Food Intake: Roller Coaster

Continuing to keep my fat and carb intake on a roller coaster to keep my body off balance. It's critical to do this so my body does not reach a plateau. This does not mean I get to consume as much fat or carb as I desire. I have to stay within my daily max.

Yesterday I consumed:
Calories: 713
Fat: 15g
Carb: 58g
Protein: 88g

Today:
Calories: 931
Fat: 11g
Carb: 110g
Protein: 91g

Today's fat should be lower, but I was not feeling well this morning and I had a few cheez-its. I thought a few crackers might help my tummy...

Counting down the days!

Feeling pretty exhausted today.... 8.75hrs of work plus a 45 cardio session at 4:45am and a heavy lift on back today. Looking forward to tomorrow. When I feel like this, I remind myself that I have worked so hard and come so far... and only 18 more days until competition!

Breakfast for Dinner

Paprika Home Fries & Eggs

Lou enjoys breakfast for dinner...instead of the usual orange buttermilk pancake breakfast I tried this potato and egg breakfast.

Risotto Dinner

Salmon & Green Risotto w/Panko

...it's all a learning process

I've been feeling VERY bloated over the past 2-3 weeks and I think I have figured out the cause. Lactaid. I have to take lactaid pills before eating dairy. I will be staying away from milk products until competition now. I am sad that I have to give up fat free nancy's yogurt and cottage cheese, but I'll be finding other protein sources to replace them.

My abs are not coming through and it is because of bloating...I am not going to let dairy keep me from placing 1st!

Note to self:

Purchase Low Fat Muscle Milk Lactose Free Whey Protein, most whey contains lactose

Foods for Pre-Competition Diet

My diet consists of the following foods:

Protein:
Egg Yolks
Egg Whites
Salmon
Tuna
Chicken Breasts
Whey Protein
Fat Free Cottage Cheese
Nancy's Non-Fat Yogurt
Laughing Cow Cheese

Carbohydrate: (I don't always get a fruit everyday, but I ALWAYS have oatmeal in the AM)
Apple
Strawberries
Oatmeal
Green Beans
Asparagus
Spinach
Red Leaf Lettuce
Carrots
Broccoli
Ketchup

Fat: (I get most of my fat from my protein/carb sources)
Egg Yolk
Whey Protein
Chicken Breast
Flaxseed oil
Salmon
Laughing Cow Cheese
Oatmeal

Flavor "boosters" with zero calories : (not used in excess)
Splenda
Cinnamon
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Vegetable or Meat Spices
I can't believe it's not butter!

Drinks: (most have zero to little calories)
Water, water, and more water (little less than 1 gallon)
Crystal Light (drank only on occasion)
Diet Soda (drank only on occasion)

baked sweet potato "fries"

next time I will be cutting the sweet potato in longer spears...

Busy Sunday!

Started the day with a 45min cardio session. Lou and I drove to Salem for his first meet of the season. He ran the 1500 t0day. Great job Lou! Headed to gym, had a good shoulder workout, then worked on posing/routine.

Reached my goal for the week! Put together about 1/2 of my routine and feeling good about it.

My goal for this coming week is putting the rest of my routine together, and of course eating and training smart every day. I am 3 weeks out!

Body Composition Update:

About 8-9% body fat

Weight 98lbs

Food Log for the day:

Calories: 651

Fat: 10g

Carb: 48g

Protein: 90g

More baking adventures...

Thumbprint Cookie

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bar

Busy Saturday

Woke up around 5:30am, went grocery shopping, ate breakfast, went to work for about an hour, and then headed to the gym. I am home now and getting ready for volunteer work in the garden.

Felt a bit emotional this morning...not to mention I have a big ol' zit on my forehead (first one in a couple months!) I've got to take each day one at a time. There's only so much you can accomplish in one day. Looking forward to baking new recipes :)

More later...

Pasta Dinner

Lemon Pasta with Mascarpone & Spinach

Baking with Ginger

ginger cookies

old-fashioned gingerbread

Tuesday - New Record!

Continuing to keep my body off balance - today I consumed 5g of fat! That's a new record!

Had a great leg workout and just finished my 45min cardio session.

Tomorrow is another low fat day.

Potato, Spinach and Tomato Soup

Made Louie some potato, spinach, and tomato soup tonight. Healthy soup with a wonderful smell!

Can't Forget These!

All 5 products are a must have for competition diet.

Goal for this week

Started the day with a 45 min cardio session at home at 4:45am. Plan on posing tonight and throwing in another 30min cardio session at the club tonight.

My Goal for this week:
Put together 4 poses for my routine

Note to self: on top of my weekly goals, I have to remember that training and eating right every day is a whole another goal in itself. It's a daily goal.

My 1st Cornbread Cooking Adventure

Cheddar Dill Cornbread

More Muffins ....

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffin

Pic Update

Bicep Shot

Tri-Berry Oven Pancake

a large oven pancake

Sunday Morning

Off to a good start. Woke up at 5:00am and got about 7hrs of sleep. Energy level is good. I've decided what I am going to bake today. For breakfast, I will be baking the tri-berry oven pancakes and this afternoon I will be bake blueberry coffee cake muffins.

Ordinarily I would not bake anything coffee cake related because that is one of the main foods I am craving, but at this point I am not going to have an issue with it. I am so close to my goal and nothing will get in the way! Thought about making challah bread, but I don't have the patience for it today...

I already cooked rice and prepared yum bowls for Lou - for the week, and of course ate breakfast at 6am. I've cleaned up the kitchen and now I am off to go let a friends dog out.

Looking forward to making the tri-berry oven pancakes for Lou. I hope they turn out lovely!

Double Digits

New Record: 98.6lbs (the perfect body temperature)

Glad my hard work is paying off... it's not about the weight when it comes to competition, but knowing my weight is dropping (and my strength is still up) is positive reinforcement. I'll take anything I can.

Changes I have seen in the past 2 weeks:

Pecs

Traps

Quads

Face

Abs

Shoulder striations

Dinner Party

Parmesan & Thyme Crackers

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Garlic Ciabatta Bread

Baked Chocolate Pudding

Buttermilk Pepper Jack Biscuits

Another recipe from Barefoot Contessa. Recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but I used pepper jack. Light and fluffy biscuit!

Buttermilk and baking powder make for a good treat!

Lemon Bars

Barefoot Contessa Lemon Bar

1 Month Away!

It's exactly 4 more weeks until my competition! Every day I have to push myself that much harder to place 1st, but I will do it.

It's been a production morning. Lou had to open the club this morning, so he had to get up at 3:30am. I've been awake since 4am. Unable to go back to bed, I did some laundry and ironed clothes. It's almost breakfast, and boy let me tell you...I am looking forward to a slice of toast with my eggs.

Killer Orange Buttermilk Pancakes & Fruit Salad

Busy Wednesday

Started my day with a good 45 minute cardio session on the bike. Walked, played with the doggies, and ate breakfast. Headed to the gym, had a good back and bi lift. Added an extra 15 minutes of running. Worked and then came home. Mowed the lawn, cleaned house, and made Louie my orange buttermilk pancakes with a delicious fruit salad. Feeling pretty good, a little tired. Heading to bed soon - looking forward to another day closer to my competition.

Diet Adventure #4

Keeping my fats around 15g per day, and consuming all my carbs & fats in the first half of the day.

This should be a shock to my body. I am weighing in about 101lbs, with hopes to lose about another 5-6lbs of fat before competition. I have 1 month and 2 days before my competition... I am so close!

Every levels are a bit low this afternoon. Looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast!

Portobello Lasanga

Portobello Lasanga

with

Ricotta & Spinach

inspiration from Barefoot Contessa and Ellie Krieger

* made with homemade sauce

Another Monday...

Woke up feeling good. Took the doggies for a walk around the block. Had oatmeal, eggs n'ketchup, and crystal light for breakfast. Drank a cup of peppermint tea and half way through my 1st bottle of water. I have a slight headache, but not pounding.

This is what I have on tap for today:

Work 6.5hrs
30 min high intensity cardio session
30 min lift - chest
45 min low-intensity cardio session
30 min posing
Make portobello lasagna for my loving husband who deserves everything in the world!

Sunday Energy Level

Energy levels are good, but feeling tired and ready for bed. It's almost 8pm. Didn't do any cardio today, but walked and cleaned the house. I also posed for 10 minutes.

Low calorie day was not as bad as I anticipated. Had a hard time around 4-5pm.

Banana Crunch Muffin

Oh , the smell of baked muffins is wonderful. I am told these muffins are good, but not as delicious as the Cranberry Harvest Muffins.

We'll be sticking with the Cranberry Harvest Muffin!

Low Calorie Sunday

653 calorie day - good challenge today and I will conquer it! Took a Charge today. Hoping this will help keep my metabolism going while consuming little calories. I'll blog my energy levels later on.

11g fat

38g carb

91g protein

Making a trip to the store today & picking up ingredients for making new recipes this week.

Great Harvest Muffins

Inspired by Barefoot Contessa, my mom and I made these Cranberry Harvest Muffins. My husband says they are a "keeper recipe" and my mom says they are "delicious, and would taste great baked as muffin tops."

I am looking forward to baking & eating these after my diet!

It's all a learning process

About a month away from my competition, I am finally starting to figure out what works and doesn't work. It takes about a week for my body to adjust to a diet change, so it's crucial that I tweak my diet every week. I need to keep it off balance.

Sunday I plan on consuming as little calories as I can while keeping my protein intake at 90g.

Thursday

My awesome husband set up the indoor trainer at home so I don't have to drive all the way to the gym and back home at 5am before work. Now I can workout at home, get ready for work, eat... and of course take the doggies out.

Today's workouts:
42min cardio - bike
1hr lift - shoulders/arms/abs/posing
45min cardio - bike/run combo

No baking adventures tonight, out of flour. :(

Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

So you're probably wondering why I would make such a thing while being on a competition diet.

My answer: There's something very satisfying about making my husband something sweet & delicious. As for myself, since my taste buds can't enjoy it, I might as well stimulate my sense of smell. Oh it's good!

Wednesday

I can't believe it's already Wednesday...the days seem to fly by. Staying busy and working hard. Taking one day at a time, and looking forward to my show in a few weeks! Woo hoo!

Case of the Mondays

Woke up for early morning high intensity cardio session. Got my period today because I stopped taking my b.control pills a few days ago. Thought I wouldn't get my period until after competition, but I was wrong. Exhausted, I worked for a little and went back to the gym for a back/bi lift. It was okay. Worked for a couple more hours and then went home. Napped for 2hrs and have been home taking it easy. I needed a nap and a 1/2 a day of doing nothing!

Looking forward to my new workout schedule tomorrow. 7:00am cardio and lift.

Awesome Cardio/Chest/Tri Workout

Had an amazing workout this morning. Started off with a high intensity cardio session and ended with a heavy chest/tri lift. Exhausted after volunteering in the garden today, but doing okay. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

Saturday Morning

Had trouble sleeping last night. Bed around 9pm, woke up at 1am, and tossing and turning until 3:45. Decided to finally get up. I've got a lot on my mind and I have spent the early morning looking at bodybuilding routines and listening to music. Still deciding what song I will use for my routine. Looking forward to lox, egg whites, arugula, laughing cow cheese, and oatmeal at 6am.

FYI - Palindrome, it's 5:15am!

Pizza Adventure

My favorite food. Pizza. I am counting down the days until I can eat some!

Today I cooked my husband is favorite pizza, mushroom with olive. We really enjoy baking our own pizza made with whole wheat dough, homemade tomato sauce, and colby jack cheese. The combination of all three (with a topping of course) is like eating a bagel, cream cheese, and lox. The 3 flavors just go together!

Diet Adventure #3

Taking my diet to another level: 6 weeks out from competition. My daily food intake goal:

Calories: 900-1020

90g protein

20g fat

100-120g carb

Only 6 more weeks to go!