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!

Hard Work or Gimmicks

People are always looking for shortcuts, the easy way to do something, everything! Take a look at this magazine below- "Big Arms Fast" right. Do you really think that you can get big arms fast? No, of course not, but headlines like this sell magazines.

And this one "Drop Two Sizes" I bet this sells like hotcakes!

Now the next one I like "Look Great Naked". This seems like a reasonable thing to want, I think everyone wants to look great naked, or at least feel good about themselves when they are naked, but few do.  And the funny thing is, most people get so excited seeing naked people that they really don't care what you look like.....LOL!

But the other story "Eat, Drink & Still Shrink" doesn't seem realistic to me.

I am pointing all of this out because I want people to be realistic, don't fall for this marketing hype! None of it is true, its all designed to sell magazines, to make money.

You cannot grow big arms FAST; you cannot drop two sizes FAST, you cannot eat, drink and still SHRINK! The problem is so many people, especially women, look at these magazines and the models and they do the exercises they recommend, or follow the diets and most people get no where.


The exercises are not actually what the model does, in fact, the model makes her living as a model, she HAS to look great all the time. I know a woman who has been a model  in magazines and she told me the magazine told her what exercises to model and what to do, they never asked her what her training or workout was. 


The foods typically are not nutritionally well balanced, they are designed to make you think you are eating right and they taste good. Not many people can survive on 900 to 1000 calories a day, a few celery sticks and a smoothie do not make a great body. Or the other swing is the foods they recommend are super high in fats and starches, just not much so you starve in between meals. Most of the foods I see in these are not nutritionally sound.

You can; however, look great naked! Its all about how you feel about yourself. If you feel good, you look good!


Go ahead and read the magazines if you enjoy them, I read them when I get a pedicure, but don't take them seriously, if you do, you are only setting yourself up to fail. "Beach ready in 3 weeks" may work for someone who is already training, but for a newbie? Its not real life, give yourself a chance to succeed, hire a trainer, hire a nutritionist, read about weight training, ask a friend how they did it, but don't believe the magazines. 


And my blog "Ready in 5 Weeks"? It's about me - about how I train and diet and work all the time, year round, not just for a few weeks to get ready for something. Its about staying motivated, being realistic and surrounding yourself with positive people and experiences.

I do have a keen ability to drop to extremely  low bodyfat levels, lower than most people can get, but doing what I do doesn't mean you can also drop that low, and you shouldn't even want to. But you can learn from my experiences and my knowledge, its a lot better than a magazine, it's interactive, and it's free!


And I am a fun gal...

My Diet

I have mentioned several times how I have changed my diet. I thought I would explain a bit of what I have done.

I weigh my food year round, at least the protein and the starches. I don't weigh vegetables as you can eat as many of those as you like, provided you don't mistake one of the starchy vegetables which for diet purposes are considered "starches" for a "vegetable" (that would be things such as peas, corn, winter squashes).

So, I am always adhering to some "diet" although I relax it quite a bit when I am not in the cutting phase. I believe that this makes me more successful when I do need to drop the body fat as I never let myself get overweight, and I don't pig out for months at a time.

I have been reading some books that have inspired me to make a few changes, very slight ones and that is all I need as my diet is fairly dialed in year round anyway. I don't pack on 20 extra pounds in the winter just to have to lose it in the spring, I don't believe in that, and not many people do any longer, research has proven it is not necessary to gain a great deal of excess fat just to gain lean mass. If you eat properly, you will gain properly.

Here is an example of my lunch (meal #3) on Sunday:  3 ounces black beans, 1 cup mushrooms, one cup oven roasted cauliflower (with paprika), 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts and 4 ounces thin chicken breast with Mrs. Dash and some lemon. Very satisfying and filling! I eat a lot!

So what I have done is simple, following my past successes I have reduced my starches on meal 3 and 4 each by one ounce, and on meal 5 all together. 

I have replaced the starches in meal 5 with kabocha squash, or one extra cup of vegetables. I like kabocha squash as it is satisfying like a yam or potato, but without the carbs!

1 cup has 30 calories and 7 grams carbs, whereas if you had butternut squash you would be eating 82 calories and 22 grams of carbs!

I have also increased my overall vegetable intake by about 1/2 to 1 cup more at each meal, which means I am eating 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups of vegetables at a time. So - decreased starchy carbs, increased fiberous carbs.

I am not so hungry, I am getting carbs through vegetables but not the starchy variety that tends to be stored as fat.

I have also stopped eating brown rice, replacing it with beans or lentils. I have eaten rice on occasion, but not everyday as in the past.

In addition, I am eating 3 to 5 raw nuts (almond, cashew or macadamia) or 2 tsp oil (olive, flax, Udo's, CLA) prior to or with each each meal containing starch.

I am eating the nuts/oil just prior to each meal to reduce the insulin response for the meal. Eating the nuts or oils will help control the rate of entry of glucose into the bloodstream. So slower entry, less insulin is produced.

The reason why you do not want a rapid rise of insulin is it will cause too much glucose to be taken up by the cells, which results in low blood sugar, which in turn stimulates the appetite for more food!

I have also continued having a post training carb and protein drink, although it isn't a huge one like I might have when not cutting fat. I think this has helped me to hold onto the muscle and still look full and round, while losing the overall bodyfat. I don't have much more to lose, maybe 3 or 4 pounds at the most. It's hard to tell until I see it, but I will stick to the diet, and I won't be doing an insane amount of cardio, as I don't need to, I don't have a lot of fat to try to lose.

My post training drink has 26 grams carbs in it, I will probably stop that about 4 weeks out, and right there I should start to lose and tighten up more.