The Road to Show: I'm not losing weight?!

January 15, 2020

4 PM

At this very moment, it is exactly 11 and a half weeks until my first planned bikini bodybuilding competition of 2020. At this very moment, I have been back on prep for 13 days.

And let me tell you, it’s been quite the journey already.

My Previous Show

If we flashback to my first show, I was in prep for over EIGHT MONTHS, and I was completely ready to be on stage 10 weeks out from my show. Yup... I could have stepped on stage more than two months before my planned show.

My coach asked me at the time if I wanted to pick an earlier show but because I had people from out of town coming in, my suit and tan booked, etc, I couldn’t change the date. So, I basically maintained until two weeks out from the show when we really dialed it in.

Placing First in True Novice

Present

Now, let’s flash forward to my current show. Again, I’m over 11 weeks out, and have only been on prep for just shy of two weeks. And honestly, it’s kind of messing with how I’m feeling about the show.

"And honestly, it’s kind of messing with how I’m feeling about the show."

I KNOW that this prep is considered a “normal” prep (12 -14 weeks is a typical length of time to prep for a show), but I can’t help but be worried that I won’t be ready.

This also comes from the fact that I have not lost any weight since beginning prep. In fact, I gained two pounds the first week, lost one pound the second week, so I’m still up one pound from when I started.

But why?

I’ve been working with my coach for almost a year, and I 100% trust her and the macros she provides. The main thing I love about her is that she holds my overall health as the priority. So that first week of prep, my macros did not change at all. My cardio increased slightly, but I wasn’t thrown into this crazy diet where she cut out carbs and handed me hours of cardio.

No.

Slow and steady is always the best way, the HEALTHIEST way, to go about any type of body fat change. And knowing this is what’s been saving me the last two weeks.

"Slow and steady is always the best way, the HEALTHIEST way, to go about any type of body fat change."

I’ve been on point with my nutrition, my lifts, and my cardio so I know that my hard work will pay off in the long run. I just have to be patient.

So why have I haven’t I lost more weight?

Well, the main reason may be is that my body is rejecting the idea of being in a calorie deficit again. When you’ve been dieting for so long and then reverse, your body needs the time to slowly adjust to the added calories and get out of that “starvation” mode. If it’s not ready, your body can cling on to every single calorie and refuse to lose weight. Even gain. It’s almost like it panics and goes, “oh no, not again!”.

Left: Me Currently, Right: Two Days Out from First Show

That being said, there may be a chance that my body will just plainly refuse to respond. It may just not drop the weight, and I may not be able to actually step on stage in April.

"...I may not be able to actually step on stage in April."

Do I think this will actually be the case? No, I don’t. I don’t think that my body was in a caloric deficit long enough to refuse to lose weight again. And not only did I put on a healthy amount of body fat during my reverse, but I also added MUSCLE, so my body has not felt deprived in the last eight weeks.

I do, however, think that this prep will be much harder for me. I think I will need to do more cardio and push a little bit harder at the gym, but I still don’t think my macros will need to be at an extreme low.

Luckily for me, I have less body fat to lose this time, and I’m MUCH more prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally. I had 30 pounds to lose last show, but this time, I only have between 10 and 12.

This time around may be harder, but I’m so freaking ready.

So raise your shakers, everyone…

...Here’s to Health. Cheers.