Aggressive Weight Loss/ Bikini Comp tips?

christenamiller
christenamiller Posts: 14 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi MFP family,

Let me begin this by stating that I fully understand that aggressive weight loss isn't for everyone. I've been training for my first bikini comp and the "cutting" process hasn't been as effective as I thought. I still have about 15 lbs to lose in approximately 5 weeks.

Anyone have some tips on how they've lost weight aggressively and safely?

Here's some things I'm going to try in addition to current workouts:

Take an extra 30 min walk in the morning to burn an extra 100 cals a day
Cut calorie consumption to about 1350/day
Raise my desk at work to be a standing desk instead of sitting
Macros sitting at 25% carbs, 35% fat, 40% protein
Add a before-bed ab 15 minute ab routine


Any new suggestions?
(Feel free to add me as a friend as well!)

-Chris

Replies

  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    edited March 2017
    I agree with the commenters above, but I will add an anecdote:

    I ordered my bridesmaid dress online and followed the sizing charts. Well, it arrived about 2 weeks before the wedding and it was so tight that I couldn't do up the zipper.

    I did a zero carb diet for those 2 weeks, and dropped about 10lbs. Low/zero carb diets help you shed a ton of water weight and bloat, so it can work well for rare situations like that. I just ate butter, eggs, bacon, steaks, chicken, coconut oil, tea for 2 weeks and the dress fit perfectly.

    Of course, when you go back to carbs, you just regain that water weight/bloat immediately. But for my particular situation, it worked like a charm.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    If you have 15 lbs to lose in 5 weeks, you aren't ready for a bikini comp. There's absolutely no safe way to go about this and attempting it is a great way to lose muscle. Bikini comps are not about being skinny. You're expected to have some muscle mass too. Pick a later competition.

    Yep. This.

    In the future i would hire a coach and understand that you'll be on poverty macros. I don't know your height, but even 1300 calories might be too high for a serious competition prep.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    I agree with the commenters above, but I will add an anecdote:

    I ordered my bridesmaid dress online and followed the sizing charts. Well, it arrived about 2 weeks before the wedding and it was so tight that I couldn't do up the zipper.

    I did a zero carb diet for those 2 weeks, and dropped about 10lbs. Low/zero carb diets help you shed a ton of water weight and bloat, so it can work well for rare situations like that. I just ate butter, eggs, bacon, steaks, chicken, coconut oil, tea for 2 weeks and the dress fit perfectly.

    Of course, when you go back to carbs, you just regain that water weight/bloat immediately. But for my particular situation, it worked like a charm.

    In the case of a bikini competition, it's about more than just dropping water weight.
    If a competitor has 15 lbs of extra fat, they need to lose the fat in order to look stage ready.
    15 lbs is usually a starting place for preps (I've seen many closer to 10 lbs), there's a reason you don't see 15 lb losses done in 5 weeks.
    It's unfortunate OP's cut hasn't gone as planned, but at this point I think even a seasoned competitor would realize they need more time.

    On a similar note, Paul Revelia has some good videos on Youtube discussing the topic of picking a date for your first show. I can't remember which video specifically, but he suggests a first time competitor not set a solid end date and instead prep until you are ready to compete.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    I asking this as a serious question.... is this a beach or nightclub bikini competition or a legit fitness competition? Reason I ask is the judging of these is different. :)
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    Unfortunately this why they have a slow weight loss program to get ready for these things, because trying to lose so much so quickly will definitely result in a lot of muscle loss as well. I will say I have seen a lot of people start doing these recently because they have been dreaming of doing it, and want to say they finally did it, and a lot them put a lot of hard work and dedication into it but don't ever do the research in to actually be competitive at it, but in the end they don't care. They just did it for themselves and I think that is great. If that's the case, you can easily lose the weight in an unsafe way, but it will mostly be water weight and a lot of muscle loss because it takes less calories to burn muscle than fat. Really it's just eating super low calorie and pretty much doing a keto diet. But I do not recommend it. If you plan on doing other shows after this, get a coach, or just do some google searches because there is a whole lot of information out there that could have helped you get ready.
  • christenamiller
    christenamiller Posts: 14 Member
    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    do you have a coach?? usually people that are competing would have a coach that would take them through this whole process??

    I do have a coach--one I haven't been very pleased with. Found him on Thumbtack and I don't think the diet/macros he has me on was the correct amount in order for me to cut properly before the comp. I'm still going to go ahead and go through with it--I've paid for it and don't really expect to win my first try anyway.

    After quite a bit of convos with other competitors, I've learned their cutting phase is about 6 weeks longer than mine (he put me on a 10 week cut) and their calorie defecit is greater (maybe 1200 a day instead of 1350-1500 day AND their macros are way less carbs. Looks like I've got a coach that may not be experienced enough.
  • yskaldir
    yskaldir Posts: 202 Member
    Have you tried the RFL protocol?
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    As a fighter I can tell you that cutting for a fight usually involves a lot of training, fasting and dehydration to make weight. I mean... if you really wanted too, you could take two weeks off from work, train 6 to 8 hours per day and eat a nutrition plan of lean protein and veggies at around 1,000 calories per day. That on top of dehydrating yourself harshly for a few days before will get close if not over your goal. Unless you already have pretty good muscle mass you'll probably look like a really thin 11 year old boy. Or you could end up the hospital... could go either way. But yeah... do some searching on professional fighters cutting to make weight.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,336 Member
    The issue is she would lose lean mass. That may be more important to her than making weight. MFP frowns on vlcd suggestions....
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Paging @usmcmp
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    prattiger65 wrote: »
    Paging @usmcmp

    Thank you!

    I wouldn't do it, especially if you are cutting the 15 pounds to compete in 5 weeks. You'll look like crap on stage and you'll feel like crap. After the show you'll rebound and gain 30 pounds.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Another vote for not doing it. Your health isn't worth it - what are you going to gain from putting your body through hell for the next 5 weeks before the show, then God knows how many after trying to recover? (nothing is the answer.)

    I've seen so many girls (and guys) get on stage when they aren't ready because no one has been honest enough to tell them otherwise. Listen to the advice of the people on here. Please!
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