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Swimsuit Competition
 Pageant Week Diet: What to Eat and or Not Eat
Maintaining a healthy diet and body chemistry during competition is critical to success in the
swimsuit competition. Any change in body chemistry can harm a contestant's chances by hurting her appearance onstage. Water retention and weight gain due to PMS or menstruation is a common problem. "A
girl can look great, but that particular week or getting into that week, she'd be five pounds heavier," explains Joseph Christiano. "Her hormones are upside down, her water retention is up, and all of her work is going to go down the tubes if we don't adjust for that."
You can't make the menstrual cycle cooperate for competition, but careful planning can help prevent any accompanying water retention
and the appearance of weight gain. To combat bloating, says Joseph, some contestants take "a vitamin-B complex with an additional vitamin B6 which works as a natural diuretic." (Note: Always seek medical advise before trying any tips). Further, he says, "I make my girls drink lots of water to pass water. You don't retain water if you drink lots of water, because you're hydrated." But if a young lady does not
consume enough water, "The body signal is, 'We're dehydrating so let's retain water.' Then she balloons up!" Remember to drink plenty of water.
Sudden changes in diet during pageant week are another common problem, causing unflattering water retention that makes a young woman look puffy in her swimsuit. "The problem is that when they leave their state and go to [the nationals] the chow wagon is just garbage," explains Christiano. "The sodium content is much higher than the pretty strict diet the girls are on when they're preparing. Consequently, they're overloading on salts."
Since the resulting water retention can bloat an otherwise trim contestant, Christiano invariably spends pageant week biting his nails. "I'd be a 'nervous father' all week hoping they'd hang in there and not go 'blow-up'!" He recalls one national contestant who had a terrific figure and had won her state swimsuit competition. After training the young woman for a year to get her into superb condition, Joseph sent her off to the nationals, confident
that she was a top contender for the swimsuit competition award.
When he saw her two weeks later, he was shocked speechless. "I couldn't believe it! She just blew up overnight. It looked as if she had swallowed an air hose!" Between her period and a suddenly high-salt diet, her body ballooned with water weight. "It looked like she put on fifteen pounds. Well, you don't get fat in one week, but the sodium content was so much higher." He sighs. "There was a girl who had worked hard to get her body in shape. She was going to be a real threat, very competitive, but when she walked on that runway it was over." Her body cycles and a suddenly unhealthy diet conspired to sabotage her chances.
"Peaking [being at 100 percent top form that day] is the most important part," says Christiano. "After all the work is done, if you don't peak on that day you're not going to look your best, and of course, you're not going to score as well. You need to peak at the right time."
When a young woman has worked for years to achieve her dream, it's devastating to watch a temporary water gain ruin those efforts. Proper diet is the key to preventing, or at least diminishing, such problems. "You've got to eat right," asserts Sharon Turrentine. "Fluid retention comes from excess sodium in the diet. Of course, physical problems can also cause that, but as a rule, excess sodium is what causes fluid retention. If she is eating right, that is going to be such a small factor it won't make a difference."
During competition week most pageants provide an assortment of foods and beverages backstage and room service at the hotels. Contestants can maintain a healthy low-salt, low-fat diet by making careful food choices. Some girls stock their hotel room with fruit, bottled water, and pop-open cans of water-packed tuna for healthy, on-the-go snacks. When eating backstage between rehearsals or at pageant-week luncheons, dinners, and parties, choose fruits, vegetables, and lean meats.
Avoid
the following foods which are all loaded with fat and salt that contribute to water retention and bloating:
- fried chicken
- hamburgers
- pizzas
- deli sandwiches
- hors d' oeuvres
- potato chips and pretzels
- donuts, cookies, pastries, etc.
Carefully control your eating habits during competition to keep your body in healthy condition. Don't allow a change in diet or unruly body chemistry to derail your dreams.
Next - Finding the perfect swimsuit
Swimsuit Competition Overview
Improve Specific Figure Flaws
Swimsuit Diet
Improve your Body
The Best Swimsuit for your Figure
The Best Swimsuit Color
Swimsuit Competition - all tips
All content is from the book "101 Secrets to Winning Beauty Pageants" by Ann-Marie Bivans.
Any use of this content without written permission from the author is plagiarism and will result in legal action.
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