfortunately it didn't quite work for me. In the end I had to pull back and re-evaluate. So what I'm doing now is experimenting with different things to see what does work for me before I commit to a comp. Figure I have all the time in the world, but hopefully I will be ready to do something next year.

[ThePman]

Women are always a pain to diet. Fundamentals (limit calories, push protein + healthy fats) will work down to a point. Getting BBer lean is a new set of challenges. Best success I've seen with that is to 1. not go super-crazy with the aerobics (a little is good if not mandatory, a lot for too long is a good way to cause problems) and 2. keep the diet tight most of the time but have some kind of refeed, carb-up or cheat day in there (for the same reasons, some is good but the refeed seems to do nice things and can help mitigate some of the negatives of longterm dieting).

It has to be a slow steady process, not a sprint. Trying to diet too quickly causes all kinds of problems.

[vongi]

Women are always a pain to diet. Fundamentals (limit calories, push protein + healthy fats) will work down to a point. Getting BBer lean is a new set of challenges. Best success I've seen with that is to 1. not go super-crazy with the aerobics (a little is good if not mandatory, a lot for too long is a good way to cause problems) and 2. keep the diet tight most of the time but have some kind of refeed, carb-up or cheat day in there (for the same reasons, some is good but the refeed seems to do nice things and can help mitigate some of the negatives of longterm dieting).

It has to be a slow steady process, not a sprint. Trying to diet too quickly causes all kinds of problems.

S*$@ . . . totally right. It's been two weeks and already I've fallen into my old traps. :evil:

Diet is a pain. Ok, thanks so much for the advice. . .am still trying to figure out what fits best with my lifestyle at the mo. In regards to diet, I know how to counter my weak moments -> HAVE EVERY MEAL PREPARED! (and then some for the craving attacks if a massive gulp of water doesn't get me)

I do agree definately to your comment. I counted calories about two months ago and everything was going well but it was shortlived because I thought I could outsmart my body by upping my cardio and eating less.

very naughty :naughty: plus that, I jumped straight into 'no carb' land :doh: lmbo. all this coming from a student wanting to get into public health as a career :pfft: haha, still heaps to learn about my own body

I know my diet isn't clean but I'm slowly hatching away at it and finding little things that'll keep me on track, and plus, looking at everyone elses journals, diet advice etc on the other threads is helpful.

Thanks heaps for the advice guys :grin:

[teamfatboy]

all this coming from a student wanting to get into public health as a career :pfft: haha, still heaps to learn about my own body

That's a great "plus" actually - when you graduate and enter public health, the things you've learned about yourself will help you when working with clients - I've seen it before, professionals who have book-learning but no real-world experience of what they're talking about.

[ThePman]

Women are always a pain to diet. Fundamentals (limit calories, push protein + healthy fats) will work down to a point. Getting BBer lean is a new set of challenges. Best success I've seen with that is to 1. not go super-crazy with the aerobics (a little is good if not mandatory, a lot for too long is a good way to cause problems) and 2. keep the diet tight most of the time but have some kind of refeed, carb-up or cheat day in there (for the same reasons, some is good but the refeed seems to do nice things and can help mitigate some of the negatives of longterm dieting).

It has to be a slow steady process, not a sprint. Trying to diet too quickly causes all kinds of problems.

S*$@ . . . totally right. It's been two weeks and already I've fallen into my old traps. :evil:

Diet is a pain. Ok, thanks so much for the advice. . .am still trying to figure out what fits best with my lifestyle at the mo. In regards to diet, I know how to counter my weak moments -> HAVE EVERY MEAL PREPARED! (and then some for the craving attacks if a massive gulp of water doesn't get me)

I do agree definately to your comment. I counted calories about two months ago and everything was going well but it was shortlived because I thought I could outsmart my body by upping my cardio and eating less.

very naughty :naughty: plus that, I jumped straight into 'no carb' land :doh: lmbo. all this coming from a student wanting to get into public health as a career :pfft: haha, still heaps to learn about my own body

I know my diet isn't clean but I'm slowly hatching away at it and finding little things that'll keep me on track, and plus, looking at everyone elses journals, diet advice etc on the other threads is helpful.

Thanks heaps for the advice guys :grin:

It really is a balance. It's good to keep things tight, but I've seen a lot of female competitors take it too far into obsessive-compulsive eating. I've also seen quite a few that will calorie-restrict and then spend 3+ hours a day on the treadmill for weeks at a time. It works for some, others just completely crash and burn (and that group is more likely to fall into the "not using chemical assistance" category).

On the other side, I've had some of my girls in the past that would get wound up about their diets, do everything right, and still end up stalling in fat loss for a week or two...then they'd give into the cravings, binge on candy bars or something, and wake up leaner the next day.

Women seem to respond very well to cyclic dieting, IME, and aerobic cardio in moderation. I wouldn't go crazy with it but 30-60 minutes a day can be very helpful. Intervals I'm not so sure about; I've always preferred tempo work to HIIT for intense work. Contest dieting isn't the time to start adding in a lot of new adaptive stress.

[vongi]

all this coming from a student wanting to get into public health as a career :pfft: haha, still heaps to learn about my own body

That's a great "plus" actually - when you graduate and enter public health, the things you've learned about yourself will help you when working with clients - I've seen it before, professionals who have book-learning but no real-world experience of what they're talking about.

too true too true, what better person to 'experiment with' other than myself :grin:

real world learning has more staying power too anyway

On the other side, I've had some of my girls in the past that would get wound up about their diets, do everything right, and still end up stalling in fat loss for a week or two...then they'd give into the cravings, binge on candy bars or something, and wake up leaner the next day.

this is my scenario at the moment but im going to use this weekend to rebalance (and partly coz I didn't prepare meals while buzzing round uni this week). mind you it's only week two of my learning phase

as a sidenote, I used to be obese when I was younger (those typical fat kids) and after the GP/dietitian helped me out with eating, lifestyle etc I noticed that if I kept busy and didn't really think about it (but had everything prepared, meal wise etc) it all slowly just came off. . . lol, I think I need another hobbie to keep me busy

Women seem to respond very well to cyclic dieting, IME, and aerobic cardio in moderation. I wouldn't go crazy with it but 30-60 minutes a day can be very helpful. Intervals I'm not so sure about; I've always preferred tempo work to HIIT for intense work.

What's IME? :oops: and by cyclic do you mean keto alternating with the usual (not so low carb)? I tried something like this while I was calorie counting and did notice some small changes but didn't do it long enough for it to take effect. Hmm, I'm curious about the cycling, is there any books you recommend or studies I could read about it?