Question for the guys that compete at 220lbs ++

[BULK_CITY]

In my experience, when I first started out lifting, I really had to force feed myself (i used to be very skinny as a teen). After a few years of doing this, I've adapted and now I can easily eat tons of food... so whenever I diet down (only to ~190lbs) I hate to lower my cals and the hardest part is that I usually feel pretty hungry for most of the day.

I was just wondering, for the guys that bulk to 275+ and diet down, when you diet down, do you feel hungry all the time? like has your appetite increased even more so b/c you had to really pound the food to get to 275+? or are you mostly force feeding and when you diet, you love it b/c you are eating the amounts of food you want and not having to feel uncomfortable by eating extreme amts of food?

I'm more curious about how it is getting to 8% BF b/c I thought the final weeks of a contest prep are hard + you feel hungry no matter what?

thx

 

[markl]

there is no need to cut the food down so much anyway. Just clean it up, keep the calories high and increase the cardio to get lean. thatway the hardearned muscle isn't lost and you can still eat a descent amount.

 

[Phidias]

The more food I eat the hungrier I am... which means my appetite tends to disminish as I'm dieting down.

As soon as I start to eat more it becomes very hard to stop myself... hence an increased "risk" to put on not so desirable bf

 

[gooey]

I started...

In my experience, when I first started out lifting, I really had to force feed myself (i used to be very skinny as a teen). After a few years of doing this, I've adapted and now I can easily eat tons of food... so whenever I diet down (only to ~190lbs) I hate to lower my cals and the hardest part is that I usually feel pretty hungry for most of the day.

I was just wondering, for the guys that bulk to 275+ and diet down, when you diet down, do you feel hungry all the time? like has your appetite increased even more so b/c you had to really pound the food to get to 275+? or are you mostly force feeding and when you diet, you love it b/c you are eating the amounts of food you want and not having to feel uncomfortable by eating extreme amts of food?

I'm more curious about how it is getting to 8% BF b/c I thought the final weeks of a contest prep are hard + you feel hungry no matter what?

thx

at 276 lbs and came down from there. weighed 232 and 231 on stage. Oh course hungry but u shouldnt be starving when dieting. ALways do more cardio then cut ur cals too low. Bump ur protein eat more of that if ur dying..

goo

 

[Titan1969]

I am 6'4" 275lbs now on gear. I was 169lbs at 17 years old...but over 7 years I put on 100lbs nattie. Yes some fat but I got stronger than I ever thought I could. I just started gear last year in order to get in better conditioning and hold more muscle. Generally when I diet I do very little cardio because I loose muscle very fast. I used to force feed myself and felt like puking in the early days. Now my body is so used to high cals I dont feel bad unless I eat bad food.

When dieting for say 12 weeks...the first 3-4 weeks is just cleaning out all the junk. No sugar and eat everything from natural sources. This alone drops 8-10lbs. Im usually eating around 3500 cals per day. One cheat MEAL ( not day ) per week.

The next 3-4 weeks I increase cardio to just 30 minutes 3 times per week and drop out another 500 cals per day, generally removing all fruit and no more egg yolks. Generally hungry 24/7...but not terrible and energy still good. Cheat meal the same.

The last month is hell! Hungry all the time, badly. I drop cals to about 2500-2700. Cardio remains the same unless I feel Im way off target on BF% goal. No red meat, high amounts of fish, no fruit, lotsa veggies to try and feel full...no cheat meal. Lotsa posing
whihc I like for the extra cardio and makes me feel very confident on stage that Im hitting the poses right. I actually won an overall by beating the LHW that started cramping...the judges said that made the difference!

 

[mrsoul]

i am never as hungry as i am craving foods i cannot have. i get plenty of food, just not always what i want,lol! but yes, i get hungry within an hour, hour and half after eating.

 

[Titan1969]

i am never as hungry as i am craving foods i cannot have. i get plenty of food, just not always what i want,lol! but yes, i get hungry within an hour, hour and half after eating.

Yes feels like my belly is on fire. Gotta imagine how much digestive juices are floating around in my belly waiting for the next dose of 1000 cals...that aint coming. Kinda like a Union strike with Hoffa leading the pack!

 

[bigfatandugly]

at 276 lbs and came down from there. weighed 232 and 231 on stage. Oh course hungry but u shouldnt be starving when dieting. ALways do more cardio then cut ur cals too low. Bump ur protein eat more of that if ur dying..

goo

yup.

you also get that mindset when you are dieting when you can just shut down your brain and become robotic and nothing matters but the end goal, which also helps keeps things in check. your mind is a hella powerful thing.

but yep, there are times you will snap or will want to , and if that happens like gooey said, protein and wait 20 minutes and you should be fine.


BFU

 

[MilitaryMuscle]

The more food I eat the hungrier I am... which means my appetite tends to disminish as I'm dieting down.

As soon as I start to eat more it becomes very hard to stop myself... hence an increased "risk" to put on not so desirable bf

haha yeah i agree, as soon as i get the tast of some shitty food, i swear my stomach expands like 12 inches and i cant stop.

drinks lots of water/crystal light that always helps with hungry. Sugar free jello to.