Drugs, clean eating and competitors

I need to clarify my last post. my sister asked me if I used to take performance enhancing drugs when I competed, she thought that is what I was saying in my previous post.

No, I did not take drugs.

I did, however, waste many years "eating clean" so I could be as lean as possible year round. 

My post combined them both because based on my experience, it is mainly the folks taking the drugs that are always pushing the "clean eating". Sounds a bit wonky doesn't it? Eat only fresh, healthy, low fat, low carb, no sugar foods and also take substances that are not approved for humans, or in the case of many of the drugs, approved for actual illnesses or conditions that these people don't have. These are the same people who are not drinking water "cutting' before a competition and taking diuretics, an extremely dangerous practice. In fact, in the last year an astounding number of young bodybuilders have died, and it's attributed to their drug and diuretic regime.

So the phrase "eat clean, train dirty" which is very well known in the bodybuilding industry and used all the time actually refers to that. Follow a clean diet and take drugs and you will succeed. I wanted to promote the opposite - "eat dirty, train clean" which means eat like a normal person and train hard, consistently and drug free.

I could write about this for days, there is so much to say. I do not have respect for those who chose to take drugs, and mainly that is because they won't come out and say they do. They want everyone to believe that  their physique is all due to the hard work they put in, and the strict diet they follow. So a regular gym goer who also starts lifting regularly and consistently, and changes their diet feels like a failure because they don't look like that trainer in the gym. Obviously they cannot admit it since what they are doing is also illegal. 

Competitions encourage drug use, unless of course you are in the natural organizations (but even those have cheaters who get caught taking drugs). Bodies cannot grow as freaky big, muscular, lean, and "3-D" as the promoters want unless those bodies are taking drugs. Of course there are genetic freaks and outliers who do not need the drugs, but they are far and few between.

The lifestyle of a competitor also encourages body dysmorphia, eating disorders, disordered eating, and a slew of unhealthy food relationships. 

When I started on my "journey", it was one that started years of dieting. Hell I looked fabulous, but I also ate very low calories, stayed away from anything that had high fat content, alcohol, candy, fatty meats, breads, etc.

It all changed once I learned how to manage my calories by understanding nutrition, how many calories different foods have, how much fiber I needed, how I could incorporate anything I wanted.

I stopped competing for many reasons, but it mainly boils down to the fact that it is an extremely unhealthy lifestyle (emotionally and physically), even if you are drug free. 

Several years ago I took a few trips to Europe and hauled all my weight training equipment with me: squat shoes, weight belt, gloves, wraps, deadlift shoes, clothes, water bottles, pre and post workout powders, etc. I would get up very early to train before anyone else was awake, and therefor go to bed very early. This was not exercising, it was an obsession and it was not fair to my family. On holidays I would find a place to train, even while everyone else was hanging out at home in their sweats having fun. But this is what the lifestyle will do to you.

I used to stay so lean, I was never more than 4 or 5 pounds over competition weight. My body never had a chance to recover between competitions. Again, this is not a healthy way to live.

Now, I am back cooking up a storm (my first passion) and while I do make sure I only eat a certain number of calories, I often go over those calories. I don't worry about what I eat on holidays, dinners out or vacation. I just went to Spain for 19 days and didn't train once!! I am a good 10 pounds over competition weight, I look great, but guess what? I still think I should be leaner.....and that's what competing will do to your brain. I know I look fine, but I walk by a mirror and think "well if I only lost 5 or 10 pounds....". I am working on it, I know someday I won't be worried that I don't look competition ready, but it will take some time.

Below I am fresh out of the shower drinking my favorite cocktail an Aviation.

For now, I encourage everyone to not consider a competition, or if you must, seek out one of the natural organizations (and ask me or others if you are unsure about the different organizations). learn about nutrition so you can eat like a regular person! I am drinking a glass of wine as I write this....Find an exercise routine that you love: cardio kickboxing, running, peloton, cycling, or weight training. If you choose weight training then find a program that you can follow (this is a must). There are many out there that cost less than $15.00 a month but they will keep you focused, learning, on track and motivated.

If you choose to work with a trainer or coach and they give you a written plan of actual foods and amounts to eat, run as far away from them as possible (ask me questions if you don't understand why).

We are only here for this one life (as far as I believe) and it should not be lived in deprivation, starvation, and angst (unless you are a nun). 

My blog will be about how I have been able to continue training consistently, stop eating clean and enjoying a normal diet, and how my emotional and physical being has changed while doing this.

P.S. Thanks sis!

Hungry?

Yes this is me, you aren't used to seeing me with clothes on huh? ha ha


This blog is all about food, not training so I thought I might dress up a bit. I am cooking one of my favorite foods, mushrooms! I eat 4 to 5 pounds a week all by myself.


I eat according to a schedule, and the strange thing is, even when I don't know what time it is, my stomach and brain signal me that it is time to eat again at the regular time.


Odd isn't is?


I read an article by James J. Lee in the San Jose Mercury News, I would like to share some pieces of that artilce here with you.


According to a study by Rajat Singh and his colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York, it all makes perfect sense. 

They discovered that the brain cells responsible for controlling hunger, called AgRP neurons, started to consume small parts of themselves when the body had gone without food for several hours.  That process, called autophagy, set off a chain reaction that boosted hunger proteins in the brain.


"If scientists can learn to control this cannibalistic behaviors in these cells, they can develop treatments that will help with obesity and overfeeding in humans", Singh said.


In this case, "understanding the regulation of AgRP neurons is critical because these neurons are sufficient to orchestrate voracious eating" said Scott Sternson, a scientist who studies how our brains are wired. 


There is a huge network of brain cells that must talk to each other in order to regulate hunger in humans, Singh said. These cells must coordinate signals about nutrient and energy levels from all over the body, then relay instructions to other areas such as our muscles to start or stop eating.


We all have a basal level of autophagy happening all the time. Normally, this low level of self-consumption is how our cells clear out damaged parts or get rid of things the no longer need. At baseline, it's a garbage system, a housekeeping function. 


But when we've gone without food for several hours, our body starts to break down its fat reserves, called triglycerides, into fatty acids.


When the hypothalamus registers an increase in circulating fatty acids, the cells that control hunger rev up their autophagy process. This process breaks down the neuron's fat reserves, releasing fatty acids to float freely around the cell. This triggers production of the proteins that tell us we're hungry.

My take away? Continue to eat often throughout the day, and never go so long that I am feeling hungry! I cannot be training hard in the gym just to have my body eat away at itself! 

Balance Life and Competitions

 

I have been on vacation since Thursday evening at about 5:45 pm, when I finally left my office. Life can become so complex and difficult, yet whenever I start thinking that, I realize that it is my reaction to things that is making it all difficult.

I started my diet four weeks ago in preparation of this annual vacation, I did not want to go to Mexico and not enjoy myself. I have found myself not enjoying things because I am afraid I will gain body fat and weight.

That is not healthy. Am I first a competitor or am I first a person? There are competitions all the time, like clockwork, they happen. The promoters make way too much money off people like me not to hold them.

I have been trying to keep things in a good perspective, but it all seemed to fall apart today, or maybe it didn't.

I have been coming to this same very small village, same tiny hotel, same room for 13 years, every February. I enjoyed time in the airport with other regulars, all heading back for a week of sun and relaxation just like me.

I emailed Annie ahead of time. She is a massage therapist who lives here eight months out of the year with her two daughters and husband, they run a surfing school. Then four months out of the year they live in Oregon. I told her I would like a 90 minute massage on my patio, she was there today, in the warm breeze, greeting me like an old friend.

The hotel we stay at has a small restaurant, Christian was the proprietor, but he left this past winter and now has his cafe in the village of Troncones. We have thoroughly enjoyed the new restaurant, Jean Paul is French, his wife is Mexican so the mix of foods is spectacular.

But we missed the old Christian, and his dad, Paul. 

We headed down the road today towards Troncones and saw Paul outside Cafe Sol, we stopped and hugs were abundant. We said we would come back for dinner.

I was so hungry, I made the guys leave earlier than they should have. I am not used to eating so infrequently and the fats and carbs are not doing my body good....

We ended up at Dona Nica's, it is a restaurant on the beach, she knows us from all of the years we have been coming here. It is a dirt floor, open air restaurant where food is cooked on a comal outside. She greeted us with warm smiles and laughs, I asked if she could make Chile Rellenos the next evening, and yes, we were told to come back then. They are made in the tradition of this area, stuffed with real mashed potatoes, and albondigas (meatballs) on the side.

You never know if they will be open or not!

We stayed only for a drink, I had my first pina colada, the boys had a beer. Once I was done, the fellow was right back and filled up my drink again, seems he couldn't make a small drink, and he wasn't ripping us off, we are old friends of Dona Nica.  My two pina coladas, and the two beers was 100 pesos, less than $10.00 us dollars.

Tourism is off, badly. Christian and Paul say that it has been very slow, Annie also said the same. They all say that regular guests are here (like us)  but there are no new people. they are all scared about gunmen, drugs and narkos. We are fine where we are.

We enjoyed a great dinner at Christians although it took forever because first Paul was chatting, then Christian, and we couldn't order! In the end I had a ceasar salad and then a hangar steak with onions and mushrooms. David had the same, Cooper? He has a fantastic cheeseburger, then three skirt steak tacos, and half of David's steak (I ate all mine).

I am still feeling that I may be blowing it for my next competition, but I am having a great time with my family and that means more to me.

Did I tell you about the whales we watched breaching off the beach this afternoon? Probably not.

I have been having a hard time balancing the desire to enjoy my vacation with the need to adhere to a bodybuilder's diet, not an easy task at all where I am.

The lesson all comes down to this. I am reading a book on vacation called: FLOW the psychology of optimal experience. In this book one of the components of happiness is competition, and this is what it has to say:

One simple way to find challenges is to enter a competitive situation. Hense the great appeal of all games and sports that pit a person or team against another. In many ways, competition is a quick way of developing complexity: "He who wrestles with us" wrote Edmund Burke, "strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper" The challenges of competition can be stimulating and enjoyable. But when beating the opponent takes precedence in the mind over performing as well as possible, enjoyment tends to disappear. Competition is enjoyable only when it is a means to perfect one's skills, when it becomes an end in itself, it ceases to be fun.

So I shall challenge myself upon my return. I will work to be the best I can be, that is what I strive for. It is not to beat others, but to beat my personal best. I am in competition with myself, and I am one of the most worthy and difficult opponents!

Tortellini in Broth

Tortellini in broth, who doesn't love that?!

I am on a diet, so I am not eating this, but my husband and son are not on a diet, and they like this. First I made my dinner:

2 ounces sweet potato, pureed
4 ounces ground turkey, sauteed with chorizo spices
6 spears asparagus, steamed
1 cup mixed sauteed bell peppers

Then the boys wanted something and we hadn't really given it much thought so it's off to the freezer to see what we have.

I almost always have homemade chicken stock, it is easy to make and there is no comparison to the canned or boxed garbage.

I heated that up and then put in a bag of Barilla 3 Cheese Tortellini.

Take a look at the front of this package. It says in very BOLD letters:

Dinner for 2 in 10 Minutes

Well, this is quite alluring isn't it? I can toss this in the stock and the boys will have dinner in 10 minutes.

Let's just take a look at the nutritional facts on the side.

It says that each serving has the following:

230 Calories

8 Grams fat

500 mg Sodium

32 Grams Carbohydrates

8 Grams protein

About what I would expect, you know pasta is high in calories and carbs. Not really too bad for a meal...(if you aren't on a diet).

But wait a minute, there is something wrong here. Look at the very top of the label. It says the serving size is 2/3 cup and there are 4 servings in the container!

This means that based on what it says on the front, you and one other person have just finished eating this because it was Dinner for 2 in 10 Minutes, and this is what you really consumed:

460 Calories

16 Grams fat

1000 mg Sodium

64 Grams Carbohydrates

16 Grams protein

Not only did they fool you into thinking it was a lower  calorie dinner, but had you been serving more than 2 people, you probably would have bought more of this pasta based on the front label, say three bags for 6 people. They screw you twice! You consume too many calories based on their label and spend too much money too.

Sneaky marketing that's what it is. No wonder why most of America is obese and dying of heart related disease.

Damn! Should have gone out for a burger!

Oh, plus they had this:

Good thing they aren't on a diet, they would not be very happy with the results.

If you eat packaged foods, please be very careful and thoroughly read the labels.