True Life: My First Body Competition - Nutrition

When it comes to body shaping, genetics is only 10%, training is only 10% and I bet you can guess what the other 80% is….that’s right, NUTRITION!

Nutrition is such an important aspect and yet is the least understood by even the most “fit” individuals out there.  Remember, not all carbs and fats are bad for you!  Eliminating these from your diet will actually hinder your body from reaching its peak.  I am not a nutritionist or a registered dietitian, so I am not going to give a nutrition plan or anything along those lines, but a general rule of thumb is that you should eat more proteins that carbs and more carbs than fats as it relates to your daily caloric intake.

Tips and tricks I learned so far with Body Competition food prep:

·         Weight/measure out EVERYTHING!  When counting calories (which is the key to success with training), there is no such thing as eyeballing it.  Trust me, even the best cooks and most disciplined competitors will underestimate the veggies and overestimate the oils.  I suggest measuring everything out, even when it comes to meat and protein portions.  You worked too hard to consume even an extra 100 calories a day!

·         Prepare all meals in advance and carry extra “emergency meals” with you at all times!  An emergency meal could be a protein shake and low calorie snack, such as some almonds or a few rice cakes.  You never know when you’re in a pinch, so plan for it!  By planning ahead you not only have everything portioned out, but you also can eat on schedule.

·         Schedule out your 6 meals a day!  Eating every 2-3 hours keeps your metabolism up and helps keep away those hunger pangs and cravings!

·         Eat your entire meal!  Don’t stop eating because you are full!  You are on a strict plan for a reason and every calorie counts both positive and negative.  Plus it will help tide you over until your next meal!

·         Drink plenty of water! There is no such thing as drinking too much water during training!  A general rule of thumb is if you are thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.

·         Stick to approved spices and seasonings!  Salt is not part of a competition diet for a reason!  It fuels cravings and causes you to retain water….none of which is good!  Stick with splenda/stevia, cinnamon and sodium free spices!

The most important thing that I cannot stress enough is to plan, plan, PLAN ahead!!  It is the key factor to staying on track and your body shaping success!

True Life: My First Body Competition

Oh where to being…it was a cold and stormy night and I was lying on my couch after eating at least one too many slices of Pizza Hut’s Fiery Hawaiian Pizza, feeling absolutely stuffed and disgusting when it hit me….I have been way too lazy lately.  What happened to that girl who, less than a year ago, was on a competition kick?  Who was waking up at the crack of dawn to run 10 miles, or who was jumping into the 42 degree Musconetcong River to prep for the Tough Mudder?  Over the past 10 months, my life has changed completely!  I took the plunge and quit my job to move half way across the country and restart life as I know it and I absolutely love every decision that I have made.  But let’s be honest, it’s time….

I’ve been training for a body competition for about a month now and I have already learned and physically changed so much!  As usual, I totally underestimate my potential when it comes to training and seeing results.  I am only a month in and still have 10 weeks until my first body competition, so I can only imagine how rewarding the results are going to be when I step on the stage for the first time in 10 weeks!

One thing that I love about training for this body competition is that it is completely different than any competition I have ever trained for.  This is not something that is a simple 1-2 hour a day focused training program, this is a complete lifestyle change.  With this training, you are in 24/7 competition mode.  Your diet changes, your workouts change, your sleep pattern changes, even your circle of friends change.  It is very easy to understand how this is a close knit sport....it is not only an adaptation to an average day, it is a lifestyle.  That being said…there is no slacking off, or skipping a day, or being able to “bounce back” from a killer party weekend…this takes 100 percent discipline and dedication and is only for people who take competition training seriously!

One thing that I did, that is worth every penny I invested into this training so far, is hire a training coach.  This was literally, the best investment I have made in “me” in a very long time and I would recommend, if you can afford it, to hire one as well if you are training for a body competition.  That being said, definitely do your research.  There is everything out there from just regular trainers who have no clue about the sport of body competitions, to completely online money draining programs, to dedicated coaches who are passionate about the sport and live for seeing their trainees succeed.  After my extensive research (as I lay on the couch finishing off the last slice of pizza) I found a perfectly suitable, local training studio.  After meeting with my coach, I realized that I literally hit the gold mine when it came to finding a training coach.

After an awesome consultation, I was extremely eager to sign up with Twin Fitness and become the newest addition to their Elite Coaching team.  As part of the coaching package, I receive continuous coach and fellow competitor support.  I have a tailored training plan based on my weekly progress, and I have a constantly changing, yet fun and exciting nutrition guide.  How can the nutrition part be fun and exciting you ask?  Doesn’t everyone just eat dry chicken and broccoli for 3-4 months?  Maybe that’s how they did it back in Arnold’s day, but since then, the training for this sport has definitely evolved.  So back to this amazing food…Well, the twins that own Twin Fitness are both wives and mothers and have competed in countless competitions, AND are REAL people with real and very normal lives!  Yes, they have families, yes, they own their own company, and yes, they understand how extremely difficult and disciplined training NEEDS to be, so they created their very own competition cook book which is jam packed with competition friendly and AMAZING recipes.   I’m talking pulled chicken, orange marmalade turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, almond protein truffles, guacamole…and the list goes on and on.  Bet you never thought you could eat all that and STILL be training for a body competition!  Along with the great recipes, nutrition and exercise plan and 24/7 support, I also have access to posing seminars, stage prep seminars and countless other support classes, workshops, and workout bootcamps.

That being said, my lifestyle has completely changed over the past month.  Long gone is that cold and stormy winter day where I sat on the coach wallowed in my laziness.  And although it was really tough at first, “competition training” has truly become second nature.

Day in the life…

4:30 wake up (energy supplements) and 45-50 mins of cardio

6:30 breakfast – egg whites, oatmeal, coffee (multi-vitamin and fish oil) and skype date (yes my better half is overseas through this entire process)

7:15 leave for work (yes I have an 8-5 like the rest of the working world)

9:30 Snack – protein shake and rice cake

12:30 Lunch – meat, veggies, small serving of “good” carbs

3:30 Snack – protein shake and rice cake

5:30 Weight training workout, recovery drink

6:30 Dinner – meat, veggies, small serving of “good” carbs

7-9:30 the cravings hit, so I sip on cinnamon spice tea (natural hunger suppressant) and water

9:30 Snack – egg whites

10:00 Bed time (after a very exhausting day!)

Check out the below link if you’d like to learn more about training with Twin Fitness or if you are interested in purchasing the AMAZING cookbook (Competitive Edge Elite Coaching Cookbook)…after trying several of these recipes, I definitely think it is worth it!

www.twinfitness.com

Stay tuned for more to come on “True Life: My First Body Competition”!

The In-Between Stage: Supplements and Nutrition

Supplements:
Below are a few supplements that I suggest all people should use when doing a workout regime. The first two are essential to everyone’s diet whether you work out or not. Protein is extremely important after a workout to rebuild your muscles that you essentially just shredded. An example of a food alternative to this would be to eat high-protein low-fat food, such as Greek yogurt or a natural high-protein, low-fat smoothie. A recovery formula is also important throughout your workout because it helps reduce fatigue, increase endurance, and replenish essential nutrients your body loses during the workout.  An example of a beverage alternative would be a sports drink such as Gatorade or Vitamin Water.  Please keep in mind that the food alternatives will not produce the same results as these scientifically produced, high concentrated supplements. Below is a list of supplements I use and have experienced significant improvements with:

·         Multivitamin – taken with the first meal of the day. There are many good multivitamins out there and I don’t think that one is overly better than another.  When picking a multivitamin for myself, I make sure that there is a significant amount of Calcium and Iron (VERY important for females – men, no additional iron is necessary in your diet). Other than that I simply do a cost analysis and make sure I keep an eye out for dosage size. It is very likely that a serving size ends up being 2 or 3 multivitamins.

·         Omega 3 fish oils (1000mg) – taken with the first meal of the day (some suggest adding to each meal of the day)

·         Whey Protein (protein shakes) – taken post work out. There are other forms of protein such as soy protein that many also take. When I pick my protein, I tend to look for a powder that has high protein content while keeping a low calorie and fat count.

·         Recovery formula – taken during workout. There are many different types of recovery formulas out there. I personally like ones that have the main ingredient of Amino Acids.  Amino Acids aid in increased performance, which is my ultimate goal throughout my workout. A popular one that I have used in the past is Scivation Xtend.

Nutrition:

As mentioned before, I want to tailor my diet without making any drastic changes, for I enjoy the social aspect of my life and indulging from time to time. Below are merely suggestions that I am going to follow and are healthy tips that can be found in most places online.  Obviously, the more drastic of a change you make, the faster you will achieve your results, however, drastic changes in diet are very hard to maintain. If even the below guidelines seem difficult to follow, remember that 70% of your physique is your nutrition and only 30% is your workout, so the more changes you make, the more you will see a difference.

·         At least one gallon of water/day

·         Focus on a high protein, low fat diet

·         Limit carbs to slow digestive carbs (yams, oatmeal, whole grains)

·         Focus on adding wholesome/natural foods (fruits, vegetables)

·         Reduce/Avoid:

o   Processed foods

o   Foods high in saturated fats

o   Sodium

o   Refined sugars

If you are looking for more of a structured diet plan, please refer to my blog posts about clean eating. Clean eating is a good guide for everyone to follow, though tends to be difficult at times. Just remember, as is with every lifestyle change (diet), if you fall off the horse, the sooner you get back on, the easier it is and the better you feel. The longer you wait, the more you risk sinking back into that rut.