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
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tried and true favorites
Something I get asked a lot is what does my typical workout include. But there is no definite answer to this question because I don't have a typical workout. My workouts are always different; in fact, I doubt if I've ever done the same one twice.
Your body is very good at adapting. When it adapts to your routine, it stops changing and you stop seeing results. This is known as the plateau effect.
So, because my workouts are never the same, I decided maybe the best way to answer this question is to tell you my current favorite exercises for each muscle group (and I'll go into more detail on each of these in future posts) and show you my plan for this week.
My current favorite lifts:
Trapezius- barbell upright row
Deltoids- dumbbell Arnold press
Triceps- cable press down
Biceps- 21 barbell curl
Pecs- incline barbell bench press
Abs- hanging knee raise/twist
Rhomboids- dumbbell one arm bent over row
Low back- weighted hyper extension
Lats- underhand close grip pull down
Glutes- barbell deadlift
Hams- ball leg curl
Quads- bosu squat
Calves- leg press calf raise
Sample schedule:
Monday- 1 hr cardio, abs
Tuesday- traps, delts, tris, pecs (pushing groups)
Wednesday- legs
Thursday- back, bis, abs (pulling groups)
Friday- 1 hr cardio
Saturday- abs, low back
Sunday- rest
Hopefully this helps answer that question. It's never good to stick with only one thing for too long. Not only do you get bored, but so do your muscles! Does this post raise more questions than it answers? Comment below and I'll do my best to clarify!
Love,
Mandee
Your body is very good at adapting. When it adapts to your routine, it stops changing and you stop seeing results. This is known as the plateau effect.
So, because my workouts are never the same, I decided maybe the best way to answer this question is to tell you my current favorite exercises for each muscle group (and I'll go into more detail on each of these in future posts) and show you my plan for this week.
My current favorite lifts:
Trapezius- barbell upright row
Deltoids- dumbbell Arnold press
Triceps- cable press down
Biceps- 21 barbell curl
Pecs- incline barbell bench press
Abs- hanging knee raise/twist
Rhomboids- dumbbell one arm bent over row
Low back- weighted hyper extension
Lats- underhand close grip pull down
Glutes- barbell deadlift
Hams- ball leg curl
Quads- bosu squat
Calves- leg press calf raise
Sample schedule:
Monday- 1 hr cardio, abs
Tuesday- traps, delts, tris, pecs (pushing groups)
Wednesday- legs
Thursday- back, bis, abs (pulling groups)
Friday- 1 hr cardio
Saturday- abs, low back
Sunday- rest
Hopefully this helps answer that question. It's never good to stick with only one thing for too long. Not only do you get bored, but so do your muscles! Does this post raise more questions than it answers? Comment below and I'll do my best to clarify!
Love,
Mandee
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sometimes you have a bad day
On Monday I had the greatest run. I went faster and longer than I had before and the burn felt good and I rode a pretty sweet endorphin high. Then I got off of the treadmill and shredded my shoulders until I couldn't move them anymore and I left the gym feeling amazing.
99% of the time, this is how my workouts go.
But sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you just aren't feeling it, mentally, physically, or both. Today was one of those days.
I went to the gym and for whatever reason, I couldn't get into anything I tried to do. I was grouchy and just wanted to sit down and pout. I'm sore, I had a long, rough day at work, a mountain of chores waiting at home, craving some ice cream, but denied it; I just couldn't find the joy, but I forced in an hour of cardio anyway so that at least I wouldn't have to regret doing nothing.
When I got home, I still felt crappy. If there was an endorphin high, my grouchiness was drowning it out.
I don't mean for this post to be such a downer, but I want you to know that my workouts are not always kittens and roses. I don't always love them. I don't always want to be there. I don't always eat clean.
But I also want everyone to know that it's normal. If you have a bad day, it's ok! Just go to bed and start over fresh tomorrow. Discipline and dedication aren't about being perfect all the time. They are about accepting your own weaknesses and forgiving yourself and learning that it's ok to have a bad day if you promise to pick yourself back up and not stay down.
Choose to try again every day.
99% of the time, this is how my workouts go.
But sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you just aren't feeling it, mentally, physically, or both. Today was one of those days.
I went to the gym and for whatever reason, I couldn't get into anything I tried to do. I was grouchy and just wanted to sit down and pout. I'm sore, I had a long, rough day at work, a mountain of chores waiting at home, craving some ice cream, but denied it; I just couldn't find the joy, but I forced in an hour of cardio anyway so that at least I wouldn't have to regret doing nothing.
When I got home, I still felt crappy. If there was an endorphin high, my grouchiness was drowning it out.
I don't mean for this post to be such a downer, but I want you to know that my workouts are not always kittens and roses. I don't always love them. I don't always want to be there. I don't always eat clean.
But I also want everyone to know that it's normal. If you have a bad day, it's ok! Just go to bed and start over fresh tomorrow. Discipline and dedication aren't about being perfect all the time. They are about accepting your own weaknesses and forgiving yourself and learning that it's ok to have a bad day if you promise to pick yourself back up and not stay down.
Choose to try again every day.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Strength
Sometimes I find myself focusing more on the looks in the mirror and I get discouraged if I don't see the results I'm looking for as quickly as I want to see them.
But I have to take a step back and remind myself that things are indeed changing and the proof is in my strength.
Three months ago, I was struggling to dead lift a 30 lb barbell. Now I'm dead lifting a 55 on the bosu ball!
Three months ago, I was curling 8 lb dumb bells and now I can curl 15s.
Three months ago, I was doing Arnold presses with 10s. Now I'm pressing 15s.
Three months ago the fastest I felt comfortable running was 5.0 on the treadmill. Now I'm doing 5.7.
So when you think things aren't changing and start to get discouraged with your progress, step back and look at how much stronger you are now than when you started. I guaranty that you'll see and feel the change, and just remember that strong is sexy.
Peace.
But I have to take a step back and remind myself that things are indeed changing and the proof is in my strength.
Three months ago, I was struggling to dead lift a 30 lb barbell. Now I'm dead lifting a 55 on the bosu ball!
Three months ago, I was curling 8 lb dumb bells and now I can curl 15s.
Three months ago, I was doing Arnold presses with 10s. Now I'm pressing 15s.
Three months ago the fastest I felt comfortable running was 5.0 on the treadmill. Now I'm doing 5.7.
So when you think things aren't changing and start to get discouraged with your progress, step back and look at how much stronger you are now than when you started. I guaranty that you'll see and feel the change, and just remember that strong is sexy.
Peace.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Haters
Whatever your passion is, there will be haters. My two passions are art and fitness, and you better believe I have haters of both. Haters are jealous of your conviction, your happiness and your victories and so their only joy comes from trying to bring you down. Haters will trash-talk whatever you love to try and convince you to hate it too. Misery loves company.
But you don't have to listen to the haters. You don't have to let them make you feel foolish for loving what you love. If they hurt you or make you angry, use that to fuel your passion and work at it harder than you would have otherwise. Lift a heavier weight, do more reps, or run one more mile. If they tell you that you can't, prove them wrong by taking on a challenging art project and nailing it! You can choose to wallow, or choose to soar. No one has the power to offend you; you have the power to choose to be offended.
On a lighter note, you will also have a ton of supporters! Your supporters will outnumber your haters by 100 to 1. These are your true friends who truly love you and wish you success in all your efforts, no matter what you're doing. Even if they don't share your passion, they will cheer you on. So I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I apprieciate so much all your support and love and it really makes me want to push harder when I'm at the gym so I don't let you or me down! And when I'm having a hard day, when all I want to do is eat mint chocolate ice cream and stay home in bed and pout about how much my body aches, your support gets me off my butt and moving and I cannot say thank you enough.
Love,
Mandee
P.S. Here's a picture that really doesn't have a lot to do with this post, but it makes me happy.
But you don't have to listen to the haters. You don't have to let them make you feel foolish for loving what you love. If they hurt you or make you angry, use that to fuel your passion and work at it harder than you would have otherwise. Lift a heavier weight, do more reps, or run one more mile. If they tell you that you can't, prove them wrong by taking on a challenging art project and nailing it! You can choose to wallow, or choose to soar. No one has the power to offend you; you have the power to choose to be offended.
On a lighter note, you will also have a ton of supporters! Your supporters will outnumber your haters by 100 to 1. These are your true friends who truly love you and wish you success in all your efforts, no matter what you're doing. Even if they don't share your passion, they will cheer you on. So I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I apprieciate so much all your support and love and it really makes me want to push harder when I'm at the gym so I don't let you or me down! And when I'm having a hard day, when all I want to do is eat mint chocolate ice cream and stay home in bed and pout about how much my body aches, your support gets me off my butt and moving and I cannot say thank you enough.
Love,
Mandee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)