Here it is! This diet is a muscle-building, fat-melting diet designed to follow strictly for only about 2 to 3 weeks at a time. This is a sample competition diet builders use pre-contest to get as lean as possible for their show. Don't try to follow this strictly ALL the time. You need a little treat now and then to keep from feeling deprived.
I want to make it extremely clear that this diet is designed for competition! If you want chiseled abs, they are made in the kitchen! If your goal is to get healthy, trim and in shape, but not necessarily cut and muscular, this diet is not for you. It takes extreme discipline.
Meal 1, 6:00 AM
3 egg whites, 1 whole egg
0.5 c (measured dry) oatmeal
Cinnamon to taste
Meal 2, 8:00 AM
1 T natural almond or peanut butter (3 grams of sugar per serving or LESS)
2 slices whole wheat bread (optional, toasted)
6 sliced strawberries
Meal 3, 10:00 AM
5 oz chicken breast
6 oz sweet potato
1 c broccoli
1.5 t olive oil
Meal 4, 12:00 PM
5 oz chicken breast
1 c (measured cooked) brown rice
3 c fresh baby spinach
5 slices avocado
Meal 5, 2:00 PM (pre workout)
5 oz white fish (I dig tilapia)
0.5 c (measured cooked) brown rice
1 c steamed mixed veggies
Meal 6, 6:00 PM (post workout)
1 serving protein shake
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 T natural almond or peanut butter
At first glance this doesn't look like a lot of food but once you dive in you will NEVER be hungry because you're eating every two hours. I don't follow this too strictly for that reason. If I feel full, then ill wait up to 3 hours between meals, or downsize the portions or leave out one ingredient. And you can substitute different things of similar nutritional value. (ex. If you hate broccoli, eat celery and carrots instead. If you want something sweet, eat a small apple with pb instead of the bread.) Variety will help you stick to it.
If you have an angry sweet tooth like me, substitute a carb meal with a small apple or orange and 0.5 c nonfat vanilla/honey Greek yogurt. Yum! Or toss a handful of fresh blueberries and strawberries into 0.5 c of cottage cheese. Or just have a chocolate protein shake.
Just be sure to journal your food. It will help you keep track of your calories so you don't go over your budget and defeat the whole purpose. This diet is approx. 1500 calories. My favorite food journal app is called "Lose it!" and it's free! There are two reasons this app is my favorite.
1. It calculates your calorie intake and output for you! All you have to do is plug in what you ate and your exercise.
2. You can join all your "Lose it!" friends in the community and keep track of each other's progress. If you're competitive like I am, this is big motivation.
Good luck on your six-pack! Questions and comments welcome!
Mandee
P.S. One last little tip- for flavoring on your chicken, fish and veggies, I like salt-free Mrs. Dash varieties and a tiny drizzle of EVOO.
Monday, March 19, 2012
You Are Invited!
In celebration of my first day back after being sick, I thought it might be fun to post my workout schedule for this week and invite you all to come workout with me if you can and want to! Carpe Diem! (I hope I spelled that right... I didn't check.) All of these are at Gold's Gym locations. Go to www.bestgymever.com to get a free 7-day trial pass if you're not a member yet and come workout with me!
Tuesday March 20
5:45 AM- Spinning (cycling class), Van Winkle
4:00 PM- Yoga, Sugarhouse
Wednesday March 21
5:30 AM- Spinning, West Valley
4:00 PM- Delts, Tris, Pecs, West Valley
Thursday March 22
4:00 PM - Yoga, Sugarhouse
Friday March 23
4:00 PM - Bis, Back, Abs, West Valley
Saturday March 24
10:00 AM - Yoga & Legs, Taylorsville
I'd be glad to see you! And remember to eat clean! I'll post my six-pack diet next time.
Peace!
Mandee :)
Tuesday March 20
5:45 AM- Spinning (cycling class), Van Winkle
4:00 PM- Yoga, Sugarhouse
Wednesday March 21
5:30 AM- Spinning, West Valley
4:00 PM- Delts, Tris, Pecs, West Valley
Thursday March 22
4:00 PM - Yoga, Sugarhouse
Friday March 23
4:00 PM - Bis, Back, Abs, West Valley
Saturday March 24
10:00 AM - Yoga & Legs, Taylorsville
I'd be glad to see you! And remember to eat clean! I'll post my six-pack diet next time.
Peace!
Mandee :)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Starting Over
The biggest and best lesson I've learned about fitness in the 7 years I've been involved in the industry is that the key to success is to ALWAYS START OVER when you feel you've fallen off the wagon. The only way you can truly fail at reaching your goals is by refusing to start over.
Sometimes you fall off the wagon for a year or more. Believe me, I've been there. Sometimes it only a week or a day. Sometimes its not your fault, like having an illness or injury. Sometimes you fall out of love with your class, weight routine, or the gym altogether. Sometimes you feel like you'll simply die if you deprive yourself of one more donut, so you break down and have one. But whatever the reason, you're only a failure if you stay there and don't start over.
Starting over is extremely hard. It can take weeks or months to form a habit of working out and eating healthfully. A couple of bad days in a row can be enough to derail you. I know this is the case for me. My most recent example is this...
Three weeks ago I started a new nutrition program designed to torch fat, with the aim of finally revealing this six-pack I KNOW is under here somewhere. At the end of that first week, I had amazing success and felt tremendously accomplished and proud of myself for staying so dedicated to the plan and amping up my workouts as well. I lost 3 pounds that week and could feel how much closer I was to that six-pack. I felt so inspired to continue and keep seeing results.
Then I woke up that Saturday morning with a fever, body-aches, a sore throat and a heinous cough. (Don't automatically assume the illness was caused by what may seem to you a "restrictive diet". I caught the cold from my poor ill husband.) This cold had me glued to my bed, slathered in vaporub, doped up on nyquil and sucking down steam from the humidifier for three straight days. After about a week, the fever, aches and sore throat finally subsided but the cough held on with a vengeance. And the weakness I was left with after a straight week of having absolutely no appetite would not allow me to go back to the gym for another whole week.
Needless to say, once my appetite finally came back, all I wanted was ice cream, soda and greasy pizza. And I had it. Oh, did I have it. I felt I deserved something indulgent after being punished for two straight weeks with that horrible illness!
But now I'm at that starting over point. I feel flabby, sluggish and all-around unhealthy... and I HATE this feeling. I know that the only way to get my energy back is to get back to the gym and start feeding my body what it needs, not what it thinks it wants. I feel very frustrated at having missed two weeks at the gym and employing no will power in my nutrition. But I'm starting over! I can get past this two-week bump in the road and it will just be a horrible memory. If I start over, I can be back to feeling amazing in no time, and that is how to you avoid failure. Plain and simple.
Here's to starting over! As always, your comments or questions are welcome.
Mandee
Sometimes you fall off the wagon for a year or more. Believe me, I've been there. Sometimes it only a week or a day. Sometimes its not your fault, like having an illness or injury. Sometimes you fall out of love with your class, weight routine, or the gym altogether. Sometimes you feel like you'll simply die if you deprive yourself of one more donut, so you break down and have one. But whatever the reason, you're only a failure if you stay there and don't start over.
Starting over is extremely hard. It can take weeks or months to form a habit of working out and eating healthfully. A couple of bad days in a row can be enough to derail you. I know this is the case for me. My most recent example is this...
Three weeks ago I started a new nutrition program designed to torch fat, with the aim of finally revealing this six-pack I KNOW is under here somewhere. At the end of that first week, I had amazing success and felt tremendously accomplished and proud of myself for staying so dedicated to the plan and amping up my workouts as well. I lost 3 pounds that week and could feel how much closer I was to that six-pack. I felt so inspired to continue and keep seeing results.
Then I woke up that Saturday morning with a fever, body-aches, a sore throat and a heinous cough. (Don't automatically assume the illness was caused by what may seem to you a "restrictive diet". I caught the cold from my poor ill husband.) This cold had me glued to my bed, slathered in vaporub, doped up on nyquil and sucking down steam from the humidifier for three straight days. After about a week, the fever, aches and sore throat finally subsided but the cough held on with a vengeance. And the weakness I was left with after a straight week of having absolutely no appetite would not allow me to go back to the gym for another whole week.
Needless to say, once my appetite finally came back, all I wanted was ice cream, soda and greasy pizza. And I had it. Oh, did I have it. I felt I deserved something indulgent after being punished for two straight weeks with that horrible illness!
But now I'm at that starting over point. I feel flabby, sluggish and all-around unhealthy... and I HATE this feeling. I know that the only way to get my energy back is to get back to the gym and start feeding my body what it needs, not what it thinks it wants. I feel very frustrated at having missed two weeks at the gym and employing no will power in my nutrition. But I'm starting over! I can get past this two-week bump in the road and it will just be a horrible memory. If I start over, I can be back to feeling amazing in no time, and that is how to you avoid failure. Plain and simple.
Here's to starting over! As always, your comments or questions are welcome.
Mandee
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