Episode 15: What You Should Know Before Prepping for a Bikini Competition
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Episode Transcript
Participant #1:
Okay. Hi, guys. Welcome back. Hello, everyone. Today we're going to be discussing bikini competitions and we're going to be discussing basically what they are, what they entail, what the preparation for them might look like. And then we'll go over some pros and cons about what it's like to compete in either of these shows. And I think just a Disclaimer to start. I've never participated in any of these, and I don't think Hannah has that. I didn't think my secret life what you do at night, even though it's kind of popular, there are, I wouldn't say a decent amount, but I know a number of dietitians that either have done bikini competitions in the past or they currently compete now. Yeah, I will include a couple that I do recommend if you are interested in doing this to have as a coach, because there are some that I follow that to coach for that kind of stuff, so nothing wrong with it. We do want to make that clear off the bat. If you do, it great. It's just good to go about it the right way. So we're going to go over kind of the pros and cons and what to be aware of if you do decide to do these kind of competitions. So to start off, basically, what is a bikini competition? It is a competitive bodybuilding show that is held year round, and these are actually pretty popular. They're held in a lot of different big cities and different venues. And if you have any interest of just like learning more about it, I encourage you to just Google it because I feel like you'll be surprised with how much you'll be able to find with how frequent they're happening right under your nose.
Participant #1:
Yeah. They're really sneaky about it, too. They don't want you to know what's happening. Bikini comps are just one of the many types of different shows. So bikinis one of them is also figure shows that you can do, which again, never done this. But from my understanding, it's just a different type of physique. And then speaking of physique, that's also a whole category on its own. There is just, like, fitness, I guess. I think maybe that means I don't know. Is that, like, power lifting and stuff? I feel like it is more around, not necessarily, like, Slimming down your body fat percentage, but more so, like, maybe it's like overall general, like, power and stuff like that. Yeah. I guess I should look more into that. I'm not sure. And then bodybuilding is also one of them as well. And like I said, these all have their own different type of expectations. And like, muscle size and leanness and kind of just like how you should look. Bikini is the most popular. And there are different committees that kind of make the rules and regulations. A really popular one is the NPC, the National Physique Committee. And what they say you should look like for these bikini competitions is, quote, a foundation of muscle which gives shape to the female body full round glutes with a slight separation between the hamstring and the glue area and a small amount of roundness in the delts. So they're very specific about what kind of body type to have. And I know I think the judges, when you compete, they tell you what to work on for next time is what my understanding is. That's cool. I didn't know they actually had a specific definition that details about what your muscles should look like. I know it's pretty intense, and they're looking for a specific look, which is hard to do if your body isn't that tight. I know. I was thinking I was like, genetically speaking, not everyone's going to be able to look like that. But I feel like this is something we can definitely get into, like, the episode, but just that definition in itself stresses me out. And I don't even compete the idea that my muscles have to look a specific way, but I guess that's like, part of the challenge, which will get to us. One of the pros, actually, is it's a real challenge, but you have to build your bodybuilding to look that way. So that is the challenge, right? There is kind of going against your genetics to look how you're supposed to so you can win these competitions. It's intense, but also going into that there are different categories. It's not kind of all everyone's thrown into one pool and you're going against each other. There are different categories based off your height, your weight. They also go into different ages. The whole class goes out onto the stage and the judges judge based on how you present yourself, your body composition and the overall balance of your muscle proportions, which there actually is a lot that goes into how you present yourself. I've watched a couple of videos just out of curiosity. And how you walk and pose is very much a big component of how they will judge you, which is really interesting. Yeah. Compete often get posing coaches, which again, we'll get to that in a second. But that's the whole part of it. And you're wearing five inch heels, and you have to learn how to pose the right way to your muscles the right way. It's crazy. Also, not to mention you have this, like skimpy bikini on, and it's probably very expensive and bedjewelled. You've got a crazy spray paint as well. A lot of hair and makeup going on. It is in a lot of ways, like a beauty competition reminds me of, like a pageant or something. Yeah. Pageant. That's the right word. It's just more it's like a fitness pageant. A fitness. Yeah. Exactly. So kind of the process leading up to this is like you're thinking, Well, what do these people do to get to these desired body composition goals that they've been preparing for? And it typically their prep section or prep portion of their life before a competition will last about twelve to 24 weeks, which is anything about a very long time, which makes sense because in order to change your body in that way, it's not something you could do with one week in advance. It's something that's going to take a long time and dedication to achieve. And some competitors actually do have one to two years of training under their belt already. So they are going into their prep phase a little bit more prepared and they don't really have to start from scratch or like that day one. Additionally, in their prep, they're going to be doing some posing practice with coaches typically basically get a feel of what they're going to have to do when they are in the stage and what the judges will be looking for, which is really interesting, if you want, just go Google some bikini competition posing tips, videos. They're very interesting. And then keep in mind, at least for the women they have to wear heels, men they don't have to wear heels. I think that would make it more exciting. Absolutely. And then also during this prep phase, there's a lot of calorie counting, and there's a lot of macronutrient tracking during this time. And this is kind of when a lot of the nutrition comes into it is how carefully they're washing everything they eat in order to get their performance body ready. And I know sometimes within that range, their macros will obviously change the closer they are to competition because they are trying to reduce as much body fat as possible and make sure they look very strong and tone.
Participant #1:
I've never heard of someone competing and not like going crazy about their calories and their macros. You can't eat intuitively and be a bikini competitor. That's just not really a thing, which we will get to in a minute as well. It might be one of the cons that we kind of get into. It can be a good thing short term. But often people don't just compete once they compete. That first time kind of get hooked, which makes sense. And then do it over and over and over again. And so that can be a long, long time of calorie counting and macro tracking. Yeah. Plus, if you like, we're in sports growing up or you're just a competitive person overall who enjoys working out. This is something that people have seemed to enjoy just because it is a new way to push your body and see what you can achieve through your nutrition and exercise regime. And I did forget to mention that a big part of prep also is the cardio and resistance training portion. They're not just kind of doing any type of workouts. There is a large focus on getting that aerobic exercise and with a combination of building muscle overall. Yeah, I had a short phase where I thought I wanted to compete because I'm pretty competitive. I played sports my whole life, and I thought that's my next challenge would be I fizzled away from that because it was just too restrictive for me. But yeah, there was a brief moment and it's so expensive, which again, we'll get to. But it's so expensive. Like you have to pay for the competition, pay for your outfit, your heels, your makeup, your hair coaching. It could be a lot. Yeah, it is an expensive hobby that's for sure. Or job. If you're doing this for money, don't you get paid if you win? Oh, yeah, definitely. But another important part of I guess, more. So after prep, I don't know. I'm not a coach for this. So if I'm wrong, let me know. But that reverse dieting. You may have heard this before. It's kind of a buzzword, honestly, kind of thrown around here and there. But basically, reverse dieting is just what it sounds like. And that is where since you are being so restrictive all the time, it's where you eat more than you did during that restrictive prep phase to slowly increase your calories. You can gain more muscle and help stimulate metabolism. That's probably kind of gone down the gutter when you were being so restrictive. But it has to be done really carefully. You can't just, like, eat more calories the next day and think you're going to fix what you've been doing for all those weeks. And that's why working with the good coach is so important. Because if someone doesn't quite understand metabolism and calories and all that, it can just be done the wrong way and be kind of pointless, I guess. But anyway, it does involve adding those calories back into your diet. But still staying below what your body needs. So you're still getting lean, but hopefully maintaining muscle mass is a very tricky scientific phenomenon. Yeah, I do not have really any understanding of it.
Participant #1:
I know we understand the overall idea, but looking specifically to how many grams of carbs you need and how many grams of protein, it's a very challenging concept, and that's why I really admire the dietitians who are coaches for these competitions because it's just something I don't understand.
Participant #1:
Okay, let's get into touch on this already. The pros and the cons of doing these types of competitions. We'll start with the pros because I feel like our bias is showing a little bit. We do have a lot more cons and pros, but to each of their own. Like we said, if you like this and you do this good for you, it's hard, that's for sure. One pro we've already kind of touched on is that it gives you something to work towards. Again. You are kind of a competitive person who needs something in your life to work towards and work on. If you have big goals, it can be a great thing to kind of incorporate into your life because it is a challenge and it's going to be kind of a long challenge too. Like I said, you don't just do it once and then stop. Usually you do it, get told how to fix it, so it's even better and then you keep working towards that again, and your goals are always changing, which is good if you are someone who likes the competition. Yeah, exactly. If you have that natural competitive nature, this could be really fun, especially because people at least I feel like I'm not saying this in a bad way, but validation is always fun, especially when you're doing something really challenging and you see yourself getting rewarded for it, which can be not great. Stay tuned for the from an extreme side, but just the general idea. Competition is fun. I definitely get that. And I'm also very competitive. So it's fun to go into competitions as yourself and see how well you can do. Yeah, kind of going off of that. Is it really does push you out of your comfort zone. This isn't unless you were in weight bearing type sport like wrestling or pole vaulting growing up, where you were kind of classified or categorized more so in a certain weight class in order to compete where you really had to focus so much on how much you weighed and what your body composition was. This will really push you out of your comfort zone if you've never experienced something like that, because I don't really know many things like this, and it is a challenge to be able to adjust your everyday life to reach this body composition goal and make yourself look a certain way, which is very challenging. And I guess that's the thing I was like very challenging to do. If you like to compete and you like a challenge, this might be a good fit and you like fitness. You have to kind of like if you don't like being in the gym, you're not going to like, doing this. Just tap out now. Yeah. Okay. Another pro is you may meet new people, your coach, others in the industry. I've seen people that I follow who compete. I've seen like the backstage, like behind the scenes kind of things. And it's just like women in bikinis everywhere. Everyone's talking and doing their little bands to get their muscles all pumped up and stuff before the show. And I'm willing to bet you'd make some friends during all that. So that could also be another pro. Plus, there's a really big I feel like social media community with this. So that's a really fun way where you could share your fitness goals with people and bond over that and make new friends all across the world. That's the beauty of social media. And if it's something you're passionate about and you can find other people that are passionate about it, that makes it even more fun. Yeah. Another pro is it helps you to learn about calories and macros if you haven't really experienced tracking that before, not that everyone has to. Again, we touched on that a million times. Counting macros is not for everyone, but it can be a good way to learn, like what macros are, what foods have certain macro nutrients, how many calories your body does need, how it works to manipulate those calories and macros to put on muscle mass to lose body fat. It's really interesting. We went to school for all this, obviously. So you kind of have to enjoy learning about it, but it can be cool if you are someone who wants snowboard with that, too. Very true. It just makes me more aware, I guess, of what certain foods macros look like. And then to finish off our pro section is you'll gain muscle mass and learn how to resistance training, which is always cool because going back to that competitive side, if you really want to see how far you can push your body and how strong you can get, that's really cool if you really enjoy that and also seeing that those external factors for validation to see yourself gain muscle is really cool. So this would be a really fun way to see how your body can change in a healthy way with what you do. Yeah. If you are more interested in the strength side of things, you can also compete in that and, like, power lifting or weight lifting. So it doesn't have to be you walking around in a bikini. If you don't want it to be, you can compete in other things, too that have different focuses. This is just one of the many avenues that you can go down. Yeah, definitely. That is a good note.
Participant #1:
All the competitions are not body composition focused. There are some that are just general strength, endurance stuff like that. It's kind of a competition for everything. If you really do enough research or Googling into it. So there's something out there for you. Yeah, we're now going to go into our cons section, and we will try our best to say very unbiased, but just with what we know about nutrition in our educational history, educational background, and they're saying things. Okay. So the first time that we talked about is Hannah really touched on this is how expensive this can be, because you'll most likely hire a competition coach who will help you throughout the entirety of your journey. And they'll really play a big role in helping you figure out what your goals should be and what you can do to achieve your goals and so on. Additionally, you'll most likely hire opposing coach who will teach you how you need to change your body's appearance on the stage. What's that called when you make your body go in weird positions, not ventriloquy. I was thinking exorcism. They'll teach you how to exercise, exercising? I don't know. But that's not right. I'm not going to teach you that. At least I hope not. They are not opposing coaches. Steer clear. Breathe aside flags. But then you'll also have to buy equipment for, like, your heels, your bikini fear, man. It's like swimsuit trunks. I don't really know what it actually, I don't know if theirs are expensive, or you can just go to Walmart and get a picture. It probably is cheaper. Honestly, because society is not a feminist rant Emily. And then Additionally, like makeup and your spray tans and then also just like a gym membership. I was just going to say that. Yeah. And if you do want to purchase any additional equipment at home or if you do want exercise clothing, it can rack up pretty quickly and be very expensive. Yeah, I forgot to include the membership on the list there. That's a good one. Okay, that's obviously a pretty big Con. But again, no hobby is free. If this is your hobby, you probably already know how expensive it is, how expensive it is, and you have to pay for it. So it's only a Con if you are unaware of it, I guess going in with your own experience. Yeah. And if that will steer you away, then so it steered me away. I am cheap. Okay, same. It can also really mess up your hunger cues. You're on such a strict eating regimen with calories and macros that if you're hungry, you have to eat something either. That's basically no calories. Drink water, go for a walk to get rid of that hunger. Or just like, be miserable because your body has to be in a certain calorie and macro range to do what it's supposed to do. So hunger cues don't get taken into consideration during this process. From what I understand, so coming out of it. If you're no longer competing, it can be hard to tune back into those hunger cues and listen to them and know what your body is trying to tell you, which is not good if you are out of season or transitioning away from this altogether. And even if you are really struggling like that, that's when working with a dietetician and specifically an intuitive eating dietitian would be really helpful because they can help you relearn your hunger cues and what your potty is craving and wanting. And basically they aren't going to throw you right back in. They'll be like, oh, go eat, go eat all this food because you're feeling super hungry. They're not going to do that to you because your body will not like that because of how your metabolism was affected from competing. But that's why it's really important that if it is really bad and you are looking for professional help, a digestion can be very helpful to work with exactly and kind of going off of disruptions in your bodies.
Participant #1:
Segue. I really forced that, but oftentimes this isn't specifically restricted to bikini competitions and competitions like this. But body dysmorphia is something very common that a lot of I don't know if I'd say a lot, but it is common in the weight lifting community where competitors might not be able to see what their normal body actually looks like. And they have this obscure version in their head when they look in the mirror where they don't look like what they actually look like. And this is a mental disorder that unfortunately impacts a lot of people where basically what I may be seeing is not what they're seeing, and that can really get in someone's head and cause them to restrict even more or try to find more extreme measures to overcompensate for what their mind is playing tricks on them about. And sometimes people say things like, wow, you must have given up or you look way healthier or better back then. Or even if there aren't like these comments during off seasons, especially or even when they stop competing can be very harmful. So that's why it's important that body commenting is not something we do, especially when someone is coming out of the competition like this, where kind of the entire premise is about what you look like. Yeah, and the way you look during the in season when you're competing is not sustainable. And usually people who compete know that they know that's not going to be how they look forever. But if you have an audience like, say, on Instagram, who sees you through the whole process and they see you at your peak, leanness with the most muscle mass, it's not sustainable. But they see that as like your healthiest body. And so then when you transition, which again is normal to your offseason body, or even if you stop altogether, your audience, whoever, maybe even just close friends and family might say things like Emily said, you look healthier before. Did you just give up? Even though you're still in a healthy body, you're just not in your peak in season leanness anymore. And then also going off the mental health Avenue is these people tend to have or you might be at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder just because you are under such a restrictive nutrition regimen. And also you are so focused every day on how many carbs am I allowed to eat? How much protein am I supposed to eat? How can I space out my meals throughout the day? So when I'm hungry, I am allowed to eat something and then also not even the nutrition component. But the exercise component can relate to things like orthorexia and over compensation with exercise to earn your food. If you are getting out of a competition lifestyle, and it's really important that people are aware of the risks of developing disordered eating habits that can eventually lead to eventually lead to eating disorders because we do not want you to get to that. And unfortunately, the really restrictive lifestyle does put them at a higher risk at developing eating disorders. Yes. Not to say that this is not what I only was saying. So I'm not saying she did say this, but not to say that calorie counting and this much exercise is automatically indicative of having an eating disorder. That's definitely not true. It's all about where your headspace is at while you're doing it or while you're transitioning out of it, if that makes sense. Yeah. And then kind of to wrap up the mental health section related to these competitions is anxiety and depression because this has such a big impact on your life. As we know, nutrition not only affects your physical health, but also your mental health and your emotional well being, but with competitions like these and the high stress environment, and you're basically kind of everything you're doing every day revolves around preparing for these competitions can lead to individuals developing anxiety and depression. All right. Our next Con is just as a whole poor social life. And here's why I can't just say that without explaining. Often we've already mentioned when you're getting ready to compete, you are eating in a very strict way. You only have certain things you can and can't have just because of calories, macros and things. And so you often can't have what friends and family are having. Everything has to be prepped and weighed and measured and put into an app to see how many calories and what macros it has. And that can just be a burden if you are not only for you, but also those around you. If you are someone who usually does like to go out and eat and socialize like I said, I've never done one of these, but I have been around those who were kind of prepping, like in College. Some of our classmates were into this lifestyle, and they often did have every single thing, like in a little container, all pre measured and portioned and had to be a microwave nearby to heat up a chicken and rice real quick. And if that wasn't a possibility, it was like the world was ending. So it can just be a real like I said, kind of a burden. Yes. And also at that alcohol, if you're someone who does usually like to go out and drink with friends again, that's probably not going to fit into your macro super easily. So that probably won't happen very often either. It's really not like social component of nutrition that we preach on here. A lot is kind of taken away from those individuals because they don't have the freedom to choose foods that they're craving or make a sporadic, impromptu decision that we're going to this restaurant or this bar to get this quick snack or even a dessert. They really don't have that much freedom because of the lack of macros that they're probably aware of. A lot of restaurants do post the calories, but they don't post the macronutrient breakdown, so just not having the freedom to make decisions about what you're eating can be very detrimental to your social life. Yeah. And there is usually like a cheat day as like a term in the industry, a really big one where to help alleviate those feelings of restriction. They can eat whatever they want for a full day. But that has another giant list of cons that we could but won't get into today. But that's like once every I don't know how long. So 90% of the time you are on a very restricted diet, and that usually leads to a bench and a cheat day. But we won't go into that. Yeah. Now leave for another episode, and then another time we're going to discuss is the time commitment around this. You are probably thinking there's so much that goes into this, and we're really talking about how this is so implemented in your everyday life. And it kind of is because it goes into the meal prepping where you can prepare all your food and portion it all out. And a lot of people tend to meal prep for the week. But if you meal prep every couple of days, it will take up much more of your time. And also like measuring everything out and making sure you're eating food before it goes bad stuff like that. And then also the hours that you're going to spend in the gym, practicing resistance training and building that muscle mass and making sure that you have enough time in your day from your other commitments. So you're able to commit to this. So it is really kind of a second job. Honestly, where you're preparing all this food, you're making sure you're timing your meals, so you have enough food and macros to eat throughout the day, and then you're also putting in those hours at the gym to work on your body goals. Yeah. You guys know all about nice, quick, 20 minutes workouts. Those aren't really an option when you're competing in this type of thing, because the workouts are very specific. You have to target certain muscles and certain reps and rest times. And there is absolutely a place for all that. And this is the place for it, I guess. But the kind of workouts that I like to do would not be suited for this, that's for sure. No, I'm all about quick and not easy. There's still a challenge. But quick is kind of a thing. If you don't have time for literally an hour or two each day in the gym doing cardio and lifting weights, it ain't going to happen. Yeah. And it comes back to you need to enjoy working out. There's a huge emphasis on you need to be able to enjoy this. You will be miserable. So our next section, then, is over training or when an individual might burn out from this and they might be pushing themselves a little too hard. And it's leading to why are you smiling like that? I hit my microphone and everything flew to the side so you can hear it if you're playing with that. I didn't think I said anything too controversial. You're really walking the line there. I know don't overtrain controversial opinion. But one of the biggest negative physical side effects we have seen with this over training is a Meteria or the loss of period. And it is very important that you are maintaining a regular period because this is a huge component of, not only like, hormone regulation, but also it can affect things like your iron stores at risk of anemia. And having a period is very normal. And I feel like we should normalize talking about this because I actually had a period in my
Participant #1:
okay, I was like, Is she going to say it soon? There was a time in my life I thought you were going to really describe one of your period. There was a period where, oh, boy, no, you're going to normalize it that much. Okay, I'm ready. No, there was a time in my high school sport little career that I would lose my period during competition seasons. And I remember the other girls who talked about this, and they thought it was like something to brag about where they're like, oh, I haven't had my period in three months. I'd be like, Well, I didn't have mine in five months, and I was like, Why I'm looking back, like, Why is this something we were bragging about? Because I feel like it's so normalized with a lot of extreme sports and especially not good in, like, adolescent girls, because that's such a huge growth period, and they need to have their period,
Participant #1:
basically. Okay, we're going back to you can come back if you have any amenario store if you'd like to share
Participant #1:
putting me on the spot, it's a little pun right there. I cannot think of any, but I'm sure something will come to me. Yeah, but going back to especially, I guess, not even bikini competition. But I'm thinking of this now as like the female. What was it called? The female something triad? Is it the female athlete triad? Yes. Where the three components are amenaria, which is your loss period, low bone mineral density because of that being undernourished and your bones are becoming weaker because of it. And then was the third one. Isn't it just like disordered eating, like in general? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. But that's something that there's a big discussion about, especially with female athletes, because they are at risk of developing these risk factors that will affect their health in the long term in terms of general growth and wellbeing of their body. And I know we were talking about a meter Rio, but this kind of leads into, especially these female bikini competitors, are at risk of developing the female athlete triad, which can have long term negative effects on their health. That was a long rant. Talking about men are well, I do want to kind of like, very briefly and simply describe why that happens. Why amentaria happens people who do these kinds of competitions, and this is just very basic. I'm not going to get into the science because it's kind of confusing hormonally and everything. But basically we get our periods that we can have children if we want to do that. And when our body is that low in body fat and we're eating that few calories, our body doesn't think that it can maintain a pregnancy. And so it just, like, stops the period so that we're no longer menstruating, we can't get pregnant. Yadda. So that's why it happens, because when you're competing in these types of things, your body fat is so low that if you were to get pregnant, it would probably not be sustainable because you're not eating enough. Basically, not enough body fat either. Yeah. And also something kind of that we talked about with, like, I know with Keto. We talked a lot about with how your body will try to compensate by taking other extreme measures to try to maintain that homeostasis. So it's not good selling, not only like 16 year old Emily, but also anyone else who thinks it's cool to not have a period. You want one even if you want one. It sucks. But it's an awful time. But like,
Participant #1:
again, I've never competed. Don't know about, like, off season in season and all of that. But I would hope that a good coach would not have you just doing, like, back to back to back to back season so that you're not constantly in that crazy lean body state where you're not having a period for years and years and years because that would not be good for you? No. All right. Another kind of symptom or sign of overtraining and burnout, which is where we started with this. That was our main bullet point here this one's quick, just like moodiness irritability not sleeping. Well, those are all just tells of probably working your body a little bit too hard exercise to make you sleep better, honestly. And if it's making you not sleep well, something's probably off, it should improve your mood, too. So if it's all the opposite, you might just be a little too hard. Yeah. So to finish up our little cons list, as you might be thinking, since there is a lot of supervision on what you're putting into your body and what your macros might look like, this can have an effect on your relationship with food, because oftentimes there are foods that are, quote, unquote off limits, and you aren't really allowed to eat them in your everyday life unless it's like a cheat day, because they just aren't realistic to include in your macronutrients. Something really big about coming out of this competition lifestyle is accepting that it is okay to enjoy foods that might not necessarily be great for your macro goals or what were your macro goals, but they're good for your mental. Wellbeing, because you're allowing yourself to consume foods you enjoy, not just for the nutrient value, but also your personal enjoyment. Yeah. If this is your first episode that you've heard of us, like, heard of ours, you're going to want to refer back to which one. We talked about this a lot more, I think. Episode two, three, Where's my little spreadsheet episode three, our diet culture one, or even intuitive eating. Episode five, episode three and five will explain that a lot better and a lot in more detail about what food rules do to you. But that's exactly right. It can be hard to overcome that when you spend a large portion of I don't know, whatever the prep time is for you personally having those off limit foods, it can be hard to transition back to having no food rules. Exactly. So the last section we want to talk about is with any I guess profession comes, how qualified they are, and issues that might come up with finding an online bikini coach because you want to make sure you're getting the best possible person that will fit you, the best person that has good intentions behind what they're doing, and also has the proper education to make sure they're not sharing any information that could be potentially harmful to you and hopefully not hurt you in the long run. So many bikini competition coaches or these type of coaches in general don't have any type of credentials. A lot of them are either they have a history of competing or they enjoy working out a lot, which is kind of
Participant #1:
coming from a dietitian perspective can be kind of off putting, because just because you eat does not mean you're qualified to provide advice on what other people could be eating, because there's so much more that goes into it. Then I eat every day. So I know what everyone else should eat, and that's why it's really important, especially that we recommend working with these dietitians who specialize in competitions like this because they have not only the educational background, but also a lot of them do have the actual experience with this competition. I actually don't know this, but Besides, like a personal trainer, are there any other credentials someone may have that they should look for in a coach for bikini. Com specifically?
Participant #1:
Yeah. I don't know. I really don't know. Of course. Like we've already said before in previous episodes as well. There are nutritionists out there who are smarter than I am and no more than I do, but still maybe shouldn't be doing what they're doing. And so the same goes for this. There's probably bikini coaches out there who are really good but don't have any credentials at all. It's just a tricky slippery slope. But to answer your question, I don't think there really are, since the biggest components of competing are fitness and nutrition. I think it's just best to look for a personal trainer for the fitness part of it, and an Rd for the nutrition part of it, and kind of keep it that way. I do know that posing also has their own coaching world as well. So for that, I have no idea, like what needs to be what your experience needs to be for that maybe that is one of those things I don't want to misspeak. But where experience really would be the only qualifier to be like a posing coach? I don't really know, but yeah, I know my bias is showing, but I do think that it's best for trainer and an Rd to be the best coaches for this kind of thing.
Participant #1:
Yeah. Retweet retweet. There are a couple like I said in the very beginning, a couple of coaches that I have followed that I think do a really good job. They are both dietitians. So take that one. It is. I'll include those below. I think that's really all we have to say about this. Yeah. Overall, this can be a really fun experience for you. If you are looking for a competitive environment where you have the potential to make some friends. There are really great communities for this where you can meet a bunch of new people and challenge yourself to push yourself to the extremes at times and see how you can change your body. But there are unfortunately, a lot of cons that come with it that we want you to be aware of. At least if you are considering going into this because it can have a strong effect on your relationship with food, your relationship with your body, and also your mental health overall, because there is so much emphasis on restrictive nutrition and pushing yourself to extremes where a lot of your everyday life revolves around making sure that you're looking a specific way, because when it comes down to it, it is a second job. It is going to take a lot of time and effort and dedication. And if that's something you're into, it can be good for you. But it's really important to understand that it might distort your body's natural tendencies around nutrition a lot. Yeah, we're not here to say you should or shouldn't do it. That is always your choice. It's just good to be aware of what the pros and the cons are. Exactly. It's just teach exactly. Okay, time for my favorite part. I'm excited for this one. Okay. I didn't think too much about it, so I always do this. I don't ever know my answer. It's safe. Okay. Question is the right word execution meal. What is your execution meal? Like, what is that last meal you eat before you get zapped and died? And we were really thinking this would be a really great question for this episode, because oftentimes when people do compete in bikini competitions, the day of their competition, like after they're done competing, obviously, and everything's through. And they're, like, six months out of their prep. And this is their big celebration. They have cheap meals, and sometimes it's even cheap days. Honestly, I've seen or they just go all out and they eat, like, all this oftentimes I've seen, like, pizza and sugary, desserts and huge meals that they weren't really allowed to consume during any of their preparation for this competition. So we thought it'd really be fine. We're calling the execution meal because we don't know what else until they call because we didn't want to say cheap meal because I feel like cheap meal and execution meal are very different. Yeah. This is like the very last thing you eat, like, the last bite of food you ever get to enjoy as a human. And I feel like that's different than what's your favorite meal, which is what I'm currently thinking of as my answer. This is the last thing you experience when you're alive. So I'm having a hard time with it. I think I know they answered my favorite meal, but I don't know. Why don't you go first while I sit here and ponder everything? Okay. So I like volumes meals where I can eat a lot of food. And really, I have an appreciation for those, like, five course restaurants where the portions are, like, small, but the food is so rich and high quality that that's what makes it so expensive. But that's just not my thing. I like eating a lot of food. So I think my execution meal would be how they knew without, like, I don't know. I feel like I never have to decide, hope that I just don't know what I'm going to die. And so whatever it was it was, I can't decide. Same.
Participant #1:
I don't know. Okay, here I'll say what I thought I was going to say, even though I'm not, they don't inspire me. I can't commit. I've been talking with Ross a lot lately. What? I really enjoy eating. I'm having it tonight. Actually, there's so many avenues. I also could think about restaurants that I really like. And that's not what I'm doing. I'm thinking about what I Cook myself, and for me, I think it's like a burger and fries. Like a really good burger. Really good fries. Maybe a milkshake too. Yeah, because I've been realizing recently that I love a good cheeseburger. I've been, like, obsessed with them lately. I had one the other day from Burger Fi. Do you have a burger pie around you? I do not. Is that like a five guys or, like, a smash burger? I never had smash burgers. I don't know. I think it's a chain, but there's one in Fort Wayne kind of new. It's really good. They have, like, the best burger in Fort Wayne. In my opinion, this is not a food blog. We're not here to talk about that. So I think my answer is a really good burger and fries. Don't know where, don't know who makes it, but just an objectively. What do you put on your burger? Oh, gosh.
Participant #1:
I have such a hard time answering these kind of questions because my food preferences and tastes and things change every single day. But today I would choose bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard. I think that's it. So does that inspire you to think of your answer? It's it's. It okay. So I was thinking the type of food. That's how I was thinking. And I would either want fajitas with, like, a Lote and like, a Marg, or I'd want really good tacos with a Lote and a Mark. I'm into the Mexican cuisine. I feel like that would be the best. Whenever you say, Margaret, then you're going to say something else and then you just end with Margaret. And I can't tell if you're done talking or not sure she's going to finish the word, but I don't know. No, that's such a good answer, too. I love Mexican food so much. Yeah, I've never been disappointed. Me neither. It's always so good. Even it's a terrible restaurant. It's still Mexican food and it's still delicious. Yeah, well, don't have a good answer. I guess it's burger and fries. Still a good answer. I know, but I don't know if I was in the moment, like, about to get murdered because I committed a crime. If that would be what I would want, I guess I'll just wait and see. I guess I'll have to just be in the chair and then I'll make a snap decision. I don't think they feed you in the chair. I think it's going to be too late. Hopefully they warned me. By the way, tomorrow is your last meal, and then on Wednesday. We're getting Zaft. I think you'll be informed. That's good. I would hope they can lead to me that decency, no matter how bad the crime I commit.
Participant #1:
Okay. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Upbeat Dietitians. We've been your host, Hannah and Emily. Let us know what your execution meal would be. And also, I guess I would say, what are your thoughts on bikini competitions? But I don't know if everyone knows what that's like. But what do you want to know more about bikini competitions or something? Because we could potentially bring on a dietitian that is much more educated in this area and we can hear what they have to say. Yes, we've got a lot of episodes that we got to fill with the idea. So let us know. All right. We'll see you guys next week. Yes. Have a great rest of your week and we'll see you next Wednesday. Yes. Bye bye.
