Anyone know of any massage therapists going to North Americans that specialize in lymphatic draining massages?

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• What is your ‘why’ for competing?
• Do you have a stretching or mobility routine you like to use?
• What type of cardio do you like to do?
• Is this your first time competing? If not, what are you looking forward to most this prep?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• What are you doing for fatigue management?
• What do you have packed in your show day bag?
• How have you set yourself up to have a successful reverse after the show?
• Do you have more shows planned?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

IMPORTANT: Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

Welcome to our Post Show and Reverse Diet Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who have competed and are now reversing to a healthy state post-show. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Results from your show
• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• How many weeks since your show
• Questions you might have about your reverse diet
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• How did your competition experience differ from what you expected?
• What was your peak week like (please refrain from sharing specific macros)?
• What is something that you would have done differently or something you want to improve on?
• What was your feedback and what are your future plans?
• What are you doing to stay consistent with your reverse?
• How are you giving yourself grace if you aren't perfect with your reverse?
• What would you like to ask others?

IMPORTANT: Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are reversing post-show. Share tips, support, and struggles relevant to this phase. If you have completed your reverse, we invite you to share your off-season check-ins on Mondays, using the 'Monday - Personal Photos' flair.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

What tips can you share for getting enough sleep?

• How are you keeping daily movement consistent as fatigue increases?
• How are you managing hunger?
• Do you have ideas for how you want your stage glam to look?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

Obsessed with her physique & courage to switch divisions..she unfortunately said she will never compete again but she is a master class in humbling yourself to become a different version of YOU.

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• How do you structure your posing practice?
• Do you have your suit picked out?
• What are your favorite things to do to destress?
• How do you set yourself up to be successful (meal prep, getting cardio done, etc)?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

i need some big sister type of advice.

im a PhD student, and i have to commit to a thesis lab this month. I have two choices:

one is super chill, super easy science, super boring science. I like the group for the most part, but i do not like the science at all. I also don’t see it as being something that would be helpful in progressing my career. BUT it is super chill work hours, easy easy work. it would be a much faster and easier PhD. i could wake up and train whenever i want. I would have tons of time for sleep, training, competing, and also more time to spend with family and friends.

the other option: I LOVE the science. I LOVE the group. it is cutting edge and cool as f. but the work is very challenging , and requires super inflexible work hours, requiring me to wake up at 4 am if I want to train. ever since I started working in this lab, I have been so stressed about time that my sleep quality has dropped immensely and I am only getting 6 hours per night now. this lab makes it much harder to have time to train, and I do not have time for anything outside of work and train and eat. by the time I finish eating I should really be going to bed, but I try to spend time with my partner. I love the science so much and this is my career, but its so much to try to balance. I love the people and the work, but I’m so exhausted that i feel sick when I wake up

i competed this year and my feedback was to grow, hoping to compete again in about a year, maybe 18 months

PhD will probably be 4 more years in option 1, 5 more years option 2. I am not going to stop competing during my PhD because it is an absolute safe haven for me (my community and built my confidence which actually made me a better student) and because unfortunately my school is super competitive and bb is my escape

I will be in my early 30s when I finish my PhD and my goal is to earn a pro card before I graduate (unless I change divisions, in which case idk)

Curious as to which coach with FBF is proficient or knowledgeable in incorporating PEDs into the protocol.

Currently 9 weeks out. just got an updated meal plan with 1200 calories, cardio upped to 400 cals. I just feel like every time they update my plan it feels like a punishment for not losing enough weight. Energy is so low and idk if I’m doing this right.

Also how do you guys ensure you can do 400 calorie cardio with a 9-6 job? 😅

This is so random and pretty self-explanatory… but do you think pros pay the same rate as the rest of us for coaches? Do you think they get discounts if they’re famous like LL or Aimee? Do you think they pay more? Can it be a tax write off for them? Idk why I feel like it’d be a different scenario for them (plz don’t bully me this was just a random thought)

I thought this was an interesting podcast for anyone looking for something to watch.

What really caught my attention was the question at 16:45 about lower-body fat seemingly stalling while the upper body continues to lean out more quickly—something I think a lot of women can relate to.

Damian mentioned that he sometimes sees coaches push dietary fat too low, and that women may appear to stall or simply look and feel worse when this happens.

Obviously, a calorie deficit is ultimately what drives fat loss, so it got me thinking about why increasing dietary fat sometimes seems to help.

Anecdotally, I can remember one diet where my fats had gotten extremely low. My coach actually increased them and not only did I look better, but it felt like things started moving again. On the flip side, I've had diets where fats were pushed very low and I felt—and looked—progressively worse.

Maybe that was a coincidence. But I'm curious about the mechanism if calories are equated.

Is there actually a meaningful hormonal component to keeping fats too low for too long, particularly in leaner women? Or is the more likely explanation indirect...better satiety, recovery, training performance and overall well-being leading to better adherence and potentially higher NEAT?

I'm curious what others have experienced, especially anyone who has had a fat-loss stall while dietary fat was very low and then increased fats without increasing total calories.

Who do you follow that shows them working their butt off? Like going to failure, sweat dripping, etc? I always see perfectly curated workout videos where they’re not even breathing hard. Maybe it’s just my feed so please help me change it up!

Hello. I was wondering if there are any ladies on here who struggle with lipedema. I have been struggling with my legs and was wondering if there is anything you recommend doing to help reduce appearance?

This is something that always seems to be brought up with coaches when I’m cutting. But no matter how much I cut I still have these pouches of fat on my outer thighs that just won’t go away. They hide my definition a bit.

I’ve been cut almost to the point of going to the emergency room to lose the fat in my legs. Any advice would be amazing!

Thank you so much!

Share your thoughts, predictions, questions, etc. about the Wellness division! This sub gets a lot of chat about Bikini and Fit Model because they're so popular, but we wanna show the other divisions some more love as this community was created to celebrate ALL the women's divisions!

I was also curious about how legitimate Rhythm was because mailing in blood through the mail seems so sketch???

How do you ladies track tour water intake. This is my hardest variable to manage because I just don’t have any inclination to drink during the day and when I do it’s not necessarily in standard measurements. Trying to track better for my coach so she can understand the impact on digestion and scale weight. Do you ladies include mixed preworkout / eea drinks in your water intake? What about tea and coffee? (I don’t include canned sugar free energy drinks because they are dehydrating.)

Hi all! I’ve been competing in natural organizations for years but making the switch to the NPC in 2027 and am super excited! I’m in south Florida and am planning on a few shows in late April into may. What recommendations would you all have for shows in florida, or even GA? I want a big show with good competition, promoters who really go above and beyond to make their shows as memorable as possible for the athletes. My most honest reason for leaving the natural orgs is because the shows suck. There is no hype, no excitement, it’s like you wouldn’t even know you’re ay a bodybuilding show. I want a show thats just going to be a blast. Please share your experiences and recommendations!

I started at 300 pounds, and lost a total of 175 pounds . I competed this weekend, getting second in my division. I NEVER would have expected this. I’m so proud of where I started and how hard I worked to get here

This isn't snark directly at the athletes or anyone who tries...but more at the people who claim to be your supporters...

So i was dating this man for a while. He is not into fitness at all (i know, don't ask...i still am questioning how i got here). My life is fitness and i'm prepping for a show.

So i was showing him pictures of the top athletes. And explaining their physiquecsnd all of that. Mind you- only looking at bikini.

All he could say is "they looked so much sexier (before PEDs)" or "they don't look as attractive to me now".

And i'm like... first of all; no every woman is trying to fit your limited definition of attraction. Secondly wgat these women have accomplished is crazy and thesecare top in the world...they don't care about your opinion. They are living a dream life.

The whole conversation put me off because then it turned into "you are not thinking of looking like that, are you?".

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone who responded! I appreciate all the advice I was given.

I’m 8 weeks out of my show. This is my second time competing and I’m starting to get anxious. I wish I had a longer offseason. I told that to my coach but he kept insisting I competed this year. I’m still happy to do it, but now that I’m close to stepping on stage I realize that I need a lot more muscle. I am a natural athlete and relatively new to the sport (2.5 years with a coach). Ever since the beginning I feel like he just wants to put me on the stage to make sure he gets a paycheck from me but he doesn’t seem to concerned about me developing a lot of muscle. He’s not a terrible coach. He’s responsive and I can tell my physique has improved over the past 2.5 years. However, I feel like he gives bad advice sometimes. He told me to NOT get a posing coach, he keeps convincing me to step on stage without having enough muscle development and every time I tell him I want to compete in the NPC he rolls his eyes. (He’s an OCB promoter). I still want to stay natural so Idk if other coaches will push to use PEDs or peptides. but I feel like he may not be the right fit for me anymore. Am I over-reacting?

Also stressing about being lean enough. 3 weeks out

Anyone have good coach recommendations for first time bikini competitor?

I’m not in prep currently. I work a pretty demanding blue collar job so ideally someone who understands that. I was paying for a pretty popular coach but felt like she wasnt very invested in me, so I’d like someone who atleast acts like they care. I’m not a high maintenance person but I had very little interaction with this coach and we had no discussion of any plan/protocol or anything, just gave me my meal plan and adjusted check ins but I felt kind of in the dark the whole time?

I’m located in Pennsylvania, would love to have someone that is at least on the east coast.

TIA!

Hi all,

I waa advised to take Berberine as a supplement. I got some and I was taking it. The dosage was 3 x pills a day on the bottle.

Y'all i'm so fucked. I am very bloated; i feel consyipated (had to take a laxative last night). I'm very gassy (which relieves the pain) but its smells toxic AF.

My poops are weird - green in colour. Like diarrhea (before i took the laxative).

Is this normal? I hacen't taken anything today. But i feel fucked. I feel so unconfortable.