1 hr 2 minLife After Bodybuilding: How to Eat and Train Sustainably
With Ida Bergfoth
Guest on the show
Ida Bergfoth
Ida Bergfoth is a Swedish former figure competitor, Swedish and Nordic champion, and body transformation coach with Team IBFit Coaching who also runs the Fit Couple Foodies YouTube channel.
Episodes with Ida Bergfoth
1 hr 2 minWhat Ida talks about
Ep. 29: Life After Bodybuilding: How to Eat and Train Sustainably
Nikkiey Stott welcomes the show's very first guest, Ida Bergfoth, a Swedish and Nordic figure champion turned body transformation coach with Team IBFit Coaching. Ida shares how she fell in love with lifting as a teenager carrying her neighbor's tires, how training helped her cope with grief after losing her dad, and how a spontaneous ab contest on a full stomach led to four competition wins and a European Championship.
The conversation gets honest about what an extreme competition diet really costs. Ida explains why a competition body fat level isn't healthy or sustainable, why you should only hire a prep coach who will stay with you through the reverse diet, and why it took her years to find a physique she loved after 56 weeks of dieting. She also talks about why women hold back from getting strong because of what others think, and how she handles comments that she looks like a man.
Finally, Ida walks through how she eats now: choosing food for how it makes her feel rather than how it makes her look, keeping her days similar to cut down on decision fatigue, and running a slow cut where she eats the same foods in smaller amounts, expects some hunger and uses protein, water and meal timing to stay full.
- If you compete, choose a coach who will still be there after the show to keep you accountable, guide your reverse diet and help with the mental side.
- Ida explains that a competition body fat percentage is not healthy or sustainable, especially for women, and returning to normal is tough even when done correctly.
- Choose food based on how it will make you feel, not how it will make you look.
- Keep your days and meals as similar as possible and plan them ahead so you are not wasting time and willpower deciding what to eat.
- In her cut, Ida keeps eating the same foods and simply reduces the amounts, such as cutting from four or five rice cakes a day to two.
In Ida's words
Common questions
What happens to your body after a bodybuilding competition?
Ida explains that after weeks of fighting to get your leanest, you have to focus on returning to a healthy body fat percentage, because competition body fat isn't healthy, especially for women. She says it will be tough whether you do it correctly or regain 25 pounds in an instant, and it took her years to find a physique she loved again.
Do you need a coach after a bodybuilding show?
Ida says yes. She recommends making sure your prep coach will still be there when you're done to keep you accountable, help you reverse diet and support your mental game, and she says even experienced coaches benefit from having that person.
How can you cut without an extreme diet?
Ida eats the same foods she always does and only reduces the amounts, for example limiting her rice cakes with peanut butter to two a day. She takes it slowly rather than chasing her leanest, and keeps cheat days smaller by eating just a few bites of indulgent foods.
How do you deal with hunger in a calorie deficit?
Ida says to expect some hunger and accept it as part of the decision you made, then drink more water, tea or coffee. She also starts the day with enough protein, pushes meals closer together and eats more of her food at the time of day when hunger is hardest for her.
How do you handle comments that muscle makes women look manly?
Ida says she is comfortable in her own skin and points out that muscles are something everyone has biologically, and that women don't have the same hormone setup as men. Her main concern is the newer woman reading the comment, while Nikkiey adds that these commenters are often just insecure.