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Thoughts on bikini competitors?
Replies
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Slowfaster wrote: »
Anyway, let's allow her to decide if that is what she wants to do. Or, if that is something that she thinks that she would like to do. And then let's support her with her decision. I mean, that is what we do here, right?
I don't know, is it? Yesterday I was thinking of lowering my daily calorie limit to 1100 and I got almost nothing but negative reactions to the idea. Well, I happen to think that it's far more unhealthy for women to strive for the very low body fat percentage that these competitions require, so I wanted to point out some of the negatives. I know several women who used to do these competitions and, looking back, feel like they put their bodies through far too much to get there.
As for not caring whether they win or not? They may say that, but to me it's like women saying they got breast implants "for themselves," just a little hard to believe. Would they be having their bodies surgically altered if they lived on a desert island?
For the record I'm not "man bashing," people can't help what turns them on and right now the lean woman with a six pack is promoted everywhere as the ideal -- even the most recent Miss America has that look. So, no, men can't help liking what they like, but women can help whether or not they choose to work their butts off (literally) to meet that current "ideal," or choose to accept and be happy with themselves inside healthy bodies without surgery or a drastic level of body building.
I'm not "judging," anyone but I'm not going to encourage a young woman to do this sort of thing anymore than I'm going to encourage young women to starve themselves into anorexia so they can have a better chance at a modelling career. It's the voluntary self-harm I find appalling.
["Dietland" was eye opening for me.]
I agree with you completely. Double standards, everytime someone posts on here about 1200 the general consensus is you shouldn't do that. It's common for these women in bikini competitions to diet so hard they lose their periods. How is that healthy and WHY is that an allowed discussion on MFP??? I wish our society would focus more on normal BMI healthy athletic woman being attractive rather than this, it's too much pressure on young girls too who admire the modeling world. Same thing goes for men, men shouldn't be pressured into steroid use, etc. to achieve a certain look. Woo me all you want 😝
Do you actually know any? They don't lose their periods because of eating too few calories...they lose their periods (temporarily) because of their level of leanness. If they were starving themselves for prolonged periods of time they wouldn't have the muscle mass needed to compete.
My friend eats around 1500 calories for most of her prep cut until about the last 2-4 weeks when she drops down to 1200 and goes really low carb to cut water...it's very temporary, not long term dieting. She also doesn't walk around at 10-12% BF all of the time...only for shows. Most of the time she's around 18% and she does power lifting in the off season so she's eating plenty then.13 -
The OP has never said she would engage in unhealthy practices to compete. She may very well decide it is not worth it if that is required. That being the case I don't understand why people are weeping for her lost periods and hair already.
But it's not just "lost periods and hair"
I took this off the thread why eating too little calories is a bad idea....
"
The Short & Long Term Effects of Undereating Without Medical Supervision
In the short term undereating can have the following effect (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
Mood Swings
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
Menstrual Irregularities
Dizziness
Brittle Nails
Poor Skin Condition
Headaches
In the long term it can have far more negative effects, such as:
muscle loss
gallstones
electrolyte imbalances
organ damage
bone density loss
vitamin/mineral deficiencies
and whilst you might feel fine now, there is not always an advance warning of the long term effects."
Is ORGAN DAMAGE worth looking hot in a bikini?
If they did it long term, they wouldn't have the muscle mass to compete...this really isn't that hard. Their cuts are brief...they have to eat to maintain muscle mass so they're definitely eating most of the time.9 -
I know very little about bikini competition except what I've read on here and occasional articles in my news feed. Are competitors actually underweight and undereating on a regular basis? I don't know what the cut and bulk prep cycle involves but it seems like that amount of muscle would require a decent amount of calories to build and maintain, especially for a woman.
They are at really low BF% during competition...which isn't all of the time. Yes, prep for competition can be rather grueling diet wise, but they're actually eating and training most of the year. I have a friend who does these...she's very lean for competition (10-12%) but walks around most of the year at around 18% and is a competitive power lifter in the off season and eats a *kitten* ton of food for that.8 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »If it requires that you pay for entry or for coaching to prep for a contest...beware a scam. This isn't too dissimilar from those people who used to grab teens at the mall in the 80's and tell them that they have a future in modeling in order to get them to sign up with their 'agency' and pay for head shots.
That said, if your head is on straight and you know that it won't make you develop any body/eating/exercise issues, etc. then go for it. Might be fun.
You always have to pay for entry. Every stage competitor I know has a coach as well. But yeah, I'd definitely look into it more and likely talk to some of the people being coached by these coaches and go to some shows before I committed to anything.
So you have to pay for entry for a bunch of people to look at you half naked...? Yikes!
It's just like any other competitive sport or event...I have to pay to compete in cycling events...i enjoy them and gladly pay even though I have zero chance of winning. I am contemplating a power lifting meet in December...I will have to pay to compete in that as well. Body building competitions are no different.12 -
HayleeRenaeFit wrote: »Hey everyone! I have been asked recently by a bunch by prep coaches in the gym if I would consider competing in a bikini comp. lately I have been seriously considering it because of my hard work and dedication in the gym as well as diet. I have heard bad rumors about it and don’t know if it would be healthy, or what my macros/calories would have to be. Any insight would be great! Thank youu
I think you should absolutely go for it! You have an amazing body and all the hard work will really pay off once you’ve done it. It’s something I’d love to do one day too. You’ll smash it I’m sure! Good luck girl!!! X4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »If it requires that you pay for entry or for coaching to prep for a contest...beware a scam. This isn't too dissimilar from those people who used to grab teens at the mall in the 80's and tell them that they have a future in modeling in order to get them to sign up with their 'agency' and pay for head shots.
That said, if your head is on straight and you know that it won't make you develop any body/eating/exercise issues, etc. then go for it. Might be fun.
You always have to pay for entry. Every stage competitor I know has a coach as well. But yeah, I'd definitely look into it more and likely talk to some of the people being coached by these coaches and go to some shows before I committed to anything.
So you have to pay for entry for a bunch of people to look at you half naked...? Yikes!
It’s not a sexual show, it’s where people who’ve worked so hard get to show off their achievements in front of like minded people3 -
There certainly can be sexism in something like a fitness contest or a bikini contest, but it isn't inherent. There certainly can be competitors who push themselves too hard and develop eating disorders or end up causing themselves harm...but that isn't inherent either.
As a concept I see no problem with a bikini contest where competitors voluntarily enter themselves into a competition knowing full well that the point is to have their bodies be judged for aesthetics by a panel of judges. If they want to do that then I don't see the problem really.
People act like being proud of ones appearance, wanting to show off what one has accomplished with a mix of genetics and hard work and discipline is somehow a negative thing. I don't see why. Vanity itself isn't inherently bad, vanity is only bad if it you prize your physical appearance other other things that society deems to be more important.
If this woman worked hard on her fitness, is proud of her body and got scouted for how good she looked in a bikini by a competition I wouldn't pre-judge her for being interested or pre-judge the competition or its other competitors with no real information from which to suspect harm. After all isn't it rather insulting and patronizing to just assume that the OP will somehow be scarred or broken down or forced into an eating disorder simply by being a competitor in a bikini contest?11 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »The OP has never said she would engage in unhealthy practices to compete. She may very well decide it is not worth it if that is required. That being the case I don't understand why people are weeping for her lost periods and hair already.
But it's not just "lost periods and hair"
I took this off the thread why eating too little calories is a bad idea....
"
The Short & Long Term Effects of Undereating Without Medical Supervision
In the short term undereating can have the following effect (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
Mood Swings
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
Menstrual Irregularities
Dizziness
Brittle Nails
Poor Skin Condition
Headaches
In the long term it can have far more negative effects, such as:
muscle loss
gallstones
electrolyte imbalances
organ damage
bone density loss
vitamin/mineral deficiencies
and whilst you might feel fine now, there is not always an advance warning of the long term effects."
Is ORGAN DAMAGE worth looking hot in a bikini?
If they did it long term, they wouldn't have the muscle mass to compete...this really isn't that hard. Their cuts are brief...they have to eat to maintain muscle mass so they're definitely eating most of the time.
I mean, different strokes for different folks, but the very fact that they don't (can't?) look like that year-round without becoming unhealthy says to me that there's something a little off about the standards these competitions are judged to.
If it's your hobby and you enjoy it, fine, but I do think that there's something a little questionable about it in that respect.9 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »The OP has never said she would engage in unhealthy practices to compete. She may very well decide it is not worth it if that is required. That being the case I don't understand why people are weeping for her lost periods and hair already.
But it's not just "lost periods and hair"
I took this off the thread why eating too little calories is a bad idea....
"
The Short & Long Term Effects of Undereating Without Medical Supervision
In the short term undereating can have the following effect (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
Mood Swings
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
Menstrual Irregularities
Dizziness
Brittle Nails
Poor Skin Condition
Headaches
In the long term it can have far more negative effects, such as:
muscle loss
gallstones
electrolyte imbalances
organ damage
bone density loss
vitamin/mineral deficiencies
and whilst you might feel fine now, there is not always an advance warning of the long term effects."
Is ORGAN DAMAGE worth looking hot in a bikini?
If they did it long term, they wouldn't have the muscle mass to compete...this really isn't that hard. Their cuts are brief...they have to eat to maintain muscle mass so they're definitely eating most of the time.
I mean, different strokes for different folks, but the very fact that they don't (can't?) look like that year-round without becoming unhealthy says to me that there's something a little off about the standards these competitions are judged to.
If it's your hobby and you enjoy it, fine, but I do think that there's something a little questionable about it in that respect.
But I think this could be compared to almost any elite athlete in the off-season...11 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »If it requires that you pay for entry or for coaching to prep for a contest...beware a scam. This isn't too dissimilar from those people who used to grab teens at the mall in the 80's and tell them that they have a future in modeling in order to get them to sign up with their 'agency' and pay for head shots.
That said, if your head is on straight and you know that it won't make you develop any body/eating/exercise issues, etc. then go for it. Might be fun.
You always have to pay for entry. Every stage competitor I know has a coach as well. But yeah, I'd definitely look into it more and likely talk to some of the people being coached by these coaches and go to some shows before I committed to anything.
So you have to pay for entry for a bunch of people to look at you half naked...? Yikes!
Yeah, this was my first thought. I guess you'd have to have an exhibitionist type personality to want to do this. To me body building, bikini comps etc just translate to " Look at me, Look at me".
I'm, definitely not an exhibitionist and many of the people I know through competing aren't either.
What I have started to question is why competitors feel the need to be put on a completely subjective platform (having sacrificed a lot and paid for privilege) to be told that, in the eyes of those particular judges at that particular moment, their body is or isn't as good as the person next to them. Who really cares, and why is it important?
I agree completely with this. Same with bodybuilding competitions for men, and beauty contests.0 -
When I first started out I hired Justine Moore - a local competitive athlete - to teach me perfect form in lifting. She was in cycle for a big competition at the time and now admits she was taking it too far. She has toned her attitude down a great deal since then and while still chasing perfection, she accepts things she has no control over.
I say go for it. It's far too easy to sit on sidelines and criticize. Most of this is projection or excuses to justify why they wouldn't even try. You are going to be entering into a community of people who try. This will encourage you to put yourself out and try new things, break new barriers, set new goals.
I can think of nothing worse than to look back on your life and have regret for not trying.10 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »The OP has never said she would engage in unhealthy practices to compete. She may very well decide it is not worth it if that is required. That being the case I don't understand why people are weeping for her lost periods and hair already.
But it's not just "lost periods and hair"
I took this off the thread why eating too little calories is a bad idea....
"
The Short & Long Term Effects of Undereating Without Medical Supervision
In the short term undereating can have the following effect (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
Mood Swings
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
Menstrual Irregularities
Dizziness
Brittle Nails
Poor Skin Condition
Headaches
In the long term it can have far more negative effects, such as:
muscle loss
gallstones
electrolyte imbalances
organ damage
bone density loss
vitamin/mineral deficiencies
and whilst you might feel fine now, there is not always an advance warning of the long term effects."
Is ORGAN DAMAGE worth looking hot in a bikini?
If they did it long term, they wouldn't have the muscle mass to compete...this really isn't that hard. Their cuts are brief...they have to eat to maintain muscle mass so they're definitely eating most of the time.
I mean, different strokes for different folks, but the very fact that they don't (can't?) look like that year-round without becoming unhealthy says to me that there's something a little off about the standards these competitions are judged to.
If it's your hobby and you enjoy it, fine, but I do think that there's something a little questionable about it in that respect.
I know virtually nothing about bikini competition, but I do run marathons so I'm speaking from that perspective. It's not uncommon for runners and other endurance athletes have training demands while preparing for events that probably wouldn't be sustainable year round. I mean, I don't know if I could run 20 miles every Sunday without substantially increasing my risk of injury.5 -
nickssweetheart wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »The OP has never said she would engage in unhealthy practices to compete. She may very well decide it is not worth it if that is required. That being the case I don't understand why people are weeping for her lost periods and hair already.
But it's not just "lost periods and hair"
I took this off the thread why eating too little calories is a bad idea....
"
The Short & Long Term Effects of Undereating Without Medical Supervision
In the short term undereating can have the following effect (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
Mood Swings
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
Menstrual Irregularities
Dizziness
Brittle Nails
Poor Skin Condition
Headaches
In the long term it can have far more negative effects, such as:
muscle loss
gallstones
electrolyte imbalances
organ damage
bone density loss
vitamin/mineral deficiencies
and whilst you might feel fine now, there is not always an advance warning of the long term effects."
Is ORGAN DAMAGE worth looking hot in a bikini?
If they did it long term, they wouldn't have the muscle mass to compete...this really isn't that hard. Their cuts are brief...they have to eat to maintain muscle mass so they're definitely eating most of the time.
I mean, different strokes for different folks, but the very fact that they don't (can't?) look like that year-round without becoming unhealthy says to me that there's something a little off about the standards these competitions are judged to.
If it's your hobby and you enjoy it, fine, but I do think that there's something a little questionable about it in that respect.
Whether you're male or female in the body building world, it's about muscle mass and leanness...always has been. Neither males nor females walk around stage ready all of the time.
And really, you could say that about pretty much any competitive sport. I couldn't maintain a century ride training protocol year around either without it being a huge stress on my body and likely negatively impacting my health. Growing up, I was a competitive track and field sprinter and jumper from about 3rd grade through the end of high school...sprinting and jumping are extremely hard on the body...it would have been incredibly unhealthy to maintain an in season training regimen year around.
And then there's sports like boxing, wrestling, power lifting, etc where you have to make a certain weight and drastic measures are taken to do so. Standards of any competitive sport seemingly don't really compute for the average MFPer.7 -
I dunno, I'm probably in no position to comment, but I'm going to anyway.
Is there a dark side to bikini comp? Yep. Do you have to go over to it? Nope.
Is it expensive? It can be. Is that any different than other competitive sports? Nope.
Should you do it? Not a single one of us can, or should, say.4 -
Dear Posters,
Please make sure to be respectful in your posts, specifically remember Guideline 4. Show Respect to All Groups and Individuals - whether they partake in a specific sport, or are members of one gender or another.
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MFP moderator
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I've never done a bikini comp. I follow the body building world a bit and train myself. I once got very lean and it screwed with my head so I can't imagine getting there for competition.
While I was cutting to that extent I lost my period (this doesn't bother me) and my libido (that did). I was not a great friend and didn't even realize how crappy I was in my relationships until I reflected upon it later. Every single social outing stressed me out beyond belief. I always had a bag of peppers in my purse so I could snack if friends were ordering food and I was hungry.
Once I was lean. I didn't even see it. I thought I was fat and wasn't much happier than when I WAS fat. I cried in a Victoria's Secret changing room because the bras looked terrible on my completely shrunken breasts and bony upper body.
Looking back, I see I was slim. But now, every stage in my physique I compare to that level of leanness, and it's as if everything else is fat.
So I can't imagine the prep. And just the screwed up body image I would have while gaining weight back.
Anyway. I think the sport works for some people. Even after sharing the above, I am not against bikini/bodybuilding comps.4 -
@HayleeRenaeFit - so, has all of this talk (which ended about one week ago...) helped you? One way or another? I remembered this post and am curious (not that it is any of my business) what you have decided (and if you do not want to share - all good!). I would be interested in how this helped.....0
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@LiftHeavyThings27105 thank you for your interest! This forum definitely has helped, and I decided not to do it. This is because I want to enjoy the foods I want to without creating a bad relationship...aside from that, I have been trying to prep for a few weeks on my own to see how it would go. Truth is, I am tired 24/7 and not in the best mood (and I’m not even restricting too many calories), i train 6 days a week so my body is used to a lot of food and energy...so as for right now I don’t think it is for me.7
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Slowfaster wrote: »Fifty years ago, the "ideal" women in Playboy tended to look like Marilyn Monroe, soft and slightly chubby by today's standards. Most women had to be a little plump to have the required big breasts men wanted to see. Now they can get as lean as a construction worker and still have big round breasts because they have them surgically implanted. How sad that today's ideal is seldom seen in nature and has to be "man made."
Exactly. Those boobs on a stick are not natural or attractive imo and it sets unrealistic expectations for others.
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HayleeRenaeFit wrote: »@LiftHeavyThings27105 thank you for your interest! This forum definitely has helped, and I decided not to do it. This is because I want to enjoy the foods I want to without creating a bad relationship...aside from that, I have been trying to prep for a few weeks on my own to see how it would go. Truth is, I am tired 24/7 and not in the best mood (and I’m not even restricting too many calories), i train 6 days a week so my body is used to a lot of food and energy...so as for right now I don’t think it is for me.
Well, good for you @HayleeRenaeFit ! Ultimately, it is your choice and your body (and, your sanity!).
Very wise of you to recognize the potential for bad and to decide for enjoyment and "positive" health instead. Being tired and hangry sucks big time. Well done, young lady!1
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