Group: Competitive Bodybuilding & Fitness

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 21, Messages: 5367

Discuss the process of preparing for a competition on the sport of body building, fitness and more!

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sodium during pre-comp diet

Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/07/16, 09:11 PM
I was told today that I seem to be retaining water in my upper back...so I am back to chugging the water again which i have been slacking..yes i know..tsk tsk...so my next question is, do i also need to cut back on my sodium??? I know as i get closer to competition ill have to cut out artificial sweeteners :O Right now im still over 6 weeks out..

I do eat some canned veggies which i will eliminate this week...any other suggestions/comments on water retention??

Thanks~

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There is no such thing as a *set point*. Im only set on getting past this point :)
asimmer
asimmer
Posts: 8,201
Joined: 2003/01/07
United States
2007/07/17, 09:04 AM
velasca - check out this article : http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/casi3.htm
Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/07/17, 04:26 PM
thank you :)

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There is no such thing as a *set point*. Im only set on getting past this point :)
Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/07/17, 04:59 PM
omg!!...im gonna have to actually read that article a few times....and then some..wow...i knew diet was a science but daaaammmmnnn...

thx again :)

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There is no such thing as a *set point*. Im only set on getting past this point :)
asimmer
asimmer
Posts: 8,201
Joined: 2003/01/07
United States
2007/07/18, 08:28 AM
PS - your pictures look great!
Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/07/18, 05:58 PM
thx..but to be honest..i realllly am loathing this whole *depleating* process....but its something i want to experience and see how i look...then its bulking for the winter for BB next year!!..screw this figure crap I love to eat.....lmao

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There is no such thing as a *set point*. Im only set on getting past this point :)
Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/08/10, 05:58 PM
ok..so i suggested the article you posted on here asimmer on another forum..and boy did i get a good scolding....and i was referred to the following...so now im REALLY confused....where is the happy medium?...(sigh)

"...when you play with water balance by cutting water, cutting sodium, taking a salt bath etc. the idea is you will lose water. Great. where is the water coming from? Everyone assumes subcutaneously. In your basal state you store THE MAJORITY of water inside your cells, but when you start messing with stuff is when shit gets all messed up. so when you 'drop water' much of it come intra cellularly. I have yet to understand why everyone thinks all this water they are dropping will just come from outside the cell... nonsense. the body has to maintain a gradient & ratio of water inside & outside the cells. when you drop water you are dropping it from INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CELL. Since you store more water inside the cell you can be damned sure much of it is coming from inside the cell... ie flattening you out.

Now lets look at what you've done to yourself by doing this. By 'dropping water or sodium' your body will IMMEDIATELY start to reduce sodium excretion and increase sodium reabsorption. To reabsorb sodium; the body also has to reabsorb water as well but since you have lowered the blood pressure in your vascular system by dropping water/sodium there will not be enough pressure to keep the water in the vascular system and it leaks into the interstitial IE SUBCUTANEOUS LAYER! This reabsorption starts happening withing minutes/hours of the body sensing it is deprived. All you have done is effectively flatten yourself out and move what water you have left where you DON'T want it and making yourself feel like shit. There is NO TRICKING YOUR BODY. In fact there was a study done that looked at what happened when people were effectively cut off from sodium intake. What they found was shocking. After 6 days of sodium depletion their levels of sodium HAD NOT CHANGED! The body conserved it perfectly by totally shutting down kidney sodium excretion and increasing resorption. In just 2 days of sodium depletion they also found that aldosterone had DOUBLED. For those that don't know... aldosterone is a hormone that increases water retention.

so much for tricking your body. There is no tricking it. Get your ass in shape and completely shredded and you don't need tricks. I garuntee you that the driest guys you see on stage looked almost exactly like that BEFORE the final week. When someone says they were 'holding water' you can translate that directly into "My ass was not in shape"

1: Hypertension. 1990 Apr;15(4):376-80.Links
Time course of enhanced adrenal responsiveness to angiotensin on a low salt diet.
Rogacz S, Williams GH, Hollenberg NK.

Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

To assess the rate of activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis and enhancement of adrenal responsiveness to angiotensin II (Ang II) with restriction of sodium intake, 16 healthy male subjects were placed initially on a 200 meq daily sodium intake; adrenal responsiveness to Ang II was assessed, and then daily sodium intake was reduced abruptly to 10 meq. Adrenal responses to Ang II were assessed again during the non-steady state interval 24 and 48 hours later, and after balance was achieved in 5-7 days. Renin-angiotensin system activation was evident within 24 hours after sodium intake was restricted. The increase in basal plasma aldosterone concentration and enhancement of the adrenal response to Ang II, on the other hand, tended to lag. Within 24 hours of restricting sodium intake, despite a significant increase in both plasma renin activity (1.0 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.4 +/- 0.7 ng/ml/hr, p less than 0.01) and Ang II concentration (22.0 +/- 1.9 vs. 29.5 +/- 1.3 pg/ml, p less than 0.05), there was no increase in basal plasma aldosterone concentration (10.4 +/- 1.3 vs. 11.7 +/- 1.2 ng/dl). At 48 hours, despite little further change in plasma renin activity or plasma Ang II concentration, there was a sharp increase in basal plasma aldosterone concentration (22.5 +/- 3.6 ng/dl, p less than 0.01). The adrenal response to Ang II was increased significantly at 24 hours, evident at only a 10 ng/kg/min dose, but showed progressive further enhancement with time
asimmer
asimmer
Posts: 8,201
Joined: 2003/01/07
United States
2007/08/13, 10:35 AM
velasca - i have seen / read about it being done both ways... As my trainer says - there are many paths to get to your destination - you have to pick one and go with it.

If you try one method and you don't feel you came in at your best, next time you try another method.

I have read hat all of the heavy sodium loading is unecessary, that the sodium loads and water drops are steroid related methods. but I also know naturals who sodium load, then switch to potassium loading and also drop their water - some completely and some just lower it from the water loading phase of 2 gallons a day (supposed to stimulate excretion) and the drop back down to a quart gradually until the day of the show.

Maybe BB1fit will come on and shed some light on how he has done it and what has worked for him.

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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle


Velasca
Velasca
Posts: 441
Joined: 2006/10/26
United States
2007/08/13, 04:01 PM
i understand...you know its easy to freak out about this time..hehehehe

im just gonna take it one day at a time :)

thanks again for the info...im actually gonna lean more towards the article you sent me...but i thought i would atleast share the other viewpoint... we all know nothing is written in stone for everyone

thx so much again!!!