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.