Week 1: Amazing, Week 2: Appalling, Week 3: Determined

Week 1: Amazing, Week 2: Appalling. Week 3: Determined

 

Week one of dieting I felt amazing. I could feel myself slimming down, I had lost 3 pounds. Workouts were still going strong. I had actually accomplished all of my scheduled cardio sessions and my eating was on point. Wasn't feeling deprived, just satisfied.

 

Week two I considered to be quite the opposite. I had lost no weight (which I realize is to be expected when I only have 8-10 pounds to lose in the 12 week span and had already lost 3), but I was not feeling any significant difference like I did the first week which puts you on a path of doubt and you start questioning everything you are doing. Most of the week I was so hungry I just wanted ANYTHING that wasn't chicken and rice. Friday was my breaking point. I had pushed all week being completely successful with diet and workouts although it was extremely difficult and I was annoyingly irritable. Friday I cheated, double. I was way to sore to workout, so I skipped it. Then I had run out of my prepared foods by my 4th meal so for dinner I had yogurt covered pretzels while I was food shopping at the grocery store. Not going to lie, I felt so much better afterwards. I didn't feel guilty the least bit. When I woke up Saturday, I felt as if everything was right again. I woke up early to make up the missed workout from Friday (I usually take Saturdays off, its my recovery day). All of my meals since have been on point. I came to the realization, even if it ends up setting me back a little bit, I am going to allow myself one thing every two weeks throughout this prep to keep myself from going insane. I want this to be somewhat enjoyable, not devastating.

 

Now I'm only 2 days into week three, but I am refocused and reenergized. I have decided to not get to caught up in measurements. I am still going to weigh myself once a week, to make sure I'm on track, but as far as body fat measuring and tape measurements, I'm going to let my clothes and pictures show me the difference. I was so concerned last week that I wasn't changing, and to my relief when I took my second set of progress pictures yesterday I saw the difference. Numbers didn't change, but I could see pieces of my body changing. That in itself was motivating, I highly recommend taking progress pictures when transforming your body. Pictures from last post were from January 5th, this picture was taken yesterday, January 19th. I definitely notice a difference in the definition of my shoulders and abs. Apparently I lose body fat like a melting candle, legs will be the last to go.



 

 

Day 11 of 90

Here we are 11 days into our 90 day competition prep.

I lost 3 pounds last week and I have no idea how much percentage of body fat. The hand held machine that I have isn't the best way to measure body fat because it has too many variables that affect it. I need to find someone who knows how to do skinfold calipers (or better yet, someplace that has the hydrostatic equipment) so I can better know where I am. I feel as if I have lost body fat, certain areas of my body look more "toned".

One way that I can measure my progress, is using before and after photos. I had my husband take pictures before we started the diet last week. And this is embarrassing, but I guess I have to get used to it:

 

 

 

Don't mind the cat like eyes in the front pose, and the posing will get better. We start our posing classes the first of February. I will hopefully be doing progression pictures every few weeks to determine what area I need to work on to keep moving forward.

 

So far my biggest concern with the diet is if I start losing muscle. I worked really hard to get what I have. I'm feeling really good with the diet, just hoping it keeps working the way its supposed to. I'm surprised, and don't want to jinx it, but I am not having any cravings for "bad" foods, but I sure would like to eat a little bit more of everything. Not going to lie, the diet makes me a slightly more cranky person, but I have given fair warning to all of those that I see on a daily basis. Just not sure how to give fair warning to the greater population, they have a tendency to irritate me quite easily when my blood sugar is low!!

Countdown to Doomsday.... Wait, I mean Countdown to Competition

T-minus 12 weeks.

Over the last few months I have figured more out. More about diet, training and competition prep. Although I was not ready for my anticipated competition back in November, I used the last two months to continue "bulking up" and building the muscle that is needed to compete as a figure athlete. Now, with 12 weeks out from our first competition, we are starting to "cut".  I am feeling more mentally prepared for this competition prep.

I say we because I have convinced two other ladies to participate in the competition with me. First one being a client who has participated in the last 2 seasons of my weight loss competition has lost at least 30 pounds and like 30 something inches along with about 10% body fat. I noticed through her transformation that she developed muscle quite well and I asked her if she ever though about competition. She was onboard right away. Second lady is the owner of the gym I train in. She builds muscle just as easily as I do, so I knew she would be a good candidate for a figure competition. She decided to take a break from marathon training to join our journey. Having two other friends enduring the same daunting task will make the process a little less lonely.

My diet is planned and macronutrients are balanced. There can be no swaying from this, nothing added, nothing subtracted. A bite of something here or there....ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN NOT!!! When trying to transform your body, every single thing you put into your body has an effect on you. You may not notice it, but things like insulin and bloating are easily disrupted by certain foods. I don't want to mess this process up, everything I eat will be preplanned and part of my macronutrients. I have planned out my diet for the next 15 weeks. I realize it may change as time passes and I will need to reevaluate my progression. But why 15 weeks of diet when the competition is only 12 weeks away? I've been reading a lot of horror stories of competitors who finish their first competition and then after weeks of restrictions they are cleared from dieting and then binge for days. They were never told of having a post competition plan to reintroduce regular, healthy eating.

Starting this week, I have started a muscle maintenance plan. Keeping my weights moderate, instead of trying to lift super heavy all the time, and doing a few more reps. I love lifting weights, I could do it all flippin day!! However, this week also starts the cardio bandwagon. I ran cross country in highschool and since then have probably ran an average of 10 miles.....a year, excluding last year when I ran a tough mudder. I HATE CARDIO!!! Not going to lie or beat around the bush, there is nothing enjoyable about it to me. I don't ever get that "runners high" and usually end up with sore joints afterwards(knees, ankles, feet). I know that once I do more of it, it will get easier and affect me less. Most of my cardio will be steady state for now, 5 days of 30-45 minutes, and then I will add in some HIIT cardio in a few weeks. I'm trying to slowly use cardio to burn fat, I don't want to do a whole lot of it at first and then burn out of my options for fat burning later on.

We are now starting to focus on competition day prep. We need to start scheduling and planning such tasks as tanning, waxing, posing practice, hair and makeup trials, and actually registering for the competition. This sport can be quite expensive. From what we have established so far registration runs $70-90, then you have to buy membership to the league ~$50, drug testing (everyone who competes is required to do a polygraph) $45, suits are between $200 all the way up to thousands of dollars, then you have hair, makeup, nails, waxing, tanning.....it adds up quick. I spoke to a male competitor and he said it cost his $6,000 to do a show!!! Well I know I won't spend that much, but I can see where things start to add up. Might have to sell some nonessential organs on the black market to fund this project!! Oh well, I'll figure it out.

"Jack is in the gym"

So if it wasn't known before, it is certainly known now. The last 2 weeks I have gotten the same comments from some concerned individuals.
"You should be careful lifting that heavy"
"Why are you working out so hard"
and the most important "are you training for something"

To the first comment, if I didn't think I could lift it I wouldn't attempt it. Now don't get me wrong, most of the weights I have been putting up make me a little nervous, but if the weights you are lifting don't make you a little nervous then they probably aren't heavy enough. That is how you get better, stronger, harder.

Second, why are you not working out so hard???"

Third comment....Yes, I am training for something. Then comes the difficult discussion of trying to explain to these concerned members that I am going to participate in a "bodybuilding" competition, because if you say figure competition, they don't know what that is because it isn't as commonly come across. So you explain to them that it is like a pageant, just with more muscle tone. Then comes the normal comment of "well don't get to big, you look fine the way you are".

I think most of their concern is that I have apparently gained some muscle (hard to tell when you see yourself each day, only able to measure myself based on the weights I am lifting) and they think i'm going to become this masculine monster of a female. I should have this next explanation tattooed on myself so I don't repeat it daily....
"My goal for becoming successful in this training toward a figure competition is to gain a significant amount of muscle while I can because when the 12 week pre-competition diet begins there may be some muscle loss and having that muscle is the whole point of these competitions."

I understand some peoples concern, but this is something I've wanted to do for a while and I see now as the perfect opportunity for me. And don't get me wrong, most people get it and are supportive but to the others: I don't go around crushing your dreams, so in the nicest way possible I say "I'm from Vermont, I do what I want"

P.S. As I write this, one of our members says "maybe I should get your autograph before you become famous".

P.P.S. "Jack is in the gym" comes from my father when he puts it into BEAST mode.

New Month, New Goals

So here we are, November 1st. Last two months have been a complete blur, but I have learned several new things about myself and hope to use these set backs to grow into a stronger person all around. I always see the quote "mistakes are just learning opportunities", or something along those lines, and plan to develop new habits and mindset to stay successful.

First, my diet is back to normal and I feel AMAZING!!!! Its so awesome to actually eat clean foods that keep your body feeling "clean". The last 2 months I have consumed many foods that people would consider "normal" in their diet that a figure competitor would not even touch when getting ready for a show. Such foods as sandwiches, cereal, granola bars, and trail mix (to name a few) make your calorie count add up quickly with no actual nod to any macronutrient balance. When my body was consuming the imbalance of carbs, proteins and fats I could feel a difference. My blood sugar was all over the place and I couldn't get back in control of my healthy habits. I guess I now know what most competitors go through once they finish the actual competition and don't have a plan to come out of such an extensive diet.
My diet game plan now:
Month of November I will eat a diet of about 1600-1800 calories (depending on how intense my daily workouts are) and have a balance of 40%protein, 30% carbs, 30% fats. My goal this month is to build muscle and even though I am not to concerned with burning fat just yet I definitely don't want to add any more fat. Also, "cheat" snacks such as protein muffins, protein puddings, and protein bars (to name a few) will be allowed once in a while. Again, I'm working on building muscle, so more fuel will hopefully develop more muscle.

Second, I'm back to normal workouts. Yes its true, you can find a way to workout anywhere you go and I had to come up with some pretty creative ways to do some kind of activity the last 2 months, but nothing beats lifting weights in the comfort of your own gym. Knowing where everything is, what weights you need to challenge yourself and getting back into your regular routines.....nothing better.
My weight training game plan now:
Last week and this week I have been lifting heavy. Someone brought it to my attention that I had no idea how heavy I could actually lift because I never try to max out on anything. I knew what weights challenged me for certain reps, but I didn't know what weight I could actually lift before failure in just a few reps. So I just picked up the heaviest weights I could lift to see how many reps I got out of myself. I shocked myself in some things and disappointed myself in others. My deadlift was mediocre, but at the weight I thought I might be at. Week one I got 3 sets of 135 for 6 reps, week 2 I pulled out 3 sets of 8 at the same weight. Next week I may up the weight. Squats were awful, not going to talk about that, lol. The other two things I was excited about: (1) I was shoulder pressing 35# dumbells for 6; (2) I was lat pulling 85# for 8. Now most of these reps are on the higher side to be considered for figuring out what my max lift would be, but just to see what I could do was really fun and invigorating!!!

Lastly, I have a new mindset. Its amazing how much your mind takes a toll on you when you are doing this type of a body transformation. Now that I have dieted down and unsuccessfully came out of that diet I understand a little bit more.
My mindset game plan now:
I came to the realization, that when I go to a strict diet for my competition, that it is not going to last forever. There will be a time where I can eat semi-normal foods again, I just have to get through the 12 weeks pre-contest and then life will go on. As long as I remember that, I have a better chance of becoming successful. Also, I am working on removing added sugars from my diet. I find that the excess sugar I was getting from processed foods was impacting my ability to stay focused. I found that when my blood sugar dropped from a spike my mood would change to all kinds of unhappy.

My goals this weekend include:
1) Cook and bake up a storm. I want to stock my freezer with all the necessary foods that I will need for the next few weeks. That includes my main staples like turkey meatballs and protein pancakes. I also want to try a few new recipes: protein granola bars, "buff bread", and protein brownies!!!!
2) Plan out my workout/diet schedule for the 12 week precontest prep. I'm not planning on a competition until March, but that will sneak up on me.
3) I'm almost out of my Nectars protein powder. For those who don't know about Nectars CHECK IT OUT!!! It is an amazing protein powder. It has 23g protein for 100 calories and no fat or carbs. They  have flavors like grape(the best), iced tea, fuzzy navel(peach), strawberry kiwi and lots more. Only problem is I have to order it online or go to Vitamin Shoppe which is an hour away in order to pick up a container. Good thing I have nothing to do this weekend and can make a trip to get me some :)

Side note: I LOVE CREATINE!!!!!!

"Heavy sigh...."

As the title states of this post "Heavy sigh....." I am trying to recover from a very crazy month or so. I have traveled about 4000+ miles (by car) within the last 4 weeks and it has taken quite the toll on my physical and mental state. Don't get me wrong, all of the traveling I have done has been for great reason; a baby was born and a lovely couple was wed. I have one more long trip this weekend coming up, the shortest of all the trips at about 5.5 hours each direction, to participate in a 7K obstacle race on Titus Mountain in Malone NY with my husband, father and brother. So again this trip is for great fun as well. However, when one is trying to obtain this structures eating and exercise routine it is put to the test when you are out of your norm and spending many hours in a car. I would say that I scored a D on this test.

In complete honesty, I have not stuck to any specific diet or exercise routine within the last 4 weeks or so. And there is no good reason or excuse that can justify that so I'm not even going to make something up. I have made attempts at eating the better choices when possible and finding ways to exercise no matter where I am, even if they are nowhere close to what I am used to being able to do for my workouts. I had some hopes of participating in my first competition the 9th of November. Not going to happen, and that may be for the best.

Based on the research and comments I obtained from competitors and fitness articles, I needed to give myself a solid 12 weeks or so to diet down for a competition once I had reached my desired muscle mass. Prior to my traveling I had done a few weeks of successful carb cycling. I got down to a pretty lean physique that I was happy with the progression, but came to the realization that I did not have as much muscle mass as I thought I had. I was torn between doing my first competition and competing in the figure category without the muscle most competitors had (I wouldn't feel prepared which I thought might turn me away from competing), or competing in the bikini level which doesn't require as much muscle mass and I could probably swing that with the physique I had. Now most people would say "just do it for the experience, you can always switch categories" but the two different categories are quite different as far as what type of outfit you need to wear, what type of poses you need to perform and what specific physique you should have and I didn't want to get into one and then have to spend more time later on switching my physique and outfits and learning new poses (especially since the outfits run upwards of $150+) I am hesitant in going into the bikini level due to (what I think) more challenging poses and a physique that I didn't personally want.

So, what to do next? I have said all along this has been a learning process, i'm figuring it out as I go. I've found that most people take a full year to prepare for their first competition. I thought I could cut the time in a third and essentially gave myself about 4 months to get ready. But with all the trial and error in diet and exercise I was trying I didn't really have enough of a grasp to build the physique and practice the poses within those 4 months. I definitely have learned an enormous amount about competing and have decided that I am going to put all my effort into building my figure physique by first adding muscle. My plan is that once I return from the race this weekend, I will continue to lift heavy weights (maybe start recording specific weights for each lift so I can track progress in multiple ways) and maintain a solid diet of a higher calorie count to aid in the muscle development. I will give carb cycling another go and finish the full 3 weeks (I only did about 1.5-2 weeks before). I have a couple other techniques I would like to try out before I need to use them when I actually am a few weeks out from a competition.

New competition goal: March 2014. One huge factor that makes this goal a little easier to achieve, I have a partner in crime. I have a friend who will be joining me in preparing for her first competition in March 2014 as well. Having someone experience the same lifestyle change and physical changes will make the process a little more appealing, especially when we get to the last few weeks prior to the show!!!

I figured something out!!!

So after so many weeks of experimenting with diet and exercise, something has finally come through with a bang! As of a week ago today I started "carb cycling". After doing lots of research I established that by cycling your carbohydrate intake it shifts your body into fat burning mode more efficiently. Essentially you take 3 days and eat a lower carb diet, something that consists of 20% of your caloric intake from carbs. Now because you are lowering your body's preferred source of energy, and to balance out your macronutrients, you intake a higher percentage of fats and protein. I changed my fat intake to about 30% and my protein intake to 50%. The protein needs to be that high in order to make sure your body draws from your fat storage instead of taking undesired fuel from your muscles. On the 4th day you intake a higher carb count, switching to about 50% carbs, 30% protein and just 20% fat. This allows your body to replenish some energy and some glycogen storage and to keep your body guessing. You continue this process for 3 weeks, much longer than that and you might have adverse effects.

Today being my 8th day of the cycling process I have established that I am a huge fan of this technique. I have lost just under 4 pounds and an entire percent of body fat. Now, those of you who have worked with me before on losing weight know how long it takes for body fat to come off so I'd say that is a substantial amount for 1 week!

A couple things I though about prior to starting this program:
1) I thought, because carbs are a huge source of energy for the body, that I would be tired and cranky all the time. Realization: I have not noticed any loss in energy, more so that the usual tiredness I feel from workouts. I have had a few days where a second coffee has helped, but wasn't always necessary. I noticed, however, that due to a lack of glucose (brains source of function) I felt a little more aware of everything around me, sort of in a trance I guess you could say. Which to me seemed a little strange at first, but I figured it was ok because my brain wasn't going a million miles a second so that was nice!
2) I also though about how over the last few years I've noticed how my blood sugar makes me act. I need to eat every few hours and usually need some source of carbs in order to maintain sanity (and to keep from wanting to strangle random people). Realization: I actually feel better on my low carb days then I do on the high carb days. From what I read in the research and testimonials from other people who have done this they all commented on how they struggles through the low carb days to get to that high carb recover. After my second high carb day (today) I noticed that I feel much stronger and "cleaner" inside on my low carb days. I can feel the tightness of my muscles (that sounds vain.....read it in a non-vain way, please) when my body is processing all of the protein it is fed on those days. I wonder if the blood sugar issues I have make the high carb days difficult for my body to process after going 3 days without a lot. Not being a doctor, I can't make any extremely educated guessing on the technical science behind it, I just know how my body feels.

Now, what I've been working on the past week or so, is establishing my exact diet for the next 2 weeks along with preparing and freezing meals to have ready at all times. The main reason I am making and freezing meals is because I am "on call". At any point (hopefully within the next week or so) I will be getting a phone call that requires me to make a trip home to Vermont. My best friend and very close cousin (same person) is expecting her second child. Since I was there for the delivery of her first born, I hope to make it the 7 hours home in time for this delivery or at least part of it. The doctors have warned her that it will be a quick delivery so I am preparing myself to get out of town as soon as called!


Most importantly, just before I started this carb cycling, I told my husband that as a reward (obviously non-food related) once I reach 18.4% or lower I would treat myself to a mani/pedi. Guess who just so happen to reach 18.4% today :)