Prep and Sleep

[Ruhlfreak55]

So up until the last week I was sleeping pretty well...now at about 2 weeks out, not so much. I'm barely getting 5 hours according to the fitbit. My question is, do we tough this out at this point, or add some food? I was watching a Renaissance Periodization video the other day where they were pretty adamant that once sleep goes you're done...fat loss will go to nothing and you'll end up fucking yourself. So what do you guys do?

I was prolly sleeping well before mostly because of the DNP lol. DNP seems to make me so tired I have to sleep well, it's weird. Obviously being 2 weeks out though I need time for that shit to work itself out of my system so I can carb up for the show.

 

[Gunsmith]

Sleep definitely gets worse the closer to the show you get , do everything you can to help get your body ready for it is what worked best for me. About a hr before I was planning to lay down I'd take a Benadryl make sure your behave had your last meal and bath , then turn off off electronics and just read. While reading focus on breathing exercises and relaxing. Right before you lay down eat a sublingual 5mg melatonin and that's it.
If you are very calorie restricted then hunger could keep you awake , I found that replacing half my protein with Caseine in my last meal helped

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

Sleep definitely gets worse the closer to the show you get , do everything you can to help get your body ready for it is what worked best for me. About a hr before I was planning to lay down I'd take a Benadryl make sure your behave had your last meal and bath , then turn off off electronics and just read. While reading focus on breathing exercises and relaxing. Right before you lay down eat a sublingual 5mg melatonin and that's it.
If you are very calorie restricted then hunger could keep you awake , I found that replacing half my protein with Caseine in my last meal helped

I'm really not sure wtf is going on other than what I mentioned above.
I was around 1400 test (/wk) and dropped that by half a week ago, whilst taking my mast from 100 to 150 a day. I'm only 45 mg of tren so can't really see that doing this. Granted I've been religious about L-carnitine for like 8 months at this point (possible receptor modulation?). Cardio is actually middling for me, really only an hour total a day.

 

[M@NU]

i am 100% sure your fat loss wont go to shit just because you dont sleep properly.
Ofc it wrecks havoc on cortisol etc. and you might pull a bit more water due to being stressed etc but you will still lose fat as long as you are in a deficit.
I assume most people will feel like they stop losing fat due to water retention and maybe they really stop losing fat - because they get hungrier due to the stress, binge during the "night" or whatever

 

[Gunsmith]

I'm really not sure wtf is going on other than what I mentioned above.
I was around 1400 test (/wk) and dropped that by half a week ago, whilst taking my mast from 100 to 150 a day. I'm only 45 mg of tren so can't really see that doing this. Granted I've been religious about L-carnitine for like 8 months at this point (possible receptor modulation?). Cardio is actually middling for me, really only an hour total a day.

Your subconscious mind can really fuck with you as well , having the thought of stressing into the show , running over scenarios over and over in your mind can seriously tax your brain chemistry.
I know it sounds dumb to some but meditation actually works if you can clear you mind and focus on it.

 

[b-boy]

So up until the last week I was sleeping pretty well...now at about 2 weeks out, not so much. I'm barely getting 5 hours according to the fitbit. My question is, do we tough this out at this point, or add some food? I was watching a Renaissance Periodization video the other day where they were pretty adamant that once sleep goes you're done...fat loss will go to nothing and you'll end up fucking yourself. So what do you guys do?

I was prolly sleeping well before mostly because of the DNP lol. DNP seems to make me so tired I have to sleep well, it's weird. Obviously being 2 weeks out though I need time for that shit to work itself out of my system so I can carb up for the show.

It is true that studies show when sleep is compromised weight loss becomes a lot more lean tissue loss compared to fat loss previously, but these studies weren't done on drugged up bodybuilders especially running tren (this is where it shines). Prepare yourself for bed (like @Gunsmith posted) and carry on. The devil on your left shoulder is telling you to "just eat more" DONT LISTEN!

 

[Big Vin]

So up until the last week I was sleeping pretty well...now at about 2 weeks out, not so much. I'm barely getting 5 hours according to the fitbit. My question is, do we tough this out at this point, or add some food? I was watching a Renaissance Periodization video the other day where they were pretty adamant that once sleep goes you're done...fat loss will go to nothing and you'll end up fucking yourself. So what do you guys do?

I was prolly sleeping well before mostly because of the DNP lol. DNP seems to make me so tired I have to sleep well, it's weird. Obviously being 2 weeks out though I need time for that shit to work itself out of my system so I can carb up for the show.

What show are you doing , brother? I'm 2 weeks out too. NPC show in Houston?

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

What show are you doing , brother? I'm 2 weeks out too. NPC show in Houston?

Negative. Different one.

 

[juggy38]

Sleep did get worse for me as I got leaner. But it wasn’t falling asleep. It was staying asleep. I’d wake up at 12, Then at 2:30. Then at 5am. At that point I’d usually say fuck it and get up.

Meditation and diaphragm breathing with counting does help after some practice.

And definitely cut out as much light as you can and the earliest as possible in the evening.

THC low dose helps….but the munchies and dry mouth can lead to eating half a box of cereal on accident

 

[need4tren]

Your 2 weeks out. Fat should be mostly off. Your miserable and minds playing tricks because your body is in a very very lean state it doesn't want to be in

But we live In a day no one wants to suffer anymore. Don't look for an easy way out it'll only backfire. Suffer through another week and your at peak week and it'll all be worth it

Besides that look into sleep stages, supplement sleep with appropriate supplements and b5 and b6 to convert

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

Your 2 weeks out. Fat should be mostly off. Your miserable and minds playing tricks because your body is in a very very lean state it doesn't want to be in

But we live In a day no one wants to suffer anymore. Don't look for an easy way out it'll only backfire. Suffer through another week and your at peak week and it'll all be worth it

Besides that look into sleep stages, supplement sleep with appropriate supplements and b5 and b6 to convert

I disagree with that completely, no one wants to suffer NEEDLESSLY and without a point. If the scientific evidence shows you're not gonna lose any more fat making yourself miserable compared to more comfortable....what's the point? I was 10 to 15 pounds lighter last time, and that 10-15 pounds loss just made me look like shit.

 

[need4tren]

I disagree with that completely, no one wants to suffer NEEDLESSLY and without a point. If the scientific evidence shows you're not gonna lose any more fat making yourself miserable compared to more comfortable....what's the point? I was 10 to 15 pounds lighter last time, and that 10-15 pounds loss just made me look like shit.

Your question is adding food to sleep better. No you just want to add food to make yourself more comfortable. It's not what you need, it's not gonna make you better on stage, your being mentally weak. That's the truth.

Listen to any top pro on dieting. Sleep gets tough, they get up earlier and earlier to do cardio and start eating. Nap in the day if you can. Your close now. Don't fuck it up cause you want some food

 

[danieltx]

Your question is adding food to sleep better. No you just want to add food to make yourself more comfortable. It's not what you need, it's not gonna make you better on stage, your being mentally weak. That's the truth.

Listen to any top pro on dieting. Sleep gets tough, they get up earlier and earlier to do cardio and start eating. Nap in the day if you can. Your close now. Don't fuck it up cause you want some food

100% agree. How many guys on this board have ever truly been stage-lean shredded? It's a small group relative to membership.

Getting peeled is a contest in who can suffer the most. You shouldn't be suffering the whole time but when you're in the last few weeks getting to that 6% and under range you shouldn't be feeling great.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Being so close to a show, your body fat is so low that your body is going into self preservation mode. Your body thinks you're close to starving, so it's keeping you awake and aware because you need to go out and kill a deer with your bare hands, goddammit! Remember that we're still very much hunter gatherers and it's difficult, if not impossible to escape that.

Good sleep hygiene is a must. Our biological clocks demand that we are awake when it's light and go to sleep when it's dark. Avoid light at night and perhaps have a blue light filter on things like your phone. Artificial light is rarely necessary and potentially detrimental to natural sleep cycles. Cannabis strains (was it unexpected for me to mention this one?) high in CBD, CBN and CBG can really assist, also

 

[Reload]

Sleep has been a major issue for me if I'm feeling xtra stressed due to work (RN at a level 1 trauma hospital).
Sleep hygiene is important but for me I've had to resort to a number of things in combo to put me down.
Melatonin 5mg with lemon balm + Theanine Serine with Relora + Magnesium Glycinate + ZzzQuil (Dyphenhydramine) 30ml + a high potency THC gummy I make myself with a strain called Purple Punch about 2 hours before I expect to hit the sheets (around 8:30pm). This gets me a good 6.5-7 hours of quality sleep. Alarm goes off at 5:30am and I'm a bit groggy but a quick shower with a cold finish and I'm good to go. For me it's generalized anxiety that leads to my insomnia. Just can't switch off my brain some nights. Not interested in benzos due to the dependency issues that can develop.

 

[Reload]

Tough it out.lol
Although any of what I listed can't hurt at this point.

The above applies to you old farts here with sleep issues.

 

[M@NU]

you could always try to use some of the "not sooo harsh" (but still not really good) prescription sleep aids like zopiclone or zolpidem.
Since i have to take a host of heart medications including diurects which i have to take twice a day i sleep pretty bad.
I wake up every 60-90 minutes to piss which is annoying but i can still lose fat and function somewhat.
It was better when ive used zolpidem for a short time but my heart/cardiac system doesnt agree with sleep aids - due to any reason i get water in the lungs as soon as i take prescription sleep aids.