So much better now...

 After switching back to low carb I am where I want to be in this next round of competition prep.  I will be honest, if I feel I am not ready to compete in five weeks then I won't.  The Emerald Cup is the biggest competition in the northwest and I want to represent on stage.  If I don't look better then last time then I won't do it.

Here's my current typical day of eating:

8:00am
1 cup of cantaloupe
1 scoop of whey protein

11:00am
1 can of tuna mixed with 2 tablespoons of light mayo
1 red bell pepper

1:30pm
Oh Yeah protein drink (I love these!)

5:30pm
6 ounces of pork or chicken
1 cup stir fried veggies (mostly cabbage)

8:30pm
6 ounces steak
Mixed salad greens with oil and vinegar dressing

1,540/207/30
This is a lower calorie day for me.  I range between 1,500-1,800 on a regular basis.  The protein is high, I know.  I just work better that way.  You may work better with more carbs.  I have been occasionally eating a little brown rice and I stir fry my veggies in oil.  When I crave a little something extra I eat an Adkins bar.  They are calculated by net carbs (total carbs - fiber - sugar alcohols, all which don't impact blood sugar) although it worries me because I never count impact carbs, I count ALL the carbs.

Still lifting heavy.  Some programs want you to change to lighter weights and higher reps for the last four weeks but I don't think I'll do that.  I need the shoulder mass, which isn't very much now and counts for a lot when competing.

Back To Low Carb

So the higher carb diet was not working.  I switched back to low carb and lost 3 lbs.  It's not really about weight loss, it's about fat loss, but weight loss is a good indicator that you are going in the right direction.  The higher carb diet was definitely not a high carb diet.  It was around 70-100 grams of carbs a day but my body just does not work well with even that amount.  I need to diet on 50 grams or less.  Competition prep is tough, especially the first time out.  I made a lot of mistakes my first round of competition prep 20 years ago.  You have to be willing to experiment to see what works.

The traditional weight lifting program is working really well.  Strength has increased every other week so I am staying strong (not losing any muscle mass).  That was one of my mistakes last time toward the end of competition prep.  I didn't eat enough and I doubled my cardio which was not smart.  As I mentioned a few posts back I was afraid that I was not going to be able to lose the weight like I did 20 years ago....because I am now 20 years older and statistically it is harder to lose weight the older you are.  I was wrong.  As long as you stay properly hydrated, get enough rest between workouts and eat enough protein you won't sacrifice hard earned muscle in order to lose weight.  Again, it's about fat loss, not weight loss.  I needed to really track how much weight I was lifting every workout and do the traditional three or four exercises per body part during one workout.  When I shed a couple more pounds then I can make an assessment but I think my shoulders already look better then they did last competition.



Here's a look at the diet I was doing a couple of weeks ago:

1/3 cup oatmeal
1 scoop whey protein

3 ounces chicken breast
1 cup cantaloupe

3 ounces chicken breast
1/2 cup brown rice

3 ounces steak
2 cups lettuce with 2 tablespoon oil and vinegar dressing
1/2 red bell pepper

3 ounces steak
1/2 cup sweet potatoes

3 ounces chicken breast
2 cups sauteed kale

3 ounces steak
2 cups lettuce with 2 tablespoons oil and vinegar dressing
1/2 red bell pepper

Basically eating every two hours, which is very hard to do.


What I am eating now:

1/3 cup oatmeal
1 scoop whey protein

6 ounces steak

5-6 ounces chicken
2 cups lettuce with 2 tablespoons oil and vinegar dressing
1/2 red bell pepper

1 small can albacore tuna
2 tablespoons light mayo
1/2 red bell pepper

6 ounces steak
2 cups chard


I shoot for 175-200 grams of protein a day, 50 or less of carbs and I don't count fat grams.  Again, you have to find out what works for you.  You may be just fine with a higher carb diet but over the years I have found that the majority of women have a hard time losing weight unless they cut the amount of carbs that they eat.

De-carb/Re-carb

Momentary lapse came on Tuesday.  For about four hours I was wondering what the hell I had been thinking.  That there was absolutely no way I was going to be ready for this show.  Why did I think I could be ready in only eight weeks when it normally take twelve?!  It did pass by Wednesday morning.  I never seriously considered giving up (and I didn't veer from my training and diet) but I definitely was questioning the whole thing.  So everyone has those moments.  I know people that are trying to lose can feel defeated.  It happens to everyone.  It is normal to question yourself but the worst thing you can do is give up.  No one ever won anything by giving up.

I've been de-carbing for the last two days.  Today I did two workouts.  The one this morning was pretty intense.  My friend Jodi and I went to the soccer field and ran sprints in various distances.  I needed her to be there because I don't think I could have done it on my own since I am so depleted.  That took about 45 minutes and then I went to the gym and focused on high reps in order to deplete glycogen even more (prepping the muscles to fill when they get those carbs back).  I performed 4 sets of 20 incline flyes with only 10 lb weights, making sure to get a burn.  Then I went to the Hammerstrength incline press machine and put a 10 lb plate on each side for 3 sets of 15.  Then I did a similar sequence for back with wide and close rows.  My second workout of the day I rode the bike for 30 minutes followed by a shoulder press tabata with 10lb weights, which was way harder then it should have been but the point was to deplete so there you go.

Food today (not much):

6 egg whites, 3 cups power greens, 1 roma tomato

6 ounces lean pork loin

Oh Yeah protein shake

1 chicken breast

1 scoop whey protein powder



I had cut out oatmeal for a couple of days but that totally screwed up my digestion, if you know what I mean, so I added it back a couple of days ago and that fixed the problem.  Today is the serious de-carb (see food diary above) so oatmeal is out again but I am making sure to load on the power greens to get more fiber.

Tomorrow is the carb up run through.  I am going to do a short workout in the morning because I am trying to peak at around 5:00pm Sunday evening which means I will focus on the carbs starting around that time on Saturday.  I bought some sweet potatoes yesterday so I am going to see how those work.

I'll let you know how it all goes! 
  .

Count Down To Competition!

 Physique and/or Figure Prep

Week one, day one.  Competition date is November 3rd and prep begins today.  Starting weight is 144.3lbs.  Not sure about my competition weight but I'm guessing around 130lb.  I'll know better in four weeks.

The photo on the left was taken at a 1995 competition, I think it was the Emerald Cup.  I know, the second one is horrible, but it is super hard to take a picture of yourself with an iPhone and I didn't have anyone around to take it for me.  And I really, really wanted to take a photo from today, the first day of prep.

It's been 16 years since my last competition and it's all coming back to me now:). First thing I need to do is make sure there is no wheat, sugar or alcohol in my diet.  The wheat part is pretty easy for me although I am not vigilant about it when I am not competing.  Also I don't really eat any sugar and definitely not on a regular basis.  Alcohol is a little harder.  I don't drink much but do enjoy a glass of wine (or two) a few times a week.

The second thing I need to do is eat 5-6 small meals a day.  This is hard for me and I will need to set a reminder on my phone.  I am used to packing my food for the day but I can forget to eat between clients, especially when I train three or four in a row.  When that happens I must have protein shakes ready to go.  I could use bars too but in about five weeks those will have to be eliminated as well because in most bars there are too many carbs in one shot and the ones that don't have many carbs taste horrible.  Competition prep isn't really about the taste of food, however if you can't choke it down there is usually another option.  I also must keep my calories up, around 2,500 so essentially five, 500 calorie meals per day.  I'll cut those calories to about 2,000 when I get closer to the competition.  And I'm sure everybody knows my diet will be high in protein, low in carbs and medium in fat. 

And the final thing is to make sure I lift heavy.  I want to keep my muscles hard and full.  If you don't use muscle you will lose it and that is especially true when you diet.  If you don't use the muscle your body will give up a little fat and a little muscle.  You'll lose weight but you won't be leaner, just smaller.

The categories for competing have changed since 1996.  The choices now are bodybuilding, physique or figure.  I am not sure where I fall between figure and physique.  I am definitely not muscular enough to compete in bodybuilding.  I wasn't even muscular enough in 1996 but I had no choice.  I didn't win very many shows back then for that reason.  I have looked at figure and physique competitors and I still can't figure out which category I would fall in.  I would prefer physique because it is closer to what I know.  I am going to go to the Ironman competition on October 6th and make an assessment of the competitors at that time then I'll go from there.  If you search on the internet both figure and physique competitors muscularity and leanness are all over the map.  I'll figure that out closer to competition time.

I will post diet and workout information at the very least weekly.  And I will keep posting workouts.  A lot of you have sent me requests for different types of workouts so I will keep writing different routines based on body weight, travel, limited time, strictally weights, etc.  If you do have requests, please let me know.  And, if you have any questions about contest prep or your thinking about competing let me know.  I would love to help you if I can.  Back when I competed it was really hard to find information but now we have many sources.  So many in face that it's hard to weed through them all.  I can try to help you figure out what will work for you.