Slip Up - Get Back Up

Today I was eating well, doing my thing, and then I went too long with without my afternoon snack and totally was nauseous I was so hungry.  I felt like I was going to throw up in the cab ride home.  Of course the minute I walked in the door I knew I was going to eat the crap out of some food because I was STARVING!!!!  So what did I do, I did what a good girl would do and drank my protein shake with my 1 tbsp. of almond butter.  But then what happened?  I was STILL starving, so I thought, I need some carbs, so I had 1/2 a large apple.  No big deal, as I am going to the gym and need some carbs to fuel my workout. Nothing too crazy for my afternoon meal - pretty close to what I usually eat.  But then I was STILL hungry so I ate a piece of chicken.  OK, I'm going a little overboard, but at least it was clean.  Then of course I wasn't really hungry anymore but my cravings were out of control so I ate a couple more spoonfuls of almond butter.

Now, normally I would just keep on bingeing on food because I already messed up my day, but the new Jaime knows that one slip-up isn't going to wreck my entire goal of doing the figure competition in 14 weeks - plenty of time, and slip-ups happen.  Plus, a few hundred extra calories on 1 day isn't gonna make a huge difference unless I start doing it every day.  So, I put the jar away, made myself a 10 calorie hot cocoa to curb my sugar craving, and called/texted some friends to help me get on track.  Now I'm putting on my gym clothes and am going to go lift back/biceps like I planned, and do my 30 minutes of cardio afterwards.  Then I'm going to have a nice piece of fish & some veggies for dinner, and if I need another 10 calorie hot cocoa and feel better that I didn't get derailed over 1 little binge attack.

I am also going to reassess my calories I've been eating, because I think they may be too low.  I also think I will plan a little better and make sure I have my afternoon mini-meal with me because even though I knew I would be home later, I went 3.5 hours between meals which caused me to go into starvation mode and want to eat everything in sight.  I'm proud of myself for not letting this 1 time of being out of control ruin the rest of my workout and eating plans for the day.  Overall consistency, not perfection, is the key.  If we have an all or nothing attitude, we won't succeed because it will never be perfect.  Plan ahead, know your weaknesses, and get back up immediately when you fall off.

Peace & Protein,
jai

Super Bowl Sunday Strategy

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, a day of gluttony & drinking for most.  This year I won't be imbibing in any alcohol or eating any fattening foods.  I will be enjoying the game with friends at a bar however.  So, I am armed with a plan so I don't cave in and eat something bad or order a vodka soda (having a bad weekend so I really really want a drink, but I won't do it!!!).  I've finally started seeing progress in my training/diet so I don't want to lose that momentum.  

After 2 weeks of dieting pretty strict, counting every calorie, carb, protein & fat gram, I finally dropped to 21% body fat and lost a few pounds.  Part of it I know was water weight but I also cut the carbs down lower, cut out gluten completely, and cut out all dairy except for whey protein powder.  This is all helping so I'm going to continue on and see if I continue to lose.  

Anyway, back to my Super Bowl Strategy.  I am bringing my big LV purse to the bar because I can fit a whole pair of shoes and then an outfit in there it's so big!!!  In it I have my protein shaker with a scoop of protein powder.  I also have a bag of carrots & celery.  I just had a piece of chicken around 3:00 so I'm good for about another hour.  Once I get hungry at the bar and everyone else is ordering fried crap, I'll be ordering a piece of plain grilled chicken and salad (no extra fixings on it - just veggies & no dressing, just a lemon wedge to squeeze over it).  I'll have that for dinner and if I get hungry later, I'll have my protein shake & bag of carrots/celery.  The carrots have some sugar in them, so eventually I'll have to cut them, but right now I'm keeping them in as a good backup plan when I'm running around and get hungry.  I'll also be sipping on flat water but also a glass of soda water with lime (no vodka :( so I don't feel left out of the drinking.  I find that always makes me feeling a little like I'm drinking for some reason.  Probably because I drink vodka soda a lot when I go out.

So, that's my strategy.  I already worked out - lifted Back today and followed that with 30 minutes of walk/sprint interval training on the treadmill.  I am feeling leaner and my stomach is looking flatter.  I am starting to see more definition pop in my shoulders and abs.  I have a LONG ways to go but thankfully I still have 15 weeks so I have time to shed this fat layer just in time for summer!!!!  

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday and try to pick some healthy options like grilled meats instead of fried or a cup of chili & a salad/veggies!!!  

Peace & Protein!

Dealing with Hunger while "Dieting"

I can tell I'm full force into this diet now because I'm pretty much hungry all the time and my meals only keep me full for about an hour to an hour and a half.  If I weren't trying to cut my body fat for a figure competition, I'd probably increase my calorie intake slightly, but I need a deficit, so I am just suffering through.  I'm not "starving" yet, so I'm doing ok, but if I get to that point and I'm losing weight, then I guess I'll readjust.  Currently I haven't really lost any weight, but it's only been about a week and half and I also am taking creatine for muscle building, which causes you to retain water.  And of course I still have some sodium in my diet (although it's been averaging around 1500 mg/day, so not too bad - I'm aiming to get below 1,000 and eventually a few weeks before the competition, cut it as close to 0 as possible, which means drinking distilled water over regular water and doing crazy stuff, but I'll learn more about that when I get there).

Tonight I made up a new recipe for crockpot chicken.  I find grilled chicken breasts utterly disgusting as a leftover meal, but I don't have time to grill one up every single day, so I've been using the crockpot a lot.  It helps the chicken soak in the flavor of the herbs & seasonings better.  Tonight's recipe -

Lemony Italian Chicken
2.5 lbs. chicken breast (or however much you want - this was just the package I had)
1 c. low sodium chicken broth for every pound of chicken (or sub water if you are really wanting to keep sodium low)
1-2 whole lemons juiced
dried herbs - I didn't measure - I just shook them to coat the chicken breasts - mix of whatever herbs you want - I used an Italian blend - thyme, garlic powder, oregeno & basil.  You could also make it a lemon curry by using curry seasoning like turmeric, garam marsala, curry, etc.
Cook in slow cooker on low anywhere from 3-7 hours (this is not something I would cook all day because the chicken will be dried out - I put frozen breasts in so it will probably take 6-7 hours, but if they are not frozen, I would check after 2-3 hours)

* I will post pictures in tomorrow's blog.

Today I just did cardio - 20 min on bike at easy pace in the morning & 30 min Interval training on treadmill in evening (5 min warm/5 min cool with 1 min on/30 seconds off sprints for 20 minutes).  I drink 10 g. BCAAs in my water in the morning while on my bike since I don't eat beforehand - I read that's the best way to retain muscle while doing fasted cardio.  Not sure if it's true, but it can't hurt!

Today's Diet was clean, but I was pretty hungry this afternoon between meals.  I drank a lot of herbal tea & water to keep my belly feeling full.
Breakfast - after bike ride - 1/2 c. oats with 1/2 c. raspberries & 1 packet stevia to sweeten.  1 egg + 1/3 c. egg whites scrambled with pepper
Snack - 2 turkey meatballs (just 4 oz. ground turkey with herbs & shredded carrots baked in oven) & carrots/celery
Lunch - 4 oz. chicken breast, 4 oz. sweet potato w/cinnamon, 1 c. broccoli
Really hungry after lunch :(
Snack - Pure Protein Bar (it has no sugar - uses sugar alcohols like xylitol so low carb)
Pre-Gym Cardio #2 - whey protein w/1/2 c. pineapple (fresh so no sugar added in juice) & 2 wasa light rye crisps
Dinner - haven't eaten yet but it will be 1/2 of a 7 oz. can of salmon with chopped up ginger mixed in & 1 tsp sesame seed oil for seasoning, squeeze of lime served with steamed bok choy, mushrooms & carrots (if you aren't cutting carbs you could add 1/2 c. cooked brown rice, but I am not eating carbs at dinner so no rice for me).  If I'm hungry after dinner I'll have some more herbal tea :(  I usually save my whey shake for before bed but i didn't my evening cardio later than usual and was starving, so I drank my shake so I would have energy to get through the cardio or I know I would've bonked.

15 Weeks to Competition

Well, I'm not 15 weeks away from my first figure competition.  I'm pretty nervous that I won't be lean enough, but I have to just be patient & I'm sure I'll start to see changes since I've been tracking every morsel of food I put in my mouth and I have been working really hard in the gym.

I've been tracking my food intake on an app called Nutritionist in case anyone wants to download it.  It's $3, but it works pretty good at calculating your calorie, protein, carb & fat needs based on your goals.  You can set it to Muscle Gain, Maintenance, Weight Loss, Rapid Weight Loss (only to be used for a few weeks since you will lose muscle).  Right now I have it set to Weight Loss.  You can also change it by the day so today I had it set to "Moderate" because I worked Shoulders & some cardio.  On heavy leg days I work harder so I set it to "Heavy" and on days off I change it to "Off Day" so that I get less calories, etc.  I've been having some sugar cravings at night so I've been making my "10 Calorie Hot Chocolate".  Here's the Recipe:

10 Calorie Hot Chocolate:
1 tbsp. cocoa powder (10 calories)
1-2 packets stevia (or other calorie free sweetener you like)
hot water (if you have a few more calories to spare, almond milk will make it creamier)

Here's what I ate today for a sample day.
7:30 a.m. 3/4 c. cooked brown rice, 1/2 cup raspberries, 1/2 oz. slivered almonds, 1/2 c. almond milk, 1/2 c. scrambled egg whites on the side (Carb, Pro, 1/2 serving Fat, Fruit)
10:00 a.m. 1/2 7oz. can tuna mixed with 1 tbsp. dijon mustard, 3 oz. celery, 3 oz. carrots, 1/2 oz. almonds (pro, veggies, 1/2 serving fat)
12:30 Asian Chicken Salad - 4 oz. chicken (cooked in crockpot w/lite soy sauce, ginger, garlic, tsp sesame seed oil), 3 oz. romaine, 1 oz. red bell pepper, 2 oz. snap peas, 1 oz. mushrooms, 1/2 oz. sunflower seeds, 2 tbsp. Annie's Lite Gingerly dressing (tastes great & only 35 calories & 3 g. sugar) (Pro, Veg, 1/2 fat)
3:00 pre-workout shake - 1 scoop protein powder blended w/ 1/2 c. pineapple (pro & fast digesting carb - you want to have fast digesting carbs before you work out & protein, but you don't want to eat some chicken because you will be digesting it while working out - whey protein isolate will digest quickly so you can use it during your workout)
5:00 post-workout shake - 1 scoop protein powder (for this, I used a blend of casein & whey isolate so I have fast digesting & slow digesting protein together to help my muscles from breaking down).
7:30 p.m. 4 oz. ground turkey breast seasoned with italian seasoning & carrot shavings - rounded into meatballs & baked.  Serve over 1 c. cooked spaghetti squash (great low carb alternative to pasta), 1/2 c. marinara (read labels, they often add sugar - I use Trader Giottis' from Trader Joe's only 3 g. sugar & natural from the tomato sauce), add in any veggies you like - I added onion, pepper, mushroom & spinach
Post Dinner - sugar craving so had the 10 calorie hot chocolate.

*This seems like a lot of food, but it's really not.  It comes out to 1458 calories, 141 g. protein, 117 g. carbs & 47 g. fat. I could probably cut the fat down a little since I went over my daily alottment of 20%, but it's only about 25% so not too bad.

For cardio I did a 25 min. Insanity plyometrics video & then I hit the gym & lifted Shoulders/Traps.  Was supposed to do calves but had to get to an appointment so I will do those tomorrow when I do legs.  I'm following the Jim Stoppani 12 Week Shortcut to Size free program on bodybuilding.com if you want to see what I'm doing for my weight lifting.

Enjoy!

I've been training for a figure competition now for about 3 months.  I haven't paid super close attention to my diet other than making sure I ate a lot of protein and frequently.  During the process I gained about 4 pounds of lean muscle mass and my body fat stayed at about 22%.  I was hoping to gain a little more muscle than that, but it will suffice for my first show.  I'm up to 96 lbs. lean mass so I'm hoping to gain a few more pounds while being more strict with my diet now that I'm 16 weeks out from the show.  I need to come in around 12% body fat for the show so I have some leaning out to do now.

I am doing the NPC Grand Prix Rockford show in May.  Figure - I can compete in the Masters 30-39 class or Figure Class B 5'2"-5'4".  I'm not sure which would be better for me yet since masters could give me a leg up, or it could mean girls who have been lifting weights consistently longer than me so they will have more mature muscle mass.  I'll have to figure that out with my trainer's help.  

In the meantime, today marks 16 weeks out from the competition, so I've started tightening my diet but keeping protein intake high so I don't lose muscle mass.  I have cut back a little on carbs so I'm taking them in only at breakfast and then after my workouts.  On heavy leg days I will add another carb in at lunch so I have energy to get through the workout.  I also started counting calories & macronutrients (for those who don't know what that means, macs are your protein, carbs & fats).  I'm sticking to fairly moderate-low carb, moderate-low fat, high protein on most days, but on leg days I will cycle to a higher carb, low fat, high protein diet).  I'm using the "Nutritionist" app I downloaded on my phone.  The settings help you determine your macronutrient settings depending on your goal.  If your goal is simply to build muscle and not burn fat, you'll be eating higher calories, etc.  If your goal is to lean out, the settings will be lower.  The app tracks your input and your lean mass/weight fluctuations to help determine if you should be eating more or less.  (Note:  You will need a fat calipers to know your body fat percentage, or a scale that does it, but scales aren't quite as accurate).  

Right now according to the Nutritionist App, for me to lose fat while maintaining lean mass, most days I will eat around 1500 calories, 140 g. protein, 150 g. carb and 34 g. fat.  On hard workout days (Leg Days usually, I'll increase that to 1700 calories, 140 g. protein, 200 g. carb, 34 g. fat).  Ladies!!!!  I want to mention something here - so many of you want to lose weight, so you cut your calories to 1200 or less, do a bunch of cardio, and lose weight, then eventually are starving, gain it all back, and wonder why you can't maintain your weight.  Here are some points I want to share with you (I used to be the cardio queen and had the same problems - lose weight, feel good but soft still, gain it all back & feel fat & frustrated): 

1) You need to eat!!!!  Use an app like Nutritionist to help you figure out what you need to be eating.  If you aren't into counting calories, carbs, etc. here is a simple plan that should help you lose weight while maintaining muscle - B) carbs, fat, protein S) protein (if post workout, add carbs & fat), L) carbs, fat, protein, veggies S) protein + veggies (if post workout, add carbs & fat), D) protein & veggies.  Note - you should be eating 2-3 servings carbs/day, not 12+.  If you are very active or don't need to lose weight, then add another carb at dinner.  Don't be afraid of fat but don't over do it either - I am trying to stick to 2-3 servings/day (a serving is 2 tbsp. almond butter, 1 oz. nuts, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 c. avocado).  Just eat protein at every meal.  Add in veggies wherever you can, especially leafy greens.  Add 1-2 fruits (no, you don't need more - it's too much sugar.  I like to add 1 to my post workout shake and 1 anywhere else).  

Here's a sample meal plan from today:

8 am 1/2 c. oats blended w/1 tbsp flaxseed, 1 egg, 1/3 c. egg whites (blend in blender and cook like a pancake).  Top w/1/2 c. frozen berries, cinnamon & lemon juice

11:30 am (post workout) - 1 serving vanilla whey protein powder, 1/2 c. plain canned pumpkin (make sure the only ingredient is pumpkin), 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed, 1 tbsp. almond butter, pumpkin pie spice.  Yum!  Tasted like pumpkin pie!

1:00 p.m. 4.5 oz. turkey breast cooked in crock pot with fajita seasoning, 1.5 c. steamed broccoli w/lemon pepper

3:30 p.m. packet of lemon pepper tuna (should be 15-20 g. protein), + carrots & celery (1-2 c.)

6:30 p.m. 5 oz. salmon grilled w/ 1 c. steamed broccoli & 1 c. bok choy w/low sodium soy sauce

9 p.m. I'll probably have 4 egg whites w/cinnamon on them or a 100 calorie scoop of protein powder blended with water.  (yes, it takes some planning - I typically cook up all my proteins on the weekends and put into containers for the week, and the night before pack my snacks & lunch to take to work).  

2) You need to lift HEAVY weights.  If you can do more than 3 sets of 15 reps, you aren't lifting heavy enough.  Here is a sample workout from today:  (I do a 4-5 day body part split, which I'll go into detail in another blog post)

Shoulders/Traps/Calves

a) DB Shoulder Press 4 sets of 12-15 reps with a rest-pause on the final set (meaning, on my 4th set, after I finish my 15th reps, instead of stopping, I put the weights down for 15 seconds and then I do another set to failure).  Push yourself!  It should hurt! - Set 1 20 lbs. x 15 reps, set 2 20 x 15, set 3 20 x 12, set 4 20 x 12 Rest Pause 20 x 5

b) DB Lateral Raise 3 sets.  set 1 7.5 lb x 15, set 2 10 lbs. x 15, set 3 10 x 15 Rest Pause 10 x 7

c) 1 Arm DB Front raise 3 sets. set 1 7.5 x 15, 7.5 x 15, 7.2 x 12 RP 7.5 x 8

d) High Cable rear delt fly 3 sets.  set 1 7.5 x 15, set 2 7.5 x 15, 7.5 x 15 RP 7.5 x 10

e) DB Shrug 4 sets.  set 1 15 x 20, set 2 22.5 x 20, set 3 25 x 20, set 4 25 x 15 RP 25 x 15

f) Seated Calf Raise (calves you go to failure at higher reps.  I put 45s on each side of the calf machine.  Set 1 rep out 25, set 2 25, set 3 25, set 4 25 rest pause 15

g) Leg Press Calf Raise (I put 25s on each side of the leg press machine).  set 1 25 reps, set 2 25, set 3 25, set 4 25 rest pause 15.

3) You still need to do cardio, but HIIT training is better than steady state cardio.  I'm following a plan of 20-30 min. interval training on my 4 lifting days and 45 min steady state 2 other days, with 1 day rest.  Today I did 45 second sprints followed by 45 second slow jog/walk between.  I warmed up for 3 min, cooled down for 3 min and sprinted in between for a total of 20 minutes.  I wanted to do 30 min but I had to get home for work.  

THAT'S IT!  This was a longer post, but I know when I read nutrition/weight blogs, I like more detail so I can see exactly what works for people.  Remember, no one is the same and I'll be adjusting as I see results.  I also take supplements (I'll talk about supplements in another post).  I've followed a lot of websites and blogs but the best ones for this type of training are bodybuilding.com, oxygen magazine, muscle & fitness hers, amazing paleo blog, among others.  Let me know what you want more of and I'll blog about it!  I'm still researching myself and plan on posting recipes, etc. in the future as well because I have lots of good protein bar recipes.

Re:solve

It's been a few weeks since my last Sunday sermon (haha) so I'm back with a Saturday think session.  I am calling this week's post Resolve for two reasons.  First, I am resolving to try to stop overanalyzing and pushing so hard to always have everything be perfect at all times.  Second, when things aren't perfect, I try so hard to solve them because I don't like things to be unresolved.  Life is messy - it's hard work - and sometimes you just have to let things "be" instead of trying to solve them.  I need to work on this!  I often feel the need to overanalyze situations and then explain things in 15 different ways because I'm such an emotional thinker and I want to "right" situations immediately.  I hate discord, but sometimes I think you just need to let things stand.  Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear, they say.

I also am a firm believer in energies.  There is a field for every feeling surrounding each person.  I try to think positive thoughts and put positive and loving energy out into the world but life happens and sometimes you react in a way you shouldn't, or have a negative response to someone because their response seemed negative. However, if you react with a negative feeling, you will receive negative feelings back.  Negative feelings multiply, so replace those feelings with love and you will receive love back in multitudes.   "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  Proverbs 23:7.

I have been struggling a lot lately with staying positive, as I've had a lot going on in my life that I'm not used to.  So I've been flailing about on the inside struggling with my feelings of anxiety over things I try to control but can't.  Because of this I've been trying too hard to gain control of my life.  So this morning I sat down and meditated on this, and it's come to me that the answers are sometimes simple, but hard to follow.  Sometimes you need to just let go and have faith that wrongs will be righted if you just put forth love into the world, and accept that everything takes its own course.  As your faith is strengthened, you will find there is no longer a need to have control, but that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them.  Life isn't meant to be a struggle, but we make it that way by trying to take control when we should be letting go and letting God take the reigns sometimes.  This is the hardest thing for me to do, because I always want to fix everything or make it how I want it.  But what usually happens is the opposite of what we want - we get in our own way.  I'm learning through self awareness.  I'm not perfect, and never will be, but I'm trying to just let myself be and have confidence that I'm on the right path and that I need to just relax and enjoy the ride a little more!!!!

I recently read the book "The Art of Racing in the Rain" which I referred to in my last post a few weeks ago (I recommend the book, and the author's name is in my last post if you want to check it out).  I can take something from that book - that sometimes you have to just figure out that instead of trying to control the car/life, you need to ease off and just let the wheel/life correct itself.  Let go of the past and mistakes you've made and just go forward with love and life will present love to you.

In love,

j'aime (which actually means 'love' :)

Re:store

Today is Sunday, which means many different things to people.  It can mean a day to give thanks to God for their life and the many blessings in it, or to pray that things turn around when they aren't going well.  It can mean a day of football and cheering on your favorite team.  It can mean a day to be lazy, sleep in, nurse a hangover, have brunch with friends or family, have a big Sunday dinner, etc.  Whatever it may be, Sunday is just a good day.  Today, I felt kind of tired and had a big fat sinus headache when I woke up, but I decided that I needed to get out in nature and go for a run to get some positive energy flowing through my body.  Maybe it will help my sinuses, maybe it won't, but it definitely helps my head in some way or another!

Midway through my run, it started to rain.  As the warm drops fell onto my hair and skin, I couldn't help but smile.  For whatever reason, I just love running in the rain.  It makes me feel alive and gives me energy like I can do anything!  Coincidentally, I'm currently reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain," a story about a race car driver's trials and tribulations, told through the point of view of his pet dog, Enzo.  Not to go off on a tangent about this book, but I actually got the book simply because the title reminded me of myself and my love of running in the rain.  I have had some of my best runs in the rain.  Ironically, the race car driver in the novel has his best races on rainy days.  I knew I was drawn to the book for a reason.  

To get to the point though, I think that running in the rain helps me get back to nature.  I believe that the universe and everything in it is filled with energy, and that sometimes that energy gets drained living in a city, going to work, longing for things you might want or need in your life like companionship, friendship, stress relief, whatever it may be for each individual.  This energy gets blocked by all of the concrete and metal and sometimes running in grass with some rain falling on your face is the medicine we need to bring out the positive energy in ourselves so we can create in our lives the things for which we most wish.  The more positive energy and love we give, the more we get back.  

For me, that's a hard thing, because I'm always so afraid that the love I give won't be returned, so I often don't put enough out there.  Fear of failure is something we are not taught to break past.  Some just innately get it and push through, and others let it hold them back.  Fear didn't hold me back from jumping out of the first airplane I ever flew in to go skydiving.  Fear didn't hold me back from jumping off a cliff into the ocean even though I was terrified (although I do not recommend anyone do that bc I got pretty injured).  Yet for some reason, I've let fear of rejection hold me back in other aspects of my life.  The great thing about being human is, we are all flawed and while people can hurt you and take things away from you, no one can take away your ability to improve!!!!!  So today, my "Sunday sermon" is to find something in your life that you struggle with, and work on improving it.  You WILL improve if you work at it - there is no way you can't...and as you improve, you will see what you want in your life clearer and you will get closer to attaining what you strive for most.  I see it every day that I give more love in my life - the love just keeps returning and I open even more to not being afraid to receive it.  Like running in the rain, you can only get better.  

j'aime