Fighting cravings after a competition diet

Fighting cravings after a competition diet can get very personal. I know it all too well: 75kg in the morning, 83kg in the evening, bloated, with one thought in my head: how did this happen again?

This story isn’t a pretty slogan about willpower. It’s an honest account of why binges happen, how reverse dieting helped me, and which small tricks keep appetite under control.

Why the fight against cravings starts in the first place

I have to start from pretty far back. I’ve been an omnivore my whole life. I like everything. Okay, I’m lying: for some unexplainable reason I don’t eat melon, but that isn’t relevant right now.

Before bodybuilding, eating involved no drama. I ate when I was hungry and didn’t make a big deal of food. A couple of contest preps changed that radically. Food became an obsession. I didn’t slip during the diet, but after the competitions things sometimes got properly out of hand.

My “record” was simple and painful: 75kg when I woke up in the morning and 83kg when I went to bed in the evening. I was bloated like a sponge. It caused enormous distress. The binges weren’t a one-off but a pattern.

So what actually happened? The competition season was over, I had great shape looking back at me from the mirror, and every bite of food instantly felt like fat in my head. I started restricting myself subconsciously. If I allowed myself a bit more one day, I kept myself in mild hunger for the rest of the week.

My stomach felt empty, and this went on for nearly 2 years. No matter how much I ate, there was always room for more. In the end came the breakdown. A “cheat meal” turned far too often into a “cheat weekend”. Pizza, pancakes, chocolate, pastries, condensed milk. I’d have one beer, but suddenly one became eight.

The next day you’re 5 kg heavier and the despair sets in. Then comes a week’s worth of hunger, and the same cycle starts all over again. A vicious circle.

How the fight against cravings eases

At one point I truly believed I would never feel full again. I was insatiable. Now I can say the opposite: I’m full, and I haven’t gotten fat in the process. On the contrary, I’m only a month to a month and a half away from my sharpest stage condition.

Reverse diet

In spring I had dug myself into such a deep hole that my calorie intake was a downright embarrassing 1800kcal. When I came back from the competition, I raised my calories to 2200. At first I just tried to stay active and didn’t do crazy amounts of cardio.

Quietly I started training again and added some lighter cardio. Because my weight actually started to drop, I raised my calories by 50 kcal week after week. Today I’ve reached a nicer number, 3150, as a weekly average. For the record, the last time I could eat that much was 4 years ago.

Right now it’s 5 weight-training sessions a week and 3 hours of low-intensity cardio. The hardest part of a reverse diet is the first 2-3 weeks. If you get through that period and don’t shovel junk into your mouth, it gets easier from there.

A simple truth: the key is clean food. Don’t be afraid to eat your fill of potatoes, rice or oat flakes. A big bowl of oat flakes with fruit and nut butter or farm butter isn’t the enemy. The enemy is constant half-hunger, which turns junk food into a fuse for the next binge.

I have clear experience with sugar: sugar creates a craving for more sugar. A cream pastry eaten at the weekend can affect your appetite for the whole following week. I last ate ice cream in May, after the competition. I last ate cake a year ago. That’s just me, because I feel better that way.

My feast might be 100 grams of oat flakes, 30 grams of raisins, egg whites and 20 grams of farm butter. The difference is that this is also my regular breakfast. And yes, I make pancakes too, but I make them myself, so I know 100% what’s in them.

Practical tips for controlling cravings

Don’t tell yourself you can never eat certain things again. If you think McDonald’s isn’t among your preferences, that’s one thing. If you start repeating that you’ll never eat a Happy Meal again, it can become exactly the thing you crave, even though you haven’t wanted a Happy Meal since you were 6.

Drink water. It’s an old truth, but it holds. Mild dehydration can feel like hunger. When you feel hungry, drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If you’re still hungry after 15 minutes, you most likely need food.

Coffee helps me put off hunger. Without sugar, of course. The same goes for a protein shake: when you feel like you could eat anything, make a shake and drink it very slowly, in small sips. Wait 10 minutes. Often the urge is already smaller.

Ask yourself directly: which is more satisfying, good food or good shape? A planned cheat meal can work, but cheat days are a bad idea. One meal is enough. I also prefer to make and cook these things myself. Burgers, pizzas and desserts can be made at home very successfully, often even better.

Keep yourself busy. Weekends are often the hardest, when there’s nothing sensible to do and your mind drifts toward the fridge. Read, go for a walk, tidy up, do a workout. It doesn’t have to be a big project. Sometimes just getting up off the couch is enough.

Sugar substitutes help me too. Raw cacao, unflavored yogurt and liquid Huxol have been lifesavers for me. It tastes like a childhood dessert: sour cream, sugar and cocoa. I drink Coca-Cola Zero and zero-calorie energy drinks, and I sweeten my coffee with a sugar substitute. I’m not telling anyone to do the same. I’m only saying that it helps me stay away from sugar.

Split your daily calories in whatever way suits you. If you’re always hungry in the evening, deliberately save a bigger meal for then. Forget the whole “no eating after six o’clock” talk. In most cases, what counts is your daily energy intake and energy balance, not what time you ate cheese or white bread. The last meal of my day is 1000 kcal or even more.

One last thing: be active. The more you move, the more you can allow yourself to eat. If you like to eat well and want to look decent, you don’t have much choice.

FAQ: fighting cravings

Do you need to eat more right after the diet?

Suddenly starting to eat without any control is not a good idea. In my experience, raising calories gradually gave my body and mind time to adapt.

Do you have to avoid sweets completely?

There’s no need to make the same rule for everyone. For me, sugar triggers a new craving, so I prefer to keep it away. Someone else can eat it in moderation and stay on track.

What helps fastest against a binge?

Drink water, wait a moment and move away from the situation. If the hunger is real, eat a proper meal. If it’s an urge, time and shifting your attention elsewhere often help.

Author: Peep Reinart

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