The Truth about Contest Dieting

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The Truth about Contest Dieting

Details: Published on Monday, 29 April 2013 21:26; Written by Adam Bonilla, MP Competitor & Body Fuse Athlete

Out of all the crazy diets there are these days, the “contest prep” diet is without a doubt the most restricted in terms of food selection. One thing I’ve never understood is why does it have to be so restricted? Does a smaller selection of foods equal better results or is it just plain torture given to the extremely dedicated by trainers passing down nutrition plans generation after generation?

If you’ve ever talked with anyone who’s competed in fitness competition more often than not you’ll hear about how crazy the diet was. My own girl friend (prior to meeting her of course) was given a diet 20 weeks out from a competition that restricted her to zero sodium, white fish, no dairy, a few ounces of potato and sub 1,100 calories every day. Without a doubt when you restrict someone’s calories so drastically they’ll get good results for a few weeks but not long term. After the results slowed down what did her trainer do? Increased cardio and the results temporarily came back and this pattern was repeated over and over again throughout her prep. This might seem crazy, but I’ve had many conversations with competitors that had very similar stories.

Personally I’m the kind of guy who will always ask why and look for some scientific rationale before I agree with a diet that is going to make my life or someone else’s life so challenging. This article is for all of you “why” askers out there. In today’s article I’m going to uncover 2 of the biggest myths and non-science based routinely practiced methods in the contest prep diet. I will cover eating only white fish and the crash calorie diet (sub 1200 calories) and the diminishing returns on this type of diet in another article. For now, let’s focus on the following myths:

Myth #1: No Dairy

This should be a brief discussion. For those of you who want to save time just read this next sentence and move on because the simplicity of it should make you say “ah ha” I knew no dairy didn’t have any scientific rationale. Whey protein and casein protein are DAIRY! Duh! For those of you still reading have you ever heard of anyone cutting whey or casein protein out of their prep diet? Of course not so why is no dairy a standard practice? Obviously since most competitors are taking high amounts of whey protein dairy doesn’t make you burn fewer calories or make it harder on your body to get to the extremely lean levels.

Now don’t get me wrong and load up on milk the day before the show. It is still possible based on the individual’s ability to handle dairy that it will make you hold more water but who cares 16,12,8, or even 4 weeks out about holding a little water (and I mean a little).

How did the no dairy rule come about? It has been passed down from previous generations of competitors. 50 years ago whey protein supplements and non fat milk weren’t on the shelves. If you had no protein supplements available to you what would you do for a fast easy source of protein? Milk, but since non fat milk wasn’t available you would drink whole milk as your primary “meal replacement” shake. However because of the fat and calories in whole milk that would also be your “weight gainer” shake. Now one thing I do know is that nobody is taking weight gainers for contest prep. So what’s the common sense thing to do if whole milk makes you gain weight and you’re in contest prep 50 years ago? Boom! Cut out milk! Now that non fat milk is available why are such prehistoric practices still taking place? Well I can’t answer that one for you, but I will tell you this none of my prep clients are restricted from dairy until about 10 days from the show. I only cut dairy to be extra cautious with water retention and bloating. This practice is probably more cautious then necessary as only 3% of people actually do have a dairy food allergy.

There are still a few of you out there who are like me and are saying “okay Adam Nye the science guy, prove it.” Siggghhhh fine! Here it is.

Dairy, well actually dairy calcium, but not calcium taken on its own has actually been proven to assist with fat cell metabolism and an increase in fat oxidation during the day. In one study increasing dairy calcium caused an excretion of about 60 calories extra of fat per day. 60 calories per day over a 100 day prep is 6,000 calories extra from fat or 1.74 lbs of pure fat! Dairy is our friend!

Myth #2: No Sodium or no added sodium

Another common practice is no sodium or no added sodium. How many prep people have been told no salt just use Mrs. Dash? Well personally I don’t mind Mrs. Dash, if I’m combining it with salt for extra flavoring. However that kind of defeats the purpose of Mrs. Dash so I don’t have any stock in her these days.

Salt has no calories! So by definition of the first law of thermogeneics it is impossible for it to make you store body fat. Why is salt cut out so far in advance? Due to the potential extra water retention accompanied by a high sodium diet. Do you really care about storing a little more water 8 weeks out? Most of you will say no to that question and a few of the hardcore readers will say yes. So for you hardcore people here’s the scientific reason for needing salt in your diet.

First off, sodium will only make you store water when you switch from a low sodium diet to a high sodium diet. This is due to the body releasing more aldosterone which is involved in water balance in response to the new increase of sodium. After a few days of continued high sodium intake everything will normalize and you will not continue to store extra water. But this has nothing to do with sodium and fat loss. So why do you need it? Well we’re about to get real in depth here and talk about a hormone called ghrelin. Individuals on a sodium restricted diet showed a larger post-meal increase in ghrelin. This hormone is released from the gut and goes up when you diet and goes down when you eat. Ghrelin is directly involved in energy balance and appetite. When ghrelin goes up, so does hunger, metabolic rate drops and fat storage is increased. In addition to the low sodium diets effect on ghrelin these diets also affect whole body hydrations status. Hydration status affects protein balance and lipolysis with dehydration causing decreased lipolysis and protein loss and hyper hydration improving lipolysis and sparing body protein. Phewwww….That’s enough myth busting for today. More for you next time!

-Adam Bonilla

For the supplements that Adam uses visit www.BodyFuseUSA.com and enter coupon code "ADAM" to Save 20%

Trainer of Team Elite Physiquez – The 2013 Denver Championship Team

Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist

NASM Certified Personal Trainer since 2001

NASM Weight Loss Specialist

NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist

NCSF Certified Personal Trainer since 2002

ISSA Certified Personal Trainer since 2000

APEX Certified Personal Trainer since 2001

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