So we made it to the Vancouver Fall Classic stage and for the most part everything went as planned. I stuck to my program and came in what I thought would be very close to my best condition in several years. If I am honest I don't think I was in my best condition? I have my doubts but really need to see my stage photos to know for sure. They really tell the truth, not that friend and family don't but they will always be rooting for you and have a bias that may not give you 100% accurate feedback.

As I have been talking about leading into this show I struggled with a bit of water retention in my face and to some degree that also showed up a little bit with stomach bloat, not so much in my skin but more under my skin and in my abdomen. I managed this fairly well in the morning show by using an over the counter diabetic called Watertight along with very limited water intake the night before and day of the show. I know I was not holding a lot of water for the morning show because I weight pretty much the same as I had weighed leading up to the show, in my weigh in and in the morning and right up to the day show which was right around 193 to 194 pounds.

Between the mornign Prejudging Show and the evening Awards Show I did have a reasonable sized lunch and I took a bit of fluids, this increased my weight from 193 to around 198 pounds so I went up a good 5 pounds but it was all water and it went a bit into my mid section and face, not really anywhere else and not too much into the skin but maybe a little bit. So I did feel. Little bit bloated on stage which was not exactly what I wanted for the evening show.

It could of been worse for sure but I feel I could have been tighter on stage if I did not have this water retentions issue going on, that said I did OK and placed 1st in Master's Classic Physique which was not a surprise as I was the only one in that class. I placed 1st in Masters Physique out of three competitors one of which I felt was a strong contender for sure so happy with that placing. In the open categories I placed 3rd in Tall Physique out of 5 guys all of which where half my age so again very happy with that placing and in Tall Classic Physique which is probably my weakest category I placed 7th out of 11 guys all of which where young other than me and another Master competitor.

So am I happy with the results? Yes and no, I feel like things fell apart the last week or two of my prep. It's like I strolled a bit, my body fat seemed to drop but I didn't see changes in my body as much as I should of and I believe it was a water retention problem because my weight did not change much even though my body fat did and I was having problem with my face holding onto water any time I changed my diet even a little bit when adding any carbs in.

I am posting this on the Monday after the show and right now I am 205 pounds so 12 pounds overweight in and stage weight and I did not go crazy with the food. I had to shut down the eating and drinking a lot because it was literally putting me into a coma every time I ate anything significant. The interesting things is I am not holding virtually any water anywhere other than my face and abdomen, my ankles and feet are fine, my skin in general is fairly thin everywhere other than my face. I do have a lot of bloat in my stomach which puts pressure on the organs and makes you feel lethargic.

So I guess it is in my best interest and health to go back to a much cleaner and low carb eating style which I am more use to but I was hoping to be able to enjoy a few meals and treats before getting back to more regulated eating. Maybe this is good in a way since I am less likely to put on unwanted weight and can stay leaner this time post show. I will keep you all updated on my health and how my post show recovery goes...