After a show, how fast do body weight and hormones come back?

Short answer

Body weight came back mostly within 6 weeks and fully by 12 weeks. Hormones were slower: some were still low at 3-4 months, and all had recovered 23 weeks after the show.

After a show, how fast do body weight and hormones come back?
'Show ends → start eating → body and hormones bounce right back' — true?
It is well known that contest prep drops body weight and testosterone a lot. We checked, period by period, what comes back first once you start eating again after the show, and how fast.
First 1-2 weeks: body weight comes back first
Mostly water and food weight
In 15 people, body weight rose 2 kg, from 65.4 kg to 67.4 kg, within 1 week of the show, and body water rose 1.9 L. In a 2026 study that followed 19 people, body weight was up 2.7 kg 2 weeks after the show.
By 6 weeks, most of the lost weight was back
At 12 weeks there was no difference from the start
The same 19 people lost 7.1 kg during prep, then regained 6.6 kg by 6 weeks and 8.3 kg by 12 weeks after the show. At 12 weeks, fat showed no difference from the start, and lean mass (muscle and everything except fat) was 1.6 kg higher than at the start.
Testosterone hit rock bottom
100 became about 25-28
In 1 case, testosterone fell from 100 to about 25 during prep, then came back to 107 within 6 months after the show. Another man fell from 100 to about 28; at the end of a 5-month recovery it was mostly, but not fully, back.
In groups, recovery still took months
Rising at 4-6 weeks, back to normal at 23 weeks
In 7 men, testosterone 4-6 weeks after the show was 26% higher than right after it. In a study that followed 23 people, the men's drop in testosterone and rise in stress hormone had fully returned to starting levels 23 weeks after the show.
Slowest of all: thyroid hormone and periods
Not fully back even at 3-4 months
27 women who lost 12% of their body weight over 4 months had their weight and most hormones back after a 3-4 month recovery, but thyroid hormone and testosterone were not yet back. Of 7 women not on hormonal birth control, 6 had no period 2 weeks after the show, and 2 still had none at 12 weeks.
What set the pace was how much they ate
Eating more brought metabolism back faster
In the 19-person study, those who increased their food intake more after the show recovered the calories they burn at rest faster, and they also gained fat along with it. The recovery period in the 27-person study was also a time of eating more and doing less cardio.
Bottom line: weight in 6-12 weeks, hormones in 3-6 months
Weight being back does not mean hormones are
Body weight came back mostly within 6 weeks of the show and to starting levels by 12 weeks. Testosterone started rising at 4-6 weeks and recovered by 23 weeks, while thyroid hormone and periods were still partly off at 3-4 months. Weight returning is not a sign that hormones have recovered.