Diet at 10 Weeks

I started dieting a week ago today and have lost 3 lbs (mostly water weight). I drink A GALLON of water a day. This is a must! If I do not drink all my water 1) I will retain more water, 2) I will get muscle cramps at night, 3) my muscles will not recover properly. Also, I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours to keep my metabolism up (also a must).

Here is my diet at 10 weeks out from the show! At this point I can still afford to add brown sugar to my oatmeal and throw in a light yogurt during the day; however, once my weight plateaus the sugar and yogurt are the first to go! (tears). I need to work on adding more greens such as broccoli and salad but am having a hard time finding the strength to shove another 4 ounces of blandness in my mouth. It's a work in progress!

8 AM

½ cup oats with 1tbsp brwn sgr

1Scoop shake

10 AM

3 egg whites/ 1 whole egg (I used to gag on all these eggs but after 1 week they taste like heaven)

4 oz brown rice

Siracha hot sauce for flavor

12 PM- 1 PM

4 oz 99% lean ground turkey (I use ground turkey because in my opinion it has more flavor than chicken and it's easy to get down)

4 oz yams or sweet potatoes

2 PM - 3 PM

4 oz 99% lean ground turkey

4 oz yams or sweet potatoes

PRE-WORKOUT

4 oz Activia light yogurt

1 medium banana

1 scoop Pump Fuel

POST WORKOUT

1 scoop AfterGlow

2 scoops Amplify protein

All of this comes out to about 1757 calories compared to the 2300 calories I was at 2 weeks ago. I go to bed hungry every night but I constantly remind myself that this is what it will take to be comfortable on stage... practically naked. YIPES!

The 12 Week Diet Begins

Or the end of my freedom as we know it. Last night I went through all of our cupboards and got rid of every temptation including chips, sweets, pasta and even cereal. Im not going to lie, the next 3 months are going to suck but I'm excited to start leaning out and being able to notice the definition of my muscle.

As I mentioned in a previous diet post, the method behind the dieting madness is to lose as much fat as possible without losing muscle. My calories have been cut back from about 2200 to about 1700 to lose about 1 pound per week. If i can maintain most of my muscle I will compete in the women's lightweight class (under 115lbs). However, if I lose too much I will enter into the figure division. My heart is set on bodybuilding so I'm going to work as hard as I can.

Besides the change in diet, our workouts will change as well. But I'll save that post for another day:)
P.S. I discovered a Blogger app for my phone and am using it now! When I get into my 60 min cardio sessions this app/blog will be my lifesaver. So excited!

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Biggest Accomplishment at 2 months

The increase in my back muscles has been my greatest size increase so far. I feel pretty unfeminine, as I've complained to my husband over the past month, but it's hard to complain after seeing the hard work pay off!

2 month photos

Although it has been awhile since my last post, I figured I should post my 2 month training photos before I post new ones this weekend. I have gained a lot of size as you might be able to tell. My training program has proved effective but it has also taken a toll on my body.

My immune system has taken a hit from training so much and life stresses and as result I have been sick off and on for the past month. But there are no sick days when prepping to go on stage half-naked! So I worked through the coughing, sneezing, headaches, sinus pressure, and overall fatigue (sounds fun, right?). I'm healthy now, but the stress of life can also take it's toll! I am adding increased Vitamin C to my supplements, being more conscious of my water consumption, and will be adding a yoga/pilates workout to my weekly training schedule for stress reduction.

I will add our 13 week training photos tomorrow!

Until then, I will be destroying the gym tonight during my leg workout!

It's All About Force Feeding

This is probably my husband's favorite thing to say to me because he has said it continuously through our bulking phase. In the next 4 weeks I will be trying to consume as much calories as possible.

My calories are double what I usually eat and for the next month all bets are off. I will be consuming whatever food comes my way. We're talking burgers, tacos, cake, you name it. I'm going to try and eat more red meat and more fats because the next phase we won't get any extra fat! This couldn't come at a better time (right around the holidays). I'm excited to eat whatever I want but at the same time it means more weight on the scale and even tighter fitting clothes! We will do measurements this week and again at the 4 week mark to see our muscle gains!

Last Hurrah

The link here directs you to the workouts we've been using for the past 5 weeks. The next 4 weeks are crucial to our training program because it's the last 4 weeks we have to really increase muscle size. I'm really focusing on bulking up my biceps, shoulders, and legs. I can tell that I have gained quite a bit of muscle mass because the scale shows it and because my clothes are super tight!

If you are really interested in gaining some serious strength and mass, this is a great program to use. It puts a lot of focus on fatiguing the muscles on every exercise. Very tiring, but very rewarding!

Struggling

It has been over a month since I have written last, yikes! So many changes have taken place since I've written last. To make a long story short, I am struggling with my training program right now!

With the combination of about a 10 lb weight gain, my clothes not fitting comfortably, and just feeling unfeminine (starting to notice veins in my biceps), this program is really playing games with my head. The only place I feel like myself is at the gym. When I'm in the gym, working out and seeing strength gains and increased muscle size, I get so excited and look forward to the competition. But when I'm out of the gym, in my street clothes that  are much too tight, I ask myself: "why am I doing this again?" or "there is no way I will ever do another competition again." As my Mom puts it, I look like "a tight little sausage." Never something I ever wanted to hear.

Among this, I have been "unhealthy" so to speak since the last time I wrote. I have had a few set backs by finding out I have hypothyroidism, which means my thyroid levels are lower than normal making me twice as tired as I should be just through daily activities. This has made my workouts extremely hard to complete and recover from. I've been on medication for about 2 or 3 weeks now which has helped slightly.

At this time I'm battling a nasty cold that's going on 10 days now. Which means no energy to get to the gym, no energy to push heavy weight, and no energy to recover properly. But I still have to push through it! I have only taken a few days off since we started this program and it's getting harder and harder to get to the gym, but I'm still pushing through.

Even though I've had these setbacks, I've still managed to gain strength and muscle size which is a huge motivation for me. Plus the fun part is right around the corner! Cutting phase begins January 1!

Pictures will be up shortly!