Train Clean, Eat Dirty

I am back! After a 6 year hiatus I have decided to resurrect my blog and share the myriad changes I have been through. For those who did not follow me years ago, I wrote a daily blog on dieting, eating clean, competing, training, and managing to stay lean and on track while working full time and raising a family. 

I found this draft below from 2015 and threw a recent photo from yesterday up with it. It was back in 2015 that I started moving away from "clean eating" which had consumed so much of my life for so many years. Here I am in my new home gym (well a year and a half old). I have a lot to say. It won't be daily any longer but it will be interesting. 

and on to the post....

No, I did not get that backwards. yes, I know you usually see it "Eat Clean, Train Dirty", but I don't believe in that.  What does that mean (to me) anyway?

   Eat Clean, Train Dirty

Eat Clean:

Consume the same old "clean" foods over and over until sick to death of them. Chicken breast, brown rice, asparagus, almonds, broccoli and tilapia. Deprive yourself of every human desire for anything salty, fatty, sweet, gooey, sticky, crunchy or just plain mouth-watering-delicious.

All.....The....Time.....

Train Dirty:

Ingest drugs, many not intended for humans, most intended for clinical or therapeutic reasons (as opposed to building muscle, shedding fat). Not interested in health, only in achieving a certain look.

Eat Dirty, Train Clean 

Eat Dirty:

Consume any foods, anything that makes me smile and feel good about life. Mostly things like cheese, garlic, almond butter, fruit, breads, butter, lamb, beef, pork, vegetables, salt, sugar, cereal, white rice, sauces, whole eggs, bagels, chocolates. Live like a normal person.


Train Clean:

Train and maintain my body naturally, without drugs. Strive to be healthy and strong, while looking awesome at the same time.

Choose which one you prefer, I know what I want!

As an update to this post - someone asked me if I used to take drugs, PED's, diuretics, etc. The answer is no, absolutely not. I actually stopped competing due to the widespread use of drugs in the sport. What I did do is "eat clean" for many, many years. My comparison above was mainly due to the fact that you will see so many "clean eaters" but they are also pumping their bodies full of dangerous drugs specifically so they look better. There is no concern about health, only how they look. I will have a future post regarding this soon! In the mean time, work hard, and enjoy the food!

My Relationship with Food and Training

My life seems to now revolve solely around weight training and eating, seriously. I go to work and then all my time after (and before) is devoted to calculating my marco nutrients, training and sleeping.

I love it, I am spending all of my free time doing exactly what I love. It's been almost 11 weeks that I have been working with Layne Norton for my nutrition and cardio; I never knew how much food can make or break a physique.

All of these pictures were taken in the last two weeks weeks. I am at 125.5 pounds, lean and eating a great deal of food.

I have eaten "healthy" for years, but the timing of the foods and selecting the proper macro nutrients for the specific activity or time of day is essential and I have learned just how important this is. Not only to try to add lean mass, but to maintain a low bodyfat percentage.

I used to eat the same old thing at every meal: for example  4 ounces lean protein, some starch early or vegetables later, a very small amount of fat with each meal, but it was a very little amount. I  got lean, I got ripped, I got bored.

I have been eating so many foods now that I never thought I could, and I am still very lean, I actually still weigh less than when I started with Layne and I am eating approximately 500 calories a day more. Above is a French Toast breakfast I made, sourdough toast dipped in egg whites, cinnamon and vanilla; the remaining egg whites, scrambled; one whole egg; fresh kiwi and mango and some calorie free syrup and jam (use VERY sparingly, they can cause bloating and gas due to the artificial sweeteners).

As you can see in the picture below, my glutes have really grown, and the hamstrings and quads are getting bigger. 

 My delts and arms look amazing, although I still try to grow them bigger every week.

Food, it seems, is always a battle for competitors, and most of them tend to under eat - they are afraid of getting fat. Once you see yourself lean and ripped, it's very difficult (mentally), to allow yourself to get back to a "normal" weight, even then, what most competitors consider "normal" is still much leaner than the average woman considers normal. Yes, the rest of the world thinks we are crazy.

My obsession now seems to be the fact that I am eating so much, I am constantly verifying that it is correct.  I am responsible for my diet- Layne does not tell me what to eat, that is entirely my decision. He tells me the macros- how much carbohydrate, protein, fat and fiber to have each day. 

Sometimes it is so good, I cannot believe I calculated it correctly, and by the way I look, it appears I have been doing an excellent job at it. It's interesting,  I seem to see "flexible dieting" and "IIFYM" everywhere these days, but I'm not sure if it's because I am paying attention to those things, or there is an increased number of people changing to a more civilized way of dieting. 

So far, three people from my gym and two friends have contacted Layne about working with him, based completely on seeing what I eat, how happy I am, and what my physique looks like. Unfortunately he has not been able to take on more clients at this time, but things can change any day so if you are interested, I would check out his website and contact him.

Pasta, I eat pasta and I am not fat!

What am I planning now? I finally, finally feel that I can go out and eat at a restaurant and do a good job of calculating my macros; I am eating dinner with David every night that I am not training with Roy at BodyComp Gym (those nights I get home late so I just have a shake, banana and toast usually), and while we eat the same foods, I will eat a different ratio of the foods than he will;  I am lifting and getting bigger! Lately shirts I have been wearing are tight, uncomfortable tight,  and when I look at myself, I do a double take, I see the changes, I like the changes. 

I don't have any plans right now, and that is very, very unusual for me. I am happy, very content in what I am doing and where I am in life right now. I love waking up early everyday, I hop on my scale to check my weight (I never had one before, and it's one of the things I took from my father's house after he passed away, so I say hi to Dad everyday!). I go to the gym and lift heavy and enthusiastically.

I train with Roy at BodyComp Gym three days a week after work, those are the highlight of my week. We don't do the silly little things I see so many women with their trainers do, like stand on a bosu ball while flapping my arms about, or lift teeny tiny weights to "tone", or do hundreds of bodyweight exercises.  In the pursuit of "bootie, brawn and awesome deltoids", I know two more women who have started training with Roy, he's the man who is responsible for my physique and I wouldn't trade him for anyone! He has some openings, give him a call!

We lift heavy, and hard, and long. Sometimes I sweat and my feet are not even moving! 

I do have a plan in that I am staying the course, eating on target, changing my body composition very slowly but very dramatically and spending all my free time doing what I love - training.

Off season just might be my best season!

Scallops Fit for a Queen (or King)

Sunday night and I am making scallops with vegetables for myself (above) and bangers and mash for the boys (below). Not familiar with it? That's because it is a British dish, David's mother was Welsh, and now Cooper is a British Citizen, you gotta eat like your people!

Mash are mashed potatoes; bangers are pork sausage with bread in them, very mild, but highly loved by the British. They are pan fried, and served with gravy and peas.

I did not eat this!

I fed it to the boys and they were pleased as pie! I made them a nectarine crostada for dessert too.

Below is another view of mine, half eaten so you can see the broth and the colors and the great dish I made.

I had slices of Italian squash that had been sauteed, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, sauteed leeks and 2 ounces of Maria's "sweet pots". Those are sweet potatoes that have been chunked up, and tossed with small amount of olive oil, cinnamon, splenda and pepper and then roasted until tender. 


I put all the vegetables, which had been previously cooked, onto a plate, then warmed it in the microwave (I use mine a lot).


I then heated a cast iron pan and placed a small amount of coconut oil in it, and seared the scallops (I had salted and peppered) for 2 minutes a side. I placed the scallops on top of the warmed vegetables then added some water to the very hot pan, to deglaze the juices. 

Now the last touch: Taste #5 Umami Paste! What is Umami?
For a long time, scientists debated whether umami was indeed a basic taste; but in 1985 at the first Umami International Symposium in Hawaii, the term Umami was officially recognized as the scientific term to describe the taste of glutamates and nucleotides. 


Now it is widely accepted as the fifth basic taste. Umami represents the taste of the amino acid L-glutamate and 5’-ribonucleotides such as guanosine monophosphate (GMP) and inosine monophosphate (IMP).


Although it can be described as a pleasant "brothy" or "meaty" taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue, umami has no translation.


Umami has a mild but lasting after-taste difficult to describe. It induces salivation and a furriness sensation on the tongue, stimulating the throat, the roof and the back of the mouth 

YUM! I added a small squeeze of Umami paste and whisked it around, then poured the broth over my dish. One of the biggest problems with diet food is the dryness, lack of sauces and condiments, but a nice tasty broth can change everything.


I bought the paste in Santa Cruz, and have seen it in several gourmet shops since then. I bet Whole Foods even carries it now! Try some!

Prison Loaf

I just read an article by Tovin Lapan called "Shawshank revulsion: Loaf used as punishment in jail"

It's about a form of punishment reserved only for the worst prisoners, and they are fed this loaf and apparently break down and turn into compliant pussycats after a few days on it.

What I found so interesting, is that it sounds quite similar to food I eat, voluntarily. I am wondering about the fact that I am eating the same foods as prisoners, yet I can go for months, and not break. It must be the fact that I am choosing to eat it. Or maybe it's because I am not in prison? Who knows....

I don't have enough room to post the entire article here, but just so you can get the "flavor" of it, here you go:

On Christmas Day, the inmates at Santa Cruz County Jail will get a welcome respite from their regularly scheduled, nutritious but mostly unexciting high school cafeteria-style meals -- glazed ham with sweet potatoes and ice cream for dessert.

If an inmate has been behaving poorly, however, while all his incarcerated compatriots dine on one of the few special meals of the year, he will instead be forced to feast on "the loaf."

Otherwise known as the disciplinary diet loaf, prison loaf and management loaf, when all else fails in disciplining an inmate -- be it loss of visits, free time or other privileges -- the deputies turn to this bland log of meat and vegetables to get the disruptive inmate to follow the rules.

It only happens once or twice a year, according to officials, but where other corrective measures fail, the loaf is typically successful.

"Usually, they only last a couple days on the loaf before they agree to comply with directions and are given normal meals again," said Tim Sanford, the jail's food service manager for 15 years.

The loaf -- by most accounts, a highly effective measure in getting inmates to follow rules -- is the only example of food being used as discipline in the correctional system, and has been challenged under the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment in several U.S. states.

The loaf looks like it is constructed from layers of particle board, and little kernels of corn and slivers of carrot jut out from the insides when its is bisected. It does not taste bad, but rather is so dry and lacking in flavor as to be at best unappetizing and at worst better used mixed with milk to make a nice Spackle. It is served with two slices of wheat bread and, instead of the typical serving of milk, a cup of water.

 

CALIFORNIA RECIPE FOR DISCIPLINARY DIET LOAF

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 oz. nonfat dry milk
4 1/2 oz. raw grated potato
4 1/2 oz. raw carrots, chopped or grated fine
1 1/2 oz. tomato juice or puree
4 1/2 oz. raw cabbage, chopped fine
7 oz. lean ground beef, turkey or rehydrated, canned or frozen Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
2 1/2 fl. oz. oil
1 1/2 oz. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. raw onion, chopped
1 egg
6 oz. dry red beans, precooked before baking (or 16 oz. canned or cooked red kidney beans) 4 tsp. chili powder

DIRECTIONS
Shape into a loaf and bake at 350-375 degrees for 50-70 minutes.

SOURCE: California Code of Regulations Title 15 

Tomorrow: the recipe I am eating that is similar. Turkey Oatmeal muffins, a recipe from Jamie Eason.

There is a lot more to the article, such facts as the states which have banned the loaf! You can find it here.

Off Season Eating Right

It's been four weeks since my last competition and I have been focusing in on building as much lean mass as possible, and I am not even ready to slow down yet.

I am relaxed in the picture, no sucking in the stomach or flexing the muscles, it's me! As you can see, the completely cut look is gone, but I still look great, I am 7 pounds heavier and it's right about where I will most likely stay. I feel I look better a couple pounds lighter, but that isn't going to help me gain the muscle I am looking for.

I am able to maintain a low body fat consistently because I learned how to eat properly year round from my nutritionist.
 

Although I do like some great junk food now and again, I am not a snacker, I don't care for nachos, chips don't do much for me, and I have my health and my goals in the back of my mind at all times.

I am just about adjusted now, emotionally I mean to my bigger size, which in most people's books is still tiny and slim. I can see my arms are really looking better, unfortunately it's my legs I am hammering!

This morning at the gym as I walked downstairs after my workout a woman I know from our children's school events turns and looks at me and says "Just when I was starting to feel good about myself and you walk by..." with a smile of course.

I thanked her and said it helped me to hear it, as I still wasn't quite adjusted to the weight gain. Her eyes rolled waaaay back in her head and I laughed and had to explain the whole thing about competing....
 

Then at the grocery store (not my usual one)  near my house the produce manager asks me where I train. " Courtside" I said, and he replied "Cause I can see you train, a lot"

I told him I just had a Figure competition too and would love to try bodybuilding but I just can't get big enough. He said "Well whatever you are doing, keep doing it because it works and you look great."

These are comments that help get my head on straight! I needed those for that last push over the "feeling fat" stage, I am over it!

My diet has been relaxed although I have stayed loyal to my macro nutrients at most every meal (making sure I have 4 ounces lean protein, 3-4 ounces complex carbs and lots of vegetables). I have 5 meals some days instead of my usual 6 if my calories have been higher than usual, and have been adding fruit to my oatmeal on occasion.

A few drinks here and there, and eating dinner with the family  once in a while. I can maintain this weight and low bodyfat without a struggle and life is fairly normal.

I have been really pushing hard in the gym, lifting as heavy as I possibly can, less reps but heavy, heavy weights. My cardio is 20 to 30 minutes three times a week in the gym after lifting, and 2 to 3 times a week I hit the bleachers across the street and run through some plyos, never more then 15 to 20 minutes.

I believe in eating, eating a lot! Unfortunately to prepare for a Figure competition, many women starve themselves and it doesn't work in the long run. Drastically reducing calories is not only unhealthy, but it sets them up so that as soon as they have reached their goal, they will blow up and gain a huge amount of weight. They have never learned to eat properly, so they cannot ever maintain a reasonably low bodyfat percentage and weight. To prepare for another competition they must launch themselves into a horribly restrictive diet for several months again.
 

If they learned to eat properly, prepping for a competition wouldn't be as difficult, it wouldn't require so much weight loss, they shouldn't be fluctuating so much.

I was listening to a podcast today on the elliptical and the fellow talking said something that really made a lot of sense about Figure and Fitness competitors.

He was actually talking about the extremely low calorie diets some people live off, and unfortunately, there are " a few, very well known and popular who are  leading many" with the concept of starving themselves, instead of feeding themselves."

Figure is a sport, just like any other physical sport, yet it is one of the only ones that thinks starvation is the way to achieve their goals. I think you see this in gymnasts and ballerinas, but no other sport do they starve themselves, and it just doesn't work for long.

He likened it to a concentration camp.

"You can put many people in a concentration camp and not feed them, some will survive longer than others, some will die sooner than others, but eventually, they will all die of starvation." 

Don't starve yourself.

Week Prior to Competition Diet

The final week prior to a competition, you make sure that you eliminate all the extra sodium so you don't retain water.

That means that I can no longer have protein shakes, they are loaded with sodium. I cannot eat egg whites either, they have lots of sodium too.

So when I get up at 4:00 am, I usually have a thick, delicious chocolate meal replacement shake, but no more for the next week. 

And I need to eat protein for breakfast and right before bed, and I usually have microwaved egg whites, plain right now, but when I am not within a month of a competition I will put on salsa, ketchup, hot sauce, all sorts of things. 

What's a girl to do?

Ground chicken breast.

Yup,  I will get up at 4:00 am and start eating chicken. I will also need a carb so I will have cream of rice. I may mix them together too, like some homemade baby food.

And when I get home from training, meal 2 will be ground chicken breast, and cream of rice again.

Right before bed? Ground chicken breast.

It is very important to read labels when you buy your food, including chicken.  Many companies are notorious for adding a sodium solution to "plump" up their meats, so they weigh more and they are charging you for salt water. 

You may think you are doing everything right, but in reality, you may be buying garbage just because it may be less expensive, and it is pumped full of a 14% solution of sodium.....and you will swell like a balloon. 

Read the labels. A 4 ounce serving of chicken breast should not have more than 70 to 75 mg of sodium in it, that is the naturally occurring amount. They are also required to state on the package if there is a sodium solution used, it could actually be a heath concern for some individuals. The label is very, very tiny though.

If you buy your meat at a butcher counter, they have all the data in the back, they can tell you, make them check. 

Here I have my ground chicken breast all cooked and weighed out. I have packages ranging from 2 ounces to 4 ounces each. My week will vary, I will have higher protein and lower carbs through Wednesday, then I raise the carbs and lower the protein, to shuttle all the carbs into the muscles. I am not so keen on the meals where I get only 2 ounces of protein, it's like a garnish to tell you the truth!

Friday night will be a big meal, steak, baked potato, cheesecake so I look full and healthy the next day.  I will surely write about that meal, I get to make my own (famous) cheesecake, and enjoy it Friday night and Saturday morning for breakfast too.

Eat Less, Move More

Don't these look stunning?  I went into this little shop, just to look and smell everything, I walked out and didn't buy a thing. It's not always that easy for me though, it's the deep, dark, rich, gooey chocolate that gets me every time.

I have had a few requests for diets lately, along with the usual, "how do I lose weight?", "what should I do?"

My answer is always the same. Eat less, move more. It's really quite simple.

You need to reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories everyday to lose one pound in a week. That really shouldn't be difficult. If you drink alcohol, drink less. If you drink soda, switch to sugar free. If you eat dessert everyday, stop.

Crackers, bread, butter, cream in your coffee, any and all snacks (packaged) are not your friend when you are trying to lose a bit of the jiggly stuff.

Then, if you start moving a little bit, that only doubles the calorie reduction! So if you start going for a walk every night after dinner AND reducing your daily calories by 500, you will lose even more weight!

Just think what will happen if you go to the gym and actually break a sweat, every single day?!

Start small, make easy changes that you can live with. Switch to no calorie sweeteners, eliminate soda and sugary drinks, use non fat milk, savor a piece of bread and not a loaf of bread, eat a portion of pasta and include vegetables and protein, instead of eating a bowl of pasta as a meal on its own. Use reduced calorie mayonnaise, or replace it with non-fat yogurt. Use low sugar ketchup. Avoid sugary jams, they have low sugar or even no sugar ones that taste fantastic.

Soon, you will really be able to enjoy the special treat you select at the bakery like the ones in my picture above, at least once in a while.   If you want to visit this bakery, it is in Santa Cruz, in the shopping center where The Cellar Door restaurant is located....

Calorie Free Chocolate

I was at the grocery store the other day and spied this in the fruit section. Now I usually stay away from packaged foods, but right about now, when I am on a pretty strict diet, just about anything looks good.

This is zero calorie chocolate sauce.

Of course, food labeling laws allow them to say this, as long as you stay within the serving size of 2 tablespoons, you are OK, but eat half the jar, and you will be consuming a lot of calories.

I cannot eat this now, but I did have a taste. I thought it was pretty darn good. They have caramel sauce and many other yummy sounding things.

It is Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Dip . Once I visited their website, I saw quite a few things I might like to try, including the Whipped Peanut Butter Spread.

The main ingredients are water, there are thickeners but no bad ingredients, so if you are really watching your calories, these might be just the ticket for you.

So how good is this chocolate sauce? I made Cooper and Logan try it, they are 16 and 17 respectively. The 16 year old says "It's good if you can't have chocolate", the 17 year old says "It doesn't really taste like chocolate".

David  says "It's good in a Hershey sort of way, it definitely does not taste like a rich, dark Scharffen Berger chocolate bar"

Me? I am thinking this will be a great, guilt free way to make my oatmeal taste fabulous, spread some peanut butter on a rice cake and a tablespoon of this on top, and I will be in heaven! 

Next time I am at Cosentino's Grocery I will be looking for the whipped peanut butter,  blueberry fruit spread and their single serving items such as pancake syrup! If they don't have it there, it's my trusty friend the Internet!