So, I made it through an entire summer of hard-core body-building style training and eating and I got fantastic results! When the contest is over, most people go crazy and eat every imaginable piece of junk food out there and drink themselves into oblivion. They start out saying they’re “just going to take a few days off and relax”. This is typically how all hell breaks loose, (yes, I am speaking from past experience). A “couple” days turns into a week off from the gym. A few “treats” turns into a full-blown cheat-week. Before you know it, you’re avoiding the scale because you can’t face the weight you already put back on. All the good habits you developed during the contest are too easily replaced by the old habits that got you out of shape to begin with.
So you must be vigilant.
Understand that when you come off of a plan that you’ve been on for several months, where you were super strict and dedicated, there will be a void in your life. Unless you are ready with something to fill that void, it will get filled for you quickly with your old habits and behaviors. So, take the time, during your contest, to sit down and write out a plan for “afterwards”. For me, this consisted of taking a few weeks to gradually work my way back up to “maintenance” level calories. Yes, I had a few treats, but nothing too crazy, and I have continued to eat exactly the same way I did during the contest. I re-vamped my workouts to include a little more emphasis on building muscle and a little less cardio. I also sat down and wrote out my goals for the next three months on paper. It is important that you have a direction laid out for yourself.
If you slip back into the old habits, you will slip back into the old physique. You worked way too hard and sacrificed way too much to allow that to happen. Take some time to revel in your new body and let the good habits become
After the Transformation!!
so solidly ingrained that they become second nature to you.
If you have truly made a transformation, not only will your body be changed, but the way you live to keep that body will be part of the new you also.