The Rebound Effect and Excuses from Competitors Who Gave Up
I recently came across an article that talked about a bikini competitor who went from fab to flab. Her reasoning? Balance. I literally had both of my hands on the monitor and was about ready to heave my screen across my office until I realized I needed it to write this feature. This girls reasoning has nothing to do with “balance” and everything to do with someone who simply doesn’t have the willpower to put the fork down and choose healthy, nutritious foods, over junk. It’s the rebound effect. “Balance” doesn’t simply give you the excuse to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. She’s a quitter—plain and simple.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
Competitors Suffer the Rebound Effect
If you are a competitor, you know all too well about the rebound effect of competing. You deplete yourself to get on stage in order to look a certain way, just to rebound post contest and blur all of the definition you had on stage. You’re a rare breed. Not many people will go to the extremes that competitors do, and that’s more than ok. In fact, for most people I wouldn’t even recommend ever thinking about competing—it’s a whole new game when compared to simply getting in shape and living a healthy lifestyle. It’s a completely different level of dedication.
But, for many competitors the rebound effecct can mentally mess with them. I believe that might be the case of the girl mentioned above. Looking at her physique and lines, one can tell that she struggled to get into competition shape. Her body was clearly fighting her. So, I’m sure the experience for her was not a healthy one—both physically and mentally. It’s my belief that her experience caused her to shut down and not want to exercise or eat healthy. She took things to the extreme and it ruined the fun and journey associated with living a healthy lifestyle and she ended up going from one extreme to the other (where she gave up on exercise and eating nutritious foods all together).
When you compete, there’s a chance that you will get burned out and wind up hating the process. When you’re constantly counting calories, eating certain foods, training and doing cardio in order to drop to a single-digit body fat, you can easily end up hating your life at that point. The burn out is enough to potentially push people away where they want a break from it all, but never end up finding their way back to a healthy routine and end up in a downward spiral, unsure how to stop the freefall. This leads to an epic rebound effect and fat gain.
You Come Up with Excuses
In her Instagram post showing what she looked like competing and what she looks like now, she talks about how she went from someone who trained in the gym, focused on her nutrition and how many think her new body is a sign that she “let herself go.” Umm, yea. It is. I don’t care what anyone says. You can be happy with your body and your image and everything else, but deep down you know what you are doing to your body isn’t healthy. You know this. So, don’t give me all this BS about “balance” and that life isn’t about the way you look. How about, life is about living a healthy lifestyle and giving your body the nutrients it needs to function optimally? That sugar and carb-filled diet you’re on, that’s not “balance,” that’s called lazy.
Related Article: Should Competitor’s Start Supplement Companies?
As you keep reading in her Instagram post, she talks about rafting with friends and eating foods she would have never touched when she was competing. She said and I quote, “Your body is quite LITERALLY the only thing that gets you through this life, your worth and joy isn’t weighed by what you can lift or what the scale says.” Wow, touching. But what she is really saying is that she enjoys to eat whatever she wants without consequence and hides her poor nutritional habits around the excuse of not caring about your weight and what the scale says—as if she’s immune to disease and illness. It’s a rebound effect.
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