# Post contest water retention



## Miss Muscles (Nov 5, 2012)

Hello all! This happens every time post contest and it's very frustrating so I'm hoping for some advice.  The week following a show I have terrible water retention and swelling in my legs and ankles.  Granted I realize that some of it is from diet change but surely not all of it.  What can help?


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## Paranoid Fitness (Nov 5, 2012)

Stop taking 150mg dbol ed.

Seriously, there  are many natural diuretics if you don't have access to prescription HCTZ or Lasix (must take a potassium supplement if using Lasix).
Try Midol...

Check these out:

Natural Diuretics for Fighting Fluid Retention? - Dr. Weil
Natural Diuretics to help you lose water weight (or flush out excess fluid)
* My suggestion is to speak with your doctor.* 
No amount of advice you receive here is a substitute for a genuine medical diagnosis or opinion.

BTW: If you're retaining that much fluid, KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE. Fluid retention can cause it to get dangerously high.


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## Miss Muscles (Nov 5, 2012)

Yeah, no dbol ever. But I will check out those sites a little more in depth.  Some of the foods I'm aware are good natural diuetics.  Thanks!


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## Paranoid Fitness (Nov 5, 2012)

Miss Muscles said:


> Yeah, no dbol ever. But I will check out those sites a little more in depth.  Some of the foods I'm aware are good natural diuetics.  Thanks!



MM, I was joking about the dbol.
I wasn't joking about the Midol.
I definitely wasn't joking about the doctor.

If it happens every time I am thinking it's probably something to do with your pre-contest prep. Maybe diet? Maybe supplements?

Water retention, as you know has many similar and and also many different consequences based on gender.
Being male, I certainly am not well qualified to give you advice based on your being female.
Female water retention is still a mystery to modern medicine...LOL
My observations are "general" in nature but I do hope they are of some value to you.

I wish you luck.

BTW: Post-contest? How'd you do?


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## Colestar (Nov 8, 2012)

Miss Muscles said:


> Hello all! This happens every time post contest and it's very frustrating so I'm hoping for some advice.  The week following a show I have terrible water retention and swelling in my legs and ankles.  Granted I realize that some of it is from diet change but surely not all of it.  What can help?




Plenty of Vit C, asparagus, over the counter water pill.....


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## Paranoid Fitness (Nov 8, 2012)

Colestar said:


> Plenty of Vit C, asparagus, over the counter water pill.....



Thank you very much Colestar.
I am much happier now, to see that one of the ladies here at IMF gave MM a reply.
I hope there'll be more suggestions among the female members soon.
I did my best to answer but I'm a guy...
I deal with water retention too but it's different in many ways for women.
And MM, I still think a visit to the doc isn't a bad idea.


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## Colestar (Nov 11, 2012)

Paranoid Fitness said:


> Thank you very much Colestar.
> I am much happier now, to see that one of the ladies here at IMF gave MM a reply.
> I hope there'll be more suggestions among the female members soon.
> I did my best to answer but I'm a guy...
> ...



Doc would be a good idea but I wonder what she was on during prep?? That could contribute to water retention as well. Most ppl I know bloat up and gain water weight right after a show, as that seems to be pretty normal after dieting/supplementation for months and then suddenly everything changes......


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## Miss Muscles (Nov 12, 2012)

Thank you for the replies. I've been away so couldn't get on here to respond 
Well my show was 2 weeks ago (placed 2nd in physique). And yes, i agree that after dieating for 12 weeks and then drying out that it's gonna be normal to hold fluid as the body is trying to recoup. Plus slamming it with unfamiliar foods doesn't make the transition easier. I just got worried with the degree at which my ankles sswelled. I cut back on sodium, limited sugars, ate plenty of fruit, and took a diuretic. Over the course of the past week things improved greatly! Thanks again!


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## Paranoid Fitness (Nov 12, 2012)

So glad to hear it.
Congrats on the 2nd.
Next time you'll take 1st.
*
Pictures, please.*


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## Colestar (Nov 12, 2012)

Paranoid Fitness said:


> So glad to hear it.
> Congrats on the 2nd.
> Next time you'll take 1st.
> _Pictures, please._




DITTO!!!! 2nd place is awesome!!! Which contest did you do??


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## sassy69 (Nov 12, 2012)

Look at how you dial in - 12-16 weeks of slow, progressive diet optimization, training, cardio and then the last couple weeks of slow glycogen burn up, water manipulation, increased restriction on diet, both in total cals & variety. You do the show, and then relax. Most people shit load to celebrate after a show. End result - you spend 12 weeks dialing in and about 45 minutes switching to a high fat / high carb / high sodium / high processed / high sugar diet. In trying to reach homeostasis, the only thing your body knows how to do is bloat up. This can be attributed to the various metabolic processes and various degrees of recovery these processes are trying to execute to find some amount of homestasis. I've posted an article about Post Competition Syndrome that outlines all the points of rebound your body goes thru trying to accommodate a post show recovery, then throw on a pile of shit food and you're guaranteed a 20-30 lb water rebound.

I experienced this after my first show back in 2000. All natty btw.  I broke up w/ my boyfriend, had a terrible time trying to find friends after the show due to a storm and cell / land lines that kept goinig out, and a 4 hr drive home. By the time I got home, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up $60 worth of every type of junk food I ever wanted to try. Went home and spent the next 6 days eating it all. I gained 18 lb of water weight, mostly in my ankles duriing those 6 days. 

My recommendation is to plan a post-show diet to ease back into a maintenance program, just as you did going into the prep. This gives your body time to ease back into a higher cal diet w/ more variety in a slow, incremental process that it can easily accommodate w/o provoking a rebound. Post show, I would keep the shit food to a minimum. Give yourself basically no longer than the night of the show, after the show into the next day to eat whatever you want, and then get back on a structured diet immediately. I would also change the mental association of "I am going to eat all the stuff I've been depriving myself of during this show, as soon as it is over". Don't make the association of food as a reward for your accomplishments because it will screw you over a week later. Instead schedule a nice dinner out w/ friends to celebrate. My fav is a good steak dinner - this is essentially the same meal I'd be eating going into the show - maybe w/o the salt on the french fries / potatos. But its most likely going to be a good steak, (I prefer medium rare, nothign on it), steamed broccoli, small amount of baked potato / nothing on it and a margarita. The next morning, I think my most favorite thing about competing is getting a custom-made omelette at the host hotel Sunday brunch the next day!  For the most part, all of this (except the margarita) is what has been on my diet for weeks, so Im' less likely to get sick from something my body can't digest anymore. Start adding in more water. Don't guzzle it if you were doing a lot of water manipulation and restricted intake the last day of your show  - ease it back up - again your body likes small incremental changes.

If you used diuretics during your show - OTC or otherwise - your body is going to be more sensitive to you using it for longer and may not respond as well. You may also notice more cramping - I've noticed that when I carb load, it seems like the carbs are sucking up the water in my system and throwing off some electrolyte balance - i.e. I will tend to cramp like a mutherfucker after carb/shit-loading. Its obviously not dehydration, but I think there's still an imbalance of electrolytes as a result of the carbs, and thus a greater pulling of circulating water to hold the carbs as they start filling you out. So if you can help it, lay off the additional diuretics. Drink water, keep the sodas to a min (a diuretic) and take a good week to mostly stay within the same food selections as you did pre-show and slowly increase the amount and add in new and various types of food - but still keeping things clean and minimally processed.

I've had very little problem w/ post-show rebound the last several shows I've done following this approach.  IMO it is heavily dependent on your diet coming out of the show. It becomes even harder because if you experience a dramatic bloat and then start throwing more shit in to try to regulate it, your body may fight you that much harder to go at its own pace. The extreme of the post show rebound scenario is a metabolic impact and may take you months for you body to finally find its homeostasis, so the best approach is just to avoid the situation in the first place.


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## Colestar (Nov 12, 2012)

Good info Sassy.

I've never competed, but I ate so much sodium in one day that I gained approx 9 lbs in water weight and blew up like a tick overnight. Was not a pretty site!!! So, I feel ya!!


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## sassy69 (Nov 12, 2012)

Colestar said:


> Good info Sassy.
> 
> I've never competed, but I ate so much sodium in one day that I gained approx 9 lbs in water weight and blew up like a tick overnight. Was not a pretty site!!! So, I feel ya!!



Yep - a sudden increase in sodium, fat or carb is brutal. And all of it seems to collect in your ankles. Imagine your socks strangling your feet. Ugh...! One time will teach you very quickly!


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## blergs. (Nov 13, 2012)

Miss Muscles said:


> Yeah, no dbol ever. But I will check out those sites a little more in depth.  Some of the foods I'm aware are good natural diuetics.  Thanks!


lots of vitamineC ad in super high doses of a few grams ed for 4-10days leading upto contest.
and keep water intake high so your body wont try to hold onto it.


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## blergs. (Nov 13, 2012)

Miss Muscles said:


> Thank you for the replies. I've been away so couldn't get on here to respond
> Well my show was 2 weeks ago (placed 2nd in physique). And yes, i agree that after dieating for 12 weeks and then drying out that it's gonna be normal to hold fluid as the body is trying to recoup. Plus slamming it with unfamiliar foods doesn't make the transition easier. I just got worried with the degree at which my ankles sswelled. I cut back on sodium, limited sugars, ate plenty of fruit, and took a diuretic. Over the course of the past week things improved greatly! Thanks again!



just* slowly* get back to your normal diet so there is less shock.


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## Merkaba (Nov 14, 2012)

Yea you want to ease back into it. I'm wondering what you're eating as well.  Let's face it. Most people scarf enough crap in a couple of hours and like Sassy said, you're trying to regain homeostasis and your body always wants to overcompensate anyways.  Remember it doesn't care what you want! It's trying to hedge on survival based on not being able to eat tomorrow or the next day.  If you ended up lost in the woods for a day or two you'd thank  God for that bloat!


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## kristaleigh (Nov 15, 2012)

I put on 6lbs in 3 days after my bikini comp in September and felt miserable. A lot was water bc I let myself have some of the junk I'd been craving. Wish I would have eased back into it. Getting back on track and dialed in with my nutrition now so I have a less stressful contest prep for next season. Best advice I got was to stay hydrated and get back to clean eating.


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## ChickDiesel (Nov 16, 2012)

Miss Muscles said:


> Hello all! This happens every time post contest and it's very frustrating so I'm hoping for some advice.  The week following a show I have terrible water retention and swelling in my legs and ankles.  Granted I realize that some of it is from diet change but surely not all of it.  What can help?



What form of dehydrating did you use?  I have found that my water retention is worse on a rebound if I am drinking nothing but distilled the last few weeks.  Natural diuretics work well, but if you use them up to your show, they are not going ot have much an effect post contest.  I usually end up drinking more water!  

Always be sure to reintroduce your electrolytes slowly.  If you go to salty foods quick you can end up bloating and staying bloated until your potassium levels outs, and sodium is regulated. Grab sugary foods and your body will try to dump all the excess glucose it can't absorb in time and you'll pee like crazy, but you will still be bloated :-( You can try Vitamin B6 for water retention as well.


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